Book Review: Torn by Amanda Hocking

Title: Torn
Series: Book 2 in the Trylle Trilogy
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Originally Self-Published)
Release Date: February 28th, 2012 (Today!)
Source: Publisher
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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.

"Torn is a fast-paced, fun read told in an easy, flowing writing style!"

What an improvement upon Torn's predecessor, Switched. Amanda really amped up the stakes with the second installment in the Trylle Trilogy. Not only is everything switched into hyper focus, Amanda manages  to make it feel as though the reader starts off right where they left off in Switched. Her writing style is familiar and simple, and I could just slip right into the plot without any problem!

 Wendy is seriously an awesome, kick-butt female character! It's so refreshing to have a heroine who isn't jelly and putty in her love interest's hands, and I thought the tortured relationship of Wendy and Finn was perfectly done and undeniably taut and electric. I was on pins and needles the entire novel, until that epic climax of their tortured romance that was blazing!

 I also loved how Amanda focused on the relationship between Elora and Wendy in this second installment. It was nice to get to know the seemingly heartless birth mother of Wendy, but certain moments in the book were truly heartwarming and perfectly done.

 The action is, as it was in Switched, vivid and totally edge-of-your-seat material! This book lacked that certain moment of pure and intense hand-to-hand combat that Switched had, but there were perilous chapter cliffhangers that made the ability to put Torn down next  to impossible.

 Torn is different from Switched. The action is not as present as is relationships and the exploration of Wendy's future as Queen. I liked getting to know all the characters more, and how Amanda set up the battlefield for the final novel, Ascend. Don't expect explosions and guns in Torn, but expect moments of delicious passion, vivid emotions, and a climatic build up to what I expect will be an epic conclusion