The Girl with No Reflection may be a longer novel in terms of page number but was a faster read. The story follows Princess Ying Yue who is chosen by a matchmaker as the best suitor to marry the crown prince. This dream scenario turns out to not be a fairy tale and she yearns to escape. She soon learns that there is a whole other world on the other side of the mirror, a new adventure and obstacles begin. There is a lot of mystery surrounding this new world filled with many dangers and some romance. As this is a debut novel, there are some kinks to work out as there are parts of this story that felt a little cliché for the sake of being cliché and others that highlighted some amazing imagery. I don’t believe this novel turned out perfectly, but there are tons to love about it in terms of the smaller elements. The concept of a world existing through a mirror was nicely done along with the author mixing Eastern mythology with modern fantasy. There was a little more “modern-ness” in this novel than I expected. Normally, I don’t mind the use of curse words as they don’t offend me like they may other readers, depending on your preferences, but it did not seem to match the novel.

There are mirror versions of Ying and the Prince along with their real-world versions to track in the novel as the reader does not know the truth. There is a romance in this story, but it did feel rushed and not as fleshed out as I would have expected. The same went for Ying as a character as she was very immature and yet she also had tough moments. I can see where the author was trying to go to create a lot of character growth, but I think her character needed a little more work as she came across too extreme with her naivety. As the novel moves through introducing the characters and setting up how the real-world Ying and Prince would not go together followed by showing how the Mirror Prince is different, there are a lot of subplots introduced. The actual pacing of the novel was nicely done, and the imagery was great, so I just wish that the characters received a little more complexity. Overall, I think the author has a ton of potential and I look forward to reading her next novel.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Delacorte Press, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

On the eve of her wedding day, Ying Yue starts seeing odd things, especially within her reflection. She knows about the many rumors of the imperial family she is to marry into and wonders what may have come of the previous empresses that disappeared.

After a disastrous meeting with her future in laws, her reflection suddenly beckons her to a mirror and begs her to trade places with her because she’s dying and needs to be in the light of Ying’s world to heal. Giving Ying the opportunity to escape for a bit, she accepts to trade roles until her reflection is healed.

This is where she meets the her betrothed’s reflection and he’s nothing like the real Prince in Ying’s world and she begins to fall in love. But soon, Ying realizes things are not quite what they seem in this world in the mirror, and the people in it more so and begins to wonder who she can trust.

I love portal fantasies and to me, this equates to one since Ying portals through different reflective surfaces into the mirror world. The idea and concept I loved, how this world came about and the “curse” that is on the palace, the history and fantasy elements sprinkled throughout, made for a unique and fantastic world.

Ying experienced a lot of growth in here(even though I still find her rather obnoxious 😅). She had to learn to focus less on herself and more on the bigger picture and on everyone. She had to learn how to read people better and to learn to trust and WHO to trust. She definitely went through an experience and made bad decisions, but I like to think she learned from them.

There’s a few other characters from the mirror world and the Prince. I really liked the Prince, but I always love the moody and broody grumpy men 😏 and he definitely was one! And these two, in some strange way, complemented each other.

I will say there was quite a bit of repetition and some things happened so fast that I didn’t understand how or why they happened. Like the dragons.

I also never truly connected with Ying because I felt like she was very selfish, even though she had every right to be angry, she tended to focus more on her own feelings rather than others, and also never focused on the fact she needs to protect the world not just herself and who she thinks is important. I do appreciate she cared about certain people despite their statuses in society. She also would tell the Prince that he doesn’t think before he acts, when she literally does this all the time. I just dislike when a character calls out flaws in someone else when they literally are that flaw 🙄

I also think the book was unnecessarily long. It was good, but some of the repetition could have been taken out and made me feel less like “are we done yet”.

