Day 7. Fox and Fur. RECKLESS: the Petrified Flesh

F is for Fox and fur

From everything I've seen, Celeste Auger, better known as "Fox", is the most beloved character in the MirrorWorld fandom. She's a teenage girl with a feisty personality and the ability to shape-shift into a fox. She's stubborn and isn't afraid to tell you what's on her mind. She's fiercely protective of Jacob not only for saving her life many years ago but because she's in love with him. I don't know how much she realized it in the beginning of the book, but we definitely see it near the end after an incident with Clara (Will's girlfriend who I was going to blog about on C, but totally forgot lol.) Without Fox, I'm not sure Jacob would do very well in most of the situations he gets himself into behind the Mirror. I would seriously love to have the dress that gives her shape-shifting abilities. It would so much easier to deal with some of the craziness in the world with a fox’s perspective.

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Day 6. Empress Therese of Austry. RECKLESS: the Petrified Flesh

E is for Empress

Therese of Austry is the Empress who is at war with the Goyl in The Petrified Flesh. She's cunning, smart, ambitious, and a damn good actress. All of that together is never a good mix to have in one person. She has an addiction to power, and she will do anything to keep that power. No matter the cost. 

I feel like she's a very complex character, and in many ways is more of a villain than any of the others we've seen in this series. I feel like she had good intentions, but we all know that some very terrible things have happened with good intentions. I'm very curious to see what her character will do in the last few books of the series.

Breathing Books Website  Cornelia Funke's Website  Reckless Series Twitter Page  

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Day 5. the Dark Fairy. RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh

The Dark Fairy

The Dark Fairy is my absolute favorite female character in the Reckless series and, quite possibly, my favorite female character ever. I think why I like her so much is because she doesn't do what's expected of her. She doesn't just stand around and look pretty even though she is the most beautiful creature in all of the MirrorWorld. She left her home to seek out a man she saw in a dream and made sure that everyone behind the Mirror knew who she was despite the fact that none of them know her name.  Even though she is the darkest fairy to ever live, she has a certain calmness and gentleness that makes her even more intense and frightening to humans in my opinion.

Breathing Books Website   Cornelia Funke's Website   Reckless Series Twitter Page

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Day 4. Castle of Thorns and Roses. RECKLESS: the Petrified Flesh

Castle of Thorns and Roses

There are so, so many unique and fascinating castles in the MirrorWorld. Some are inhabited by royalty and others are inhabited by the dead. If I lived behind the mirror, I think I'd really want to travel to every abandoned castle and mansion to see what they hid behind their walls. (I'd love to do that on THIS side of the mirror!) I'm sure many of the castles in the MirrorWorld hide dark secrets, but the Castle of Thorns and Roses hides a morbid secret unlike most. It holds the answer to the question "What if there wasn't a Happily Ever After?" I'm not a firm believer in happy endings, so I really liked visiting this castle and seeing the darkness that lurks in every corner behind the mirror.

Breathing Books Website   Cornelia Funke's Website   Reckless Series Twitter Page

RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh on Amazon

Day 3. Brothers - RECKLESS:The Petrified Flesh

B is for Brothers

The sibling relationship really drew me into the story because my sister is my absolute best friend. In a lot of books I've read, I tend to wonder if the author ever had siblings because their interactions just seem...weird or strained or hateful. Even though Jacob and Will rarely saw each other because of Jacob's life in the MirrorWorld, their relationship felt genuine and it was a huge driving part in the story.  Jacob's love for his brother made him desperate to try anything to save Will from turning into a Goyl, and I know I would have risked anything for my sister.  I'm not a huge Jacob fan (it's not unusual for me to attach myself to a side character and be kind of 'meh' about main characters. It's nothing personal, Jacob. You're still a great MC) but I did truly love his determination and refusal to accept failure even when things turned dark with his brother, and that brotherly love is one of the many, many reasons this book has reigned number one for five years (and probably a lot longer) for me.

<3

Breathing Books Website   Cornelia Funke's Website   Reckless Series Twitter Page

RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh

Day 2. Avenues of the Dead - RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh

A is for Avenues of the Dead

One of my favorite things about the The Petrified Flesh is its morbidness. In my opinion, one of the most beautifully morbid things in the book is the Avenues of the Dead. When a Goyl who fought valiantly in battle dies, their head is cut off and sent to the Goyl fortress to be placed in the wall of the city. (Goyl don't decay like humans do. They remain stone.) The golden eyes are replaced with topaz, and though it must be slightly (extremely) terrifying to be a human and have dead Goyl watching your every step down their Avenue, for a Goyl it would probably be a desire to have their heads placed into the wall. If I went behind the mirror, this would definitely be one of the places I'd want to see! I don't think that I'd want to travel down it alone! Don't you guys wish we had a tradition like that? ;)

<3

Breathing Books Website   Cornelia Funke's Website   Reckless Series Twitter Account

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Day 1. RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh by Cornelia Funke

Today, I'm kicking off the 28 days of the first Reckless book. I had a fun, short introduction written, but I decided not to post it and post this instead.

I had originally decided to celebrate my favorite book for fun, but now, it's not just about 'fun.' It's an escape. It's to remind me to dream of better places and magic while the country I've grown up in takes a dramatic turn toward hate.  I live in a southern state where active KKK members hand out business cards and carry multiple firearms at all time. They teach and spread hate, and though I keep far from them, they're still here. They're my neighbors, the people I went to school with, parents of my former friends, and 'friendly' faces I see in public. Even though I can "blend in" (<as I've been told) I don't want to. I don't want people to think I support or encourage hate, and the fact I know so many people who are for hate is a scary thing. Not all people in Mississippi are like that, but I see a lot of it around me. I know it's happening in other states as well. I am scared for the people in our country. I am scared for people of other countries. I am scared for the rights of people I know and people I call my friends. I love all of you and hope you are able to find safe places.

I have a bad tendency to let fear consume me. To let sadness consume me. Five years ago, I was drowning so deeply in my own despair that I was barely alive. What brought me back and gave me a SPARK of hope, was the first Reckless book. So, now while sadness and fear knock on my door, I will celebrate the things that made me happy. The things that chased away the nightmares and monsters I dealt and deal with every day. I will dream of the places and people made of ink, and I hope you guys will stick with me for this month and see slices of the things that make me happy. The fairies were right to have moths as their "minions". Moths go to the light, and they helped me find it too.

<3

Author - Cornelia Funke

COVER

SUMMARY

Ever since Jacob Reckless was a child, he has been escaping to a hidden world through a portal in his father's abandoned study. Over the years, he has made a name for himself as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. He's also made many enemies and allies — most important, Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting vixen whom Jacob cares for more than he lets on.

But life in this other world is about to change. Tragedy strikes when Jacob's younger brother, Will, follows him through the portal. Brutally attacked, Will is infected with a curse that is quickly transforming him into a Goyl — a ruthless killing machine, with skin made of stone.

Jacob is prepared to fight to save his brother, but in a land built on trickery and lies, Jacob will need all the wit, courage, and reckless spirit he can summon to reverse the dark spell — before it's too late.

Breathing Books Website  Cornelia Funke's Website  Reckless Series Twitter Account       RECKLESS: The Petrified Flesh on Amazon