Fearless

Fearless, by Cornelia Funke. (Mirrorworld #2)

"Can you tell me how it will happen?"

Alma pushed open the window to pour out the water. It was getting light. "The Dark One will use her sister's seal to reclaim her name. The moth on your heart will come alive. It won't be pleasant. Once it tears free from your skin and flies off, you will be dead. You may have a few more minutes, maybe an hour ... but there can be no salvation." She quickly turned away. Alma hated for others to see her cry. "Jacob, I wish there was something I could do," she added quietly, "but the Fairies are more powerful than I. It comes with their immortality."

The cat looked at him. Jacob stroked her black fur. Nine lives. He always believed he'd have at least that many.

Fearless is the second book in the Mirrorworld series, the first being Reckless. To be honest, I was offered the chance to read both, but figured that there would be some recap in Fearless about the events in the first novel ... unfortunately, I was very wrong about that - the book has almost no recap, and so I went to Wikipedia and read about what happened in the first book to understand this one and its magical world.

Official synopsis:
Jacob Reckless has only a few months left to live. He's tried everything to shake the Fairy curse that traded his life for his brother's--legends such as the All-Healing Apple, the Well of Eternal Youth, the blood of a northern Djinn. And yet hope after hope is extinguished. After months of fruitless searching, Jacob journeys through his father's mirror one final time to deliver the bad news to Fox.

But there they hear of one last possibility--an item so legendary that not even Mirrorworlders believe it exists: a crossbow that can kill thousands, or heal one, when shot through the heart. But a Goyl treasure hunter is also searching for the prized crossbow. Jacob must find it first--and somehow convince Fox to do whatever it takes to save him.
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Overall I did like this book, I just wish that the author had included recap. Most sequels I read include at least a page or two about what happened previously, and this one had a few flashbacks but that was it. However, that is of course not the author's fault, but mine for failing to read the first book.

It was interesting that Jacob Reckless was human, but chose to live in the Mirrorworld. In the first book, his brother got turned into a Goyl (made of stone) and he makes a deal with a Dark Fairy to save him, and that is where Fearless picks up. We learn about his relationship with Fox, who is a Vixen - she is an animal when she puts on her "fur dress," and a human when she does not - and the fact that he's a treasure hunter. The story will most likely have another book to follow-up, as I didn't get the feeling that Jacob Reckless's story will be done in only two books.

I also couldn't figure out Fox's age - she's in love with Jacob and he is in love with her too, although he doesn't really realize it until the end of the story. Wikipedia said he is 25, which is mentioned a few times throughout the book, but I think she's anywhere from 16-18.

3 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book to review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.