Overall, this is a fun and unique read! Horrifying idea, but still a neat concept and made for a great story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the gifted e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When a young woman is chosen to be the crown prince's bride the last thing she expects is to be thrown into a world of mirror selves, war, and the fact that she's torn between the crown prince and his mirror self. Princess Ying Yue wants romance, she wants love... so when she is betrothed to the crown prince she thinks its going to be a fairytale... too bad he immediately crushes that with his cold and indifferent attitude and demeanor. Ying Yue then begins to notice strange things happening around the castle... particularly through the mirror and reflections. Then she meets her Mirror self who pleads with her to swap places so that it would end her suffering and then they can swap back. Ying Yue agrees and meets the Mirror Prince, a mirror version of her betrothed but with a completely different attitude, someone who is caring and attentive to her. Ying Yue begins to fall for the mirror prince yet she is also realizing that her mirror self wasn't being all that honest and that there is a bloody history between the mirror kingdom and the real one... and it will be up to Ying Yue to save her kingdom before it's too late. This definitely an interesting read and the premise was unique. I liked the idea of the mirror universe and the real universe being intertwined. The book felt a bit younger though than I initially thought and I really didn't feel the chemistry in the romance all that much. I do think that younger YA readers will have a lot of fun with this book and enjoy it. While it missed the mark for me, I would recommend it for fans of YA fantasy books.

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3.75 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!
The Girl with No Reflection is a fantasy story in which Ying, a girl about to marry the crown prince, switches places with her reflection to get out of it. Only the mirror world is not what it seems.

“Remember who the monsters are.”

I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since having learned about this book last year! I couldn’t wait to dive into this story.
This book really starts off super strong! I was immediately sucked into this book and invested into the mystery and magical aspect of this story. It was really well done, and I loved how some bits of horror elements were also woven into the mirror world and the mythology throughout the book!

The plot was straightforward and also predictable to me, but that didn’t lessen the enjoyment of this book. It was easy to read and had great pacing throughout, and I was invested in what would happen next.

While the worldbuilding and magic elements were amazingly written, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the characters. Ying seemed a really great character at the start but declined as the story progressed. Her biggest flaw seemed her rashness and also now much her feelings were all over the place. While she did grow, in the middle section she was just annoying to me. I did like how much the mirror versions of the characters were opposite to the real ones, which was really cleverly done.

The romance also didn’t really do it for me. This was mostly due to it being rather ‘insta-love’ like and Ying’s fleeing emotions that jumps from and to. Due to how quickly it all hapepened and progressed, it didn’t really feel believable to me. It was also very predictable what would happen next.

I liked how the story ended, even though it was predictable. It was a great way to wrap up the book and showed off Ying’s character growth really well. In the end, I did wish more information/lore was given about how the mirror world was created.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Girl with No Reflection which had the most interesting world and magic system!



<spoiler> The mirror prince was nice 1 time and she already fell in love with him within a day… I knew right from the start he wasn’t to be trusted, so when that came to light and she was the real prince for who he was, she suddenly falls in love with him within a very short time…</spoiler>

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The promise of a novel rooted in more obscure Chinese folklore appealed to me. A mirror world existing in conjunction with the regular world posed a wealth of possibilities, especially since reincarnation and shapeshifting are among the magical phenomenon introduced. Additional touches, like the pain that inflicts a mirror being when they stray too far from their real-world counterpart and the consequences of a mirror being performing their duties inadequately, emphasized that both worlds could be both beautiful and harsh. I had no trouble understanding why Ying would be so enamored with escaping to the mirror world, just as I easily understood Mirror Ying’s desperation to re-occupy the real world. I enjoyed these chilling components of an otherwise predictable YA romantasy, though I wish they had dominated the page more.

What consistently pulled me from the flow of the story was the tone. Considering its folkloric basis and its imperial setting, I found characters’ dialogue distractingly modern. Ying briefly explicates her lenient upbringing, but even that does not satisfactorily explain her headstrong attitude, disregard for court procedure, and seemingly capable sexual skills. It all seems at odd with the time period.

