Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world, and Switched is the book that started the phenomenon. Prepare to be enchanted... 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... As a special gift to readers, this book contains a new, never-before-published bonus story, "The Vittra Attacks," set in the magical world of the Trylle.

Switched

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 that's both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

Vicky  Nuñez 

I need to stop assuming that just because I like an author's book I'm going to like all of their other books too. 

Switched just didn't do it for me. I felt like I had heard the story before, the only thing new was that it was about trolls. 

Oh well, I will now wait for The Hollows graphic novel and the third book in the series.

Annalissa Powner 

Samantha 

4.0 

A great read that I really wasn’t expecting.
I think the author did a great job of slowly putting the reader into Wendy’s mindset. I disliked Wendy by the second chapter but slowly I learned it was because of the information we were given from HER perspective, of course it’s going to be hard to like a person when they describe themselves to you in the premise of thinking they are awful and unworthy of love. Wendy was taught that she was monstrous almost her entire life so to hear her describe herself is jarring in a very sad way. But by the end of this book I was rooting for her, I wanted her to feel safe and loved and finally have a concept of home whether she was attaching it to people or a place.

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. This is the first in Amanda Hocking's stunning first series, the Trylle Trilogy.

So Ive been meaning to read this for quite some time now, only I was too busy with some books I was more excited about. 

I have a lot of problems with this book.

First: Our protagonist, Wendy Everly. I do not entirely approve of Wendy's attitude, and she clearly has problems. She has a lot of love interests here, but she doesnt have the tendency to supress or figure out her feelings for the other men. She's a spoiled brat, unappreciative, and she doesnt show gratitude for everything Matt & Maggie has done for her. She has a complete disregard for rules. She does what she likes with no thought for the consequences, and I find her violence disturbing. There is some violence in this book. Her personality makes her a colorful character, very entertaining to read about, but to the point where her behavior is somewhat absurd. But its obviously a juvie story, so I really shouldnt be complaining. Its basically a Cinderella story (kind of) but with a little more otherworldly magic involved.Its a little bit confusing too, when she's all i-hate-everything then suddenly she's all girly and bratty and swooning over Finn and running away with him without even thinking about her family (who treat her like a fragile doll). 

On a romantic note, Finn is really is swoon-worthy. The princess-peasant situation makes everything complicated, and he's the martyr type of guy who's willing to disregard his feelings (and hers) for Wendy's own good. There are also other potential love interests in the story, like I mentioned earlier, and Wendy isnt very clear about her feelings for them. Sigh -.-

Basically, the story is interesting, and I hate being curious so Im gonna have to drag myself over the next two books. I hope the next books are better.  No offense to everyone who loves this one. Im just very picky, and I have high standards.

So Ive been meaning to read this for quite some time now, only I was too busy with some books I was more excited about. 

I have a lot of problems with this book.

First: Our protagonist, Wendy Everly. I do not entirely approve of Wendy's attitude, and she clearly has problems. She has a lot of love interests here, but she doesnt have the tendency to supress or figure out her feelings for the other men. She's a spoiled brat, unappreciative, and she doesnt show gratitude for everything Matt & Maggie has done for her. She has a complete disregard for rules. She does what she likes with no thought for the consequences, and I find her violence disturbing. There is some violence in this book. Her personality makes her a colorful character, very entertaining to read about, but to the point where her behavior is somewhat absurd. But its obviously a juvie story, so I really shouldnt be complaining. Its basically a Cinderella story (kind of) but with a little more otherworldly magic involved.Its a little bit confusing too, when she's all i-hate-everything then suddenly she's all girly and bratty and swooning over Finn and running away with him without even thinking about her family (who treat her like a fragile doll). 

On a romantic note, Finn is really is swoon-worthy. The princess-peasant situation makes everything complicated, and he's the martyr type of guy who's willing to disregard his feelings (and hers) for Wendy's own good. There are also other potential love interests in the story, like I mentioned earlier, and Wendy isnt very clear about her feelings for them. Sigh -.-

Basically, the story is interesting, and I hate being curious so Im gonna have to drag myself over the next two books. I hope the next books are better. No offense to everyone who loves this one. Im just very picky, and I have high standards.

Siena Grace

I think that this is a great book for someone new to reading. This is a book i would have enjoyed in middle school. The plot is smooth and creative and the books are fast reads.

