Thursday, April 5, 2012

Review: Switched

Title: Switched
Author: Amanda Hocking

Book 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…”

If my mother tried to kill me, I would probably pee my pants!  Wendy is shocked, to say the least, when her mother tries to kill her.  Her mother is convinced that Wendy isn’t her child and is not the least bit remorseful about her attack.  Years later, Wendy starts to notice that she is different than others… she can do things.  Soon enough her carefully constructed world is shaken when she is forced to leave her family and go “home”.  Her only consolation is that mysterious Finn Holmes is to be her guide, so maybe this adventure won’t be quite so bad…

            When I first encounter Wendy, I am struck by what a bratty kid she is.  In my first few moments, I hear whining about almost everything, from her presents to her birthday cake.  Then, her mom pulls the knife.  Overreacting much?  Original brat aside, I think Wendy is a very strong character.  Oh, she is definitely spoiled rotten, but by the end of the book I understand her character.  Wendy isn’t a weak person.  Good things and bad things happen to her, and she takes charge when she needs to.  As the story progresses, I happily see her step up to the plate more often and become her own person.  In the book summary, when it describes Wendy as a “changeling”, I instantly connect the word to faeries.  I am SO wrong.  Wendy is not a faerie.  She is something much more… interesting.

            Now, on to Finn…  Finn is the first person Wendy trusts, and she would follow him anywhere.  Of course, that has nothing to do with how amazingly attractive she finds him or anything… all I can say is: I would follow him too, honey!  My only real problem with Finn is that his duty always comes first.  I understand that a sense of duty is an important quality, but it needs to have some limits.  If he cares about someone else, then I think there should be more of a struggle to choose between that person and his duty.  Overall, Finn is a very mysterious and alluring character who sucks me in!

            As I first read the premise for Switched, I am hooked.  This book sounds exactly like my type of story, and I really look forward to it.  Not to mention that it even has a beautiful cover!  Let me just say that Switched surpasses all of my original expectations.  Fast paced, intriguing, romantic, and with some characters I can’t help but connect with-- Switched hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until it reaches a cliff hanger ending.  I love how Hocking takes her words and brings to life a magical story and, though a few things are annoying about the characters, the annoyances make them seem human and easier to relate to. 

The Cover:

What can I say about this cover that isn’t completely obvious?  It’s gorgeous.  The castle in the background makes me want to switch places with the girl.  The swirls around the title remind me of the twists and turns of a briar.  The red flowers around the girl contrast with her pure white dress, and I can’t help but wonder if there is a hidden symbol there, purity and blood perhaps?  Or, maybe just a beautiful cover.  Whatever the reasons, the contrast in colors make this one beautiful cover that I am proudly displaying on my bookcase!

I give Switched 5 out of 5 hearts: I loved it!

For more on Amanda Hocking visit her website here: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/

You can purchase Switched here:

31 comments:

  1. The first thing I noticed about that book was the cover, too. It's really one of the most beautiful ones I have come across recently. Nevertheless I'm still not sure if I'd like the story. One the one hand it seems really intrigued and interesting, on the other hand I'm not quite sure if I could get along with a character like Wendy. She seems special, but still a bit like I could not love her. And the main character always is so important for me and decides a lot about whether or not I can like a book.

    But that's a really awesome and honest review though! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah Wendy is a...special... person who takes a while to get along with. I think if you could get past the beginning you would be fine but if not then she would probably just tick you off! I would definitely recommend giving it a try :)

      I'm glad you liked the review Miri!!

      Delete
  2. I have yet to read any of A. Hocking's books, but I have heard a lot about her. Is this one your first or have you read more by her? I would have definitely thought it was about faerie's too! Great review, I'm intrigued:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful review, I enjoyed this novel really much but my favorite part, besides Finn, was how Wendy began to grow from the spoiled princess she was into an actual person in my eyes. Thank you for your opinion!

    Shortskie
    Rondo of a Possible World

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shortskie :) I also liked how Wendy became an actual person!!

      Delete
  4. I haven't read and A. Hocking yet, though I hear great things! Is this your first book or have you read more by her? I would have thought it was about faerie's too! Sound very intriguing! Love the review Lauren:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Heather :) This is my first from her!! She is SO talented!

      Delete
  5. I completely agree that the cover for Switched is beautiful! It was the first reason that I picked it up! Switched is currently on my TBR list! I just had to buy it after reading the summary. I love strong female leads, so it seems I've made the right choice after reading your review. I look forward to seeing Wendy evolving throughout the novel, as well as seeing her relationship with Finn develop ;D

    Thank you for the review! I'm only more glad this is on my book shelf :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ashlee :) Her and Finn's relationship is definitely one to keep an eye on ;)

      I hope you like it as much as I did!!

      Delete
  6. I seriously love the cover too. I own this and Torn but have yet to start them (soon!!!!) I realllly love this cover though: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12994578-switched even though I feel like the red one probably fits the story better. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I cannot wait to read Torn!! I have it sitting on my bookshelf :) I do like that cover too!! The orange butterflies really stand out (=

      Delete
  7. I too absolutely loved Switched! The characters were great, so was the plot.

    It was incredibly unique and you get so involved in the characters' lives!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm in love with these books! All the characters are really great! And Finn, oh Finn... xD lol I wish his duty didn't come first either. =/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah that would elevate him in my mind!! He needs to be more... there! Well maybe he will be in the other books! :)

      Delete
  9. I haven't read Switched yet- but it is on my list. I absolutely adore the cover. The colors are so enticing! I enjoyed your review and it is awesome that the book surpassed your expectations. That make me want to read it even more! Thanks for sharing. :)

    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome! I hope you like it as well (=

      Delete
  10. Whaat? I really thought that this was going to be about faries! Well now I'm even more interested to read it than I was before! (which was very! LOL!). I adored the cover too, and I see that they've been coming out really quickly, so that's also a plus! (even though I haven't had the chance to read them yet ;_;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah I know that threw me through a loop! :D Yeah luckily since they were previously self published they can re-release them faster! YAY! (=

      Delete
  11. Thanks for the great review. I can't wait to read this book!

    ReplyDelete
  12. cover looks beautiful and story too :) I can't wait to read this book

    ReplyDelete
  13. makes me want to read it. sounds like my kind of book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good!! (= I hope you get your hands on it!

      Delete
  14. I love that cover too! I can't wait to see what Wendy turns out to be.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The cover sold me this book, it is absolutely beautiful! I cant wait to read it. Thanks so much for your review, I am just sad to read about the cliffhanger end. I am not particularly fond of those...

    ReplyDelete
  16. It is always so, lets say intriguing, to me how widely varied peoples opinions on books can be. Amanda's novels, not just the Trylle series, are probably the most split down the middle with reviewers. I have rarely read a review that is in the middle. Either people adore them or hate them. It is very confusing to say the least. I read reviews on every book that I pick up, and although I take into consideration what reviewers are saying I still make my own decision on whether to read it or not. Usually. With this series I honestly have no idea which road to take. I love your reviews and they are usually right on target with my views. But there other reviewers whose reviews are the same, and they hated this book. I guess the only thing to be done is to read it and find out which side of the fence I am on. Either way it turns out, thanks for yet another great review.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for the review! I've bought this book a while ago, but still didn't read it... Now it will be one of the next books I will read:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I totally fell in love with Finn in this book too! I really liked it. Have you read the second and third ones though? I didn't like Torn, I started reading it immediately after finishing switched cause I wanted to know what happened, but it was nowhere near as good unfortunately.

    ReplyDelete