The book reads like a Chinese historical fantasy drama but condensed. Which is one of my favourite genres. But because it is condensed it leads to questions about the worldbuilding and lack of depth in the characters. I do like the worldbuilding overall, the history of the mirror world and its ties to real world were interesting and well thought out. However, there were times where it felt flimsy. For example, the prince and Ying take off in the middle of the night and I was confused as to why everyone just let them go off alone. Not only that, they stayed out for a long period of time and no one was looking for them.

The characters were two dimensional. Ying spends most of her time making the wrong decisions convinced she is right. When it is revealed how wrong she was, there is a a brief moment of doubt and then she is off making decisions convinced she is right. The antagonists were more interesting and drove the plot forward. Their overall motives were very understandable but because they were going up against the protagonist they were labelled as evil.

The ending felt a little short and unsatisfactory. What Ying does to win and the result of it made it seem like history was going to just repeat itself.

I loved learning about Chinese mythological creatures that were previously unknown to me. The concept of a mirror world was also interesting – especially regarding their energy source, coldness, life cycle, and abilities. The world-building was vivid – for both sides of the mirror. While their world is a reflection of ours – that doesn’t mean it is the same, just like its inhabitants.

“I’ve lived over a thousand years, child. I’ve seen what war does. I’ve seen how many lives it destroys.” For the first time ever, Mei Po sounded tired. “It’s not just those who die in battle. It’s also the ones left behind. The trauma amplifies through generations, and neither your people nor mine ever learn.”

Ying was a great character – she was dedicated to her family, loyal, and kind. She owned her flaws (most of the time) but sometimes she would have a little epiphany about her behavior or someone else’s but then sometimes also continue doing it. That was mildly frustrating but didn’t heavily detract from her character. Ying and the Prince(s) posed the most intriguing love triangle I have experienced to date – bonus points for that even though I’m not a fan of them. Mei Po was one character that I would have loved to learn more about, I would read a story about her.

This book’s twists were nothing I could predict and it was the best – it’s been a while since a fantasy book achieved that. I learned a lot about foods, mythological creatures, and traditions from this book. I only wish that my Scribe had been able to successfully translate some of the things that I wanted to know more about – had my copy not been an arc I don’t think that this would be an issue, it was just an extra step to pull out my phone and search around.

Many, many thanks to TBR & Beyond Tours and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this stellar debut fantasy novel. Keshe Chow is one to watch going forward – I am excited to see what story she crafts next. The Girl With No Reflection reminded me of Mulan and The Bone Witch. Ironically enough, my daughter was in a whole phase of listening to Mulan on her Toniebox at the same time I was reading this book & I could draw similarities in personality between Mulan and Ying. Rounded from 4.5 stars.

There were so many things about the book that I enjoyed! I loved the premise of a dark mirror world with sentient reflections and hidden motives. I loved the tender moments between Zhang and Ying. I loved the beautiful imagery of the palace, woods, and dragons. The book also had great pacing which made me want to continue reading.

I do think that some of the dialogue felt very two dimensional and simplistic. And though I appreciated Ying's character, there were times she was unbelievably naive and her actions didn't make sense. She was so hot and cold with the real Zhang and it felt like whiplash. Also, his lack of compassion for servants was very cruel and nearly made him unlikable. As a reader, I am also growing tired of the trope that love is the answer and the solution to a problem.

But for a debut novel, this was wonderful! I enjoyed the romance, high stakes, and sweet moments.

I enjoyed this book well enough, but it wasn’t my favourite read. I liked the idea of the mirror world and the history with the old emperor, I liked Ying and her fearless character. I liked the dragons and the phoenixes and the fish.

But what really put me off, was how controlling the love interest was. Although they handled it very well, with it being something that the prince had to change and it did end up with a much healthier relationship because of it, this is just one thing that just squicks me out.

I really enjoyed the ending. I enjoyed Ying’s role in the final battle and how it all came together. I honestly just enjoyed Ying a lot: how she wasn’t willing to let anyone tell her what to do. She was a really strong character.

All in all, I don’t think I’ll be re-reading this one, but it’s worth a read if you can get over the love interest being a dick.

Ying is a soon-to-be princess awaiting her wedding when abruptly finds herself in the mirror world. Immediately she meets her reflection and the reflection of her betrothed. Kind-hearted Ying agrees to help her weakening reflection and this monumental decision has consequences for the entire empire.