The central love triangle also proved lackluster. Neither love interested seemed mature enough, and that’s even in comparison to Ying’s pampered, isolated childhood and young adulthood. I expected more development from a nearly 500-page novel. When I struggle to root for a romantic relationship, I look to platonic and familial relationships for recompense. The glimmerings of such dynamics were present, what with Ying’s clear devotion to her brothers and parents and her compassion for her attendants, but I would’ve liked their interactions to be less sparse.

I would not recommend The Girl with No Reflection on the strength of its horror, magical, or historical atmosphere, but it would likely quench one’s desire for a fantastical YA novel with romance at the forefront.

I cannot believe that this isn't a BookTok sensation yet. It's got the perfect combination of a self-insertable main character, interesting love interest, and scary magical portal world, but unlike many other recent hot books, I thought this one was very well-written. 3.5 stars.

Here lies another victim of having an amazing concept idea but poor execution.
What had me hooked was the fascinating concept of a mirror world and the lore about reflection beings. Unfortunately, main lore of the mirror world was interesting to read, the rest of the main plot was poorly executed.
I found the female lead extremely frustrating. She constantly treads the line between being naïve and just plain dumb. Reading from her perspective was irritating as she made one questionable decision after another, always putting herself and her world in jeopardy. She dives headfirst into action without considering the consequences and never consults others. When things inevitably go wrong, she wallows in self-pity, whining about being useless instead of actually doing something to fix her mistakes. I struggled to root for her because of her constant sobbing and lack of proactive effort.
The male lead didn't fare any better. He felt like a cardboard cutout, serving the tired miscommunication trope. Both main characters were flat and one-dimensional, lacking the depth and character development. The romance aspect was particularly infuriating, with the female lead switching her affections between two love interests in an insta-love dynamic that felt forced and repetitive.

The mystery element started strong, keeping me intrigued for the first five chapters. But it quickly went downhill from there. The main villains were glaringly obvious from the start, yet the female lead remained oblivious, trusting every suspicious character she met. It was exasperating to read about her constant betrayals and subsequent shock, especially since she barely knew these characters before handing over her trust.
Most of the plot twists were predictable and lacked surprise, feeling more like convenient plot devices. The main character hardly had to work for anything, as solutions conveniently fell into her lap. That kind of took a lot of the enjoyment out of this book for me.

Thank you to Random House Children for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 A great novel with amazing cover art. This one is for readers who like Asian (myth/lore) historical fantasy (mirror magic) but with a strong focus on romance and inner conflict. Enemies to lovers. It's a bit on the slow burn side and not one I binged but also one I returned to because of the main character. Well written and we get involved in the story immediately from the start.

Okay, my fantasy and romantasy friends — this is a new release to watch! (I cannot wait for my hard copy to come in!)

Princess Ying has an upcoming wedding to a prince who’s cold toward her. More pressingly, her reflection is acting strangely, and she’s the only one who sees it.

100% there’s that horror movie moment with a reflection smiling while Ying is *not*… let’s just say this book gave me chills more than once!

When Ying gets pulled into the reflection world by the mirror of herself, she takes the chance to let her mirror version marry Prince Zhang.

Except in a new, dangerous world, she needs to figure out who to trust. Her reflection? The mirror of Prince Zhang, who’s kind to her?

The stakes are high, folks. No spoilers, but this fantasy romance is filled with lore and love and characters who want to do the right thing in completely unexpected situations.

Like, you know, when our reflections being autonomous beings.

I enjoyed so much of this — the characters were relatable and even witty, the world-building and imagery absolutely lush, and the romance was among the most satisfying I’ve found in a fantasy novel in a long time.

Is this one of those books I plan to collect several versions of? Yes! It’s a new classic for me, up there with Once Upon a Broken Heart.

I highly, highly recommend for a fast-paced and endearing read.

