Absolutely loved this story! Perfect balance of magic, suspense and romance! I was hooked from the very beginning. I didn't realize this would be a series and I can not wait to read the next one!

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is the first book I’ve DNF’d (Did not finish) in a long, long time. But after 6 days of drudgery and only being at 35%, I felt I had no choice.

I was gifted an ARC of Where Dreams Descend from NetGalley, so thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Let’s hope straight to the review.

Where Dreams Descend Review

Let’s talk about what Where Dreams Descend gets right.

Take a look at that cover. It’s gorgeous is it not? In fact, it’s one of the reason I looked at this book in the first place.

Then read the blurb.

A group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats.

Oh my gosh, doesn’t this sound amazing?

I love a good competition book. It’s why I applied for an ARC of Where Dreams Descend.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost.

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide.

The three heroes of the story sound powerful, amazing, and a little mysterious don’t they? The more I read the blurb, the more and more excited I got!

Let’s look at the part that sealed it for me:

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

Startling and romantic?

I’m in.

The problem?

Everything I was excited about above was near non-existent and left me really really disappointed.

Allow me to explain step by step.

Magician Competition

First, the competition.

There is a competition. But Where Dreams Descend is a LONG book. My kindle estimated 9 1/2 hours to read (typical book is 7 hours).

The first level of the competition didn’t even hit until the 35% mark, a full 3 1/2 hours into the story.

Some of the most agonizing 3 1/2 hours I’ve ever read.

And when the competition finally rolled around?

Boy was it disappointing.

Kallia takes the whole competition with ease. The rest of the magicians are shams or birthday party level at best. The author glosses over every single competitor as boring.

Then Kallia takes the stage and she ignores all the requirements and pulls out a showstopping performance, which was interesting, but just not what I was looking for.

I was looking for equally talented, if not more talented competitors that force Kallia to get crafty and use whit to outsmart them. But nope. Kallia is OP (overpowered) and wholly uninteresting because of it.

From what I can see of the story and where it’s going, the book isn’t about the competition at all, despite the blurb misleading me to believe it is.

Three Powerful Characters

Kallia is about what you’d expect from reading the blurb. She’s the primary character who this story revolves around.

She’s beautiful, witty, and powerful.

But the other two. smh.

Remember, I didn’t finish Where Dreams Descend, so I’m sure there’s more too them, but I don’t have the patience to find out.

I thought Jack was going to be super interesting at first.

Kallia is basically held prisoner by Jack in the first 5 chapters of the book. She tries to escape and he recaptures her and steals her memories so she doesn’t remember trying to escape.

Then he crafts believable illusions. Full on people that care for and teach Kallia. But they aren’t real, none of her meaningful friendships are real, because they’re fake people.

Now doesn’t this sound like an interesting situation? I was so intrigued.

But Kallia escapes on her second attempt and Jack doesn’t pursue her. Which I felt was pretty lame.

For the next 15 chapters, Jack is non-existent in the story. That’s where I quit reading.

Demarco has the makings of an interesting character, but the story was simply progressing far too slowly.

The scenes are wordy and drawn out.

I just couldn’t take it anymore. We weren’t moving fast enough, and there seems to be little point to the story. The one thing I was holding out for (the competition) was a huge let down, so I gave up.

Mystery and Romance

I love a good surprising plot line and an interesting romance subplot.

Unfortunately, at 35% into the story, Where Dreams Descend hinted at neither.

There’s plenty of unanswered questions of course, but I have no desire to find out the answers. There’s nothing pulling me into this story. Nothing compelling me to hang in there and keep reading.

It’s taken me six days. SIX DAYS to get to 35%. By comparison, I can read a book in 3 days average.

I just can’t devote any more of my precious reading time to a book that is wholly uninteresting.

Final Thoughts

The true story in Where Dreams Descend seems to be wrapped around the city Glorian.

Why is it isolated in the middle of an enchanted wood that does everything it can to steer people away? Why is it cold and icy? Why is it basically a dead town, but people still live there? What is this circus? Why are magicians disappearing? And what does Jack have to do with all of this? What’s up with Demarco and his past and is it related to Glorian?

