Where Dreams Descend is the Caraval for a class of people who want a lot more magic and a little more mystery. Reminiscent of my favorite Disney Channel movie, Now You See It, the book drew me in from its initial lines. From there, we're exposed to a magical cast of characters all seeking the ultimate prize: to be the headliner of the Conquering Circus. When magic is involved, we know very little can go right and the characters learn this from themselves as the circus (and the game) have a more ominous underside than anyone could have expected.

This book is hefty. It isn't a simple breeze through and fast read until you reach the end kind of novel. Angeles has woven in an intricate layer of depth and deception, built on by the magic in place and the characters she's developed. It begins to breath a life of its own, slowly adding intrigue upon layer of intrigue until the reader is woven into the plot as deeply as the characters are. With each new twist, we're stuck struggling to breath. to understand just how far into the void the deception goes. And when the book reaches its conclusion, we're left unfulfilled and seeking a sequel that is still far in the future.

But truthfully, we just want a happy ending and for a love triangle to maybe explore the possibilities of everyone living together happily and forever.

"Magician or not, we've always lived in a series of boys' clubs we're not allowed to enter...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."

A good book is something you realise after you are done reading it. But the the first hint of the book being good was it's cover.
What I realised after reading it was that initially it seems to be a cross between Caraval and Ace of Shades, quite a popular opinion I have seen. The magic and mystery in the story definitely backed the expectations I had from it.

The most interesting part of the story is usually its characters, here we have Kallia who is sassy, free spirited with a 'don't give a damn' attitude. She is head strong and a realistically believable protagonist. The gender equality and feminism doesn't seem preachy or in your face.

I would recommend this book to everyone with a taste for mystery and magic, and for everybody who likes fantasy reads.

This was so much fun, it was like a mix of Caraval and Ace of Spades, two series which I really enjoyed. We have a dark, mysterious, atmospheric world full of magic and secrets, some vibrant main characters, and a very well done love triangle. The ending really left off on a cliffhanger and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel.

So you're telling me...I have to wait a year to find out how it ends?!?!?!? Greattttt, just greatttt.

Well, this was everything I didn't know I wanted. Rather than being influenced by Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge, aka two of my favourite musicals, it seemed to be more of a mashup of Caraval and Ace of Shades. It had all of the mysterious and magical vibes that those two series are famous for.

I liked the romance, but wasn't necessarily blown away by it either. Rather, I liked the respect and rapport they had with each other. It felt very authentic, so I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship will develop (especially when taking that ENDING into consideration!!! #mindblown).

But mainly, I just liked Kallia as a character. She was so spunky and didn't have a care in the world about what others thought of her. She knew what she wanted and was ambitious enough to chase after it, even when all the odds were decidedly stacked against her.

The quote that stuck with me the most was: "Magician or not, we've always lived in a series of boys' clubs we're not allowed to enter...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."

Not only was this a beautifully-crafted fantasy, but it was also an important discussion of gender equality and feminism. Despite being as good as, or even better, than their male colleagues in the work force, women still have to fight twice as hard to even be heard, much less receive equal recognition for our successes. I really liked that timely issues such as this, as women still work as hard as they have in the past to "break the glass ceiling" today, was included in the novel.

I highly recommend picking up this novel when it releases. I'm already counting down the days until its sequel is available for me to get my hands on! ;)

To say this book disappointed me would be an understatement. It did not live up to the hype that surrounded it. By chapter 22 I was already just wishing it was over. I couldn’t get behind any of the characters and the protagonist..... oh Kallia, how I wish I could like you. The two love interests Jack and Daron were just no. Jack was toxic and kept messing with her memories while Daron was so boring. Also the friendships didn’t make sense? She develops a super tight bond with a thief after one interaction. If this book reminded me of something it would be the first Book in the Throne of Glass series in which there’s a magical competition and the two love interests. I hate love triangles and kallia girl... you are here for a competition you don’t need to be focusing on guys! I also didn’t understand the point of her being so cocky and entering into a competition she knew she’d win just to shove it to some old dudes. Suffice to say I just did not mix with this book. There was barely a plot and by the end nothing is really explained. The magic and world building wasn’t that great either. I was so excited to read a book with POCs and magic, but this did not hit the spot for me.

Love this book! It has such a magical, lush atmosphere that brings to mind Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge. Jack is such a great character. I loved his dynamic with the fiery and passionate Kallia. The magic competition was really well done too. Though the book started out a bit slow, it definitely picked up. This is a must read!

