Review: Ascend by Amanda Hocking

Ascend

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publication Date: April 24th, 2012

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance/Paranormal

---

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts: I think I picked this book up a total of 3 times before I finished it. I  mentioned in my review for Torn that the chapters ended in such a way that there was no way you were stopping there. Always ending in this cliff-hangar that has you thinking: Oh my goodness! I have to see what happens after that! But of course, as a mommy of 3 I did have to put it down no matter how badly I wanted to see what happened next.

And that's another thing I really liked about this book, you are constantly being surprised. You might think you know what's going to happen next, but I always found myself surprised. You don't find that element in books to often lately, a lot of stories have become a little predictable. That's definitely not the case for the Trylle Trilogy.

I mentioned that in the first book, Switched, I didn't care for Wendy to much. In the second book I grew to like her a lot more. In this book I liked her even more. By the end of the series I loved her. I felt like I had watched her go through so much, and been handed these massive problems and heavy situations out of no where that no one should have to handle on their own. But she did it like a champ. She is just a regular girl, she is very real and easy to relate to. I found myself agreeing with her opinions and line of thought a lot. What started as an almost dislike, turned into a love and respect from watching her grow and change. And she grows into an amazing young woman :).

We know about the love triangle between Wendy, Finn, and Loki.She loves both of them, and they both love her. And Wendy is set to marry another man. How will it play out?! It all comes to a head in this book. I won't tell you which way it goes. But I was so super happy! It played out so wonderfully. It was rough and emotional, but it was perfect at the same time. Hocking wrote a perfect romance that was so easy to envision. I don't really know how to say what I mean. But even though it's a book about Trolls and supernatural abilities and such, the entire thing just felt so real. The characters felt down to earth. It all seemed like something that could really happen. Hocking writes wonderful characters is what it comes down to I think.

Aside from the love story and awesome character development. The Trylle are being attacked even more viciously by the Vittra. King Oren is very determined to get what he wants. Which is Wendy and the Trylle Kingdom. With Elora slipping away, leaving Wendy to face this massive threat on her own, she feel she must sacrifice herself in order to save those she loves. No one has ever been able to get near King Oren, let alone hurt him. How could Wendy stand up to such a force? Will she be able to save the Trylle while saving herself at the same time?! It definitely doesn't seem that way, but you will have to read it yourself to find out.

All in all, this was a really great book and a wonderful series! I had a great time reading it, and I wish it wasn't over. Although the ending was tied up very nicely, and I love that in a series. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's a great story I think you're sure to fall in love with. Glad I have this one sitting on my shelf :).