Kaley Catron

I have read the Watersong series by Amanda Hocking before and I loved them, my dad got me these for Christmas last year and I knew the name sounded familiar so I looked it up and found out it was written by the same person, which made me more excited to read it. While I loved the Watersong novels, I highly enjoyed the first book of Trylle almost as much. Wendy Everly is a teenage girl who finds out she's a princess and she has to find out how to cope with that, that makes it sound like tons of stories nowadays. Everyone is some sort of secret Princess they didn't know they were but I loved how Wendy really showed Elora, (The Queen) how much she really did not want that lifestyle and refused to let her make decisions about her life. Also, Finn. Okay, Finn is easily a new fictional boyfriend. My Gods, he's sweet, adorable and PROTECTIVE. How much sweeter can a boy get? Overall I think I honestly like The Watersong books better but Trylle (<>) is just amazing itself. I loved it and I recommend it. 5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!

Maria

Cindy Lee

Secrets of Lost Words

You can also read this review here

Oh my!! I absofreakinglutely loved this. Yeah, no doubt about that. I actually finished this whole series in three days.. Oopsies :)

So I actually started this like 6 months ago. I read the prologue, forgot about it, and moved on to another book. Just shoot me now. I didn't know this book would be such a ride. I was like, "Whoa, a mother claiming her daughter is a monster and trying to kill her. Yep, the usual. Now let's move on to something else." That was totally me.

There were things I liked and things I didn't like so much in this book. Of course I do. I liked the whole idea about the trolls. Very original. Brava, Ms. Hocking. Actually the trolls are called Trylle. Trylle are only a tribe. There is the other meaner one called the Vittra but we won't get into all that trolling business right now. (Eh, see what I did there? Trolling?) 

I liked Finn at first, but the more I thought about him, the more troubled I am. Wendy was attracted to Finn when she at school. They went to this dance together and all that. Finn was trying to do his job and bring Wendy to Forening (how do you pronounce that?). He was trying to not get too close to her (which I totally get, don't wanna get smited by your boss, eh?), but that doesn't been he can be a total bastard about it. He was all sweet one minute then he is all out in meanie jerkface mode. Ugh.

Of course, Wendy still feels very attracted to him and puts in a move here and there. Finn is such a stupid guy. He is like the I-know-we-can't-be-together-so-I-won't-try-to-fight-for-our-relationship-but-I-still-wanna-suck-your-face kind of hero. Since Finn is basically the slave and Wendy is the Princess, it's the forbidden kind of relationship. *oohs and ahhs in the background* Yes, people, it's the forbidden kind of relationship. *nods solemnly*

Another thing that ticked me off was Elora. She is such a b*tch. She's all like, "A princess should do this. A princess should do that." I'm sooooo tired of her. She's only lived the princess life for an hour. Don't expect her to adjust so quickly. What pissed me off more was that Wendy didn't even stand up for herself. She just stood there and listened to Elora like the good little princess she is. Thought sometimes she talked back and I'm just cheering her on like, "You go, Wendy! Kill them bitches." I might have been a bit too excited about those parts ;)

What I did really like was the plot of the story. Very original and I think the writing flowed really nicely. I think this was great! Eh.. Still doesn't like Elora much though..

One more thing, I was really tired of Finn and Wendy's we're-totally-screwing-our-eyes-at-each-other-I-wanna-kiss-you-so-badly-but-can't thing. Half the time, I'm just like, "Go make babies already! You know you want to.. OH YES.." Okay, that might be a bit inappropriate.. MUAHAHAHAHA

Looking for books that's original..with trolls in it? You found it!

Morgana

** spoiler alert **
           
«Sai muovere gli oggetti?».
«Con le mani, sì».
«Ovviamente», disse alzando gli occhi al cielo. «Visto che non sei paraplegica, davo per scontato che ne fossi fisicamente capace».


Questo libro è una noia mortale, lo preciso subito, non so come ho fatto ad arrivare fino alla fine.
La trama poteva anche essere "interessante" o almeno le premesse, ma in realtà è un disastro. Cioè lei è una troll? Sul serio? Ovviamente non quelli enormi e verdi di Shrek. I tratti che Finn cita per farle capire che è un troll o Trylle come preferiscono chiamarsi loro ( che sicuramente sta per troll altamente bono ) sono, intelligenza sviluppata ( sì, infatti la protagonista si è fatta mandare via dal tipo 6 scuole e la sua famiglia spera si diplomerà dopo 6 tentativi, un genio proprio ) capelli ribelli, asocialità, irascibilità, gusti difficli a tavola ( giuro, non me la sto inventando xD è scritto veramente nel libro ) e poca voglia di portare le scarpe. 
Se qualcuno ( in particolar modo qualcuno che conosco appena ) mi desse del troll citando questi come esempi, io gli farei vedere davvero la mia "irascibilità".

