Review: SWITCHED by Amanda Hocking

 

Rating: 2/5 stars

This book—in fact, this whole trilogy—has been sitting unread on my shelf for over a decade, and 2023 is finally the year I get to remove it from my TBR. 

The first thing I noticed while reading is that this book has very plain writing. It’s certainly fast-paced and entertaining, but it’s also full of overused tropes (although they probably weren’t as overused when this book was originally published). You have the girl who’s not like other girls who’s also secretly a princess soon-to-be-Queen over a whole kingdom, and let’s not forget she has a hidden special ability that’s going to help save her people. And of course, there’s also the hot guy who’s not like other guys who she falls in love with. We have all read this story many times before. The difference here is that she secretly belongs to a tribe of trolls called the Trylle. I don’t think I’ve read a troll book before. 

Switched is extremely insta-lovey. Like I’ve never read a book with more overt and quick insta-love than this one, and I’ve read a lot of books. Wendy chooses to leave her family and follow Finn, whom she hasn’t had more than three interactions with, into Trylle, and she comments how she’s happy she can spend her life with him. Like girl, get to know him first. 

I probably would have enjoyed this book a decade ago when I actually acquired the book, but now as a twenty-something adult with a lot more books under my belt, Switched just feels amateurish and cliche to me. It also doesn’t really hold up in today’s market as I encountered a handful of phrases and descriptions that would be deemed either offensive or outdated in today’s society. 

Overall, I can’t really recommend this book. It sounds like I’m bashing it pretty hard, but it’s not a bad book for its time, and I’m sure I would have loved it had I read it back in high school when it was published. However, it doesn’t hold up in 2023, nor does it align with my current reading tastes. I’m glad I at least read Switched though because I felt like I would be doing a disservice to my sixteen-year-old self if I didn’t read it after having owned it for so long; however, I will not be continuing with this series.