Ying Yue is betrothed to marry the emperor’s son, but when they meet, he’s not the charming prince of her dreams. Instead, he’s cold and distant, leaving Ying secluded and locked away for months. Ying’s dread of their upcoming marriage starts to mingle with a strange paranoia that she’s being stalked by something she can only glimpse from the corner of her eye.

On Ying’s wedding day, the truth behind her fears is revealed by her own reflection – she has an uncanny doppelgänger who has crawled into the human world through a mirror from the magical world of reflections. Her doppelgänger offers Ying an escape from the loveless marriage ahead of her, a chance to find freedom in the mirror world. Ying seizes the chance, but soon finds that there’s just as much to fear in the reflected world as in her own.

This is a fast-paced, high-fantasy novel, combining mythology, action and romance. Ying is a headstrong and short-tempered protagonist, who speaks in a surprisingly modern tone – and with liberal profanity! In the first half of the book, I was sometimes frustrated by Ying’s naivety, but as the story went on and the stakes increased, I was won over by her decisiveness and bravery. And throughout, there’s a compelling love story with the seemingly cold prince; it was a thrill each time part of his façade crumbled, and we glimpsed the depths beneath. I would recommend The Girl with No Reflection for readers 14+, who like plot-forward fantasies – there’s interesting magic, exciting battles and satisfying character growth.