Switched, by Amanda Hocking

So, this is a re-read. I read the entire Trylle trilogy this past spring, but I loved it so much, I had to get the paperback and read it again, and I dare say it was better the second time around. I suppose it's also worth mentioning that I re-read books a lot, and you probably should too if you really enjoy them - I find books that I re-read are more inspiring in my own life than ones I'm happy reading only once.

Here is the Amazon summary:

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.  She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her.  Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit.  But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth:  Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.   

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening.  And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…

Well, I'll spoil it for you (let's face it, if you read book blogs or keep up with the young adult publishing industry, you know this already) it's about trolls. Wendy and Finn are trolls. Not the nasty under-the-bridge trolls you might imagine, but beautiful magical creatures, and Wendy is a princess in the Trylle kingdom. 

Guys? It's an awesome story. Just go Google "Amanda Hocking" and take a moment to read about her wild sucess in self publishing. That is how I found her, from reading book blogs and industry blogs back when Amanda's Kindle sales of her $.99 cent books were blowing her up and making her a millionaire. I, like many other writers at the time, were entralled by her success. I still am entralled by her success, but I heed what Amanda has to say about self-publishing. 

She did everything the way everyone else does when the self publish a book - she submitted it to Amazon, Smashwords, etc., she marketed on her blog and other social sites, and she waited for the money to come in. But it's what she did BEFORE she published that has made her a success. She wrote a goddamn wonderful story. 

When I read, especially when I read YA, I read to escape. I love the paranormal YA stories more than most lately, and the sci-fi and horror, because they are so far from my real life I can just slip into a book and totally drift away from anything that is bogging down my mind. Well, Amanda created a whole new world to slip into, a world of hot guys and magic and mystery and decadence with some intrigue and violence thrown in for good measure. It's a troll-filled treasure of a book, and an amazing start to a series. 

This girl, she's one young author who I can say for sure deserves every one of the millions of dollars she's making from her stories. Because really, they are that good. I promise.