Switched
by Amanda Hocking
Published: January 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Available: Amazon
Blurb:
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 discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.
Review:
As an author, the success of Hocking's self published series was fascinating. Until her million dollar book deal, I'd never even heard of her. What I heard after was a mix of fanatic love and disdain for her writing style. In the end I refrained from reading her self-published works because of the editing issues I'd heard about. Then I won an Arc of Switched.
Switched is not ground breaking in its concept, but it is a good read. Wendy is a likable character, and although she is set up as having a disagreeable nature, she's not a b***h. I actually liked the idea that part of her trylle (troll) nature is to not to be overly emotional.
The trylle world and culture was done well. It's set as a hidden part of the human world and I really did enjoy the background into how and why they use changelings to keep their lives they way they desire. Wendy becomes more likable once she starts to understand the injustice of their methods, especially after she realizes that one of her new friends is the human who's place she took. There is some cheese to the story, pretty much a Cinderella concept, but it's not overwhelming, and Wendy's reaction to everything keeps it within a reasonable dose.
The love interest with Finn, starts off pretty typical for YA paranormal. He's portrayed as being good looking, but creep with all of the staring he does. He's a bit rude and she's a bit put out but there is something undeniable between them drawing them together. Once the romance gets going it is entertaining, and it did get me cheering for them to be together.
The ending was a nice touch. Not entirely what I expected and I really hope that Wendy's choice is developed in the second book of the series. I will definitely read the next in the series.
I feel the same way as you. It was a good beginning to the series and I'll definitely read the next one. I wasn't wild about Wendy to begin with but she did grow on me.
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