Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched (Trylle Trilogy #1) by Amanda Hocking

YA Fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

Switched - the first book in the Trylle Trilogy...

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.

First Thoughts: I got this ARC by St. Martin's for reasons I'm not going to go into right now, so I don't have insights on how I picked the book because I didn't necessarily. So, I am just going to go into it what I like about the cover and synopsis. I think this is now my favorite cover of all time. It's so beautiful and I am a huge fan of swirls. They didn't over do it at all. All the covers for the next books in this series follow that same pattern. By the synopsis I can see why this became such a hit. You can't help but be interested and wonder what exactly happened and what will happen. This book is dead on with getting people's attentions.

Writing Style: I saw reviews for Switched and most were fantastic but a lot of others picked at the writing. Saying she copied other stories and some of her sentences didn't make sense. Maybe Amanda didn't have an editor before St. Martin's or a good one with her self-published books. I don't know but the ARC I got does not fit in those reviews. I enjoyed the writing. I loved it. I fell into the story and it was difficult to put down.

Characters: Personally, I loved Wendy. She has issues but she learned how to fix her problems throughout the novel. She realized her mistakes. Yes, Wendy isn't the greatest character in the world. She seemed bratty when she was a child and got expelled but as far as I can tell, for good reason. She grew up with no love from the person she believed to be her mother who actually tried to kill her, no affection since the moment she was born. If that doesn't scar someone for the rest of their life then I don't know what will. She has her faults but her past is what made her the way she is and in reality she's not that bad of a person. For a fictional character, Wendy is real.

Final Thoughts: I guess I ended up defending the book more than I thought I would. The only reason I did that is because the book is just that good. I found a new favorite! The bad reviews were all from the first self-published (someone was mad because she actually became a success and got a contract and a movie deal. It's like, are you serious? You are supposed to be celebrating the success of the author, not upset because she isn't a self-published author anymore) so maybe it was the way they said it was but I don't think the self-published book reviews should effect the newly published book by St. Martin's. I know that sometimes the stories change through the editing process (like Carrier of the Mark changed from inkpop.com when it was picked up to be published) so it could be possible. This book is amazing though. I love to get away from the vampires every once in awhile and go into the lives of other magical creatures. Having a new twist on trolls is a great start at that.