The premise of this novel was fantastic. Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge with a competition element sounds like one of my perfect novels. But, the execution sadly fell pretty flat for me.

I really liked the characters. Kallia is a strong female character who doesn't hate the other women she meets, Jack is the mysterious Phantom character, and Daron is the brooding/pining Raoul character, and I loved him. I do wish they had all been developed more, but hopefully we'll get more development in the later books of this series.

The plot was...non-existant. This book is 447 pages, and 420 of those pages are the characters having short conversations, then going out and wandering around the city brooding about something that isn't always clear. The magical competition scenes are over in the blink of an eye, and then it's back to the characters sitting and thinking about things on their own. There was also almost no world building. The characters spoke about the geography of this world, but there isn't a map (in my arc copy, at least), and nothing is explained so saying a character is from a certain region means nothing. There's also talk of these magical woods that confuse anyone who goes into them and forces them to get lost (or something like that), but it's not developed at all. In fact, Kallia goes through these woods on her way to the magical city with no issues at all, but then laments about how dangerous they are when she's safely in the city.

However, the last 30 ish pages were really exciting and so much fun to read-and I'm still reeling over the ending!

I will be picking up the next book in this series because I'm seriously intrigued about the last few scenes in the book. I need to know what's going to happen next!

*Thank you to Wednesday books for my arc copy of this book!*

While I didn't finish this one, I read more than 50%, and feel that I can at least say why I didn't finish. In short, there wasn't anything in particular that was wrong or bad about the book, but it was just so similar to other YA fantasy novels that I did not feel the need to keep reading. I think teens will read and enjoy it, but it's definitely not a book with crossover appeal for adults. 3 stars - I will selectively recommend it to teens.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review and participation in the social media book tour running 18th Aug to 1st September.

This book really captured my interest as a blend of all the things I love about entertainment and magic. It is surreal and bends reality in a way that makes you wonder what is true and what is imaginary. I love the mystery and intrigue alongside the beautiful descriptions that bring to mind the glitz and glamour of being on stage performing. It had a excellent level of suspense and thrill...without being too scary or creepy, although I cannot walk past a mirror in the dark right now, without wondering whether what I am seeing is real! It is the first in the Kingdom of Cards duology and I cannot wait to read the next one. I felt that it touched nicely on some social issues such as gender inequality whilst still being a joyful, fun read. I liked the main characters and was quite invested in their stories by the end!

My full review will be available on my co-run blog www.twwbookclub.co.uk on 19th June 2020 and you can find me on the book tour on 18th August 2020 @horners_book_corner (Instagram) and @hornersbkcorner (Twitter).

Enjoyed it but not enough to become a new favorite. The world can be a bit difficult to follow, especially at the beginning. Don't think it's a series I will be following through with, but there's definitely an audience for this story.

This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I didn’t have a lot of expectations going into it because I didn’t know much about the story itself. I had heard that this book was supposedly a Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge mashup, but I haven't seen either one of those so I was really in the dark on what this story was going to be about. I think that ultimately served me very well because I was completely in the dark on where the story was going to go and that made the plot twists that much more shocking.

This ultimately ended up being a really solid read for me. This universe and the storyline are both very and truly unique. I also found a lot of the characters to be likeable and interesting. With the said, I did have some issues with the main character, Kallia. She just wasn’t that relatable or my cup of tea.

I definitely have a lot of theories for the next installment, but I think all of those theories are probably going to be turned on their heads based on this book.

What a fantastical story this was. Angeles managed to grab my attention in the first chapter and kept a hold of it until the last page. I cannot wait to see where this story goes. If you are looking for magic and action and everything amazing that you don't even know you're looking for then this is the book for you. Get ready to step into a uniquely build world and be amazed and wowed by all the things this talented author brought to life.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, this is Kallia's story. If you're going into this book expecting a large cast of characters to care about, you're going to be disappointed. This is a story about a showgirl/magician and her hopes and dreams. The other characters do not need to be as developed as Kallia because they are not the ones you are supposed to care about. Again, this is Kallia's story.

Kallia is running from the club she has been trapped in by illusions in the hopes of something better, something that she can control. She enters a mysterious city, finds a quick companion, and makes her way to the stage for an audition in the magician's competition. Now, I already said this is Kallia's story, and it is. However, this book is also about the city itself, and the city seems to be angry.

