Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Title: Switched (Trylle #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 293
Where I Got This Book: LibraryThing Early Reviewers (ARC)
Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads Summary: 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 Thoughts: I really loved this book. I thought Wendy was a wonderful, strong character who was really able to handle all that was going on when placed in such a tough position. I loved all the scenes when she butted heads with Elora, the Queen of Trylle. She never became submissive to her but really held her own and spoke up for herself. I also loved the connection she had with her brother and I thought her conflictions about leaving home to go to Trylle where she "truly belonged" was nicely done. I read some reviews where people thought that this part was rushed and that not enough time was given to really show Wendy's struggles over leaving her aunt and brother, but I didn't feel that way. I was really able to feel Wendy's sadness about having to leave her family, presumably forever.

The world of Trylle was really well done and I loved learning about all of the different powers that the trolls had. This was a completely new concept for me and I was very fascinated by it. I'm excited to learn what powers Wendy may develop other than her power of persuasion, if in fact she does have another power. It seems to me she may have a power similar to the Queen's-there were a couple of scenes that hinted at that-but I won't say anymore about that in fear of spoiling it for others.

I thought the budding attraction between Wendy and Finn was a little disappointing and I wished that more had happened between them. Their relationship really didn't grow much and I don't think there were all that many scenes with just the two of them, but I thought the ending was amazing as well heartbreaking at the same time. I will definitely be buying the other two books in this trilogy. This book was a favorite of the year.