Ying finds herself thrown headfirst into a complicated world with alchemy, prophecies, and love.

This story has insta-love, a mini-love triangle, dual worlds, and a lot of mythical creatures.

I wanted more and less from this book. More chemistry between Ying and her love. Less time in Ying’s head.

Altogether this book is fantasy and shares an intriguing new world with the reader.

*Actual rating is 2.5 stars*

Have you ever wondered if there’s more going on inside a mirror than just your reflection? I have and thus found the blurb for The Girl with No Reflection really interesting. It’s a romantasy featuring a mirror world.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. After a slow start where I found it hard to connect with the in-universe real world characters, the story got better once the mirror world and characters got introduced. But after that things started getting muddled, as both the romance and story seemed to go constantly back and forth. The main character’s lack of logical thinking and risking a war for a single person was frustrating, but she does grow as a character and reflects over her past stupid mistakes.

I enjoyed some parts of the story and not others, and had a hard time becoming as invested in the story as I had hoped for.

The Girl with No Reflection has a very intriguing magic system and world, but thats where the positives end for me. The beginning of the book was very promising with a slight thriller aspect, but once the story got going it completely lost me with its awkward pacing.

Going into a couple of my biggest gripes

ROMANCE - My biggest complaint about the book was the washed up romance. The main character, Ying, finds herself in the middle of a love triangle in which I was able to guess the plot of from the start. At the conclusion of the romance arc Ying and the ML have no chemistry and just kind of say that they are in love and the readers are supposed to just believe it? The reasoning for Ying falling in love with the ML seems so shallow and was not believable to me. She went from hating to loving him so quickly. Ying had so much emotional turmoil because of the two love interests... but like,,, she met them yesterday.

PACING - Honestly the plot started to drag for me starting at the 50% mark. In some pages I felt like a million things were happening, while in other parts I would resort to skimming and wouldnt miss anything. It was really tough for me to finish the book past the 60% mark as I really just didnt care about what was happening in the plot and the slower sections just seemed to drag on.

CURSING - The use of curse words really took me out of the story. It just didnt fit into the world of imperial china royalty the book was emulating.

Overall, I am really bummed that I didn't enjoy this book as it was one of my most anticipated releases of summer 2024 :(

DNF @ 20%

This book just ended up not being for me. I really tried to look into it because the premise sounded amazing, but there was too much going on. It felt cluttered and it was hard to focus on one thing because it felt like it jumped all over the place. Others seemed to have enjoyed it so this could totally be a me thing!

DNF around 22%

I wanted to like this and I think the premise was interesting but the pacing was off. I might come back to this later but there were a lot of simple sentences and I know there were two versions of each character but the point that I got to, they all seemed to lack depth.

The Girl With No Reflection was, unfortunately, really disappointing. The writing was childish and awkward with dialogue far too modern and casual for the imperial Chinese atmosphere the book attempted to create. Despite the extremely young tone of the writing, the book often pushed the boundaries of YA with sexual content and jokes. The disconnect between the immature prose and the mature content is only one of the areas where the book doesn't make sense.

The characters were completely one-dimensional, built around tropes and cliches. The reader is told one thing about their personalities only for the characters to behave in a completely different way. Ying is supposed to be clever, highly motivated, and a trained fighter. But she spends the entire book clueless and helpless, blundering through the plot.

The romance is instalust and completely unbelievable. Ying makes stupid decisions and experiences extreme emotional turmoil over men she knows literally nothing about. The entire basis for the "conflict" between the two main leads is extremely childish.

The plot made no sense. Everything that happened felt disjointed and nonsensical. The ending was absurd, unearned, and unrealistic.

I think there are some really interesting concepts in this book. But the execution is borderline disastrous.

I had a hard time discerning Ying’s motivations. She “hated” the prince (for no discernible reason) because an “enemies to lovers” story would appeal more to readers, I presume. The opening sequence in the garden with her murderous reflection was so so good, but as soon as Ying needed to think through a choice or come to a conclusion about a person, she just… didn’t? What was the appeal of the murder prince? Why did she take literally everything anyone ever said at face value? It didn’t even feel like naïveté, just like going through the motions to set the scene for the preferred tropes.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Girl with No Reflection really took me on a beautiful journey. It portrayed brutality and oppression but also hope, honor, and love. Its message will resonate with a lot of readers, and I am so happy that I have read it.