I hate reviewing a debut novel this low but reading this book felt like a chore. I found the main character to be almost unreadably whiny, and hated every bit of the romance in this book. I felt like I had nothing to root for, and by the time it felt like there were any real stakes to this conflict, I was so far into the book that I'd already gotten frustrated with it and just wanted to put it down and never pick it back up again. So much of the plot relies on the main characters just suddenly realizing crucial information without ever receiving the pieces used to put those conclusions together as a reader. Unfortunately this was just a frustrating read for me. I really hope this book finds its audience and finds people who absolutely love it. I really wish I'd fallen into that group, but unfortunately this just wasn't for me at all.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Girl With No Reflection follows Ying Yue, who falls into a mirror world the night before her wedding to the crown prince.

I didn't go in expecting this book to be quite as horror-esque as it was, but the horror elements were a pleasant surprise. Those horror elements really elevated this romantic fantasy for me in a way I found pretty compelling. I did struggle with some other elements, most notably the romance -- it didn't feel particularly earned to me, at least not at the outset -- and the pacing. I felt like there was a distinct difference in vibe from the first half of the book to the second, and would've loved a more even pace or even just a better balance between the slow, mysterious first half and breakneck speed second half.

Overall, this was a really solid debut for me that managed to execute some solid elements and ultimately had me curious and invested for the entire read. I'll definitely look forward to whatever Keshe Chow has in store next.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
Happy Book Birthday Keshe Chow!!!

Wow! Sometimes I feel like I read novels that just all begin to read the same (mainly because of the tropes and I especially feel like this with romance novels) but this was something new entirely! I was very intrigued by the whole reflection aspect (I have been since a particular Doctor Who episode I watched when I was in HS that creeped me out) and the Mirror Realm really met my expectations. I thought Ying would spend more time there in that world but I can understand why she didn't. I also throughly enjoyed how the plot moved. The prophecy and Ying's powers were a bit confusing at times but I followed along eventually.

Part of the reason it's four stars is because Prince Zhang was a little too hot and cold for me, especially in the beginning. I understand his reasoning but he still could have been nice and closed off from her. All around though I really liked both him and Ying and never really trusted their mirrored versions. I knew Mirror Prince was a little too nice lol

What a stunning debut novel! I love the idea of the mirror world being a whole different dimension with living people that have been forced to copy the movements of people on Earth. And the concept is executed so well in this story. Another thing that worked well, but I sort of saw coming was how Ying ran from the arranged marriage with the prince and thought she was going to be happy in the mirror world with the Mirror Prince over returning to the actual Prince, yet everything is not as it seems there. And while I saw some of what happens coming, I thought that it was written so well.

The world and the creatures are so interesting and magical that it was easy to get sucked into this book. Ying grows and evolves so much in the story and so does the Prince. Their character development is a strong point in this story full of so many good things.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @PenguinTeen and @netgalley for the eARC of the book. All thoughts are my own.

DNFed @ 32%

I was captivated from the start because of how dreamy the writing is and how the plot just grabs you by your jugular and doesn't let go. However, it all just went downfill from there. The concept was so damn cool and I was really looking forward to a more plot centric story, and while it did live up to its more thrilling compoments, I wanted more character action, not... the romance.

I'm normally the first person looking forward to the romance of any book, however, if it's not done well, I just prefer if it's just left out entirely (cough cough *stormlight archive, definetly not looking at you). At that point, I started losing interest.

2 stars

this is such a hot mess and i’m trying so hard to be more critical about it then just straight up mean

- it relies on so many tropes and none of them were executed well, enemies to lover, lover to enemies (with another character), chosen one, fated prophecy, “strong” female character. it’s like they all got tossed in with the plot a stirred around a bit
- the amount of plot twists that had zero alluding to them had me almost crying like “of course *eye rolls*”
- the dialogue, its historical fantasy. i expect the characters to at least talk to one and another with that hierarchy from historic time period, not throwing around the word fuck that many times. it’s just so modernize and completely takes me out. along with that, the chinese words and integration is so poor. i don’t understand the choice the author makes choosing the chinese word over the english (and they cuss in chinese too a handful of times), if it’s integrated well i wouldn’t have an issue, but there’s multiple time where its “(chinese pingyin of word) (english word of the same meaning)” right next to each other. if you’re gonna use chinese term in the book, the reader should be able to infer the meaning by context after the word. because as someone who knows chinese, in my brain i just read the character saying the same word twice.

i’m not gonna even going to speak on the actual plot and characters cuz i will probably end up tearing it to pieces

3.25 stars.

