Switched (The Trylle Trilogy Bk.1)
I don't usually give bad reviews but when I do, I feel downright horrible because I know a lot of work goes into the process of writing and publishing a book. That being said, all that hard work just didn't show in the end product of Switched and I was displeased to say the least.
Switched had so much potential of being something great. The originality of the fantastical creatures portrayed (Trolls) is one I've never read before, and I was excited by the concept of something different! But it was downplayed and went from being something of interest to just plain boring.
For the first book in a fantasy trilogy, I'm looking for adventure and action with some romance and beautiful descriptive writing, but I'm sorry to say I got very little of each. Especially the writing, the dialogue was poorly written and I found myself thinking that these characters had no personality that surpassed bland.
And what's with the lack of remorse after Wendy left her family?! She didn't put up a fight at all! Her brother saved her from being killed by her mother and he basically took care of her her whole life and all you have to say is that you feel bad and he must be worried? I mean come on! Where is the depth and longing and home sickness? You don't just leave your family because some attractive guy comes to you and tell you you should because you belong elsewhere!
Where is the attempt to research what he said you are? Why didn't you look for a different source or question him harder? You can tell I was already frustrated and I wasn't even a quarter of the way through!
After arriving at the castle and finding out who her true mother is and what it took for her to become a changeling, I still wasn't very convinced of the Trylle heritage. I felt information was just thrown at me in a sort of 'seeing is believing' way and it happened very quickly as Wendy just believed everything right off the bat and went to sleep in her new bed with little emotion... WHAT?!!
After that the story just went in circles like a dog chasing it's tail. It was at a standstill for a ridiculous amount of chapters!! How long can you train a person to act and react in a proper manner fit for a princess?!! I blame the editing department on this point
The love between Finn and Wendy felt fake and forced, as Wendy left her family it only took her two weeks to reach the point of saying she was in love with Finn without having much communication or time spent to fall in love with his true self as it seems she only loved his appearance. And good lord! If I hear the word 'foxy' one more time I'd go insane!! There is a book called a dictionary and it's filled with other profound adjectives that could be used to describe a man's appearance! Anyway, there was simply no significant factors that shows how her likeness blossomed into love.
Ok let's define the characters:
The protagonist, Wendy came up really short in the definition of the word. I found her character lacking in most areas where a protagonist shows some form of strength. I didn't relate to or like her at ALL and it's terribly sad when that happens, because I love feeling an emotional connection, especially with the main character. But Wendy basically annoyed me at various points and I found myself rolling my eyes and sighing with frustration over a very immature character that showed no growth development whatsoever. I was really disappointed in her character more so than the decline of the plot.
Finn
Stoic and robotic. His dialogue was just written to show his presence, there wasn't any passion behind his words, He was just a boy created on a page :(
Tove is the only character I found interesting. His demeanor showed through his actions and words and he was the only character that stood out because of that. His power of telekinesis and the way in which he spoke about the Trylle people fascinated me as he was bored of it all and wanted change. He actually gave me the history I wanted to hear. I would like to see more of him as the trilogy continues.
In the end, this book basically just straddled the borderline on tolerable for me and sorry to say I don't recommend it, especially if you're a huge fan of fantasy.
I am sorry to all the readers who loves this book. This is just MY opinion and it is an honest one. I respect your passion as a reader or reviewer and in turn I hope you respect mine :)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Switched had so much potential of being something great. The originality of the fantastical creatures portrayed (Trolls) is one I've never read before, and I was excited by the concept of something different! But it was downplayed and went from being something of interest to just plain boring.
For the first book in a fantasy trilogy, I'm looking for adventure and action with some romance and beautiful descriptive writing, but I'm sorry to say I got very little of each. Especially the writing, the dialogue was poorly written and I found myself thinking that these characters had no personality that surpassed bland.
And what's with the lack of remorse after Wendy left her family?! She didn't put up a fight at all! Her brother saved her from being killed by her mother and he basically took care of her her whole life and all you have to say is that you feel bad and he must be worried? I mean come on! Where is the depth and longing and home sickness? You don't just leave your family because some attractive guy comes to you and tell you you should because you belong elsewhere!
Where is the attempt to research what he said you are? Why didn't you look for a different source or question him harder? You can tell I was already frustrated and I wasn't even a quarter of the way through!
After arriving at the castle and finding out who her true mother is and what it took for her to become a changeling, I still wasn't very convinced of the Trylle heritage. I felt information was just thrown at me in a sort of 'seeing is believing' way and it happened very quickly as Wendy just believed everything right off the bat and went to sleep in her new bed with little emotion... WHAT?!!
After that the story just went in circles like a dog chasing it's tail. It was at a standstill for a ridiculous amount of chapters!! How long can you train a person to act and react in a proper manner fit for a princess?!! I blame the editing department on this point
The love between Finn and Wendy felt fake and forced, as Wendy left her family it only took her two weeks to reach the point of saying she was in love with Finn without having much communication or time spent to fall in love with his true self as it seems she only loved his appearance. And good lord! If I hear the word 'foxy' one more time I'd go insane!! There is a book called a dictionary and it's filled with other profound adjectives that could be used to describe a man's appearance! Anyway, there was simply no significant factors that shows how her likeness blossomed into love.
Ok let's define the characters:
The protagonist, Wendy came up really short in the definition of the word. I found her character lacking in most areas where a protagonist shows some form of strength. I didn't relate to or like her at ALL and it's terribly sad when that happens, because I love feeling an emotional connection, especially with the main character. But Wendy basically annoyed me at various points and I found myself rolling my eyes and sighing with frustration over a very immature character that showed no growth development whatsoever. I was really disappointed in her character more so than the decline of the plot.
Finn
Stoic and robotic. His dialogue was just written to show his presence, there wasn't any passion behind his words, He was just a boy created on a page :(
Tove is the only character I found interesting. His demeanor showed through his actions and words and he was the only character that stood out because of that. His power of telekinesis and the way in which he spoke about the Trylle people fascinated me as he was bored of it all and wanted change. He actually gave me the history I wanted to hear. I would like to see more of him as the trilogy continues.
In the end, this book basically just straddled the borderline on tolerable for me and sorry to say I don't recommend it, especially if you're a huge fan of fantasy.
I am sorry to all the readers who loves this book. This is just MY opinion and it is an honest one. I respect your passion as a reader or reviewer and in turn I hope you respect mine :)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️