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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Review ~ Switched (Trylle Trilogy #1) by Amanda Hocking


When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.~From GoodReads








I'm fairly certain that the moment I joined Twitter, I heard about Amanda Hocking. She's pretty much an indie phenomenon. So when I was asked to review Switched, I jumped on the opportunity.

Switched is the story of Wendy Everly, a young girl with a disturbing, to say the least, background, who learns everything she knew about herself was a lie. It's the story of her struggle to find a place in her new world, or whether she actually wants to be there at all.

What I enjoyed most about Switched is the paranormal aspect to Wendy's story, who and what she is. I don't want to give away exactly what the Trylle are. They are a species that we've all heard about, but never in the way Hocking has re-imagined them.

The Trylle are hidden, virtually in plain sight. I love when an author can take paranormal creatures and their habitat and place them in the real, modern world.  The world-building in the story is thorough without becoming too elaborate. The political and social norms and turmoil in the Tryll world are intriguing and not unlike the royalty of our world.

The characters of Switched were a bit tricky for me. Starting with Wendy. I could definitely sympathize with her (I would be heartless if I couldn't), but I never became fully invested in her plight. She just felt too distant to me, I never felt what she was feeling. I was only a bystander.

 Finn, who is there to help Wendy adjust to her new life, frustrated me. You know those guys in the books who are super sweet one minute and a jerk the next? That was Finn. And yes, he has a reason, but it's just too much sometimes. And the fact that Wendy basically let him do whatever he wanted or get by saying jerky stuff because he was hot really bugged me. Having said that, I did end up liking Finn, once he began to open up to Wendy. Circumstance has really given him the shaft, but he deals.

The most surprising character, for me, was Tove. A fellow Trylle, who at first comes off as as spoiled and weird, and I totally wrote him off as a throw-away character.  He reminded me of Adrian from Vampire Academy, without the snark. At the end of the Switched, I was left way more curious about Tove than anyone else. Nice surprise!

I did have one major issue with Switched: the classic problem of showing vs. telling. I think that's why I wasn't particulary empathetic to the characters. I knew Wendy was scared/upset/angry because I was told she was, but I didn't feel a darn thing. I tried, so hard. But without showing me the reactions Wendy was experiencing, I couldn't do it.

In the end, Switched was a story that I liked well enough, but overall, left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.


Favorite Quote:
"A couple things made that day stand out more than any other: it was my sixth birthday, and my 
 mother was wielding a knife. Not a tiny steak knife, but some kind of massive butcher knife glinting
 in the light like in a bad horror movie. She definitely wanted to kill me."




You can read an excerpt from Switched here.








Paperback, 298 pages
Expected publication: January 3rd 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin

You can purchase Switched at:
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

* Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Book Kitty Blog for providing the ARC. *

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I've read like 3 reviews on this book today :) !! Who is this Tove who reminds you of Adrian Ivashkov ? I so need this book if there's a character like Adrian in it :) !!
    Thanks for the review, I totally understand your mixed feelings about this book .. I hope I'll like this one !!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog, you're really sweet :), I love yours !!

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  3. I'm sad you didn't enjoy this more but I think the series will continue to grow on you. Tove definitely becomes a very big character in the next two. You still have to meet Loki too and he doesn't come in until the next book.

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  4. I know what you mean!!! I've heard amazing things about Amanda Hocking and this book but I didn't really think it was one for me and your review confirms it! I think I'm going to pass on this one considering I'm not a big fan of books with a lack of well developed characters...Great review though!!!

    Happy Holidays!

    Jaskirat~SeeitORreadit

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  5. I have this whole trilogy loaded on that kindle I'm borrowing. I think I may try this one and see if I like it.. but it's low on my list.

    I do love the new covers though. they are gorgeous. Although she looks like she could lay off the tanning bed.. I'm sure is just the sky making her look like an orange leather shoe, but you can never be to sure.

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  6. I did not even think of Tove as a Adrian type character, but now I can totally see it. They do share some similar characteristics minus the snark. I also like Rhys, because of his attitude. I want to see where everything goes in the next book.

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  7. Great review! I didn't know saying what they are was a spoiler. My review says it right at the start haha. Oh well. It's stated everywhere on Amanda's site anyways :) Glad you enjoyed this one too It was really cool and different!

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  8. I keep seeing this book in blogsphere lately. It sounds really good. I need to check it out. Great review!

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  9. What can I say? I feel ya home girl. I agree with you on a bunch of points. I did like this book. Just not as much as I'd hoped. I'm still anxious to read the next two though. I lok forward, as always, to seeing what you think on the books. You're not my #BookTwin for nuthin ;)

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  10. A very fair review, Andrea! I can see what you're saying about this book. It's certainly not going to be a classic masterpiece, and it is not without its flaws. I liked the characters and thought the writing was decent, but I can see why some people wouldn't think the quality was very high. It's totally understandable.

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  11. I've been reading a lot about this book and am interested to check it out. Good thing I can download a sample before I buy! Thanks for the insightful review.

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  12. Great review! Yeah, I've heard about this one a lot too and I actually got 2 copies in the mail on 2 different occasions but because of my reading schedule I loaned my copies out. I'll probably a copy to support Amanda Hocking. So...basically, I can't wait to read this one.

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