We follow Princess Ying Yue who becomes a great heroine. In the beginning of the book, she is naive, to be honest, but that is completely understandable given her upbringing and sheltered life. Personally, I don't like naive characters so I struggled a little in the first 30% or so, but it also made me think. This is a YA book which means its intended audience is not people in their thirties like me lmao. So I re-evaluated my thinking and considered Ying Yue's circumstances and upbringing, and I liked her a lot more. Then came the 40% mark, and the book got from good to devastatingly compelling. It was action-packed and romance-packed and suspense-packed. The plot twisted in aways I didn't think a plot could twist😂

Ying Yue discovered who she is and what she is capable of through mistakes and determination not to fail at the end. She was loyal to her loved ones and to herself. I really, really, really liked Ying Yue and her wish of her love interest not to be so honorable😂😂 She was a strong-willed girl, and she became a strong-willed woman. And her journey was as beautiful as the ROMANCE!!!! The romance was swoon-worthy!!!!!!

The plot and worldbuilding were wonderful, and it showed how much love and care the author put into it. It was a tale beautifully and emotionally written as if we stepped inside the author's soul a little.

I really loved this story!! I believe it will stay with me for a long time. If you liked Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, Violet Made of Thorns, or/and Song Of The Six Realms, you will like this one!

CW include murder on the page.

The Girl with No Reflection is the YA August monthly pick, and this isn't a book you skip. 😉Renew! I'm dying to see the edges and the exclusive cover!

3.75 ⭐️

i was very intrigued from the start with the magic system, but i did struggle a bit with the romance. there were times were it clicked and then times were both mc's felt juvenile. there were also some contemporary colloquialisms which kind of broke the whole historical aspect of the setting at times.

there was quite a lot going on a points, most action is in the second half with the first half being slower-paced. funny enough, i think first half worked a bit better for my taste bc of the intrigue. i don't think i would call this horror rather than fantasy with a few horror elements. bc of the nature of the violence and war and some romance, i would rate this more towards upper YA.

overall, i think this is a solid debut book. there is room for improvement, but i would read another book by this author in the future.

an honest arc review <3

Extremely unenjoyable read that I have NUMEROUS issues with

I- the writing was awkward and childish. the dialogue was really relaxed and modern in a world that was supposed to be historial and with a formal court setting
2- the characters had zero depth and were just made up of tropes. The reader was told all about Ying’s training and her clever mind but never did anything remotely smart. Even when she saves the world she had no clue what she did but everyone praises her for being a genius
3- romance was way too on page for a YA novel, there were numerous intimate scenes and constant lustful longing. It felt extremely out of place and made me uncomfortable knowing this was targeted to a YA audience.
4- more on the romance, it was all instalust and theyre calling it love and it was so annoying. Ying thinks with her dick (speaking of there is an on page dick joke wtf). She has no real connection with either of the men in question. One of them actively is extremely cruel to her. But then we get an “explanation” and suddenly he’s nice to her and was actually being nice all along! What. Absolutely not. He’s an asshole.
5- the plot made zero sense. every ah ha! Moment did not have the intended effect because nothing connected or made any sense. New secrets were found in the magic system whenever it was convenient.

Lastly—
The sapphic rep with the two maids felt very forced and like it was trying to check a representation box.
This was a social rigid patriarichal society and theres no mention of how queerness is accepted. The girls were only concerned about their boss becuase servants arent supposed to fall in love. And then once theyre "public" theyre seen holding hands in the middle of court. it really felt like they were just thrown in there without any thought to how queer people would function in this society. And maybe it was totally queer normative and accepting! But that was never mentioned or lain out for the reader before this one sapphic couple for it to feel authentic.

Overall, miserable reading experience and I would actively recommend against reading this

This is a GORGEOUSLY written debut! Fresh and new, this YA fantasy follows Princess Ying Yue who is chosen to marry the crown prince of a large empire. Far from the great honor this could be, Ying Yue finds herself embroiled in a mystery involving missing prior brides...and that's before she opens a gateway into a realm where reflections of people and beasts are held captive. The world building in this book is richly layered and immersive. I can't wait to see what Chow writes next.

A girl has to battle her own reflection to stop a war and win the hand of the prince she loves.

