Book review: Torn by Amanda Hocking

Wendy Everly is finally starting to feel more at home in Förening, the home of the Trylle, but now she finds out that there's more than meets the eye. She shares a stronger connection with the Vittra than she knew of, and they will do anything to get her to their side.
With a war just around the corner, and her own coronation much closer than she'd originally thought, Wendy's only hope at saving Förening is to marry a royal Trylle. She is torn between feelings and duty, what she want's, and what she should.

I really enjoyed Switched, so I was excited to receive Torn for Christmas. This book goes deeper into the Trylle society, and there's a lot more Trylle and Vittra politics. We get to know who Wendy's father was - or rather is, and we get to know more about what the future will look like. The book is never boring, and it doesn't have any unnecessary parts where you're pretty much asleep for pages at a time. It starts off with a bang that draws you in, and even though the book gets much smoother after a few chapters, I found it hard to put it down. You can tell that the world of the Trylle is well thought about, it's written with much detail and an effort to make it believable.
We meet all of the great characters from Switched, as well as a few new ones. We have Loki, a handsome and cheeky Vittra royal whom Wendy feels a strong connection with. We, among others, also meet Oren and Sara - the king and queen of the Vittra, and Finn's family, if only briefly. Finn's eleven year old sister, Ember, made for some reason an impression on me even though we only met her once in Torn. I think it's because I have a weak spot for cute little siblings, though. Wendy has developed quite a bit in this book, as she is now more sure of herself, and isn't afraid to stand up for herself and others. Now she also has Matt, her brother, with her in Förening, and that's influenced her a lot. She needs someone who will always be there for her now that Finn is acting the way he is acting. I was also surprised to find that I liked Elora, Wendy's mother, much more in this book than I did in Switched, since you now got to see another side of her that was much more motherly and supportive.
The one thing that I missed in this book was Finn. Sure, he was there, but not like previously. I this book he argued with or ignored Wendy almost every time he was with her. None of that sweet romance from Switched was there, now he was just cold, reserved, and moody all the time. Loki made up for that though, as he was constantly flirting with Wendy whenever he was around.

Overall I really liked Torn. I give it four out of five stars, and encourage anyone who hasn't read it to do. Just read Switched first.