When I requested this book I didn't realize it was a rerelease of an older work but as someone who grew up loving Inkheart and The Thief Lord I knew I wanted to check this out as well. Sadly, I was let down by this book. I'm not sure if it was an issue with the translation process but it felt like I was missing parts of the story. As readers we don't receive very much information about the characters or the world and that makes it very difficult to get invested in the novel.

The book jumps into action immediately and while that was exciting it was also a little disorientating because at no point through the rest of the book do we really get more information about the characters or the mirror world.
I found myself making comparisons to the Inkheart series just to try and fill in some of the blanks that I was left with.

The writing style itself is still very good and characteristic of Funke's other works and it was an exciting read but I just didn't feel overly invested. I still enjoyed the book but I don't know if I'll continue with the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book came out 11 years ago so I'm not sure why it's on net galley. It seems like this book just starts in the middle of another book. Overall it was ok, the love interest felt like insta love, and it felt like it was missing stuff before it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of this book!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I loved this author as a child but it seems I have outgrown her. I couldn't get into this. Not for me.

this was a wonderfully done first entry in the reckless series by Cornelia Funke, I really enjoyed going through this story and getting to learn about this universe.

This book starts you right in the action, but in this case I believe it is to the detriment of the story. It takes so long to learn anything about the characters, and even then they feel like strangers to the reader and each other. I did enjoy the fantastical creatures and the imaginative creation of the world of this book, but the issues made it hard to get past for me. This was simply a middle of the road book, sadly.

Being a huge “Inkheart” fan, I was thrilled to jump into Funke’s Mirrorworld. I enjoyed the action and imaginative scenarios, but I wish I had gotten to know what was going on inside Jacob’s and Will’s minds a bit. I didn’t feel as if I connected with their characters or cared about them much throughout their adventures. I’m still holding out on loving this series and am definitely going to read Reckless#2.

Another classic novel from Cornelia. I thought this had come out a long time ago and was glad to be able to get the chance to pick this up and read it

I could not get into this book. The writing seemed okay but the plot wasn’t very gripping and I ended up not finishing it because I was bored.

I grew up reading Cornelia Funke's fantastical stories, such as the Inkheart series and Dragon Rider, so I was excited to finally be able to dive back into her magical realms. Reckless follows our titular character, Jacob Reckless, who discovers a portal into another world through a magickal mirror. I expected this to follow the path of C. S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," and was pleasantly surprised that this book carved its own path. I was just as entranced with this story as Jacob was with the world he discovered.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was really excited when I got this book. I didn't finish it though. The story at the beginning was very confusing and messy which is why I wasn't able to finish it. The idea of a mirror that opens into another world is interesting and I did care a bit fir the characters to finish this book any other day. I'll update my review when I do!

This book is filled with magic, mystery and danger. There was a whole bunch of cool and creative creatures in this book that made you want to live in this world because nothing is impossible. I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reckless weaves a tale about Jacob Reckless, a young man who has lived two lives over two worlds. For over 10 years he walked through a mirror and became a rebound treasure hunter. When Jacob's little brother, William, follows him through the mirror and becomes cursed can Jacob pull enough strings and call in enough favors to break it? Or will he lose his brother forever?

The beginning of this novel is a bit choppy, lacking in world building and introducing so many characters so quickly I got whiplash. Once the story got really going and the characters were easier to differentiate between the author found their footing and brought forward a solid story. Pieces of it were still rushed and left me wanting more of those portions of the world. There is a section where they visit the house of a child eating witch that has been abandoned after the witch died. I wish I had more of that story and how Jacob fit into it. I am curious enough to look into the next novel of the trilogy after the cliffhanger ending.

Three and a half stars rounded down to three. I recommend this to fantasy lovers who enjoyed The Magicians or the Wayward Children series. It is age appropriate for readers 12+ and does not need any trigger warnings that I recall.

4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I have fond memories of reading and listening to Cornelia Funke’s books with my children. I liked being transported to this magical realm and experiencing the first installment of a new journey. I’m looking forward to the continuation of their adventures in the next book!

It was an interesting magic system, but it was too hard for me to get into. I found myself not loving the relationship between Will and his girlfriend because it felt too much like insta love. I did like the dynamics of all the characters together though.

I actually own and have read the original book. In this one, however, Funke notes that she has made changes to pretty much every page of the story. It’s been quite a while since I read the book, but this does feel like it has more depth and shading to it.

This is not a happy, rainbows and fairies story, although it is set in a sort of fairytale universe. Bad, scary things happen. There is a war.

But the reactions of our characters ring true for the situations they find themselves in. My favorite characters in this story are the women—Fox and Clara. Especially Clara, who finds herself in an unbelievable situation and doesn’t dramatize—she just does what needs to be done.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Lots of perilous situations. Sleeping together is mentioned, not seen. There’s a war going on, so there is some violence, some of it bloody.

Who Might Like This Book:
This book is marketed to teens, but the story is about adults. Those who like fairy tale retellings will probably enjoy seeing the fairy tale elements here.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Also reviewed at http://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2021/08/a-varied-crop-of-june-releases.html

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

I absolutely adore Cornelia Funke and her writing. The initial blurb for this book really captivated me. I enjoyed a MC who wasn't female, which to be honest, really shocked me. I grew up reading Inkheart and I absolutely love CF for her world building skills. This world was complex and layered, and I loved how well it was written and executed. I would recommend to anyone.

This one made me so sad. I really really wanted to love this one since I adored the Inkheart trilogy and the cover is absolutely stunning, but sadly I just couldn't. For me the pacing is incredibly slow and it just didn't hold my attention at all. It also felt like we were just tossed into this world without much background info. I made it to 50% before I finally gave in and decided to DNF it. I may give it another shot later on since there were some good elements like fairies, magic handkerchiefs that give you gold coins, unicorns, a magic mirror, and so much more.

Cornelia Funke can really pull you right into the story right from page one. The characters and settings were so vivid I felt like I could reach out and touch everything.