This started off super strong, with an eerie sort of almost-horror vibe. Is the FMC losing her mind? Is she in real danger? I so, SO wish we had followed that thread for a while, through the marriage for at least a few weeks of character development and suspense. Imagine finally discovering about the mirror people thing after chapters of neglect from the prince and Ying questioning her sanity—her willingness to go along with what they said would make so much more sense, and the betrayal would be so much more cutting & emotional.

Instead, it felt like things took a hard shift into a more tropey direction, which was a disappointment. The villain heel turn was fun, and there were a lot of aspects of the underlying story that were interesting. Unfortunately, I felt the romance aspect was very rushed and underdeveloped, so as the romance became more and more important to the story, I felt more and more disconnected from it. The ending did feel a little cringy, like, “and then they all clapped!” vibes.

It’s a shame because I feel like the bones of something great were in this book and it just didn’t get there.

This has such a cool concept, and it started out really strong, but wow did I end up disappointed.

I can’t pinpoint where things went downhill. Things moved quickly with the mirror prince, and it was very insta-love. But things just felt off. Then there were some twists and betrayals, and characters had to realign on their alliances. But again, things moved quickly.

However, Ying and the plot became super melodramatic. She was impulsive and rash. Explanations for characters’ actions were certainly told to us, but I never really saw the development.
By the end I was rolling my eyes so hard I think I strained them.

While this did have some steamy non-detailed open-door scenes, this absolutely feels like a YA book. It’s got the chosen one, and fated souls, an epic battle, and a death scare. But all done in an over the top cringey way.
This has such promise, but really fell flat.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PRH Audio for the preview. All opinions are my own.

So...this book caught me by surprise. It was fresh, very witty, and having female rage representation was top. I decided not to expect anything because the plot twist were right there and I didn't see them coming. I had a hunch, but wasn't able to figure out neither of them.

I liked the first few pages, which had a horror vibe, especially when Ying saw her own reflection in the mirror. It also makes the hairs at the back of my neck tingle. Each chapter is brief, yet I couldn't stop reading. You'll understand what happened to Ying right away. I wasn't expecting to experience tension at every turn in the action-filled chapters. I am a sucker for Chinese mythology and truly enjoyed it. Ying and the princes have good chemistry. There are two princes, but I can't tell you more because it would be a spoiler, so you'll have to read it for yourself when it is out.

I don't particularly like Ying. I believe she is overly trusting and naive, and she falls in love easily, which frequently puts her in danger. This is in sharp contrast to Ying's principle of not wanting to be governed yet appearing independent. Honestly, Ying's adventures in the mirror world are what I like the most, and I wish she was locked there for longer. I don't know if it's just me, but the plot started to go off track near the end. Ying and the prince's exchanges felt dull. Many questions popped into my head regarding the fate of Ying's reflection. There is a lot that hasn't been disclosed regarding the mirror world and needs to be clarified, but that doesn't make this book any less interesting, and I highly recommend it, especially for those who enjoy reading Asian fantasy with dragons and other Chinese mythological creatures

3.5 rounded up

This almost felt like reading 2 different books, the beginning was giving me mysterious gothic, thriller/horror leaning vibes and I was LOVING it! The introduction of the mirror world and mirror people, the rumors surrounding the Shan family, not being sure who to trust, etc.

Somewhere it took a turn into more strictly fantasy, which came with an all too predictable plot, a LOT going on, more than one dues ex machina.

I really enjoyed the Chinese mythology in the book, it was uniquely told and very interesting. Not being familiar with the specifics of it kept me from entirely being able to guess the plot, which at its core was not very unique.

I thought the character development was decent, I certainly spent enough time being annoyed by Ying in the beginning, which dissolved as I got later into the book.

Keeping in mind that this is a debut, I would definitely read more books from this author. Thank you Random House Children's and Delacorte Press for the ARC!

2 stars. ☆

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

in this fantasy debut advertised for fans of song of silver, flame like night, and violet made of thorns, a young woman chosen as the crown prince's bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband. however, her world is rocked when she learns the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries. once upon a time, princess ying yue held the belief in love. but over the course of the book, she loses faith? and perhaps gains it as well. i felt like there was no real storyline and it was hard to follow but i think people who are very in-tune with complex asian fantasy would like this!

love, mitra <3

This one was just not for me unfortunately. It read like any other Asian mythology novel. There was nothing special here.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting but it wound up not being for me. I loved the concept but the execution didn't meet expectations

This was a tedious read for me.
This book is by no means 'bad', it is just very juvenile and haphazard. Despite its merits, the cons really overshadowed my experience.