Where Dreams Descend is NOT about a magical competition and it is NOT about Kallia growing into her powers and showing the world a female can be a magician.

Both were my highest expectations for this book, and both fell far below what I wanted.

As with all books I DNF, I’ll not provide a star rating. For the purposes of NetGalley, where a star rating is required, I'll assign it 3 stars as I didn't think the book was bad or poorly written, just not for me.

Where Dreams Descend is touted as a book similar to Phantom of the Opera or Moulin Rouge!

If you like either of those movies, you may enjoy Where Dreams Descend.

Overall, I thought this book was great. After getting approved, I couldn't wait to get started on this book and I finished it very fast. I'm so lucky I got a copy of this. This book featured complex characters and a very captivating plot. No matter what part I was at in this book, I couldn't wait to dig deeper. One thing that I liked was that everyone had their flaws. Not a single character was perfect or stereotypical and I loved that so much. I'd never really read a book like this before but I'm so glad I got to read this one. The magic system of "born or acquired" and the deep pasts of the main characters along with the looming shadows of their pasts made for an amazing story. The romance never felt forced and impacted the plot, not just appeased the readers. I eagerly await the sequel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys something revolving around entertainment. The female lead is a talented dancer and magician, and a wonderful artist. The fantasy elements flowed smoothly throughout the story so naturally I would recommend this to others who've read the genre too.

I loved this book, but I wouldn't give it a perfect review. I think it was executed to the best of the author's (Janella Angeles) ability, but it left something to be desired. This book was as good as it could be for how it was written, but I do feel like it could've been improved upon.

I’ve recently become obsessed with all things about the circus, and have been reading any books I can find that have to do with the circus. I am surprised at how unique they all have been. They have all been wonderful in their own way!
Where Dreams Descend was absolutely magical. I couldn’t read it fast enough! I absolutely loved the world this author created! I can not wait to read the part of this duology! I can not wait for more!

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

This book was pitched as The Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge, but I would also add The Prestige. The story has a bit of a love triangle but I’m not mad at it, I think the love triangle in this was helpful. I loved the way the story was told and how it was set up, it was dark, mysterious, and intriguing. With wonderful world building and the pacing was great for most of the book, I would say it was a little slow in the beginning because of all of the mystery. And the characters were amazing because you can relate to them and they were so interesting. There is more to them than meets the eye that you will discover in this book and then much later in the next book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think this will be in my top ten books of this year.

Firestorm, Kallia escapes from her nightly performance to try life on her own terms in the city of Glorian, a chilling place shrouded in mystery and intrigue. She draws upon her magic to put on a show, earning herself a spot as the only woman in the competition, overcoming self doubt, fear, and the predatory Jack from whom she escaped. The magic is mesmerizing and love starts to simmer while mysterious deaths start off as a countdown of sorts and the mystery builds along with the tension. This series will delight fans of Caraval and it builds a fantasy world of dreams and nightmares, but the kind you want to tell others about because they keep you poised, waiting for more.

This was a spur of the moment read and I absolutely loved it! This story was exciting and the plot was never ending. I love stories that keep you engaged throughout the whole book. I also really enjoyed the main characters. I will be purchasing this book for my libraries YA collection.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Holy cannoli guys! Where Dreams Descend was so freaking good. It was weird for me not wanting to dive into it yesterday but I totally get why - it started off slow. Yes, I had endless questions being formed because of what was happening.. but I was still bored. It was painstakingly slow but it magically got a lot better.

Ha, get it - magically.

Now I'm not a big fan of any kind of love-shape relationship in books.. unless it's a harem. Yet, this sort of love triangle thing worked for me. Yes, I shipped them all during different moments throughout the book because they were just that good. It isn't my fault that they all had great chemistry during this twisty af mystery. I ate it all up and I demand more.

