I've read this installment in the Kingdom Chronicles out of order, having first read the Beauty & Beast retelling, the latest in the series, so my perceptions are probably different to what they'd have been if I didn't know the big surprise or been spoilt about some plot details. A bit of advice to other readers: whilst this and other books in the series can be read as standalones, it's best that you read them in order. The books are intertwined through plot details and characters, so you'll unavoidably spoil something for yourself one way or another.
I still enjoyed this Snow White retelling. Not as much for the story as for some of the characters that I'd already known from a previous story, specifically Briar. He is rather dull and has an opaque personality here, but gradually you start to see the character from his own book that was so likable to me. On the other hand, the protagonists, Rheanna and Drake, didn't make all that much of an impression on me. I had found Drake abrasive and a bit of a jerk in the previous book, and he barely improved by learning about his experience and seeing his softer side, so you could say there was a shift in perception. Princess Rheanna didn't improve for me, though, but got worse. I struggled to see a valid reason for her woe-is-me attitude and her self-pity, because she has loving parents who adore her, siblings who love and indulge her, she's not really ugly nor has serious problems of any kind, and she's only experienced broken arranged engagements to men she admits she didn't love. So what's her problem? Her issue is imaginary, all in her head, from what I could see from the text, and that's not a characterisation I'm appreciative of. I would've liked to see a solid, genuine problem that was at the root of her self-image issues that didn't come across as navel-gazing.
Liam, her brother, is by far the most engaging and catchy character in Reflection, the fun party fellow, the adventurer, with an infectious gaiety and a sweet love he's not ashamed of showing off to all and sundry. So different to Rhea, which also underscores how unconvincing her "problems" are. He was tied for my favourite in this story, and I'm sure the book with his own story is one to devour and an absolute delight.
On the whole, I've noticed that Royalty in this world feel like upper-class commoners for the most part, as there's little of the pageantry and ceremony typical for such high-ranked personages. The princesses and queens roam about without their posse of ladies, for example, and the princes aren't followed around by their retinue of guards and hangers-on either. The attitude towards arranged marriages vs love matches, the duties of government and responsibility of role, the ideas of rank and class, and so on, make this world read more like that of a Regency novel, which is probably intentional. I have no objection to that per se, though I'd definitely appreciate if the royals had a more rank-appropriate mentality and behaviour.
Many thanks to the author for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.