Ascend

Amanda Hocking

Publisher: Amanda Hocking 

Soon to be published by: St Martin’s Griffin

Publish date:

                e-book: already out

                print: 24 April 2012

Version: e-book

Series: Trylle Trilogy

This is the last book in the Trilogy, following Switched and Torn.   Many things happen at the beginning of this book.  Loki requests amnesty from Elora, who is getting weaker and Wendy must step in to fulfill her role as princess.  It is after then that Wendy finds out how he has been tortured by the Vittra King.  On top of that, Wendy has her wedding to be concerned about.  Even though every aspect of the wedding is being planned for her by Marksinna Krohn and Willa, she is still worried about it.  In Torn, Wendy learned what it is that the Vittra King wanted from her and in Ascend, she realizes that he will not stop his assaults on the Trylle until he gets what he wants.

The day after her wedding, this realizations hits home as she learns that one of the Trylle communities have been severely demolished by the Vittra and there are many people who are homeless and hurt.  Wendy along with a few other people travel to the community of Oslinna, to see what help they can be there and to show support for the Trylle communities that aren’t in Förening.  Wendy comes up with a plan to delay any more attacks on the Trylle people from the Vittra.  But that plan comes with a price…

I thought that this was a good ending to a good series.  Like all good series, I wish that they would go on and on, but I’m sure that it wouldn’t be quite as exciting.  I will admit that Hocking answered all the questions I had formed throughout the series in this last book.  I would highly recommend it to anyone!!


My lists for likes/did not like are growing smaller as I review more books in the series.  Not because I like/did not like the characters any more or less, it is just redundant give the same rationale for them.  So, instead, I tried to highlight the main themes of the books.

Third and final book in the Trylle Trilogy.

With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed.

But everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves.

Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.

• Wendy.  I know I have said this for every book in this series, but I really like her character and how she shows so much growth and maturity in this book.
• Tove.   Tove has a hard decision to make in this book and I think he makes a wise choice.  For that, I like him even more.
• Loki.  You don’t really get to know him very well until this part of the series, but I think he is a good guy.  He knows what is right and isn’t afraid to go after it.  Even though he has some stigma about his family history, that doesn’t deter him from the person that he becomes.  Yes, some things that he does in the book are in poor taste.
• Finn.  I liked Finn a little more in this book than I did in Torn.  He doesn’t seem like he is at war with himself as much in this book than in the previous books.   
• Matt, Rhys, Willa.  I’ve put them all in one category because they are background characters, but are still important to Wendy and what she has to accomplish. 

• Oren, the Vittra King.  Again, he is just a person who only cares about what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it.

As I stated in the cover review for Torn, this really isn’t a just review because I know what the print covers will look like and I like them more.  However, the Ascend e-book cover almost looks exactly like the other e-books covers having the same blue colors, the same sky.  Only difference that I noticed was that the flowers were different and this one said Ascend.  The print cover show a girl (whom I presume to be Wendy) in a field with a chair.  I presume the chair to be a throne.  It does not look like a throne to me.  In the books, the Trylle throne is described and this isn’t what I pictured it to be.  Having said that, this is a pretty cover and I love the colors on it.