Ascend

I wasn't super invested in this series. I mean, I liked it, but I wasn't DYING to read it, I was just interested. The beginning was a turn off. There was so much backstory and regurgitation of old events that I might as well not have read them. (Seriously, does anyone start a series in the middle? If so, they should be left lacking rather than me having to reread the same thing a third time.)

Then, things got good, REALLY good. The whole Loki/Finn thing felt a little convenient, but I liked it in a guilty-pleasure sort of way. Wendy seemed to cry and have someone tell her to stop crying in every scene, which made me not like her as much. But Loki made up for it. He's one of the best characters I've read in a long time. I couldn't put it show more down and actually read the whole thing in one day. show less

I received a copy of this book in return for a review.

The book itself is not marked as being part three of a series. That it is indeed part 3 is something I found disconcerting. So much has happened in previous books I haven't read that I don't understand most of the references made. I was several chapters in before I realized that 'Trylle' meant 'Troll' and I still don't understand why they talk about the United States right alongside their Fairyland. Or why it is that trylle look so much like humans that they can apparently successfully pass as them and yet are afraid of discovery. Why haven't they simply integrated? Why haven't the humans discovered them?

These unanswered questions make the book that much harder to read, even though show more the prose is easy to follow and the heroine somewhat sympathetic. (And somewhat ditzy. We're all but at war with Teh Enemy. Let's go visit! And fickle. She's married to one guy and in love with two others. At the same time.) Another example of the princess' good judgment -- the villain is immortal, so she'll just cut off his head. Now, if she was planning on sealing it in cement, I might call that a plan, but to me, it just raises the question of what kind of immortal is someone who dies from cutting off their head? (Shut up, Highlander.)

It ended well, but I think that the solution was overly simplistic and the deeper problems with the society brushed over. Still, it made me *care* about those problems, so it wasn't bad, not at all. show less

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 show more 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. show less

I really wanted to like this book. The book was still diverting, but its flaws prevented me from getting anything of value from the book.

From the beginning I have not liked Loki, which is probably a big reason why the ending of this book was so unsatisfying. I felt that his only role was to fulfill the Twilight/Hunger Games romance plot device (the second perfect guy that tries to fight for the heart of the female lead), which really irritated me. It was fun to pick teams for a while (I was Team Edward and Team Gale all the way—I always root for the guys who got there first), but I am so tired of reading about the same love triangle over and over again. Let's move on to something else, please.

I would have been less annoyed by the show more whole Wendy/Loki affair if it at least felt believable. Their relationship still seemed forced, and I have a hard time believing that Wendy would jump in bed with a guy she was "head over heels" for mere days after being in love with someone else.

The battle at the end was also unsatisfying because it all felt, once again, forced. Everything worked out just perfectly so that the only people who actually died were the bad guys and the nameless characters.

The switch to present tense in the epilogue also bugged me, but at least it was relatively short.

By the end of the book, the only characters I liked were Willa, Tove, and Elora.

Again, I wish I could have got caught up in the hype that surrounds this series, but there are just too many glaring problems that bother me. show less

I knew it would end with me totally pissed. And I am. The story is as riveting as the others and a complete nail biter/page turner that I raced through. I like the overall story but I won't pretend for a second that I even remotely like the ending. Amanda is a talented writer and this is the second series from her that I have latched onto and loved the characters. She writes these so that you find yourself wrapped up and feeling a part of the story. I completely recommend the Trylle trilogy to everyone but in my head I am rewriting the ending.

With Elora declining fast, changeling Wendy knows it's only a matter of time before she becomes Queen of the Trylle and her father the King of an opposing faction of trolls called the Vittra, will attack her people. Then Loki - one of the Vittra that Wendy met when she was imprisoned - suddenly shows up looking for amnesty. Can she trust him? And can she defeat her father with the help of her friends?

The third book in the Trylle trilogy comes together for a satisfying conclusion in this fast-paced read. Nothing was truly surprising, but it's a solid read for fans of YA fantasy and paranormal romance. Wendy narrates her story, and we follow everything through her eyes and she starts to see Elora and Loki more clearly, and as she show more struggles to do what's right for the kingdom or for herself, personally. show less

I was a little disappointed with the 3rd instalment of the Trylle Trilogy, after the promising start of the first two books, the events in Ascend seemed a bit too cardboard cutout.

Everything came a little too easily to Wendy and she barely exercised the powers she had spent so much time building up. The originality and strong personality of Wendy also didn't come across as vibrantly in Ascend. Wendy's Mother and other Trylle highborn seemed to suffer greatly when they used their powers, yet Wendy didn't have this problem. An exploration of this would also have made for some interesting reading.

Wendy's romantic choices came quite easy for her in Ascend, yet previously, she was torn and had lots of angst deciding where her heart lay. show more She got over it quickly in Ascend.

A pet peeve of mine is also when fairly major characters in the earlier book seem to fade from existence, their former importance forgotten. Characters which come to mind are Wendy's brother who appears in brief moments as if to show he still exists. Her aunt, who was so important growing up, doesn't get much of a look in; so too the Manskling, changling brother who could have become a very interesting part of the narrative.

Typos and grammatical errors are also still a bugbear, as they were in the second instalment, and to a lesser degree the first book.

All in all I think Amanda Hocking concluded this trilogy a little lazily. Yet I am sure fans will get enjoyment out of this final chapter. show less