Review - Torn (Trylle, Book 2) by Amanda Hocking (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1250006325
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Trylle series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is the second book in the Trylle trilogy. This was a decent book. This series is entertaining enough, but nothing super creative or special. Readers who love YA paranormal books will probably like this series.

Wendy has tried to escape the Trylle and their drama by returning home. When she, Matt, and Rhys are kidnapped by the Vittra she finds herself in the thick of things. Enter Loki a Vittra who helps Wendy and crew...he also makes things a lot more complicated. Will Wendy finally decide to take on her responsibilities as a Trylle princess or will she follow her heart?

This is a pretty typical YA paranormal book. Wendy has multiple love interests, all of which she is torn up over. She has to choose between love and duty. It is all a bit cliched but decently done nonetheless. My problem with this book is that it doesn't really have anything to set it apart from a million other YA paranormal books out there. Yes, it is about trolls...but the way they are treated you could be reading about fairies and not know the difference. I do love that it is set in Minnesota, but was a bit disappointed that this never really influences the story or features in it.

If you enjoyed the first book you will probably enjoy this one. We get to learn a ton about the history between the Trylle and the Vittra, and what a complicated and convoluted past it is! We meet some new characters; most notably Loki (one of the Vittra) with his cutting sense of humor and daring.

This book starts out action packed and then kind of turns into dramatic filler. Yes, we need to learn these things to back up the story and some of them are interesting. My problem is I never found this story really compelling. Wendy could have been any one of hundreds of other YA heroines; she never really distinguishes herself to me and I have trouble keeping her separate from other YA heroines I've read about. Wendy constantly thinks she wants Finn, but Finn is pretty much a jerk to her most of the book. There is a lot of "I love him, I hate him" going on between him and Wendy...this is great for those who love that kind of thing, but I am not a fan.

The book is well-written, easy to read, and natural sounding. It's a decent read and somewhat entertaining. It just didn't feel like anything special to me; when I was done I wasn't desperately wanting to read more, I was just kind of like "Huh, okay well on to a different book."

Overall a decent continuation of this series. Those who loved the first book will most likely love this one. I am having a bit of trouble with this series because it just seems like such a typical paranormal YA novel; the Trylle are a lot like fairies, Wendy isn't all that unique or interesting, and there is a lot of teenage drama/romance. I did like learning some of the background behind the Trylle and Vittra; I also enjoyed Loki as a new character (he has more personality then all of the other characters put together). If you read the first book and enjoyed it go ahead and read this one. If you want an action packed YA series with a touch of romance check out Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa ,The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver, or Mythos Academy by Jennifer Estep..I think all of these are better paranormal YA than this book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Switched (Trylle Trilogy, Book 1) by Amanda Hocking

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal
Size: 320 pages
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: Jan. 24th 2011
ISBN:  978-125006317
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Trylle trilogy
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Trylle trilogy by Hocking.  It was a fun and engaging read about something you don't usually get to read about, Trolls.  Great start to this series.

Wendy's mother tried to kill her when she was a little girl, so now she is being raised by her aunt and brother.  At seventeen years old she still doesn't fit in and people seem to automatically dislike her; then Finn enters her life and tells her that she is a Trylle.  Now Wendy is entering a world she never knew existed and she's not sure if it is any better than the world she left behind.

The story was very engaging and the characters well done.  It was fun to read about something other than werewolves, fairies, and vampires for once; Wendy is a Trylle or troll.  There wasn't a ton of high school angst in this book, Wendy is off to the Trylles pretty quickly, so I enjoyed that.

Wendy is a complicated character who is dealing with a lot of emotional trauma since her mother tried to kill her and she has so much trouble fitting in with other people.  I liked how independent she was and how willing she was to accept the big changes that happened in her life.

Finn was a wonderful and mysterious male lead.  It bothered me some that his relationship was so on and off again with Wendy and that his personality changed so much.  Despite that I still look forward to learning more about him in future books.

The book was engaging and well written; basically a fun light read.  The ending is a total cliffhanger though and that was pretty irritating.  Luckily the next book is already out, so you if you like this book, be ready to read the next book ASAP.

Overall this was a fun and engaging read.  I loved the creativity of having trolls as the main paranormal element.  The characters were all well done and fun to read about.  I recommend this book for people who enjoy young adult paranormal books.  Just beware that it ends on a cliffhanger without much resolution.  I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, Torn (A Trylle Novel).

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge