Review: Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Frostfire
((Kanin Chronicles #1)

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publication Date: January 5, 2015

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

My Thoughts: I was so excited when I managed to get this book series from BookOutlet at a massively discounted price.  I really love Amanda Hocking and have read all of her series thus far and own most of the books from the series.

One thing I love about this book is that it is set in a universe I have already fallen in love with, the world of the Tryll.  If you haven't read the Tryll series, it is a definite must.  I absolutely adored the whole thing.

In this series, instead of following the Tryll Kingdom, we follow the Kingdom of Kanin.  They are another species of troll that live in West Canada.  So, yay for that!  Woot, Canada!  (I am from Eastern Canada).   It follows Bryn Aven, a Kanin tracker whose job it is to bring Changlings home safely.

Hocking has created another strong, independent female character.  Bryn shows that she doesn't need to rely on anyone to get the job done.  She is dedicated, strong-willed and willing to do what has to be done to get the job done.  In fact, it almost becomes a flaw on how stubborn and independent she can be.  But I like that.  I like when strong characters have obvious flaws.  No one is perfect.

The men in this book definitely take a back-seat to Bryn.  She has two "love" interests, but given that she isn't buying into the whole getting married having babies propaganda she tries really hard to just ignore it and move on in life.  Bryn is more focused on her career and advancement.

All in all, I really loved this book.  There was intrigue, mystery, a kick-ass female lead and just enough romance to give it flare.  I would recommend any Amanda Hocking book to anyone who enjoys reading Young Adult Fantasy.  I can't wait to pick up the next book in this series and delve in.

Review: Torn by Amanda Hocking

Torn

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publication Date: February 28th, 2012

Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Genre: YA/Romance/Fantasy/Paranormal

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Synopsis:

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 master her magical powers—and marry an equally 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.

My Thoughts:  Torn picks up pretty much exactly where Switched left off, you can find my review for that here. I like when books do that, you're not left wondering what happened in the time  between. Wendy has run away from the Trylle compound to return home to her brother Matt,  and her aunt. And she brought Matt's real brother, Rhys, with her. And then we are in pretty much the same situation as the first book. Both the Vittra and the Trylle are fighting to bring the princess back to their lands. Each side seems to almost have a good reason for wanting her. What will she do? What side will she pick?

This book is a total character change for almost everyone in the story! It was shocking really. Almost everyone does a complete turn-a-round. In the first book, Finn was my favorite character. In this book, I just barely liked him. He had to make some tough decisions and destroy his own feelings, but I just think he went about it in all the wrong way. I think his actions were selfish and hurtful. In trying to protect Wendy, he only seemed to hurt her more. Wendy grows a lot in this book. In the first book I didn't really like her personality at all. But throughout the course of this book we get to learn quite a bit about Wendy's and the Trylle's and Vittra's history. Wendy is actually pretty deeply rooted in both! The things she discovers come as quite a shock to her, and were just as shocking to me. Through learning all these things, she grows into a more mature, smarter, less self-centered person, and now I like her. She gets to work training in all her abilities, the determination she shows is something I respect. She begins to realize that she really has to step up onto the plate and take the place that is expected of her. She is needed, and she stops thinking of only her own wants and desires. Then there's Loki, who was an enemy in the last book, but this book makes you re-think that. Is he so bad after all? His actions definitely leave you wondering. A connection is created between Loki and Wendy that I like even more than the one she shared with Finn. I find myself really liking Loki and I'm pretty sure he's my new favorite character. He is one of those guys who comes off as cocky and conceded, but you know he's a big old good-hearted softy underneath. I would say he almost reminds me of Will from the Infernal Devices Series. I even began to like Elora in this book. In the previous one, I thought she was heartless, unloving, and cold. But it seems to me she has reasoning for acting this way. Torn is all about learning more about the who and why of the characters involved. And with this new insight, I felt a lot of my opinions changed quite a bit.

Speaking of things discovered  in this book, it was all quite shocking. I was constantly finding myself surprised. What I enjoy most about this book is that something is constantly happening. There is never a dull moment. The chapters always end with this perfect little tease that insists you keep reading. I would keep telling myself, 'OK, after this chapter I'm going to stop for now', but that just could not happen. There was no way I could stop, I absolutely had to see what happened next. I was hooked from beginning to end. There was one little surprise towards the very end that completely stunned me. But I'm excited for this new dynamic and I can't wait to see how it plays out in Ascend! Which I am very excited for! It's due to be released April 24th. I'll definitely be getting a copy :)

I would recommend this book, and the one before it for sure. It's a great story with wonderful character growth and an awesome new twist to a fantasy character we all  know so well. Seeing them in a brand new way is refreshing and intriguing. And I really enjoyed watching the characters we met in the first book experience things the alter them completely. There is also a fun little short story in the back that shows the same event from the story from 3 very different points of view. It was an awesome peek into the minds of characters besides Wendy and I really liked it :).