This book had promise. The Ancient Chinese setting, the lush descriptions, the feeling of almost being in a drama set in the Imperial Court, plus a really cool premise.

But the mythology is a bit all over the place. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker, but I found the whole "fish"/"phoenix" thing hard to follow. The prince is a bit awkward and kind-of a jerk who never really explains his reasons for doing things. I couldn't fully understand why Ying fell for him.

But those things are nothing compared to the issue that kept bringing me out of the story every time it happened - the modern, 21st century American swearing. What place does that have in an Ancient Chinese court? Seriously, the author uses Chinese words and phrases all theoughout the story. Why couldn't any cursing at least be somewhat accurate to the culture and time period? Having a Chinese prince and princess dropping F-bombs in a historical setting like this takes me right out of the story and kills it for me. 3 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for the advanced reader copy. This is a voluntary review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

this book was... not for me. perhaps my expectations were too high, but this book was completely different to what i expected. i went into this book hearing that it was similar to "song of silver, flame like night" or "daughter of the moon goddess" - meaning i was expecting lyrical writing, c-drama vibe romance, and a slow-ish (but in a good way) narrative. instead, i was met with instant action and the craziest insta-love i've read in a long time, plus the single most infuriating heroine ever. the action wasn't a bad thing, but it made me feel like i'd missed a few chapters, and by the time i was a third through the book i literally felt like we'd summed up the plotline of an entire novel in like 200 pages. there was just so much going on!

and oh god the romance... *cue my eye twitches*. this girl was fully obsessed and "in love" with the reflection prince in what, 3 hours? they'd had maybe 1 actual convo. i wanted to slap the fmc and say girl.... what are you doing. she was just BEYOND naive. it was truly phenomenal, the lengths that she'd go to in order to draw crazy assumptions about the actual prince, but instantly become infatuated with the other prince. and honestly even the second romance wasn't that captivating for me - it seemed to leap forwards and then suddenly step back again, over and over, and both the protagonists were just so messy and so adverse to actual communication. i didn't like anyone.

the heroine just kept on getting on my nerves - she made the most out of pocket decisions, she was rude and impractical - she irritated me beyond belief. and don't even get me started on how every time someone mentioned something, her memories reappeared... and changed every single time. girl i think it's clear at this stage that you don't remember shit. she was too easy to manipulate, it was actually embarrassing. i should actually stop talking about her, or i'll rant forever!!

anyway... the worldbuilding was very cool, and i did love the almost horror aspects at the start, with moving reflections and mirrors trying to pull people in. so that's a positive! thank you to the author, tbr and beyond tours, and netgalley for the arc copy.

Ying is betrothed to the Emperor's Son, Heir to the throne. But he has locked her in her rooms alone and ignores her, so she finds solace in the arms of his reflection in the other side of the mirror. What follows is a beautifully written, well crafted story about betrayal, romance and magic. I was totally gripped and disappointed when I reached the end - I could have happily read more!

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy to review.

Lots of tropes in this one that felt a bit overdone. But enjoyable, fast-paced story! It felt a bit YA so heads up on that. I wanted to like this one more than I did.

the girl with no reflection is a fantasy debut following new princess ying yue, a new princess who braves the secrets of the throne she's married into, the disarray between reality and the mirror world, and being the chosen one with no clue how she's meant to save the world.

this book was a journey alright. it was chaotic, and intense, and confusing. i believe the plot of this, while slightly contrived, made perfect sense when one considers the atmosphere of the book. the mirror world (a world just like ours but different) converges with reality as war begins which makes for a truly mind-twisting novel. the worldbuilding created a vibrant world, and even after ying yue made bad decision after bad decision, i was still so invested. there is so much deceit, betrayal, and confusion amidst this novel but i wholly believe it completely fits the themes and makes complete sense for the plot. the characters themselves cannot trust one another, so why should the reader be able to?

one gripe i had is the romance. ying yue falls in love way too fast with zero buildup other than the fact that the princes are nice to her. every time she was swayed i was like girl STAND UP!!! i believe the romance COULD have been done well, but instead was left to be shoehorned in alongside all the chaos coming from the actual war that is building. the ending was quite nice though, so ill give it that.

overall, a LOT of things happen in this book and whether intentional or not, it does work really well. the romance is meh, but the ending kills. solid three stars!

thank you to netgalley and random house children's for the arc!