SWITCHED by Amanda Hocking

Rating: 3.5 / 5

I had originally picked up SWITCHED by Amanda Hocking for a book challenge category after seeing it recommended. I wound up not needing it for a challenge, but still had the book on my shelf so decided to add it to my TBR. The book’s blurb mentions an attempted murder and frightening new world so it sounded October appropriate.

Wendy Everly’s mother was convinced that Wendy was not her daughter. She was so convinced that Wendy was switched with her actual son at birth that she attempts to kill Wendy on her sixth birthday. When Wendy is seventeen, she is shocked to learn that her mother was actually right. Wendy is a changeling, a Trylle (aka troll) baby switched at birth with a human to be raised until coming of age at which point the changeling is summoned home to reintegrate into Trylle society.

When Wendy returns to the world of the Trylle she learns that she is not only a troll, but she is also the princess who will one day rule over this world she knows nothing about. She is put into training to learn her place in this new world. Not everyone is happy at her return and there are dangers, both physical and emotional to battle.

This was an entertaining read with a unique premise, though I think it was maybe a YA novel that read a bit younger than I would have preferred. I found the author’s concept of the Trylle world and how they use the human world to raise their young to be a very interesting concept, but I think I would have liked to get a bit more world building to get a better sense of the actual Trylle society. As this is book one in a trilogy, that may be something that gets more fleshed out as the series continues.

Wendy’s emotions were a bit hard to read at times. After her “mother” attempted to kill her at six, Wendy was raised by her aunt and her older brother. While she has initial reservations about leaving them behind, I felt that she got over the loss of the only family and world she had ever known a little too easily.

Overall this was a fun read and I definitely am curious to see where the story goes in the subsequent Trylle novels!