THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS - I haven't written a spoiler review in a while so I thought it was about time. 
Review Written: 5th August 2012

Ascend by Amanda Hocking

This is the third and final book in the Trylleology (See what I did there?) which begs the question on whether the characters get given a happy ending. This book starts with a wedding and ends in a baby. Although the path between the two is not so smooth and it involves 2 different men. Wendy Everly is to marry Tove, from one of the most influential families in Trylle except the two only love one another as friends, and Tove does not have a thing for women at all. Before the wedding, Loki from the Vittra tribe asks for amnesty. A Prince, or there abouts, in his own land he is forced to flee after being abused by his King. He loves Wendy, and as the book progresses, it is clear she loves him. Chapter 16 includes a moment of passion between the pair as Wendy loses the virginity she assumed she'd lose on her wedding night; not with Tove, but with Loki.

The middle part involves a war. The night of Wendy's wedding to Tove, the town of Oslinna is attacked, 2000 estimated dead. Here begins her role as leader. She makes a deal with her father, the evil King of the Vittra, which on the surface makes it look like she's handing over her kingdom. Really, she's just buying time until she can find a way to kill him. The main battle is over really quickly. One minute the Trylle are attacking the Vittra and the next, peace has been achieved.

The baby at the end is Wendy and Loki's - a boy named Oliver. The two wed after Wendy's wedding to Tove is annulled. Willa ends up with Matt, a move that would previously been disallowed as she is a powerful Troll and he is a human. However, it's still not fully accepted and Willa had to give up her role as Marksinna. What happens to Finn you say? Well, during the rescue mission to Oslinna, before war is declared, Wendy meets a female tracker named Mia and her baby daughter Hanna; she had become a widow. During the extra story 'Ever After', we discover Finn and Mia have married, with a son on the way. Tove is also in a relationship with new Chancellor Bain. I am truly glad Wendy chose Loki. As she says herself Finn is not happy around her, not the way he is around his future with Mia. I preferred Loki as a character anyway. The ending was sickly sweet but I liked it. I'm sad that the series has come to an end but I am looking forward to Hocking's Watersong series.

NEXT REVIEW: ALYSON NOEL'S FATED