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Switched is a book I'd rather forget I've ever read, and there aren't many books I'd say that about. It was so bad that to this day I can rant about it as if I've just read it yesterday, and I've been too afraid to pick up another Hocking book since.
I got this book because of the cover. I was struck with how beautiful it was, saw the summery was up my alley and my friends liked it, so it became an instant buy. But yeah, mostly cause it's supper beautiful. #Shallow
Tay-Tay knows her stuff...
Despite this fact, I had really high hopes, for all the above reasons. The last thing I thought would happen would be the intense hatred I felt toward this book. But why did I hate it? The short version: Insta love, annoying heroine, a love interest with a multiple personality disorder, and an obsessive "romance". Gah.
And now, into the long version (what, did you think I was going to leave it at that? pffft).
First of all, Hocking's trolls are hella disappointing. Trolls are not the everyday literature heroes, and I wasexcited for that. But guess what? they are the farthest thing away from the big, ugly, menacing boulders of rock we're accustomed to. In fact, they just look like supermodel humans! So, not that different from everyday literary creatures...
Speaking of Trolls - Wendy is one. She's our main character, and under different circumstances (i.e were she an interesting, compelling MC), I could've ignored the aforementioned point. But no. While she started out alright, she completely lost me when she started obsessing over Finn. And I mean, really obsessing. Her only redeeming quality was how she managed to make me laugh occasionally.
Speaking of the devil... it's not often that I outright dislike a main male character. But I really did with this one, even when he was "playing nice". And frankly, he mostly wasn't. Mostly, he was a class A jerk, or he was distant. At the end, I never got what Wendy saw in the dude.
But I'll be honest, I liked almost all the supporting characters. If this trilogy was about them, I'll probably be gulping it up. Like, Tove or Rhys's stories will be fun. Or even Matt's!
Now we're moving to the REAL THING. I'm putting here the general gist of things, but if you want to see a play by play, detailed rant of the whole "romance" thing, come back to PART TWO tomorrow.
Now, okay. Oh. My. Fucking. Tripping. God. WHY?
The romance in this book made me want to kill myself. Scratch that, kill Wendy. I just wanted it to end already! It was so insta love I can't even!
This was one of the worst--if not the wrost--cases of insta love I've ever read of, and I couldn't find one good reason for them to fall in love! It takes her exactly four days to decided she's fallen in love with Finn, in which they barely interact. (Go to the hilarious part 2 for more on this).
The "love" in this story, if you can really call it that, completely overshadowed and overpowered the plot, to the point where I felt there wasn't much of the latter. Thankfully, it eased up a bit after 100 pages, otherwise this would have been a DNF for sure.
Side note: I did enjoy their first kiss. Maybe it was because some plot has finally been dished out and diluted the romance a bit, but I'm not complaining. About this, anyways lol
Another thing I'm not complaining about is the ending, because I kind of liked it. I truly believe that if this story took a different turn (i.e: erasing the god-awful romance and focusing on the actual story), I would've liked it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
P.S - someone, please tell me, do people really say "foxy" nowadays? Is this still a thing??
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Old Version
This review was originally posted on my blog, and re-reviewed on my new blog.
Sorry for the language in this review. This book makes me emotionally unstable.
So, I'm actually going to start Tuesday Oldie with one of my my most hated books ever. Switched is a book I'd rather forget I've ever read, though it provides great rant material. It's widely loved, so yes - I'm a minority in my opinion. But I'm really not one to hold my tongue.
I'll admit to getting this book solely for the cover. I mean, look at it! It's absolutely stunning! And the summary sounded rather interesting, too, and my friends loved it... yeah, I had all the reasons in the world to get this book, and to love it. Except I didn't. Because it drove me mad.
The short version is - Insta love. Annoying heroine. A love interest with what appears to have multiply personality disorder and a "romance" that borders on obsessive. And those are just a few. If those sound like things that may turn you off... don't read this book.
Now, I'll admit - this book is intriguing solely for its choice of supernatural beings. Trolls are not the everyday literary heroes. But of course, Hocking's trolls are the farthest thing away from the big, ugly boulders of rock we're accustomed to. In fact, they just look like supermodel humans! So, maybe not that different from everyday literary creatures...
Now, moving to the Long Version (because, let's face it, what kind of rant would it be if I used the short version?!) -
Wendy is our MC, and at first I liked her. She was a breathe of fresh air among all the pretty heroines who think they're ugly. But then she had to ruin it by thinking herself average compared to. And it was her only redeeming quality, too! Because when Wendy started obsessing over Finn, she completely lost me. If she didn't manage to make me laugh a few times, I might've burned her at the Worst MC stake.
I'll admit to getting this book solely for the cover. I mean, look at it! It's absolutely stunning! And the summary sounded rather interesting, too, and my friends loved it... yeah, I had all the reasons in the world to get this book, and to love it. Except I didn't. Because it drove me mad.
The short version is - Insta love. Annoying heroine. A love interest with what appears to have multiply personality disorder and a "romance" that borders on obsessive. And those are just a few. If those sound like things that may turn you off... don't read this book.
Now, I'll admit - this book is intriguing solely for its choice of supernatural beings. Trolls are not the everyday literary heroes. But of course, Hocking's trolls are the farthest thing away from the big, ugly boulders of rock we're accustomed to. In fact, they just look like supermodel humans! So, maybe not that different from everyday literary creatures...
