Review--Switched by Amanda Hocking

Enter the World of the Trylle

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 mean to become...

So, I've FINALLY read Amanda Hocking's Switched! I've only had it for some odd years, like when I started my blog! LOL, whoops! But since I got the second in her newest trilogy which is a spinoff from this one, I decided I needed to get going on this one! It was surprisingly good. Not flawless, but not dreadful either. It's a unique kind of story with the faery, and I was happy to have read it.

Wendy hasn't had it easy with life. When she was six, she was rather bratty, like really bratty, and her mother always kind of hated her. She was supposed to be a boy, her mother knew that much and suddenly she was raising this little girl, and one day, on her sixth birthday, Wendy's mother tried to kill her. She would've succeeded too if it weren't for her older brother Matt coming to the rescue. 

Over the eleven years, Wendy, Matt and their Aunt Maggie, have moved from place to place for Wendy has the tendency to get kicked out of every school she attends. She's not so much a troublemaker, though she kinda is in some situations, but other times, things just never worked out her way. 

It's in her new school where she meets Finn, the strange guy who always seems to be staring at her. It's kind of creepy--really creepy in my opinion--but she's not scared or creeped out, she's more curious. It's not until an unlikely duo tries to kidnap her that world truly gets turned upside down. Wendy learns she is a changeling. Her ability of persuasion, which has gotten her out of more trouble in school over the years, is a rare talent, even for the Trylle. Finn has been sent to bring Wendy home, to her real home.

Though home is a far cry different than what she expected. She's not just Trylle, but a princess. And her mother isn't the loving, caring queen she longed for either. Her mother was pretty cold and indifferent at times.

The story was interesting, I'll say. Parts of it were slow. Like really slow. I kept hoping for more intrigue or just something to happen, but for a large course of the novel it was Wendy learning how to be a princess. Which didn't suit Wendy well at all, for she just wanted to be Wendy.

While I was expecting there to be some romance, as there were a few likely candidates for Wendy, it was clear who the "choice" would be. The drama to follow that, happened as well based on circumstances. Hopefully, the second book will pick things up better now that we've gotten all this "intro" mess out of the way.

Switched wasn't a favorite read of mine, though I have high hopes that trilogy will pick up in the next one! Amanda Hocking is definitely a talented writer whose words I do enjoy reading, but I haven't quite reached that "love it" stage yet! But there's plenty potential for me to get there with this author and possibly, series!

As a bonus in this book, there was a super short story entitled The Vittra Attacks, which basically shows us behind enemy lines. The Vittra were the enemies trying to kidnap Wendy early on and Finn saved her. They pop up again in the climax, and apparently here too, in this short little tale. That really opened up a slew of new questions for me, but I think the next book might serve better to answer those!


Overall Rating 3.75/5 stars--the awkward rating again, because it wasn't quite a 4, but still better than a 3.5!