Ascend: A Trylle Novel [Paperback]

Amanda Hocking (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 24, 2012 | Series: Trylle (Book 3)

Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world.  Ascend is the final chapter in her bestselling Trylle trilogy—and you’ll never guess how it ends!

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 "This series has a bit of everything—magic, myth, action, romance…ah, the romance!  There is something so appealing about forbidden love, especially when it leads to a happily-ever-after.  I have to say, I love the way this ended.  Of course, I won’t give spoilers, but the ending was perfect." --Diary of A Bibliophile 

“Hocking is so talented in her ability to mold characters and have them grow, a rare talent many authors lack.  She has the ability to make the growth of these characters amazingly realistic.  Now, I won't give anything away but I will say READ them! They are amazing!” –The First 100 Pages

“I read these three books back-to-back-to-back. The story had me so engaged, that I could not put it down. I was reading in the car, at school, on my bed, at the dinner table, and in the media room. You could call it an obsession.” –Reading Vacation Reviews

“Loved this book! One of the best final books I've ever read. I feel like the ending went a little fast but Im a sucker for a nice happy ending and I just plain LOVE this series!” –Library Thing

“With each book, we have seen Wendy transition from a young girl to a strong heroine.  And with the romance, Hocking throws in a nice surprising twist that was refreshing, and which makes Ascend shine even brighter.  The Trylle Trilogy is recommended for all paranormal fans no matter what your age.” –Nocturne Romance Reads

“A very fast read, I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone that likes romance, conflict, and the paranormal.” –Kathy’s Book Bag

About the Author

Amanda Hocking is the USA Today bestselling author of the Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels.  After selling over a million copies of her books, primarily in eBook format, she is widely considered the exemplar of self-publishing success in the digital age. 

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (April 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250006333
• ISBN-13: 978-1250006332
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (449 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Amanda Hocking is a lifelong Minnesotan obsessed with John Hughes and Jim Henson. In between making collages and drinking too much Red Bull, she writes young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Her New York Times best-selling series the Trylle Trilogy has been optioned for films. She has nine other young adult books now, including Wake, the first book in her brand new series, Watersong, and the second book in the series, Lullaby, will be out November 27, 2012.

To learn more you can follow her on Twitter - http://twitter.com/amanda_hocking or visit her blog: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/ or find out news at her Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/amandahockingfans, and her Website http://www.worldofamandahocking.com/

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#82 in Books > Teens

#82 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 108 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wendy's a disappointing heroine January 18, 2011

By Twinkly1216

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed reading this book and would probably have given it 5 stars had I not been a little disappointed with certain choices that were made by Wendy. I do think that the author could have made the book a little longer and included more characters that we saw in the previous books. You really don't see Rhys or Rhiannon in this book whatsoever. Rhys appears at the end in the wrap-up but that's about it. While they weren't crucial characters I think their complete absence was still odd. I was surprised at how big a role Loki plays in this last book. I feel like he just randomly appeared in the 2nd book (not literally randomly) and had some crazy, kind of obnoxious flirty love thing going for Wendy but he was never really explained. We were told his history and whatnot but he never really seemed to have any real purpose. I was hoping in the third book the author would explain exactly why he was so important and go into a little more character development for him but she didn't.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Reading a couple comments the author wrote regarding this book, she stated that while she could see this book being compared to the Princess Diaries, she didn't see the connection with Twilight. Really? Because in both cases you have a lovesick teenage girl who starts off weak and vulnerable but eventually becomes some super powerful being that saves the world (vampire world, troll world...whatever). The love Wendy had for Finn also screamed Bella/Edward to me. PLUS what about when Wendy realized that putting herself in danger made Finn rescue her so she could see him again? Umm...? That also screams Bella/Edward...when almost an entire book was dedicated to Bella doing stupid things just to see Edward in her thoughts.... This could all be accidental of course, but that doesn't mean you can deny the connection.

Well, here's my theory to why Wendy ended up with Loki instead of Finn. Because the author wanted a twist, a twist that would make this unpredictable, original and NOT like Twilight. All this ended up doing though was making Wendy end up with a Jacob instead of an Edward. Here's the problem with this though. A twist in a book is good, a twist keeps the readers interested...but you need to be in control of the twist. In this case, the author lost control of her book because of what she chose to use as a twist. It's too big of a twist and it tells her readers that her lead heroine is fickle and what you DON'T want is for the readers to suddenly lose a little respect for the lead character. This COULD have been done though, this twist COULD have worked, had she spent more time developing Loki's character. Instead, she didn't bother really making the reader fall in love with Loki (the way they did with Finn) and just threw Loki and Wendy together anyhow and tried to force her readers to accept it. If she had spent more than a portion of the 3rd book really pushing for Loki, I think the readers would have accepted the transition much easier. Also...if she had spent more than a portion of the 3rd book destroying Wendy and Finn's relationship, that would have been easier to accept as well. In the end though, the author lost control over how her readers felt about the characters....and that's never what you want, especially in the last book of a series.

