Review: Switched

Title:  Switched
Series:  Trylle #1
Author:  Amanda Hocking
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin
Pages:  318
Format:  Paperback
Source:  Bought

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…

My Review:  I read this book a really long time ago and I remember enjoying it.  However, my tastes in books have been greatly expanded since then so I was a little worried that I might not get the same thrill out of this book as I did before.  Luckily, that was far from the truth.  I enjoyed this book quite a bit, actually.  

The world that Amanda Hocking created is what really caught my attention at first.  There were so many little details and bits of history that made this world jump off the page.  I liked learning more about it with Wendy as we read, though it did take a little time.  The images that Hocking painted were fantastic.  This is definitely a very beautiful world on the outside.  Some the the inner workings are a bit skewed, though.  Like the whole changeling thing.  I understand why it's necessary for them but I feel like there are much better ways to achieve the things they are trying to achieve without the changelings.  I also really liked the creatures in this book.  They weren't your average vampire/werewolf/angel beasts that you read about in some other YA fiction.  It was a nice change.

Wendy was a seriously spunky chick and, while it could be fun and exciting and a good thing at times, it got to be a little too much.  She went from being strong and independent to being whiny and bratty.  A lot of the time she reminded me of a three year old throwing a fit.  And I get that she was trying to deal with a lot but some of the things she did were just really stupid.  I wanted to yell at her for not thinking of some of the consequences her actions could have.  She wasn't all bad though.  She was caring and compassionate and she tried her best to do what she thought was right.  And she wasn't afraid to fight for what she believed in. 

The other characters were okay.  I liked Rhys but I wish we could have gotten to know him more.  Same with Tove.  He was very mysterious throughout this entire book and I wish we were provided more detail to his character.  Finn seems like a pretty good guy though I think that his relationship with Wendy took off way to fast.  One second she thought he was a creepy stalker, the next she was staring longingly into his eyes hoping for a kiss.  

Amanda Hocking's writing style was simple and easy to follow.  I enjoyed reading it.  I was never lost of confused which was a seriously good thing.  Even when she began introducing some of the Trylle terms, I always knew what she was talking about.  This led to a smooth transition into this new world that Wendy was discovering.   

While some of the characterization and character development was a little clumsy and unrealistic, I really enjoyed this book overall.  There was a lot of action and the world was absolutely spectacular.  I think we'll get a lot more in depth look into the characters in the next book and I'm excited to see Wendy do some growing up.  I'm anxious to move on to the next book and continue the series! 

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