Wendy Everly's wedding is quickly approaching, scheduled for three days after she turns eighteen. She doesn't love Tove, but she knows that it is the right thing to do for the kingdom. Her father, the King of the Vittroli, has vowed not to wage war upon her or her kingdom until she is Queen. But with Wendy's mother's health with the health of Wendy's mother quickly failing, quickly failing, she knows it is a matter of days before she must take control of thekingdom and all who reside there.
When Loki, a Vittroli, pounds on her door, begging for amnesty, she isn't sure what to think. He's obviously been beaten, the whip marks all over his torso and back are compliments of the king, Wendy's father, but he does work for her father. He's tried to kidnap her before to take her back to her father, but failed. Oren just wants his daughter's powers and her kingdom and will not hesitate to use anything to get what he wants...even using Loki's feelings for Wendy to facilitate his wants.
Wendy tries hard to keep the kingdom running, even after she marries Tove. She and Tove don't love one another, but they do work well together as a team. However, when another troll kingdom is attacked, with many dying, she knows she has to make a decision that will impact all of their lives. She either kills her father or waits for him to kill her and take her kingdom. Finn, a tracker who spurned Wendy's love, is insistent on Wendy staying home and letting him do his job. Finn also doesn't like the time that she and Loki have been spending together. He reminds her that she is married to Tove, making Wendy feel guilty for her growing feelings for Loki, even though she knows that Tove is gay, even if he hasn't made it public.
But when Wendy's mother, the Queen, paints a disturbing picture of the future, with all of them dead, she knows that she has to choose her path correctly, or they will all die. If she leaves, then the King won't hurt those she loves when he comes for her. But if she leaves, she leaves those she loves behind. How will she choose? Her heart or her kingdom?
ASCEND is the final, thrilling installment in the TRYLLE trilogy. You will definitely want to pick up the first two in the series, SWITCHED and TORN. With great character development, romance, thrilling action sequences, heart-breaking choices and the pains of growing up, ASCEND is an explosive end to the the series that this reviewer is sad to see end. A fantastic series that I highly recommend!