What I liked:
1. The concept is unique, interesting and well thought out. The mirror world is an amazing alt dimension that the author conjured up, I was wayyy to invested for the first quarter of the book.
2. The Chinese mythology setting has been a favourite of mine since The Poppy War and its aftermath, and I found its use in this setting colourful and fitting.
3. I loved the promise of a future bad marriage premise and the mystery regarding the royal family.
4. The book has an array of interesting characters, I felt invested in some of them, The initial introductions are very well done. I was constantly in a state of being suspicious of every single character which is AWESOME.
5. My personal favourite was the horror tea scene in the beginning - amazing imagery and creepy. The first few chapters are a great hook - Ying as she is preparing for her Wedding day and she is absolutely convinced that something is after her

What I disliked:
LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE.
This book is the return of intolerable YA heroine - I hated the FMC and I won't even explain why. I have no opinions on the Prince as he had the personality of a wet cardboard. Mirror FMC held so much potential for evil - wasted. The romance was insane and non existent to me - instalove x 2? NO, THANK YOU. The bad arranged marriage trope totally discarded for the same guy, 2 times? I can't-
The book is about too many things to focus on any one aspect; The author uses many overused tropes in a very heavy handed manner - the chosen one, one bed trope, the prophecy.
To me, this book could have been a really good attempt towards building an intricate mirror world, but NOTHING about how it operates is explained. We're supposed to just accept it exists? Instead we get an info dump with superficial explanations and repetition. It felt like the author decided to introduce elements of the story to simply serve the linear plotline, not vice versa. This lack of foreshadowing made the book one dimensional. So the first half of the book is a different experience than the second.

This book was not for me, even though I really wanted to love it because of the cover.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow is a third person-POV YA epic Fantasy Romance inspired by Imperial China. When Ying Yue is married to the future emperor, Zhang Lin, she makes a deal with her reflection to trade places until they can escape. Unknown to Ying, her reflection has no intent of helping Ying with anything.

The slowburn romance was handled quite well. Ying finds Zhang to be quite cold at first and falls for his mirror image when she crosses to the mirror world. When she comes back after witnessing her own reflection trying to murder Zhang, Ying spends more time with her new husband and slowly starts to see his good points. She's torn between this very charismatic and kind version of him and the version of him that recognizes her agency but pushes back. The more of Zhang's layers that get peeled back, the more we start to see why he does the things that he does and the harder it is not to see that he's the better choice.

The mirror prince does some things that I think are very important for teens to be able to see. He love bombs Ying and is very manipulate but acts very thoughtfully to give her a good impression. He also asks her to stay with him and does what he can to keep her from seeing what her reflection is doing while either making it seem like it's for her own good or that he's only listening to her. It's very easy to fall into the trap of a predator who knows all the right things to say, so it's good for teens to see that you can't always tell immediately if someone is going to be a good romantic partner.

One of my favorite parts was the use of the story of the carps transforming into dragons from Chinese folklore. I've loved that story since I first found out about it and how it's integrated here really fed into the fantasy elements and the playing with tropes, such as the Chosen One narrative. That it was also connected to Ying's family, who was said to guide carps to the gate to become dragons, was a fun detail I liked seeing brought back.

I would recommend this to fans of slowburn romances with married couples, readers of YA Asian fantasy looking for more romance, and those looking for an epic fantasy inspired by Imperial China

3.5 - The Girl with No Reflection is a really fun concept with lots of interesting ideas. I loved seeing the mirror world.

There was a fair amount of telling rather than showing — I think some moments could have been given more time to breathe and develop. The abruptness left me feeling a little disconnected from our lead characters early on.

Overall though, it was a good time!

Thanks to Delacorte Press for providing an advanced digital copy for me to review!

I was very invested in the first half of the story but as we get past the halfway mark, I personally felt like the book started to slow down and drag a little. The idea of the mirror world was a very interested concept. However, the story was also fairly predictable and I wish there was more character development. Ying's character was fine but I wasn't very interested in the prince's character. He's just... there. Ying read like a typical YA character. I didn't really care for their relationship and I wish their backgrounds were talked about more. There are definitely a lot of things that needed to be developed more but it was still an enjoyable read. I would have loved for the mirror world and the mirrored characters to have more depth. The book started off great but after the halfway point, Ying's journey is pretty linear and there were no shocking factors, no plot twists.

a fresh new voice in YA fantasy! when i saw this book, i knew it'd be perfect for me, it reminded me a lot of dark fairytales i'd imagine in my head, or the darkly enchanting tales of books like The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea or even Laini Taylor/Roshani Chokshi's books. i love the slight horror undertone and i adored the pacing!

The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow is a Genre-Bending and delightfully enchanting read for fans of such books as The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea looking for such themes to be explored in a more darkly realized setting.

What I loved
1. The immediate mystery of what happened to the other brides
2. excellent pacing
3. Masterful handling of dialogue
4. Stand-alone debut
5. Nonwestern mythos and Chinese cultral elements.