Ugh, cliffhangers guys. I have so many questions after that freaking ending. The things with the mirrors, the notes, and the endless list of missing people. I also really want to know more about Demarco and his sister Eva. I'm suspicious that his sister is the one with true magic.. and he just kind of took it from her? In a way? I don't know... I'm not making sense after that epilogue.

I just have questions and I really want answers in the next book!

Where Dreams Descend was a light, magical story about a female magician in a "man's" world trying to make her mark on the world. Kallia lives for the stage, the applause, and one night, she runs away from the only place she ever called home to compete in the Magicians competition known as "Spectaular" There she finds friendship, love, and a power deep within herself she never knew existed.
The characters: Kallia - our protagonist, is witty, smart, and not afraid to take a hit. I loved her for her persistence and how she turns challenges into opportunity.
Demarco: a former magician and a potential love interest for our Kallia. He has a secret, his sister disappeared years before in a magic act gone wrong. and he is desperate to find her.
Jack: the master of the club Kallia lived and worked at. His role is the most mysterious and most interesting to me. what is his endgame? Is he trying to help Kallia? Or enslave her? The book keeps you guessing.
Aaros: a street thief that runs into Kallia her first day in the new city, and strikes a bargain with her. He will act as her assistant, and he will reap the same rewards Kallia does. Honestly, he was my favorite character. His devotion to Kallia made me wish that HE was the love interest of the novel. He never fails to step up and defend his friend, he is always there to "catch her when she falls" and always offers words of encouragement when everything seems too overwhelming for Kallia. Truly loved this character.
4 stars because I kind of felt lost during some parts of the book. example: there is a scene that starts off in Kallia's living area in the hotel and the next sentence she was sitting in a restaurant??
I received a fee e-ARC of this book from NetGalley, St. Martians Press, and Janella Angeles in exchange for an honest review

First off, I want to say a HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me early access to this much anticipated novel in exchange for an honest review.

So. In all honesty, this one is a bit hard for me to review. I want to say right off the bat that I don't want my opinions to discourage readers from what could very well be right up their alley, but for me this just....wasn't.

Starting out, I absolutely LOVED Janella Angeles' prose. She has such a vivid and wonderful way of creating an atmosphere. I also really enjoyed the initial introduction to this new and magical world.

That's about where my love for this ended, unfortunately. I really wanted to enjoy this novel, and I truly tried, but I found myself getting quite annoyed with characters about 20% in. I found certain characters to be unnecessarily whiny, and could not for the life of me figure out what their motivation would be for certain actions.

I find myself constantly flitting from genre to genre, and I think I may just need to lay off the YA for awhile, as I am finding myself more and more unable to relate or enjoy these types of books. I cannot understand the romance dynamics of YA anymore, and I think that is one of the biggest things that turned me off of this.

All in all, I would give this a 2.5/5.

When it comes to fantasy genre, there are so many ways in which the story could bore you out. TO ALL YOU CARAVAL FANS, this book must be your next read.

I loved this book from the very beginning of it. An incredible storyline, that I finished it in one sitting and now eagerly waiting for the sequel. I shall publish a detailed review nearing the publishing date of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this incredible eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A delicious mash-up of Phantom of the opera, Moulin Rouge and Chris Nolan’s Prestige (nope, there are no big twist and twins, just relax and enjoy the magic of the story!)

Semi-love triangle dances with manipulation, secrets, the universe of magicians, dark pasts and intriguing, riveting, high tension story-telling hooks you from the beginning and you cannot get enough because question marks are swimming in your fish-tank head and you ask yourself “Did the book finish? But instead of getting revelations, I got lost in more puzzles!”

Well actually I’m starting the strong parts of the book which I truly like: Its mysterious, eccentric, exotic world building, dark, conniving, and also intriguing pacing, dynamism of trio MCs picked my interest from the beginning.

BUT here are the weakest points that I found: The book circles around three powerful, strong willed, charismatic characters but at some parts I found them so immature, especially the hard boiled heroine turned into arrogant bitch when she competes with the other magicians and we don’t have much clue about characteristics about heroes. (especially Jack) I think the author left the most of their stories and secrets to the other installment and keep us in the dark so we may wonder and continue to read their stories. Well, a little more character building and heart throbbing romance with more hot chemistry (there are already sparks flying around the characters but they need to be ignited more!) work better for me!

