Reckless
Sorry, I loved Cornelia Funke's Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and Inkheart series, but this book really takes the cake. In a bad way.THE GOOD
World building. Ms. Funke seems to be a master at this one. I don’t think I’d leave my family in the dust if I ever encounter a magical mirror such as Jacob’s, but I sure would spend buttloads of time in it.
Fox. Oh, how I loved Fox. She seems like a strong, loyal character with a good head on her shoulders and I immediately liked her. Also, shape-shifters; who wouldn’t enjoy that?
THE BAD
Too. much. stuff. I felt like Reckless was created so she could have somewhere to expound on her world-building and not the other way around. Time and time again we are told there are various other fantastic creatures or items that exist in her Mirrorworld, but sometimes it just feels a little out of place, and we're never told how Jacob procured the magical artifacts either. It's as if the novel is a notebook to jot down all fairy tale magical shhhtuff with no regard for background or explanation (however tiny)—which wouldn't be such a big deal if it hadn't paved the way to a helluva lot of possible deus ex machinas. A magical world is no excuse for a snap solution.
Characters. I couldn’t feel the sympathy Jacob should feel for his brother. No such luck with Will and Clara, either; I could hardly see them as the couple the book portrays them to be. I couldn't care less if Jacob's brother turned to stone or what. There just wasn't enough in the story to motivate me in rooting for Will's cause.
ALL IN ALL: 2.5 STARS
I respect Ms. Funke as a writer and it was because of her name that I bought the book, hoping it would have the same standard as her previous works, but this was a bit of a let-down.
Note: I’ve only started reading the sequel a few weeks ago, but had finished Reckless for maybe a year or more and have only reviewed it now. Usually when I chance at the sequels of books I've read a long time ago, I’d reread the first book to refresh my memory. At this point, I didn’t even attempt. It’s not that I hated the book, it’s that I really had no love for the way it was written.
