Reckless Magic by Rachel Higginson

GoodReads Synopsis: 16 year old Eden Matthews has been in and out of private schools for the last two years. Kingsley is her last chance to finish high school and she is determined to simply do that. But when she meets Kiran Kendrick and her world opens to something she thought only existed in fairy tales, she's unsure what her future will hold. Suddenly she is captivated by a boy who seems to be the source of all of her problems and struggling to rescue her best friend from a foreign prison. When attempts are made on Kiran's life, Eden alone must save him. Thrust into a world that is more make-believe than reality, Eden has to find her own destiny without losing those she loves most. Reckless is an intricate story of mystery, adventure, magic and love. Eden Matthews is an unlikely heroine set on a path to save the world and her loved ones before its too late.(

My Review: This was a fun start to a fun new series. Overall, I really enjoyed it and thought it was an enjoyable read. I admit, the first 30% started to drag, I just wanted Eden to stop being in the dark and start asking more questions. Once things started to be explained and Eden was brought into the loop the story really picked up.

Eden doesn’t always make the best decisions, but it’s not really her fault. I think a lot of hassle could have been avoided if she had just been told the truth. But, at least they explain why they held things back. I felt kind of bad for Lily, at times she felt more like a plot devise than an actual character. Eden only seemed to worry about her when it was convenient to worry about her, if that makes sense.
I was also a little disappointed in some of Eden’s reactions. You’d think with some of these huge revelations she would be a little more emotional about it all, instead she seems to just take everything is stride. There is one big reveal (that wasn’t that surprising) that I would have expected a little more out of her. Wouldn’t she have wondered why she was raised human while a certain someone appears to have always known who he is? Did he know about Eden? I wish that had been address a little.

As for Eden and her love interest, I thought they had a nice relationship and at times had great chemistry. I would have liked if they had more of a foundation before they start declaring their love for each other though. Sure they are attracted to each, but at times it just felt more like hormones than actual love. In fact, it seemed like their only connection was through their magic, and of course some passionate kisses. I just thought the end, while nice, was a little dramatic. I don’t think it will bother me in the next book, usually by then the relationship is established and the whole insta-love thing doesn’t bother me anymore. I hope that’s the case here anyway.  

My only other minor complaint, I didn’t really care for the character names, mostly Kiran and Avalon. Personally, I think Avalon sounds too feminine. I like my male characters to have really masculine names. Not a big deal though.

Overall, a fun read. I liked the new take on magic and the history. I thought it was original and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Content: Pretty clean. Lots of mild swearwords.

Reading Order:

Book One: Reckless Magic

Book Two: Hopeless Magic

Book Three: Fearless Magic

Book Four: Endless Magic