Switched (The Trylle Trilogy Book 1)
First off, how great is this cover?! I didn't buy this book, but would have even if it hadn't had been given to me. It's so very alluring.
You know how teenagers tend to feel as though they don't belong and are an alien in their own family? Well usually they are just being all hypochondriacs, but not Wendy, no siree. You see, she belongs to the Trylle (I like to pronounce it Tyrell because I'm a big Game of Throne fan, but whatevs). Anyway, the Trylle are these kind of magical troll beings, who do not look like trolls, but like to switch their children with human babies at birth and have them raised in wealthy and abundant households. Creepy, I know. Once they reach adulthood, they're brought back to the Förening, which is their hometown of sorts. Wendy doesn't want to go, but she does, and she meets some kick-arse characters who help her deal with the life she never knew existed, nor wants. I quite liked the story line and the characters were all pretty believable and all that good stuff. Quite an easy read, with lots of potential ships. I am back in my hometown, which doesn't really count as a town apparently, more like a village, which I don't even live in, 'cause we have a farm, or two, whatevs. Anyway, the point is that we don't have a library *sobs* but once a week, the mobile library comes and they have the rest of the series and I am trying to get onto them so that they will bring the rest for me. Stay tuned. :) Rate: 7/10 Got it from: My cousin for my birthday (back in January) Recommended if: You are a ship-aholic |
Torn (The Trylle Trilogy Book 2)The second book in the Trylle series.
It picks up where Switched left off. Wendy takes her manks, Rhys (the human that she was switched with at birth) and returns to her host family. Rooky error apparently. The Vittra (enemy trolls) come and kidnap her, Rhys and Matt (her host brother). There she meets Loki, a mysterious royal that shouldn't be helping her, but is. Cue the heroic breakout by ex-lover Finn and powerful Tove. Home not so sweet home, Wendy is beginning to realise that she may have completely misjudged her mother, the Queen. As the secrets behind her icy composure are revealed, Wendy starts to take everything happening to her and her people very really. So much that she is willing to do the one thing she swore she never would, to protect the people she didn't even know existed only months ago. Plus, her powers are getting hella strong! Want to know them? Read the book...! Rate: 8/10 Genre: YA/fantasy fiction Format: Paperback Pages: 314 Favourite Part: Star Wars Allusions. Heck yes |
Ascend (The Trylle Trilogy Book 3)
I have déja vu reviewing this book as I spent twenty minutes in the car yesterday explaining it and it's prequels to my Mum and best friend.
There are the three boys in this trilogy vying for her attention; Finn (who never tried), Rhys (her manks) and Loki (the Vittra). So what does Wendy go and do? She marries Tove. The one boy who has never been interested in her, or she him. However, she does it for the good of her people and Tove is a kind and caring husband who is powerful and a good king. Wendy does her best to save her people from the conniving Vittra king while her mother, the Queen of Tyrell fades away to nothing. Begin married doesn't stop her from being in the biggest love triangle (more like square) I've ever seen though. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and LOVED how Hocking tied everything up beautifully, ribbons included. Rate: 8/10 Genre: YA fantasy fiction Format: Paperback Pages: 326 Got it from: The mobile library |
Frostfire (The Kanin Chronicles Book 1)
I have recently been craving a fantasy world where the main character already knows the ins and outs of every day life. Mostly though they follow the protagonist who is only just finding out about that world and then you get to go on the journey together, but I was so excited to see that the Kanin series is told by Bryn who grew up in Doldastam, the capital city of the Kanin people. I was first introduced to this world when I read the Trylle series which is centred around Wendy, the heir to the Trylle throne. They are all pretty much a bunch of petite trolls who hail from Scandinavia.
Gah I'm doing a not very great explanation but give me a break because I had surgery only a few days ago... Okay, where was I? Right, well pretty much you get to see the opposite side of the world in Frostfire. Bryn is a tracker and her job is to find the changelings (troll children which they switched at birth with human children) and bring them back to the community. And so yeah, she does that, and she also has this guy who she used to love, but now hates that she is trying to capture and yeah... Wow, sorry. I really wished that we could have seen more of what it takes to be a tracker, and I would have loved if the whole book was just Bryn tracking Linus. I almost missed the powers that the Trylle had, and found that without them the story was lacking. But hey, a visit from Tove *waves* made things a bit better for a little while. I adore fictional settings in winter wonderlands, so the location of Doldastam was simply perfect! I felt that this book was very similar to Switched and the rest as not a lot was going on. I mean the pace is cracking and you don't get bored or anything, but it's super simple and there aren't a huge amount of plot developments. On one hand I like this because the romance is always developing slowly, but on the other hand you kind of finish and go, okay... But I've already started the sequel and am enjoying it! Rate: 6.5/10 Pages: 300 Format: Paperback Genre: YA Fantasy Acquired from: Kerrod for my birthday (Thanks Ked!) Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • IMAGINE DRAGONS!! • They like new things, but don't use them?? • Totes knew she was preggers!! |
Ice Kissed (The Kanin Chronicles Book 2)
Well that just happened... GAH! Coming off a book high right now and it's not pretty. *breathes deeply*
Ice Kissed is the second book in the Kanin series, and I enjoyed it so much more than the first. There was a lot more plot development, and stuff going on. I mean, shit got real. Bryn is off to Storvatten, the land of the Skorjare, which holds half her heritage. She has befriended the young Queen and is honoured to have been chosen to offer council on the Skojare's guard system. But what is unfolding around her is a huge web of secrets and conspiracy which puts Bryn and her loved ones in huge peril. The romance was amazing and passionate, being largely forbidden, with hints of interests from third parties, but no god-damn awful love triangle! *cheers* I adored the adventure to Lake Isolera (isn't that just the smoothest to say?!), but so wish that it had have lasted longer. Actually, the way the kingdom and people revolved around water (which I'm a big fan of) was epic and so enjoyable. I literally just spent the last two hours reading it instead of doing my assignment and I regret nothing. It was gripping and even though I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen, I still screamed and cried and hit my pillow when it did. All round, I found Ice Kissed to be a great sequel which I couldn't put down, and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the final book. Rate: 7.5/10 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Genre: YA Fantasy Acquired from: Pan McMillan Publishing Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • Nothing personal of his to track but they have his hair...? • I wish the adventures lasted longer than a chapter... • "Its like asking for specific directions to Narnia." "You just go through the wardrobe to get to Narnia. That's pretty specific." - pg 41 • Oh Mikko *love hearts* • He's going to die, I just know it! *sad face* • I EFFING KNEW IT *angry face* *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* |
Crystal Kingdom (The Kanin Chronicles Book 3)
Okay, wow.