This book was fabulous. I really loved it. It was different from most books I’ve read.
The beginning had some scary scenes. I was obsessed immediately. I liked how it mixed genres, it made it even more original. This was an amazing book. It had me turning the pages late in the night and excited to see how it ends. I will be sharing this with all my friends. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author! This was for sure 5 star read. Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed this book and I was hooked from the beginning. The pacing and storyline were great. I loved the mirror world and all the twists and turns. If you want a quick fun read then i recommend this book. The plot was a little predictable but still had me on edge in various parts. Overall I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book! The romance was a little odd but I understood how it worked as the story progressed. Ying is a great main character. She’s a strong woman but isn’t afraid to show her emotions. So many strong female protagonists can be out of touch with their emotions so that was really nice that she would just cry sometimes because she had too. Zhang I had so many mixed feelings about but I loved him by the end for sure. The lore of the world was fascinating and the mirror world was so cool. I kind of wish we had dived more into the lore of the mirror world because I thought it was so cool! I also read this quite quickly because it is super fast paced and every chapter is basically a cliffhanger so you just want to keep reading!

One of my most anticipated releases this year.

I believe this could’ve been better as a duology. I would’ve liked to get to know Ying a little more before and her back story. I think the connection she had with her brother and how her taught her to fight would’ve been a great start.. It feels like the book started right in the middle of the story. Everything feels slightly under developed and the story was moving a little too fast for my liking. There were some parts that felt like a fever dream to me..

I will say though that it kept me at the edge of my seat and I read it so fast because I wanted to know what will happen next. The plot twists were actually really great.

I really liked that Kesha added Chinese traditions and words in the book.

For a debut book I think this was pretty solid. Can’t wait to see what Kesha Chow comes out with next!

3/5 ⭐️
This is strangely another book where it started off strong and had me hooked, but nosedived off a cliff and suddenly was not for me. Initially I loved the world and it’s a very gothic-Esq story with a girl going to a fancy new house to marry and then strange shit happens. And the mirror element is my favorite. But suddenly it felt so rushed yet meanders, but mostly incoherent, like things contradicted itself. It also felt like this particular style that I would’ve been all for when I was 16, but I’m kind of over it now. For example the FMC is a noble lady yet is a fighter, but it doesn’t make sense with the culture of the world for this to be the case. I’m here for warrior fmc but I need them now to make sense in the context of their upbringing. Like give me a cunning woman instead. I want to see that brand of badass not the trademark fighter feminist girl boss that feels cardboard cutout like. And then the romance happened so fast.
I don’t know. I think the idea was excellent, but I think this story needed to go through a few more drafts to give it slightly more purpose instead of meandering and catering in a way typical to say wattpad/ao3 stories. You know where things are going on but they feel superficial. Or it’s action, action, action, yet they are coming out of left wing and don’t really feel like it goes. And things definitely could’ve been trimmed down and condensed. Tighten things up and cut repetitiveness. It didn’t need to be this long. I think it would’ve been a strong YA story if it was streamlined more.
I definitely think there’s an audience for this and I think its core idea is amazing, but it could’ve used a few more drafts to refine the edges. But that being said, it’s still entertaining and enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

(2.5⭐)

ugghhhh im so sad because this was an anticipated read and it honestly started off well. like cool concept? check. interesting characters? check. the thriller aspect to this in the beginning especially!! like damn i was invested. but... i dont know when it began but i started losing interest FAST (maybe it was around the 30% or 40% mark?? idk). its not even that this book is bad, but i just got bored??

and then ying was very annoying in a lot of aspects i got tired of her and could care less about her fate or anything that happened throughout the book + the prince?? i really do not care about that guy. i saw a very very small potential at one point but that was quickly squashed and then eventually i just felt like the "romance" blossoming between them was SO forced?? like huh?? i dont buy the explanations we were given and the moment they began considering the other in a romantic view i just didnt see it, it felt like such a quick change. especially after the 58% mark with a *certain* reveal and im like wow did her feelings change fast?😂 it just felt out of place and so sudden considering the events that had just occurred but oh well! there was some build up i suppose afterwards but i still wasnt sold on their love for each other--or maybe they really were in love but i just didnt care🤷‍♀️they were just so boring and so unconvincing in their banter and the 'enemies to lovers' aspect i genuinely cringed so many times... it really was just not good at all. i have absolutely zero things to say that i liked about the romance.

anyways yeah i thought this would be really fun and honestly the potential it had with the unique concept got me really excited but personally it just fell flat for me. also not sure if it's only me but i genuinely could not take anything seriously after a certain point like it felt wayy too dramatic but i think that also ties in with me getting bored sooo💔

i was literally about to DNF 60% in and even prepared a review for it but then i just decided whatever il finish it since i was nearly done anyways, and frankly i just did a lot of skimming to get it over with. sad that i didnt end up liking this as i hoped🥲 oh well



Many thanks to Random House for providing an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!