Torn by Amanda Hocking

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Tor

Pages: 352pgs

The Story

The second book in this page-turning trilogy from the phenomenal Amanda Hocking.

Acknowledging that she was different from everyone else wasn't difficult for Wendy Everly - she'd always felt like an outsider. But a new world and new family is hard for any girl to accept easily.

Leaving behind the mysterious country of her birth, she is determined to fit back into normal life. But the world she's left behind won't let her go that easily. Kidnapped and imprisoned by her true family's enemies, Wendy soon learns that the lines between good and evil aren't as defined as she thought. And those things she'd taken for granted may have been lies all along. With the help of the dangerously attractive Loki, she escapes back to the safety of Forening - only to be confronted by a new threat.

It's time to make a choice - can she put aside her personal feelings for the sake of her country? Torn between duty and love she must make a choice that could destroy her one chance at true happiness.

The Review

A big thanks to Macmillan for sending me a review copy of this book!

In the second installment of the Trylle trilogy, we reunite back with the main character Wendy and with this new world she is slowly coming to grips with as she goes. In the previous novel Switched, we met a young and sometimes-naive Wendy, a simple girl who'd thought she had everything she could possibly want in her life; a wonderful and loving mother and an equally loving and overprotective older brother. Life couldn't get better for her. However, at the tender age of six, her seemingly so perfect mother tried to kill her with a kitchen knife and eleven years later, Wendy soon discovers the real truth behind her heritage and why her mother claimed she wasn't her daughter . . . because she's not human after all. In fact, she's a changeling who had been switched at birth with her "mother's" true child - she can also be known as a Trylle or a Troll - and not only that, she's also the true heir to the Trylle throne, with her real mother being the Queen of the entire Trylle kingdom. But with Wendy facing forbidden love shared between her and her protector, Finn, and with her trying her best in staying within the boundaries of what is expected and what is not of her royal blood, will Wendy ever find true happiness or must she sacrifice everything for her kingdom, even herself?

When it comes down to this sequel I have to say this book was such a vast improvement compared to the first book, Switched. I absolutely enjoyed the first installment but the author, Amanda Hocking, has certainly made sure to put up the stakes higher than ever before and ensure all of her readers feel an assortment of feelings and emotions throughout the book. Some more frustrating than others. But what I mostly appreciated about this brilliant work of Hocking's is her flowing and simplistic writing style - the way you never get confused and you can just simply slip right into her world without any issues presented. And I totally loved that!

As for the characters, some readers will remember our main heroine Wendy. While Wendy was a different sort of girl before you truly came to know her - because from before she was sometimes ignorant, selfish and she was always not thinking about her own actions - but I can definitely ease people's worries regarding her character because she has grown up so much in this sequel and bringing back her seriously awesome kick-butt side. Instead of allowing her love interest to take full control of her, she finally stood on her ground and threw out her own opinions, and she's now fully aware of what is expected of her which was awesome for her sake. However, Wendy is still conflicted when it comes to her fierce love and attraction for Finn. Oh Finn . . . how we love you so, so much! Finn is absolutely my favourite character even though he's so frustrating for the majority of this book. He may be a lovesick puppy (sad but true) what with those big beautiful eyes, and while you can clearly tell he cares - and loves - deeply for Wendy, but despite that, Finn still manages to put aside his own personal feelings with that bold and strong personality of his, and because of that factor it adds some rationality to the book that makes you fall in love even harder for him. Without spoiling the book, I won't say too much about what happens between Finn and Wendy but oh Finn . . . my heart goes out to you.

Now unlike in the first book, Switched, what gave this sequel a completely different vibe to it was how Hocking focused more on the relationship between mother and daughter, between Elora and Wendy. For those who've read the first book, readers could feel the intensity between these two main characters and you always wondered whether they would ever get along. Thankfully they have formed a stronger bond in this sequel and not only that but they have formed some respect for one another, despite all the troubled times they have faced in the past and in the present. For once it was nice to know the heartless mother had a heart after all and for Wendy's sake I was glad to see those too make up before things got really complicated for them both.

Overall, TORN was a delightful sequel and it brings readers far more deeper into the world Amanda Hocking has cleverly created. Filled with marvelous action scenes, fantastic set of characters and a forbidden love with all those little heartbreaks that comes along with it, TORN will entertain you on all sorts of levels and is one hell of ride too. I'll definitely be looking out for the last book, Ascend, which comes out soon because I'm sure as hell excited to read it!

The Rating 4 1/2 / 5 stars