Book 1- Cool. Book 2- This is like, getting epic! Book 3- HOLY FREAKING HEKK! AMAZING!!!!! I mean, is that enough to explain my feelings for this book? No?! Okay, well here goes... From page one I was hooked, and not just 'Oh I think I'd like to keep reading', but "Wait, did I just read 100 pages while I was taking a five minute study break?' and 'I'll stop reading at 1.30, okay 2.00, fine 2.30, crap it's almost 3.00!' and "Good night parents, I'm off to bed" "But Jem, it's only 7.30..." "And?!? My book awaits!". Painting a good enough picture yet?! It was addicting, and any reservations or issues I had with the first two books didn't exist here. I was so engaged and god-damned invested that it really isn't normal, and I should probably see someone... What actually happened in the book you ask?! Well my friends, that is a bit hard to say considering its, you know, the final book! But fine, I'll try and describe it without spoiling the intensity that is this Crystal Kingdom! Bryn is on the run after being framed for an act of treason which she didn't commit. Her whole world has been tipped upside down and pulled inside out. Now she is allying with the man who tried to kill her father, and seeking aid from the most brutal of the troll kingdoms in order to save her own tribes'. But in doing so, will she end up destroying them, or hurting those she loves?! And of course, the romance! I was so, so, so happy with the romance in Crystal Kingdom. It was near damn perfect! In the Trylle series the couple I shipped didn't end up together, and I was so terrified that it would happen again in this book... but it didn't! They're totes a canon now! Who is, you ask?! Not telling, I say! I felt that the content was a lot more mature than some YA fantasy, which was so refreshing! Not one single character, (okay maybe one, but she was meant to) irked me. I had such strong emotions for so many of the characters, and found that I could really relate and connect with them. This of course led to some screaming, crying and asking myself WHY?!!?!!?!! when the shit started to get very real. It's still hard to talk about, and I'm not giving spoilers so don't even bother asking. Just don't expect to go to sleep straight after finishing it, or think that you will get out without any emotional scaring. You've been warned! Rate: 9/10 Pages: 422 Format: Paperback Genre: YA Fantasy Acquired from: Pan Macmillan Publishing Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book) • "When they'd first been assigned to her [Tilda], I'd heard the recruits snickering about how easy they'd gotten it because she was pregnant and a girl. None of them were snickering now." -pg 247 • "If we had been attacked, I imagined her [Lisbet] still dancing to the music, like the orchestra that had played on as the Titanic sank." -pg 278 •*2 hours after I finished the book and went to bed* ...What even is life... • I HAD A DREAM WHERE I WAS AS BAD-ARSE AS BRYN! It was awesome!! *I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own* Q & A with author Amanda Hocking!!! 1. What inspired you to create the world behind the Kanin series? The Kanin series is a spinoff of my previous trilogy, the Trylle, and both of them were inspired by Scandinavian folklore about trolls as beautiful, cunning, and ill-tempered. With the Trylle, I showed the world from the point of view of the aristocracy, but with the Kanin, I wanted to showcase the world from view of someone who grew up in it, fighting in the trenches. I was also really inspired by a trip I took Canada and Alaska, and the beauty and magic of the landscape. I also took inspiration from the works of Alexandre Dumas, particularly The Three Musketeers, which was one of my favourite stories growing up. 2. How do you choose the names for your characters? With the characters in the Kanin Chronicles, I looked at popular and historical names from Scandinavia, which is how names like Tilda and Linnea were chosen. I also went with a more typical spelling for names, so I chose Viktor vs Victor and Konstantin vs Constantine. And some names I chose just because I liked, like Ember. Ridley was named after the director Ridley Scott, who has made so many of my favourite films, like Blade Runner, Alien, and Legend. 3. Do you ship any of your characters with characters from other fictional works? If so, who? I hadn’t really thought of it before. But I think Bryn would have a lot of fun with Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow, and I think Ember would have a huge crush on Hermione Granger. I’d also be interested in seeing what trouble Konstantin would get into if he paired with Poison Ivy from Batman. |