Parliamo di quello che Wendy fa con le persone. Ok, è una changeling o troll e ha questa magica persuasione che, per qualche strano motivo, è già a livello avanzato anche se lei la usa solo per dormire in classe e no finire dal preside o fare come vuole, ma onestamente è un mostro! Usarla con il professore per convincerlo a non mandarti in presidenza lo capisco, certo poteva non addormentarsi tutti i giorni in classe ma va beh, passiamoci sopra. 
Usarla con il ragazzo al ballo che praticamente manco conosce solo per farsi accompagnare a casa? No, cara, cos'è il tuo autista? 
Usala sul fratello perché vuole andare a trovare la madre? No. Vacci da sola stella. La scusa è "è l'unico modo per farlo" no, con le persone ci si parla, se non si convincono amen, funziona così la vita. Lei invece chiede, la gente dice di no, e lei usa il su potere "speciale" per fregarli. Bella la vita. 

I Troll poi non erano animali selvaggi,grezzi e bavosi? No! 
Qui sono finissimi, vivono in case enormi, dipingono, amano la musica e la bella vita ( eh sì, visto che sparano i figli dalle famiglie umane più ricche e poi li rivogliono indietro con tutti i soldi di quella famiglia, bravi bravi ). 
Wendy poi passa dall'inizio del libro in cui è descritta come una cessa, a via via sempre pià figona. Unica cosa interessante del libro. Tove e forse Rhys in qualche pezzo, ma il fatto che sia assolutamente bellissimo ( quando Matt invece non è niente di che ) e per una buona parte del libro non faccia altro che dire a Wendy quanto sia bella e fantastica, non me lo fa piacere del tutto. 
Non voglio neanche spendere troppe parole sulla storia d'amore, perché secondo me di amore non c'è neanche l'ombra. Si vedono, lui fa la parte dello stalker a scuola e lei si preoccupa giusto un pò. Si rivedono al ballo, lui le chiede di ballare e poi la offende come manco si offenderebbe il proprio peggior nemico, lei se la lega al dito giusto per due secondi. Lui la pedina, si infiltra in camera sua passando dalla finestra ma a lei va bene, tanto è già innamorata di lui. com'è possibile? Lui ovviamente è innamorato di lei ma la loro storia ha un risvolto tragico ( si fa per dire ) visto che lei è la principessa del magico mondo dei Troll non può sposare un cacciatore ( e per quale motivo poi? perché lui ha dei poteri semi-nulli?) e quindi sono destinati a stare separati ( ma tanto non ci crede nessuno, no? ). Nessun problema, perché c'è un altro figone a palazzo, peccato che quello sia un umano e Wendy non si possa fare neanche questo. Ok, complimenti Wendy, te li scegli bene.

Jessica Williamson

So good. So, so good. I'm sure there are other changeling stories out there, but this is the first I've read, and I'm sooooo impressed. 

Wendy isn't the worlds best character at the beginning but she grows on you. I really like her. The crap she has to go through, it's all insane. If it was her I would have screamed, cried, screamed some more and ran away ASAP. She handled the things that were put on her pretty well.

Finn. Oh Finn. I don't know much about him yet. But I know that he promised never to lie to Wendy. And I'm pretty sure she hasn't. He's an honorable dude, and that's legitimately all I want from a guy. Just be HONEST. So he's quickly my favorite dude. 

Wendy's brother and aunt are great. I really like them. Her actual family? I'm not so sure about them. They seem kind of . . . scary.

Something's up with Rhys. I don't know what it is, but he's just too shifty for me. 

Some things in this are predictable, some things are not. I'm pretty sure I know where some things are going but only future books will tell.

There was a little bit of action in here, and the author does a really good job of setting up the scenery. The book was easy to read and super easy to get in to. I like things that don't make me think too hard but still surprise me. 

Anyway, I like it.

