Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund
"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 wants—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?"- summary from Amazon

Usually sequels can be a letdown because they just aren't as good as the original. This wasn't the case with Ascendant. It felt like such a natural continuation of the storyline and of Astrid's emotional journey of being a unicorn hunter and what it really means to be one.

There are so many twists and turns with this book, just like with Rampant, but unlike Rampant, there aren't that many action scenes going on. Now that all the hunters are trained, and because of other circumstances happening, there are only like one or two action sequences. A lot of the book focuses on Astrid and her issues with her boyfriend, another guy that comes along, whether she wants to be a hunter, and many more things, which I really enjoyed seeing.

I love Peterfreund's prose. It just flows, is realistic, and has me turning pages so quickly and you won't believe how quickly you get through an almost 400 page novel. While the book ended well, I want more Astrid!! It's one of those things where you're content but you also want more. I feel like she ended it that way in case there was a demand for more (or maybe not; maybe this is the final ending she dreamed of all along) because I think there could be at least one more adventure left for Astrid.

Overall, this was a fun outing and it was nice to see a lot more of Astrid emotionally, as well as other characters. It felt like more of the secondary characters really got fleshed out and got to share the spotlight a bit. Definitely a great read.

Fun note: If you read Diana's story in Zombies vs. Unicorns, that character appears in this book! It was so much fun to see her appear, even if just for a little bit. It was a nice crossover.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.