Kallia (ferocious, ambitious, skilled magician, orphaned) works as showgirl in a magical club since her childhood. She is rising star (yes, Nicole Kidman’s Satine appears in your head) of show business and she has undeniable attraction with the master of the club, enigmatic Jack (club master always reminds me Tom Ellis’ Lucifer Morningstar. At least when you give his face to the character, you keep giggling when you read his chapters!) who is doing whatever it takes to protect her. But he can be so manipulative and keep so many secrets into himself.

And we’re introduced with Daron Demarco (great name choice) was a successful magician till he stopped performing two years ago. Something earth shattering happened in his life but we have no idea what it is! For fixing the damage and paying his penance, he accepts to be judge of a magical competition named “Spectaculore” ( I don’t know it’s another reference of “Moulin Rouge” because as you may remember, Evan McGregor’s Christian character was play writer and his play he wants to write for Satine was “Spectacular Spectacular”)

And Kallia learns about this magical competition so she wants to participate immediately. But the competition takes place in the nearby town and going there alone is a big challenge for the young woman like her.

As you may imagine she accepts challenge and participates the competition, defeating her rivalries. And of course a sparkling romance and attraction between her and our mysterious judge Daron confuses hell of her.

Overall this is promising, exhilarating, volatile, mysterious, dazzling reading. I cut my points because of not enough layered characterization and lack of clues to capture the story’s direction ( we left in the pitch black forest and we need an urgent flashlight to learn more about the characters’ secrets for justification of their motivations. So 3.5 stars rounded up 4 because of promising, fresh start and SPECTACULAR (once again) world-building!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this intriguing ARC with me in exchange my honest review. I’m looking forward to read the sequel. This is such a great start!

Wow, this book was a wild ride. I was intrigued from the beginning, fascinated by enigmatic Jack and charmed by fiery Kallia. The characters are definitely the strength of Where Dreams Descend, but the pale and icy setting of Glorian worked well juxtaposed against the glitz of the tournament. This book is atmospheric in the extreme.

The pace at the beginning was a bit slow, but the story ramps up over the course of the novel until you are thrown headlong into the conclusion (in a good way!). I will say, I am dying for the next book.

I would absolutely recommend Where Dreams Descend to any lovers of YA fantasy, or fans of stage magicians.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A story filled with intrigue, fire and mystery. Loveable characters, heart racing spectacles with an undercurrent of sadness weaving it's way through.

If I had anything negative to say it would be that at times the story feels that it's dragging, and the time line can seem a little off and confusing. Also, not much is answered at all about any of the mysteries that are laid bare, which whilst makes for intrigue, can be a little frustrating when you reach the last page.

However I loved the depth to the characters, even those who don't feature in the spotlight. Care has been taken with each one of them and that's always something I look for in a story. I really enjoyed the tension between the two main characters, as I'm a sucker for any kind of angst.

Fans of books such as Caraval, The Night Circus and The Folk of the Air trilogy might just enjoy this book.

Ok, listen, I LOVE magicians. I wanted to love this. I could have loved this. But there was so much that was left unexplained, so much that was not explored.

I still don’t understand a lot of the world in which this takes place. I don’t understand the antagonist(s). I know there’s more story in sequels. But I feel like the first story should at least come to some kind of conclusion. Should at least explain what the story actually is.

I think the focus being so heavily on the will-they-won’t-they of two people who didn’t earn the tension, shortchanged a lot of other dynamics. Everyone else just seemed there for the sake of being there, to move little bits of story forward. They could have been interesting.

This is the kind of book that I don’t hate. I don’t think the writing was bad (ok, a little melodramatic and I HATE when characters dance around secrets, not just from other characters but from the reader, just to drag it out). But it’s the kind of book I want to just hold upside down and shake until the story rearranges itself into something that makes more sense. I want the pieces to fall into place.