A high fantasy adventure full of danger, intrigue, and romance for fans of young adult romantasy.

I was really excited to get an ARC The Girl with No Reflection. The cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded intriguing. However, now that I've finished it, I'm conflicted about how to review this book. It's a debut young adult novel, and that shows throughout the book, especially in the characters' dialogue and the dynamics between characters. There were a lot of moments where I was thrown out of the story by the modern use of language and the way the main character acted towards others, especially the royal family, and the way emotional elements were handled felt overly juvenile and unrealistic at times.

That said, since it is a debut, I was willing to forgive all of that and I genuinely did enjoy the first half of the book. The first couple chapters especially hooked me completely, and the author did some interesting things with the world building and setting the stage for the major conflict. The tension of the impending war also added a nice element of suspense and drama. However, then the mid point (and the first "Big Reveal") hit, and I started losing my enjoyment. In the second half, the romance plotline took front seat, and it got frustrating for me. The romance felt rushed and forced, and I did not like the dynamic between the romantic leads. Had more of the focus stayed on the action and the war plotline I probably would have had a better time, but instead I found myself rushing to the end.

As for the end, it was fine and very on-point with many young adult fantasy novels, but I did feel like it was too rushed, and a bit trite for my liking.

While I enjoyed many aspects of this novel, I lost interest in the second half since the way the romance element and the emotional scenes were handled felt off and unrealistic to me, especially from an adult perspective. Despite that, an actual young adult fantasy romance reader would likely enjoy this book!

What I liked:
- The premise and the overall plot was entertaining.
- The world building was interesting and lovely.
- The conflict was built up well.

What I didn't like:
- The romance elements didn't work for me.
- The main character also started frustrating me in the second half as the romance took a more central role and she was forced to react to more tense and emotional events.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Plotline: 4/5
World-Building: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Tropes: F/M Romance; Arranged Marriage; Fate; Chosen One

Themes: 4.5/5
Romance: 4.5/5
Spice Factor: 1
Enjoyment Factor: 4.5/5

Review: This was such a unique concept, and it was executed phenomenally! I loved the mirror world aspect was so cool, and I wanted more from both worlds as I was sucked into the book like the MCs were sucked into their mirrors. I love how everything was a flip and how the magic worked in both worlds. I was worried it would be too convoluted of a concept to keep track of, but this was far from it. Ying was such a formidable character, and I really enjoyed her character arc as she really came into herself and her magic as the story progressed, which was amazing to see. I did find the twists to be pretty obvious, but I didn't really care.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know why the cover of this book kept giving me Snow White vibes?

The Girl with No Refleciton by Keshe Chow is a YA fantasy novel about a young woman chosen as the crown prince’s bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband—but her world is shaken when she discovers the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries. Princess Ying Yue believed in love...once upon a time.

Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial palace: whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared. Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world. This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of. But there is darkness in this new world, too. It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

The characters were cool. the story was meh. Overall I wasn't overly impressed at this book. If anything, it's just another title to add to my ever-growing Goodreads goal total.

I really enjoyed The Girl with No Reflection! The premise captivated me from the beginning and I was excited to follow Ying through her journey into the mirror world. One criticism I have is that often the language the characters used was more reflective of the modern era and I would have liked to see the language fit the setting more accurately. However I did enjoy the worldbuilding and court intrigue!

I'm not gonna lie: I couldn't make it through the first few pages of this. It's such an interesting premise but my brain has no desire to read this. Maybe I will try again later.