Summary: Astrid Llewelyn is now a fully trained unicorn hunter, but she can't solve all her problems with just a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend, Giovanni, has decided to leave Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend's powers seem to be mysteriously disintegrating, and Astrid can't help but feel that school, home, and her hopes of becoming a scientist are nothing but impossible dreams.
So when she's given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and put her skills to use as part of a scientific quest to discover the Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she want--or can she? At Gordian headquarters, deep in the French countryside, Astrid begins to question everything she thought she believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and most of all her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns, or saving the unicorns from the world?
Review: I finally summed up the courage to read Ascendant. I loved Rampant, but after what happened to Phil I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to read the next book. Giovanni makes a return in Ascendant, and he was certainly an odd character for me this time. Phil was still there, and she was still rad so I enjoyed what bit of her we had. Neil, Cory, and the rest of the girls were back as well of course. They were all good fun to get back to again. Astrid's mom was back, and I absolutely hate her.
Here is where I get spoilery so be warned if you haven't read Ascendant.
The Cory/Val thing did not surprise me really. It wasn't something that I put a lot of thought into until a couple pages before it was discovered, but I read that and thought, "Well that's nice." I liked that it made the story/relationships a bit different from Rampant.
The Seth thing didn't really get resolved and that bothers me. I mean...Phil is my favorite. I wanted her to have justice. I hoped Astrid would have been able to do that actually. Novella perhaps? Please?
One of my favorite things about this book was that Giovanni walked away from Astrid and she didn't rebound with Brandt. I like how it showed Astrid's strength as a character and she didn't need a male in her life to make her strong. That was story gold to me. With so many YA titles now there always seems to be a relationship and that's fine, but it's refreshing to read a story without that on every page.
End of spoilers
I will say that I enjoyed Rampant more just because it seemed to have more going on with the actual unicorn hunting. I loved Ascendant as well, but it focused more on the Remedy than the hunting. It was still interesting and I absolutely recommend these books. Is this series over? It very well could be. Could there be a book 3? Yes! If Diana decides to end Astrid's story here then that's okay with me. If she writes another one then I'll definitely be picking that one up as well.
4.5 howls
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