I usually don’t read sequels for books I rate so low but there’s a part of me that wants to see if the issues I had with this one fix themselves in the second.

Where Dreams Descend is a beautifully written story of magic, love, and secrets. Angeles' writing style is so beautiful that I would have probably enjoyed this book even if the story was dull. Prepare for an amazing female character who's a powerful magician and discover a magical world and one of the most mysterious circuses in literature. The first book hasn't even been published yet and I already can't wait for the next one.
*I received Where Dreams Descend as ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book from the very start. Finally, a book that has an original storyline!. I have always been a fan of magic and i really loved how the story centers around a magician competition that goes horribly wrong. The main characters were all equally enjoyable. i cant wait for the sequel!

I enjoyed this book although it did move a bit slow at times. The writing was descriptive and evoked a magical, mysterious atmosphere throughout the book. The characters were fairly well developed but not always likable. I know that this is book 1 in a series, but I'm not certain if I would be inclined to read book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I had high expectations for this read, and was so excited to receive it! The start of the story was a little confusing and hard to unravel at first. It took a good chunk, about 25% through to get my stride and really dive in. The changes of point of view were sometimes hard to catch- but I think in the finished product there will be segue marks to help with this. The world building was good, as were the characters but it wasn’t until 50% that I could say I felt for the characters and had emotion tied to them The story got a little over complicated with multiple disappearances and too many “secretive” storylines hidden in mystery. NOTHING was ever solved on any of the mysteries, which now thinking back leaves me very unfulfilled! I think some of the characters “mysteries” should have been discovered. All in all I did enjoy it and give it 4 stars!

Rating: 3.25/5 shattered mirrors

Format: eBook. I’d like to thank NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

What it's like: The style of writing and themes reminded me a lot of Caraval.

To sum up: This story starts with a powerful female magician running from her claustrophobic life in an isolated inn (and to be frank, emotionally abusive caretaker? Mentor? Love interest? I have no idea what to call him still - see ending note) to seek fame and fortune at a nearby town that is hosting a magical competition. To add to this, the town she is running towards has a murky and mysterious past, the forest she has to run through has the ability to warp your perceptions to confuse you, and get you lost, and did I mention the creepy Phantom-of-the-opera-inspired mentor who can also warp her perceptions and is hell-bent on keeping her performing at his Inn? YEA. So we have a mysterious and forbidding mentor, a mysterious forest, a town with a murky/unknown past, and all this before bodies start dropping left and right. It’s a lot to process. While our heroine must traverse the dangerous terrain of the competition, she must also face sexist judges (this book seems to be set in a sexist world in general) who believe a female magician’s place is in doing “home magic” or in a performance arena that is to be enjoyed by men.

What I loved: The author really plants a lot of seeds which all feed into different mysterious aspects of the storytelling which I enjoyed. It made me want to keep reading to find out more about how this world works, who these characters are, and who the evil forces at work are. There are a lot of cool elements at work in this story including mirror magic, some feminist themes (which I wish she took further but that may be planned for in the next book?), illusion magic, memory magic, unreliable narrators, and circus/performance backdrops. I also enjoyed the slow-burn romance (even if it was a little too hot and cold for my taste). I definitely appreciated the character of Kallia. She felt very real and has a way of jumping off the page. She is brave, self-reliant, and has a bold personality I really enjoyed getting to know.

What was meh:
The pace, in the beginning, was a little slow. But once we are in the city where the competition takes place, things start to move much faster. I had a hard time understanding how the magic works, how many people have it, and why the society is built the way it is. There is something not entirely cohesive about it all, but I wasn’t sure what was supposed to remain a mystery and what was just unclarified. Part of this issue is probably due to the narrowed focus of Kallia’s (our young runaway magician) POV; she has up to this point led a sheltered and isolated life so it makes sense that she doesn’t know a lot about the outside world. But even when we get POV shifts to one of the judges, we don’t gain much understanding about how the world, or magic, works.