Olivera Mitić

The reason I picked this book up (as well as the rest of the series) was because they were cheap. And by cheap I mean really cheap. I thought the reason for it was because they weren't really good and weren't selling so the publishers wanted to get rid of them. 
Because of that I went into this series without any expectations at all. I had some troubles in the beginning, so I dropped the first book. But out of boredom I picked it up once again and ended up being pleasantly surprised with it. 
It really wasn't that bad at all. 
 The plot  was quite interesting. The world building was nothing special, but it worked, so I am not complaining here. 
 The characters  were fine as well. I didn't really connect with all of them, but I ended up falling for Finn and Rhys. Wendy was the one I had problems with. She was a good example for a Mary Sue. The strongest of them all. The special one who has so many powers she needs to learn to control. But except for that, her narration was alright. 
That's all. 
Going off to the next review



The bonus story review: 
This is the only Trylle bonus story I managed to find online. If anyone knows where I can read the rest, please message me. I would be really thankfull. The other two seem far more interesting than this one.
The Vittra Attack was a pretty simple and pretty short story. Way too random for me so I could actually enjoy it, but I really liked Loki in this one.
I will review the rest of the series when I come back from holiday.

Emily

eh... so this was a DNF @ 25%.

This had a similar issue for me as the Shatter Me series where the idea and plot was decent but the disgusting insta-love and cringey main character just ruined it 🤷‍♀️

I’m not wasting my time with this anymore lol

"Thorndike Press Large Print the Literacy Bridge"--T.p. verso.

Dina

I give it a solid 3.5 stars. It's not enough to round it up to 4 stars, though, so 3 will have to make do.

I admit I was skeptical of the whole troll thing, but it turned out better than I expected. Or maybe I set my expectations very low already because of all my wariness with the troll business. Calling them Trylle instead was a nice touch.

The main character's weakness when around Finn felt a lot like your typical silly teenage romance where you hate him and then you can't live without him, and it kinda got on my nerves a little, not gonna lie.

However, I felt for her when everyone kept yelling that she was screwing everything up, yet when she asked them to educate her on why it was wrong and how she should have done it better, they would all say that she shouldn't worry about it or whatever and it got annoying fast. I kept thinking she should just up and leave, instead of staying there and be treated like an ignorant child. (view spoiler)[I was happy when that's exactly what she did in the end. I mean, you may argue that, taking everything into consideration, it might not be the best move, considering the bad guys are after her and could use her family against her, but, to be honest, if I was constantly being yelled at like she was, I would have done the same thing. Actually, I probably even would have done it sooner. (hide spoiler)]

It was easily read. Not one of the best works I ever read, but definitely something different and original. I might get the second book and see where this is going.

Kristen

I would have liked this a LOT more 10 years ago. It's very light and focuses on Wendy's teenage woes more than almost anything else. The story is interesting, but not extremely deep, at least in this book. 

It was a quick read and I enjoyed it for what it was.

Not bad for 99 cents. In general I found I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy.

Switched is the first novel in Amanda Hocking's bestselling trilogy, Trylle. Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she's not the monster her mother claimed she is, she does feel that she doesn't quite fit in. She's bored and frustrated by her small-town life - and then there's the secret she can't tell anyone. Her mysterious ability - she can influence people's decisions, without knowing how, or why . . . When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night, her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist: Förening, the home of the Trylle. Finally everything makes sense. Among the Trylle she is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger. With everything around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark forces are conspiring - not only to separate them, but to see the downfall of everything that Wendy cares about. The fate of Förening rests in Wendy's hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all their lives forever . . .

Book One in the Trylle Trilogy

Joleen

I don't love it, but I don't hate it. The concept is interesting and I would love to know more. However, imagine my disappointment at almost 4 am when I finish the first book only to discover I don't have the second one, but the third one. I couldn't sleep simply because I wanted to continue the story. It is incredibly predicable in the romance area, and completely cheesy, but I’m digging it. Getting the second book today and going to finish this series!

Pamela Alvarado

It was interesting, but I don't like the protagonist's personality -_-

Bridget Howard

So I really enjoyed this series!!! It is the first book I have read that the main characters are trolls so that was fun!!! Wendy is our heroine in the book and I liked her there were times when she was a little annoying but overall she was a fun character to get to know. Wendy is a changeling which basically means she was switched with another baby at birth. She is really a troll princess. She meets Finn who is her dreamy Tracker who helps her to return to her rightful place. I loved Finn he is broody and has a soft spot for Wendy. There relationship developed really fast but it is one that is not allowed, which I always like the forbidden love stories. Overall I really enjoyed Switched and will be reading Torn. I always wanted to say thank you to the ladies at Bookish Things & More. I won this book form their book blog. They have a great blog so you should go and check it out here is the link: http://www.bookishthingsandmore.com/

Switched

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