So here's my wrap-up of Wendy from book 3: some girl with a crush (because calling it love would be an insult to the word) on the first cute guy she sees from Trylle. Now I see why she was attracted to Finn in the first place. In the first book, he was that super tough guy who wasn't afraid of the Vittra who tried to kidnap her. Also he was crazy about her and was her hero who always showed up at the right time to save her. He almost lost his life just trying to protect her...and of course because their love was forbidden, it made her want him even more. Of course, once all that died down a bit, she needed something more from him. Since all of a sudden, he wasn't able to prove his love for her by throwing his life away to save her...she needed him to constantly let her know how he felt, instead of just accepting that he did love her. Then along comes Loki, a cocky guy who is constantly saying inappropriate things about how much he wants her, and teasing her about how much she wants him, and that's exactly what she needs. Someone who never stops telling her how awesome she is. THEN she sees the scars that Loki got on her behalf and that seals the deal. Wendy's love goes to whatever guy shows that he's willing to die for her AND who constantly tells her how much he wants her. In the end, she's just an insecure girl who will follow the first guy that obsesses over her.

I think Finn was right about her. Her love must not mean much.

I started off this review giving the book 4 stars...now it only has 3 stars. Guess I didn't realize how disappointed in I was in just how weak of a character Wendy was. Read more ›

81 of 94 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars What just happened? January 19, 2011

By Anonymous

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Contains Spoilers! Updated.

I'm not really sure what to say. I got hooked on the my blood approves series and decided to try this series out. I enjoyed Ms. Hocking's writing so I downloaded all three Trylle books. I wish had stopped at the second book. I feel utterly disappointed and wish could return this book. Finn was built up as THE love interest, and then he is shoved aside for a sleezy secondary character (Loki). I kept reading hoping that for a Finn/Wendy ending and now, as a reader, I feel complete unsatisfied. Now I'm a little nervous about a fifth book fo My Blood Approves.....I understand not wanting to be predictable, but this twist just destroyed this whole series for me.

Ms. Hocking is a great writer and she knows how to tell a good story. But I don't think I will be recommending the Trylle Trilogy to anyone. Well maybe the first two books. Somebody in another review said that this what it would be like if Bella chose Jacob instead of Edward in Twilight. I disagree...this is what it would be like if Bella chose Mike Newton instead of Edward and Jacob. It makes no sense whatsoever.

86 of 101 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing... January 21, 2011

By teachtoread

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

While I enjoyed the 1st two books in this series and think A. Hocking to be a very talented writer, I was disappointed in this third book. I think she was trying too hard to be clever and not fall victim to cliches. Especially since she started to build up the mulitple lovers thing (aka S. Meyer ) and wanted to break the mold so-to-say. Though I commend her for her bravery, there is a reason Meyer (and others like her) have found so much success; When an author sets up a character like Finn and strengthens the love and devotion two people feel towards each other-it rips at the heart of readers to have that love lost and replaced by a character (Loki), that is less developed, with devotion that is not well explained, and a love that seems to be based in convenience and physical neediness. The ending seemed rushed with the development of real feelings between Loki and Wendy...so weird it almost seems like a different author wrote the last half of the 3rd book and their job was to tie up the loose ends. Not a bad read all around but if you have your heart set on Finn and Wendy, don't read this book-just imagine your own ending. It will be better than the real one.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been much better January 19, 2011

By Real Reviews

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I stumbled on this series when I began using my Kindle-the books were cheap so I thought I would give them a try. The first book kind of hooked me, once I got over the troll idea. The second book was okay too; I was surprised to find myself awaiting the third installment. But, I was disappointed with this book. I realize Wendy matured, which was a good thing, but she seemed to be too different from the character she was in the first two books. I don't want to give the ending away, but really, Finn was the love interest from the beginning of the series so why drop him? I mean, if we are supposed to believe she fell in love with someone else and disengage ourselves from the main male character then Hocking should have given us a reason to-meaning Finn should have somehow disappointed us as readers like he wasn't there for Wendy or had an affair or something. For two books we viewed him as "the one" and then suddenly in the middle of the final book, for no reason really, Wendy isn't in love with him, which made her seem shallow and fickle. I found myself disliking Wendy ( I really didn't like her much to begin with but by the second book she was getting better) after this book. I felt that this book splashed cold water in my face and made me say "why was I reading about trolls." It seems like the author just threw in a plot twist to not be predictable without thinking how this would effect the overall impression of the series. So many better ways the series could have ended.