Ascendant Book

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?

Publishers Weekly

In this thrilling sequel to Peterfreund's Rampant, Astrid Llewelyn has come to terms with her magical abilities to hunt poisonous flesh-eating unicorns, but not with the cloistered, nun-like lifestyle it demands of her, nor of the changes to her body ("I looked like a bodybuilder. It wasn't feminine. It wasn't beautiful"). Fate in the form of Isabeau Jaeger, the wife of an old enemy, offers Astrid a new job that appears tailor-made for reconciling her present life with her earlier dreams of a medical career: guarding a herd of captive unicorns, paired with university science classes, all for greater good of researching the Remedy, the legendary unicorn-sourced cure-all. But luxurious surroundings, fancy new clothes, and a renewed friendship with an ex-boyfriend-turned-research-colleague fail to still Astrid's growing unease about the ethics of unicorn treatment and her role in determining the future of the unicorn species, as well as her own destiny. The strong yet vulnerable heroine, compelling conflicts, and exquisite settings should find a voracious audience in those familiar with the first installment, though the complexities of Peterfreund's world will be more challenging for readers beginning mid-series. Ages 14 up. (Sept.)