Review: The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow

Title: The Girl With No Reflection

Author: Keshe Chow

Number of Pages: 496

Publishing Date: 6 August 2024

Genre: High Fantasy, Young-Adult, Romance, Mythology,  Horror, Re-telling

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis

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 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.

Review:

This book is a classic case of an incredible concept falling victim to poor execution—a raw pasta of a novel that could have been so much more.

The premise, centered around a mirror world and the intriguing lore of reflection beings, initially had me captivated. The idea of an alternate universe populated by imprisoned reflections and mythological creatures is fascinating, and the world-building around these concepts is undoubtedly the book's strongest point. However, while the mirror world's lore was compelling, the rest of the plot didn’t live up to its potential. Every single "plot twist" was just simply exactly the same to what I have seen in historical dramas as a kid, same old cliches whether it comes to the plots or the tropes within. Even though towards the end, the story started to look more interesting but by than I was already so done with this book.... The chemistry between the main characters during the second half of the book was undeniable and oh so good, but separately they still didn't had much charms for themselves.

The female lead was a major source of frustration. Her behavior constantly wavered between naïveté and sheer foolishness, making it difficult to sympathize with her. She repeatedly made reckless decisions without considering the consequences, often putting both herself and her world at risk. Rather than learning from her mistakes, she indulged in self-pity, lamenting her uselessness instead of taking any proactive steps to rectify the situation. Her lack of growth and constant sobbing made it hard to root for her, leaving me more irritated than invested.

The male lead didn't fare much better, feeling more like a generic placeholder than a fully fleshed-out character. He fell into the overused miscommunication trope, contributing to the overall flatness of both main characters. The romance, too, was lackluster, marred by an insta-love dynamic that felt forced and repetitive. The female lead’s oscillation between two love interests lacked depth, making the romantic aspect of the story particularly unconvincing.

The mystery element started off strong, holding my attention for the first few chapters. However, it quickly lost its momentum. The villains were painfully obvious from the start, yet the female lead remained oblivious, blindly trusting every suspicious character she encountered. Her repeated betrayals and subsequent shock became tiresome, especially given how little she knew these characters before placing her trust in them.

The plot twists, rather than surprising, felt like convenient devices to push the story forward. The main character barely had to work for anything, with solutions conveniently falling into her lap. This predictability drained much of the enjoyment from the story for me.

That said, the book isn’t without its merits. The world-building, particularly the contrast between the powerful Eastern empire and the mirror universe, is beautifully executed. The fairytale-style storytelling, combined with elements of mythology and Eastern folklore, initially drew me in and held my interest despite the flaws.

Overall, while the book’s concept and world-building shine, the execution of its plot and characters left much to be desired. What could have been an addictive blend of fairytale, mythology, and intrigue ultimately fell flat, making it a frustrating read despite its promising start.