Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Published: January 3rd 2012 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Switched – the first book in the Trylle Trilogy…

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.

I have had this book on my TBR for a while now. I mostly enjoyed the first book in the Kanin Chronicles, so I was expecting to enjoy this one as well since it is set in the same world. However, I was mostly disappointed with this book and I felt like I had to really push myself through most of the book.

I didn’t really care much for any of the characters. I felt like the MC, Wendy, wasn’t a very interesting character and I really struggled to care about what happened to her. I feel like she was a very whiny character and I constantly felt the need to just slap her a bit. She was constantly pessimistic, to the point of annoyance. I also didn’t see the romance between her and Finn. There was absolutely no spark between them and I really don’t understand what she saw in him because he was constantly acting ice cold to her and was pretty closed off from her. He didn’t really tell her anything and he constantly gave her the cold shoulder.

I didn’t really like Finn as a character in general. As mentioned, he was pretty closed off and cold toward all the other characters. We didn’t see much depth to him as a character and I feel like we needed to see a lot more from him before I could have shipped him with Wendy.

I also struggled plot wise. Most of the book sort of plodded along at a pretty slow pace and not a lot happened. Between not much happening and constantly being cut off from information from Finn, Elora etc. I struggled to really want to read this book. Much like Frostfire, not enough information was given to the reader to make it interesting.

Having said that, the ending earned a star on its own. It definitely picked up the pace with the short scene at the end and I was so glad that there was something good to say about this book. I liked the pace of the ending and the way in which the characters really started to come together as a whole, rather than staying pretty separate the way that they did throughout the book. We got to see a couple of the characters really come into their element with the end scene.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book, which is a shame because it has been on my TBR for such a long time. I am hoping that the series will pick up for me in the second book! I gave this book 2/5 stars.

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Published: January 6th 2015 by St. Martin Griffin

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who’s determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

So, I recently created a jar in which I put all the titles of books that I own into so that I didn’t have to decide what to read next – because we all know how indecisive I can be sometimes. This is a book that I have had on my shelf for a long while now, so I am glad that it was the first book that I picked out! However, having said that, I was somewhat disappointed with the way this book turned out.

I loved Bryn as a character. She is strong, she doesn’t take anything from anyone (not even her parents) and she has no issues being fierce. She does have character flaws, which make her relatable, but as a whole, she was a great character.

I also really enjoyed Ridley’s character. We see more and more depth to him emerge as the book continues on and we find out more about him and his past. I liked the way his character developed throughout and I am looking forward to seeing the way that his character develops as the series continues. He has many flaws in a lot of areas, but he definitely tries to do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always get it right.

I would have liked to have seen more of Konstantin. We see him briefly at the beginning as he sets certain events into motion and after that we only see him a handful of times. I feel like this book needed more information to be revealed on him as to why he was doing certain things and what exactly he is all about because he is such a huge player within this series.

This book did feel dragged out. I think it needed more information on Konstantin and the events that were going on for it to not feel as long and dragged out as it did. The pacing felt a bit off, which also didn’t help with the dragged out feeling.

I also wasn’t feeling it with the romance. I did not ship the ship that was trying to sail and I honestly believe that Bryn will end up with someone else. I’m sorry if this sounds a little vague, but I don’t want to give away too many spoilers for people who want to read this series, but haven’t yet. I have a theory with who she will end up with in the end and I am looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.

All in all, whilst I mostly enjoyed this book, I do feel like there were certain aspects that needed to be worked on. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how this series pans out. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back here and link me up in the comments so that I and others can see what you picked! 

Hey guys! I hope you all had a fab weekend! I am writing this post Monday morning rather than sunday evening (as is my usual ritual) because I was reading last night and got so into the book that I was reading, that I actually forgot to write this post! *Facepalm* So… better late than never!

Freeks by Amanda Hocking

Published: January 3rd 2017 by St. Martins Griffin

In a world of magical visions and pyrokinesis, Mara just wants to have a normal life. But is that possible?

Mara has become used to the extraordinary. Roaming from place to place with Gideon Davorin’s Traveling Carnival, she longs for an ordinary life where no one has the ability to levitate or predict the future.

She gets her chance when the struggling sideshow sets up camp in the small town of Caudry and she meets a gorgeous local guy named Gabe. But before long, Mara realizes there’s a dark presence lurking in the town that’s threatening the lives of her friends. She has seven days to take control of a power she didn’t know she had in order to save everyone she cares about—and change the future forever.

March Wrap Up

Hey guys! It is that time of month again to look back on everything I have read this month! I feel like I disliked more book than I actually liked… so I guess we shall see!

Read: 

Caraval by Stephanie Garber – 5/5 stars

Dark Dreams and Dead Things by Martina McAtee – 5/5 stars

Rebel’s Blade by Frost Kay, ARC copy, DNF – 2/5 stars

Garden of Thorns by Amber Mitchell, ARC copy – 4/5 stars

The Revenge by Hannah Jayne, ARC copy – 2/5 stars

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon, DNF – 1/5 stars

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee, DNF – 1/5 stars

Death Knock by Miranda Hardy and Jay Noel, Review Copy, DNF – 1/5 stars

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 5/5 stars

Long My She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas – 3/5 stars

Eternity Fades by Katelyn Anderson – Beta Read 

Acquired:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Bought, physical

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas – Bought, physical

Ravenfrost by Tracy Renae – ARC (Author) Kindle

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber – ARC (Netgalley) Kindle

Dark Dreams and Dead Things by Martina McAtee – Review copy (author)

Rebel’s Blade by Frost Kay – ARC (Author)

Garden of Thorns by Amber Mitchell – ARC (Netgalley) Kindle

The Revenge by Hannah Jayne – ARC (Netgalley) Kindle

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon – Bought, Kindle

Death Knocks by Miranda Hardy and Jay Noel, Review copy (Netgalley)

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – Bought, Physical

Asylum by Madeleine Roux . Bought, Physical

Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger – Bought, Physical

Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger – Bought, Physical

Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking – Bought, Physical

Goodreads Monday:

March 6th – Creeper Man by Dawn Kurtagich

March 13th – Black City by Elizabeth Richards

March 20th – Conversion by Katherine Howe

March 27th – Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Special Posts: 

Cover Reveal – Illusionary by Desiree Williams

The Black Cat Blue Sea Award

 

 

 

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR pile and show it off – don’t forget to link back here! If enough people take part I will add a link up to it! Don’t forget to link me up if you do participate so that I can check them out!

Hey guys! Can you believe it is almost the end of July? Seriously? Where is this year going! Anyway, this weeks Goodreads Monday is a book that I don’t even remember adding to my TBR! However, I have just been reunited with it and it looks great!

FrostFire by Amanda Hocking

Published: January 6th 2015 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who’s determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

I absolutely love that cover! Also, the premise drew me it – easy to see why I added it to my TBR whenever I added it! Definitely going to keep this book on my radar the next time I am ordering books from Amazon?

By the way, now that I have wifi, I am looking to keep my Facebook page more updated so please please check it out? Maybe hit the like button whilst you are at it? You can find it here!

What books are on your TBR? Feel free to leave comments!