Now, moving to the Long Version (because, let's face it, what kind of rant would it be if I used the short version?!) -
Wendy is our MC, and at first I liked her. She was a breathe of fresh air among all the pretty heroines who think they're ugly. But then she had to ruin it by thinking herself average compared to. And it was her only redeeming quality, too! Because when Wendy started obsessing over Finn, she completely lost me. If she didn't manage to make me laugh a few times, I might've burned her at the Worst MC stake.
Only time I really felt for her? When everyone were furious with her for doing something wrong, when she couldn't have known better because no one explained a single thing to her!
Now, what can I say about Finn? It's not often that I outright dislike a main male character. But I didn't like this one - not even when he was playing nice. And most of the time he wasn't. Most of the time he was a jerk. Or he was distant. At the end, I never got what Wendy sees in him.
But I'll be honest. I liked almost all the supporting characters. Too bad this trilogy isn't about them, cause I'd read Tove's story, or Rhys's (who was just such a cute one!) or Matt's (another cutie).
Now we're getting to the major rant. This is going to be huge. Be warned. Because the romance.... just... Oh. My. Fuckin'. Freakin'. Tripping. God. WHY?!
Now, what can I say about Finn? It's not often that I outright dislike a main male character. But I didn't like this one - not even when he was playing nice. And most of the time he wasn't. Most of the time he was a jerk. Or he was distant. At the end, I never got what Wendy sees in him.
But I'll be honest. I liked almost all the supporting characters. Too bad this trilogy isn't about them, cause I'd read Tove's story, or Rhys's (who was just such a cute one!) or Matt's (another cutie).
Now we're getting to the major rant. This is going to be huge. Be warned. Because the romance.... just... Oh. My. Fuckin'. Freakin'. Tripping. God. WHY?!
I wanted to kill myself. I wanted to kill Wendy. I just wanted it to end already! This was so Insta Love...
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Edit: as I've finally grown over my fear of one-staring, this was now has the appropriate rating - 1 star...
This was one of the worst case of Insta Love I've ever seen, and I couldn't find one good reason for them to fall in love! Just to clarify things for you... It takes her four days to decide she's fallen in love with him. In those four days, their contact is summed to:
On the first day, they barely talk, she accuses him of creepily staring at her and he promises he'll try not to bother her with it (not to stop, mind you, just not to bother her with it).
On the second day, he insults her and acts like a total jerk. Oh, and he ends up Edward style on her windowsill and breaks the news she's a troll. Wendy's reaction? Learning he's only stalking her as part of his job makes her sad that he's not stalking her cause he wants to. WTF?! How desperate for attention (not to mention f*cked up) are you?! Then he tells her he needs to take her to an effing compound and somehow they reach the point where Wendy realized there's been others before her. Which makes her utter this lovely gem:
On the second day, he insults her and acts like a total jerk. Oh, and he ends up Edward style on her windowsill and breaks the news she's a troll. Wendy's reaction? Learning he's only stalking her as part of his job makes her sad that he's not stalking her cause he wants to. WTF?! How desperate for attention (not to mention f*cked up) are you?! Then he tells her he needs to take her to an effing compound and somehow they reach the point where Wendy realized there's been others before her. Which makes her utter this lovely gem:
"Crazy I could deal with. Slutty, not so much".
What. Is. Wrong. With. You?! taking you to a compound is okay, but the idea you're not the first he'll take to the compound (and no, this is not a euphemism for something dirty), is not?! Dear lord.
But wait, it gets worse, because she spends the third day wondering why isn't she leaving with him, because she really likes the idea of a life with him (whhhhy? And when did you ever get the impression the compound would lead to a life with him!?) and the only thing keeping her there is her family. After one last attempt to make her come with him, he leaves.
And so, she spends the forth day depressed about his departure (Bella issues much? At least Bella knew Edward months more than you know Finn!). Luckily for her, he saves her from a kidnapping attempt! And, god almighty, save me. She was slapped around, kicked and beaten - but she wouldn't trade it for anything because it led to Finn touching and looking at her tenderly.
But wait, it gets worse, because she spends the third day wondering why isn't she leaving with him, because she really likes the idea of a life with him (whhhhy? And when did you ever get the impression the compound would lead to a life with him!?) and the only thing keeping her there is her family. After one last attempt to make her come with him, he leaves.
And so, she spends the forth day depressed about his departure (Bella issues much? At least Bella knew Edward months more than you know Finn!). Luckily for her, he saves her from a kidnapping attempt! And, god almighty, save me. She was slapped around, kicked and beaten - but she wouldn't trade it for anything because it led to Finn touching and looking at her tenderly.
The "love" in this story completely overshadowed and overpowered the plot, to the point where I felt there wasn't much of the latter. Thankfully, it all eased up after the first 100 pages, which was just so much better to the degree I could actually enjoy their first kiss.
And yes, you had to suffer through all that to get to this admission ;)
Also, I liked the ending. And I think that if this story took a slightly different turn (like erasing this god-awful romance and focusing around the troll story more), I might have liked it. But it didn't.
P.S Someone, please answer me this - do people really say Foxy nowadays?!
This review was originally posted on my blog, and re-reviewed on my new blog.
And yes, you had to suffer through all that to get to this admission ;)
Also, I liked the ending. And I think that if this story took a slightly different turn (like erasing this god-awful romance and focusing around the troll story more), I might have liked it. But it didn't.
P.S Someone, please answer me this - do people really say Foxy nowadays?!
This review was originally posted on my blog, and re-reviewed on my new blog.
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Edit: as I've finally grown over my fear of one-staring, this was now has the appropriate rating - 1 star...