Overall, the writing style isn’t my favorite. The descriptions, while sometimes were very pretty, tended to be overwritten. I feel like some pruning of the writing, especially with redundant language and cliched phrases, would have resulted in a stronger story. This is also the kind of story with a slow-burn romance that jerks you back and forth between “will they, or won’t they” that got a little tiresome after a while. There are a lot of moments where the two should just TALK to each other and 90% of their problems would be solved, and there is really no convincing reason why they SHOULDN’T just talk to each other. A lot of readers like that kind of drama, but I don’t. Further, when decisions are made between them regarding a relationship, it felt haphazard rather than built up, like the writer realized they were at the page number where something had to happen so she made it happen, rather than it making sense in the flow of the overall story.

This leads me to the next criticism I have, which is about the pace at the end. As I said above, through-out the competition, strange magical things are happening. People are dying, mysterious notes left, fires springing up out of nowhere; it’s as if the city itself were trying to communicate with the magicians but no one can understand what it’s trying to say. There is some underlying secret that everyone has forgotten and I loved that idea and loved trying to figure it out along with the characters. BUT, after all that excellent build-up, for some reason, the author decides to speed up events at the end and it felt completely rushed and confusing. She decides to literally combine two events that have been planned since Kallia arrived for the competition (for absolutely no reason I could understand), and then the book is over and 90% of our questions are left unanswered. I was SO disappointed about this. I am fine with cliffhangers, I love them actually, but only if they actually give you some hints about what might be going on and we did not get enough. All those questions burning in my mind throughout the book? I still have them and now I don’t care.

Overall, since I stayed engaged and interested in this story until the end that typically rates 3 stars. Normally, a great ending would push this up to a 4 or 5, but since the ending was rushed (seriously, did the author realize she was over word count or something?) and didn’t answer any of my questions it remains a 3. The writing style can also push up a rating for me, but this style wasn’t my favorite. I’m giving it a little extra here, because of it’s potential to do something interesting in the next book (especially if it explores further the role of women in the field of magic in their society as a metaphor for women fighting for equal rights for always) but tbh it’s unlikely I will read the sequel, I rarely do for firsts that I rate under 4 stars.

One last important note: I have conflicting feelings about Kallia’s relationship with her “mentor” Jack. To me, Jack is presented as overbearing, aggressive, terrifying in his power both in his magic and his power over Kallia. However, I couldn’t help but notice that the way he is written is also as seductive, charismatic, and Kallia’s only source of support. This complex relationship really hit a nerve in me, it made me uncomfortable and made me think of unhealthy relationships I have experienced or my friends/family have. I could say it was written well because it made me feel these things, but it is also very dangerous because I really don’t want young women idolizing Jack, who I see as a very dangerous and possibly sadistic character. I think Kallia’s relationship towards him changes for the better throughout the book, but I am very nervous about what role he may or may not play in future books.

Who I'd recommend it to: Fans of Caraval and possibly the Lunar chronicles. I really think people who like those series will also enjoy this one. The writing style is similar and for caraval the themes are really similar. I don’t recommend to people who will find controlling male figures (i.e. Phantom of the Opera types which are somewhere between mentor and lover and feel they have ownership over you) triggering, which at times made me feel both angry and terrified in the worst way.

Favorite lines:
*These quotes will be checked against the final version and corrected once the book is released*
“I gave you power,” he said quietly. “A life, a stage.”
“You gave me a cage.” Her breath shook. “And now you want to throw me back in it.”

“Magician or not, we’ve always lived in a series of boy’ clubs we’re not allowed to enter,” the journalist went on. “We’re told we’re simply lucky to be in the room, as long as we stay quiet. Make even a little murmur, and it’s like we’ve disturbed the order of life itself.”
“Trust me, I know,” Kallia said curtly. “Since arriving, I’ve been constantly reminded.”
“That’s because they’re scared. If you can’t stay small in the box they’ve built around you, they will make you feel small until you fit right back in it.”

It was wrong to justify what sort of hurt mattered and what didn’t. Anything that left scars came from hurt. Only now was she realizing the scars she bore and had trained herself not to see.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3196606078