maria_valentine's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
zoe2000's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I've always liked this more than the first one
silquesoleil's review against another edition
4.0
read for the 2015 reading challenge: a book by a female author
Since I read a lot of books by female authors, I obviously picked this category b/c it didn't fit anywhere else, but I found it in the library and I finally wanted to read it. I can't even recall anymore what happened in the first book, to be honest. It's been so LONG which means I probably should have re-read that one but what is motivation?
What I really like about this series is how Funke takes Fairy tales and reshapes them, I'm obviously a sucker for those kind of stories, although it was sadly spoiled by some stale heteronormative aftertaste. (Why does a bluebeard feed only from the fear of women? Isn't that a bit of a onesided diet?)
Funke's writing is so good, that I didn't get bored of it although I usually struggle with German writing, in fact I read so few German novels that the language feels stiff and colorless when I turn to it.
My most significant problem was with the characters. I didn't care about Jacob, nor anyone else in that novel aside from Fuchs. Fuchs is vibrant, Fuchs is important, if only authors would make less use of that awful "woman in love ready to sacrifice everything for a man" trope.
Since I read a lot of books by female authors, I obviously picked this category b/c it didn't fit anywhere else, but I found it in the library and I finally wanted to read it. I can't even recall anymore what happened in the first book, to be honest. It's been so LONG which means I probably should have re-read that one but what is motivation?
What I really like about this series is how Funke takes Fairy tales and reshapes them, I'm obviously a sucker for those kind of stories, although it was sadly spoiled by some stale heteronormative aftertaste. (Why does a bluebeard feed only from the fear of women? Isn't that a bit of a onesided diet?)
Funke's writing is so good, that I didn't get bored of it although I usually struggle with German writing, in fact I read so few German novels that the language feels stiff and colorless when I turn to it.
My most significant problem was with the characters. I didn't care about Jacob, nor anyone else in that novel aside from Fuchs. Fuchs is vibrant, Fuchs is important, if only authors would make less use of that awful "woman in love ready to sacrifice everything for a man" trope.
saskia16's review against another edition
5.0
Was soll ich sagen? Dieses Buch war meiner Meinung nach perfekt: spannend, unvorhersehbar und gekonnt erzählt! Was dem ersten Teil an Worten fehlte war hier perfekt bemessen. Ahhh es war toll. Auch der Wechsel der Perspektiven war nicht überflüssig sondern hat die Spannung gesteigert und war meiner Meinung nach absolut notwendig. Toll!!!
lotte28_1d's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
br4nd3d_g1rl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
john_nygma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's a 3.75 from me since I enjoyed this a little more than the first entry in the series. The overall story is much more interesting here, and Jacob is given more attention to develop as a character.
The general writing style, the language, and the flow of the narrative are all as wonderful as they always are in a Cornelia Funke book. This woman just knows how to stay on the right side of flowery prose, where it all sounds beautiful and rather descriptive but without ever being too pretentious.
I enjoyed the story in this book more because it focuses mostly on Jacob and gives him opportunities to grow as a person and develop his relationships with Fox and other characters. Will and his girlfriend are basically completely absent from this story, and that's definitely a plus. They just didn't work for me in the first book and with them gone, we can finally focus on Jacob and Fox (who had the most interesting character beats in book 1) and the exploration of the mirror world.
Unfortunately, the characters still remain the weak point of the Reckless series. While we learn more about Jacob and Fox as people, Jacob, as a protagonist, still remains somewhat bland. We definitely get more here than we did in book 1, but to me, he still feels like every other fantasy protagonist who goes on adventures and is a bit too cocky for his own good. Fox is definitely the best and most interesting character in this instalment. I love learning more about her, and her relationship with Jacob is portrayed very emotionally. The secondary villain characters, while more interesting this time around, were also a bit too one-dimensional for me at times, but they served their purpose.
The flow of the story worked for most of the novel, though I think some bits could have been cut short. I found myself losing attention somewhere around the middle (after the Bluebeard encounter) and wished some story beats had been cut out or tightened to make an overall better paced story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable ya fantasy novel. Funke never fails to deliver, and her stories are always written with so much care and love for the world she creates. The dark fairytale vibes work wonderfully, and the characters, while still having their issues, are improved from the last instalment. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!
The general writing style, the language, and the flow of the narrative are all as wonderful as they always are in a Cornelia Funke book. This woman just knows how to stay on the right side of flowery prose, where it all sounds beautiful and rather descriptive but without ever being too pretentious.
I enjoyed the story in this book more because it focuses mostly on Jacob and gives him opportunities to grow as a person and develop his relationships with Fox and other characters. Will and his girlfriend are basically completely absent from this story, and that's definitely a plus. They just didn't work for me in the first book and with them gone, we can finally focus on Jacob and Fox (who had the most interesting character beats in book 1) and the exploration of the mirror world.
Unfortunately, the characters still remain the weak point of the Reckless series. While we learn more about Jacob and Fox as people, Jacob, as a protagonist, still remains somewhat bland. We definitely get more here than we did in book 1, but to me, he still feels like every other fantasy protagonist who goes on adventures and is a bit too cocky for his own good. Fox is definitely the best and most interesting character in this instalment. I love learning more about her, and her relationship with Jacob is portrayed very emotionally. The secondary villain characters, while more interesting this time around, were also a bit too one-dimensional for me at times, but they served their purpose.
The flow of the story worked for most of the novel, though I think some bits could have been cut short. I found myself losing attention somewhere around the middle (after the Bluebeard encounter) and wished some story beats had been cut out or tightened to make an overall better paced story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable ya fantasy novel. Funke never fails to deliver, and her stories are always written with so much care and love for the world she creates. The dark fairytale vibes work wonderfully, and the characters, while still having their issues, are improved from the last instalment. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!
winterbee's review against another edition
4.0
Really good, again. But there's nothing else to expect from Cornelia Funke, to be honest. I was very happy about all the familiar faces from the first book, I am glad that Fuchs (or fox as I assume she's called in the English version) got more back story. The hunt was amazing and very stressful (yes, for the reader, this is about life and death after all) and the competition was very likeable. I am excited to see more of him next time. The enemies were frightening and the best part about it was Albion and the mentioning of Pendragon because I had to laugh so hard imaging Bradley James in this book.
ep_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0