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Torn (Trylle Trilogy #2) by Amanda Hocking
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin
Publish Date: February 28, 2012
291 Pages
Source: ARC from Publisher |
When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself–that she’s a changeling switched at birth–she knows her life will never be the same. Now she’s about to learn that there’s more to the story… She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined–and they’ll stop at nothing to lure her to their side.
With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to marry a powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who’s strictly off limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction. Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she’s ever wanted…in both worlds. -(summary from Goodreads.com)
Torn by Amanda Hocking
My Thoughts: Not too long ago, I read and loved Switched by Amanda Hocking. (Read my thoughts here.) Now I’ve read Torn and I’m even more in love with this series than I was before. How is that even possible? I read Torn in a one-sitting, marathon-sprint session of reading that consisted of me practically devouring the book. Now that it is over, I’m once again ravenously hungry for the next book in the series, Ascend.
Here’s the deal with Torn:
1. The Characters. Wendy is back, and she’s a little more fierce this time around after having accepted the idea of her royalty among the Trylle. I like her umph, her new comfort with making decisions and being firm and confidant with her subjects. Finn is also back, but he is a little different. He’s quite standoffish and aloof, and although he has his reasons for this, I can’t say that I like it very much. (I want the old Finn back!)…that being said…
Because the Vittra play a much larger role in this book, we meet some key Vittra characters. We meet King Oren, and he’s really something else…certainly a contrast to Queen Elora. At first, I thought I might be able to like him, but he really plays hard ball where Wendy is concerned. I DO like his wife, Queen Sara, because she seems very kind and balances out King Oren well. Plus she has an interesting past, but no spoilers here. Most of the all new characters, however, I like Loki.
Loki is Markis, which is basically Vittra royalty, but he acts sort of like the King’s unofficial errand boy. He spends part of the book guarding Wendy when she is being held at the King’s home…and another part of the book being held as prisoner at the Trylle Queen Elora’s home. We get to know Loki quite a bit throughout Torn and, well, he’s actually a likable guy even though he’s the enemy. He’s so likable, in fact, that Wendy even starts to warm up to him.
And we can’t forget the charming Markis Tove, next in line for the throne if something should happen to Wendy. Tove takes over teaching Wendy the lessons she began in Switched – things like how to harness and use her powers, the history of the Trylle, etc – and their friendship grows by leaps and bounds. Tove is a great guy and very powerful. He’s a wonderful teacher and character. I found myself liking him more and more too…
2. The Vittra. There is a ton of insight into the Vittra world in Torn and I feel like I understand where they’re coming from much better than I did when they kept showing up randomly in Switched – now, I know why! It kind of makes things WAY more exciting in the action scenes, or at least it did for me. Hocking also takes her time exploring exactly why the Vittra are so interested in Wendy and exactly what it is that they want from her. THIS revelation was shocking to me but made the story so, so much more exciting. It’s big, you guys.
3. The Power. Because Wendy learns more about her role in the Trylle kingdom and exactly how important it is, and because she learns more about the Vittra and what they want with her, and because she learns what her position means to the people she loves – she starts taking her role as Princess much more seriously. This mean, as I mentioned earlier, training hard and heavy with Tove. Wendy is extremely powerful and this is demonstrated over and over in big ways and in little ways in Torn. I adore this part of the troll mythology that Hocking has created and I have all ideas that we’ll see Wendy’s powers play a big role in the third book.
4. The Romance. Oh, this was so frustrating for me! Why?…because I was such a huge fan of Finn in Switched and his character took such an odd turn in Torn. Well, not really odd, but he knows he has to stay away from Wendy because of their EXTREME difference in social class. It breaks Wendy’s heart into a million pieces, you guys, and it breaks my heart too. But with the addition of Loki into the mix, there are certainly other options for her to explore. And there’s always Tove…royalty get together all the time for the sake of the kingdom, right? But what does this mean for LOVE?
I know where the book leaves things as far as Wendy’s relationship goes…but I’m not sure that this is how things will stay. There were some pretty doggone big revelations made throughout the story in terms of these three guys, and I literally cannot imagine what will happen romantically in Ascend. I know what I WANT to happen – who I am pulling for – but I have no idea where the author will take Wendy in terms of romance! It’s frustrating and thrilling and makes for much bookish anticipation, without a doubt.
Torn began where Switched left off, seamlessly and without effort. In the blink of an eye, I was right back in Wendy’s world and I stayed exactly in that place until I finished the book a couple of hours later. There was, I think, more action this time around, and much more going on. Wendy has found her footing and her place in her magical world, and not only is she comfortable with it but I am as well.
The Trylle Trilogy, so far, is solid and exciting. The characters have depth and are colorful. This world is a world that I’d like to visit, and the Wendy from Torn is a gal that I’d like to hang out with for awhile. She’s grown so much from Switched and I love her independence.
These books are just fun, you guys. I want you to read them. They’re easy to read, they flow well, and they’re a good time. I’m hearing this from other readers too – this series seems to grab at people and not let go.
Torn will appeal to fans of:
Troll Mythology!
Strong Characterization with a
Great Secondary Cast of Characters
Great World-Building
Action-Driven Stories
Romance
Torn by Amanda Hocking is currently available for purchase.
**I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion and review. I received no compensation for my thoughts. Thank you St. Martin’s Press!
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
I haven't really explored Amanda Hocking's books but according to your reviews I am seriously missing out!
And OMG troll mythology?? How awesome is that?! Totally adding this to the TBR list ASAP!
This series is nothing but fun and it has completely sucked me into the author's writing. With The Trylle Trilogy, I think I'm pretty much Amanda-Hocking-auto-read from now on. The troll mythology is SO MUCH FUN because I had never read it before. I loved Switched but Torn was just more action, more everything, and I'm having a royal FIT for Ascend.
The AWESOME thing about these books – well, one of the awesome things – is that they're being released in quick succession. So even though Torn just came out this week…Ascend is being released in April. Not THAT long of a wait! I LOVE THAT.
Also, I'm flabbergasted at what Amanda Hocking has been able to do with self/indie publishing and turning it into a huge career for herself. If you're not familiar with what she's done, look her story up. She's got stories in her head like whoa, and has another series starting up this fall. I have literally no imagination at all, I think in part because Hocking got my share, lol.
Stopping by to say HI!
Hello, friend!
Okay, so I skimmed your review because I haven't read book one and I'm absolutely DYING to! So glad to know you're enjoying them thus far and that they're fun reads, that's exactly what I want when I pick a book up! And those covers? STUNNING!
The covers are so beautiful, Jenny! And these books are just so much fun. The troll mythology is different and new to me and I think you'll really like it when you get around to this series.
Great review. I keep hearing so many wondrful things about this author, I really should make more effort to read her work!
I agree, you should! In particular, this trilogy is fantastic. 😉
Ok, I still think Trolls are stupid, BUT I love this review and thus actual want to give these books a chance. Sigh. Stop doing that. My TBR is like 10 miles long AND A LOT OF IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU!! 😀