In Reckless, the Mirrorworld and the storytelling is rich, intricate, intriguing and magical. There's creativity in terms of writing, plot, magical objects and magical creatures, but the world is grounded by logic and rules. There are similarities between the Inkworld and the Mirrorworld, however, while the Inkworld is familiar and warm, the Mirrorworld is dangerous and deadly. The writing style and the world in Reckless resembles one of those dark and twisted traditional fairytales and it's fitting that there are fairytale references in Reckless.
Reckless has interesting, complex, flawed, morally grey and unlikable, but oh so likable characters.
The main character, Jacob Reckless, has made a name for himself as a treasure hunter in the Mirrorworld. Jacob holds his thoughts and emotions close to his chest and Reckless only scratches the surface of his character. I'm hoping that more of Jacob's personality will be revealed in future Mirrorworld books because the brief appearances of fear, vulnerability and insecurity are so impactful.
Jacob has been living life well in the Mirrorworld, until the moment that his younger brother, Will, decides to follow him through the mirror. From then on, it's one near-death experience after another because Will's skin is slowly turning to stone and not just any stone. He is the legendary Jade Goyl. Will's transition externally and internally from human to potential Goyl is extremely interesting. Another interesting result from the plot is the exploration of the sibling relationship between Jacob and Will. Jacob is trying to stop Will from becoming a Goyl out of responsibility and love, but their relationship is so complex. There's love, trust and bonds that cannot be broken, but there's also doubt, suspicion, rejection and fear.
My favourite character is Fox, the shapeshifter and Jacob's voice of reason in the Mirrorworld (for the most part). Fox is such a likable character. I also found a lot of complexity in Jacob's and Fox's relationship. Fox is Jacob's loyal ally and although he sometimes takes her loyalty and friendship for granted, the foundation of their relationship is strong. They love, trust and protect each other and would go to the ends of the earth to ensure each other's safety. I'm cheering their relationship on and if their relationship ends up being more than platonic (and it does seem to be more than platonic on Fox's side), I will definitely not complain.
The climax is epic and while the ending is satisfying to some extent, there is a cliffhanger that introduces a whole new set of problems for Jacob.
A dark and deadly world exists beyond the mirror and after reading Reckless, I'm excited to experience more of it.
"But Jacob loved the night. He felt it on his skin like a promise. Like a cloak woven from freedom and danger."