Title: Ascend
Author: Amanda Hocking
Author Info: Website / Twitter / Goodreads
Pub Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 326
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?
The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end.
Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it.
I had dramatically mixed feeling about this book. I say dramatic because there were things that I absolutely loved and found to be unique and things that I felt a little disappointed in.
I know that not everyone would agree about how easy Wendy is to connect with but I felt she matured in this book. Or seemed more mature, she has the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders and even though her first instinct is to make risky decisions. It seems that people can talk her down from the cliff now, where before she would just jump.
What really had me with these books is the character of Loki. He didn't how up until book two and I loved him from the minute we met him. We get a better look at his character in this book, we found out more about his past and see a different side of him. Loki is that character that doesn't hold anything back and that is what makes him so great in my eyes.
Finn is his usual, duty comes first, self. He was always just okay for me and he continued to be that way in this book. I wanted to smack him and tell him to go find something better to do.
The way the love story worked itself out in this book was made me find it unique. I also liked the bonus story that rounded the whole thing out. We didn't have any awkward third wheel leftover like we normally would.
The thing that disappointed me was the epic battle that wasn't. The build up in the story was great but I felt like the turn of events toward the end fell a little flat. I had hoped to see a little bit more from that.
The book did go well with the other two books. We see a lot more from some of the characters that we didn't really see. Some characters took a back seat when they had been more prominent. I think as far as tying up the series this book did a good job of it. So it's still a good read.