**Potential spoilers below**

If you can't tell by now, I've read the negative reviews of this book, and I think they're ridiculous. The main complaints I've seen include the fact that you feel nothing for the disappearing magicians. Great! You're not supposed to. This is Kallia's story. The disappearing magicians are nothing but a plot device, and that's fine. I never once felt like I was missing out because I didn't know who they were or why there were there. This was not their story. Instead, their disappearances are meant to make the reader question who or what is causing the disappearances and if Jack (The Master of the club Kallia has run away from) is behind it all or if he's truly trying to heed warnings.

Jack is abusive. There's no question about that. He's manipulative and abusive, and his character is completely confusing and his motivations are unclear. THIS IS FINE. This is the first book in a series. If everything wrapped up cleanly by the end, there would be no book two. Instead, we're left wondering what Jack was trying to warn Kallia about, how he knew about DeMarco, and more specifically, *what exactly he knows about DeMarco*.

That leads me to... DeMarco. While at times this felt like it could also be his story, it is not. It is Kallia's story. DeMarco is looking for his missing sister. We learn how she went missing later in the book (why are so many people complaining about loose ends and plots that don't make sense when we literally have one right here that we're watching pan out very, very clearly?), and we learn how that affected him as a stage magician. HOWEVER, considering the way she disappeared and Kallia's intense phobia of the *same thing*, this is clearly a set up for something involving Kallia and potentially Jack.

A lot of the angry, negative reviews of this book, in my opinion, treated this book like a standalone and not the opening to a series. Yes, there are loose ends and things that don't make sense. However, (those of you who DNF...) if you'd taken the time to get to the end, you'd see how all those loose ends meet up and set up book 2, a book that I cannot wait to get my hands on and am quite upset I have to wait so long to get.

A little bit of mixed emotions about this one, but all together a good first book in a series. It checked all the boxes for me, I'm interested and invested at this point, I only wish there would have been a bit more solidity in certain things by the ending.

The writing was quite beautiful, it skirted the edge of purple prose at times but ultimately I felt it wasn't too over the top for me. I thought the author did a great job at setting the scenes. There was a captivating contrast between the cold bleak backdrop of a dying town and the invigorating colorful splashes of magic at play. The fact that magic also held this undertone of mystery and danger only made it that much more exciting and intriguing.

I could see some having issue with how boisterous and exorbitantly headstrong Kallia can be. Honestly, I loved every minute of it. I loved how daring and passionate she was. In the face of a world where magic was a man's game, she unabashedly held nothing back when flaunting her talents. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the story. Were there times where she used excess bravado to push back? YUP. Were there times she could have let someone in and shown a bit of the worry she struggled with? Uh huh. But I honestly totally get putting on your game face and not letting your haters, and even sometimes your friends, see the obstacles get you down. I think it made a lot of sense after Kallia was so deeply violated recently for her to be more on guard for awhile in who she let fully in.

I really enjoyed a bunch of the other characters too. Jack is a big ole mystery that I really want to know more about. He falls pretty well into this dark grey place right now, he's not the hero but I'm not sure he's the fully the villain either. There's so much to be learned about him still. I would have liked to get even a few more morsels of information about him before the end, the few crumbs we got really only made like 20 new questions emerge. Demarco was one I wasn't quite sure if I'd end up liking or not for awhile. I was glad more about him was revealed towards the end, it gave him depth that seemed to be lacking the first half of the book with him being so closed off and broody. Aaros brought a much needed cheeky lightness to the fold. I hope to see even more from him in future books. Also, the entire magic circus, more of that whole troupe please, because they were fabulous!

There was a ton of intrigue throughout this one, but ultimately not many revelations by the end. I would have liked at least a few of the many mysteries to come to some sort of fruition, but as I said before, this author can really set a scene. Where Dreams Descend set the stage for the second act and it is full of many deliciously wicked possibilities!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my opinion of the book.

So I was under the impression this was going to be kind of like Phantom of the Opera and kind of like Six of Crows. There's a mystery that needs solving and there's a team of people who each have their own secrets, but their own skills to help get the job done. I liked both of those books and I've seen this book hyped a lot by others who had read it. I was excited. I COMPLETELY missed the review from Claire Legrand comparing it to Caraval. I would've had much different expectations had I seen that.

Where Dreams Descend is mostly about a magician named Kallia, a powerful female magician who wants to prove herself on stage. She goes to the lost city of Glorian to compete in a magic competition where she meets Daron Demarco, a famous magician and judge who has a dark past. As the competition starts, unfortunate "accidents" start befalling the contestants and it's up to Kallia and Demarco to try and stop it.

First off, this book took me THREE MONTHS to get through. I was that disengaged. Every time I picked it up, I'd get a little further and then put it down again. I finally said enough's enough and forced myself to finish it. I was very bored in a book about magic and magical accidents. That should be near impossible for me. I love Fantasy books. Most of that is due to the characters. I just didn't really care about them or their goals.

-Kallia is a stereotypical "headstrong female lead" who's kind of abrasive but you know it's to hide that she's vulnerable underneath the shell. She bends the rules a lot and then gets upset when people call her out on it.

-Demarco has this secret for nearly the whole book. You can figure out what it is and who it involves pretty early on, so it's frustrating from a reader standpoint to wait until over 80% of the book is done for him to FINALLY confirm what you already knew forever ago.

-The judges of the competition, minus Demarco and another judge named Erasmus, are almost comically sexist. Like the sexist version of a mustache twirling villain who puts damsels on train tracks. Every time Kallia performs, she way outdoes the other contestants (all men) and the other judges are like "WHAT?! a WOMAN?! Performing MAGIC?!?! *clutches pearls*". It gets tedious the longer that shtick goes on. You'd think at SOME point, her talent would show them they should rethink their preconceived notions, but then we can't have it hammered over our heads that women can't be stage magicians and should be assistants, but KALLIA is a FEMALE MAGICIAN with a MALE ASSISTANT! CRAZY! Also, they make a big deal of Kallia bending the rules and call her out for "cheating", but then they blatantly cheat left and right and write it off because it's of benefit to the male contestants. They don't really have character traits other than "sexist".

-There's also Jack, who is Kallia's teacher and the "Phantom" character. His big twist comes way too late in the book and before that, he's pretty much just the Phantom of the Alastor Place instead of the Opera. If you've seen or read Phantom, you'll see the similarities very quickly.

It definitely reminded me of Caraval in that the magic system was kind of random, it wasn't really explained how it works, and characters shrug off any irregularities. For example, "The cane must've been riddled with all sorts of tailoring gear somehow". This is something Stephanie Garber did, too, and it drove me nuts. The word "somehow" should not show up in reference to the magic system of your world. It sounds like even you don't know how it works. YOU created it. You should know how everything in the world works and be able to explain it. She also does that thing Garber does where the metaphors are nonsensical. For example, "falling like wishes granted". I feel like she meant to evoke a falling star here, but it sounds very flowery for the sake of being flowery and doesn't really make sense. I feel like if you REALLY loved Caraval, this is for you. I didn't, so I was irritated with this.

I know this is a duology, but the ending left a LOT open and a lot of loose threads. By the time some of the "secrets" you're waiting for are revealed, I didn't care about them anymore, so I most likely won't read book two to find out what happens. There are new characters introduced with less than 20% of the book left, which left me wondering why instead of just saving them for the second book.

The one saving grace of this book was Kallia's stage assistant, Aaros. Aaros is a cinnamon roll and needs to be protected at all costs! He's very funny and protective. He's a great friend to Kallia. I loved him. He was the only character I really cared about and I wish there had been more of him. I understand this wasn't really possible because they have to work in that love story. However, I would read a book just about Aaros and his life before he got dragged into this mess. One star just for Aaros.

All in all, if you liked Caraval, then you will probably love this. It just wasn't for me.

I'd like to begin by thanking NetGalley and Wednesday Books. I was provided an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Comparing your novel to the likes of Moulin Rouge, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Night Circus is a bold move. Ballsy, in fact. All three titles are timeless classics in their own right, or, at the very least, celebrated for being speculator debuts inside of their given genre. It's an easy sell, and a nigh impossible delivery. I'm sorry to report that Where Dreams Descend doesn't deliver. I wanted to like this book. The buzz/hype surrounding it seemed surreal and promising, especially for a first novel. It was so overhyped on Goodreads, that one comment breathlessly claimed that they 'had very strong feelings that this book would be making its way into subscription boxes this summer.' Well, yes. But not for the reasons you'd expect.

Don't misunderstand. I was swept up in the same giddy, infectious excitement. I was delighted when my request for the eARC was granted. I have a deep, abiding love for magic, over the top showmanship, magicians, and showy dance numbers. Yet, strangely, for a book that promises to incorporate all of those things and more, there was surprisingly little magic or showmanship in Where Dreams Descend. While I had high hopes for this novel, it was ultimately a disappointing slog that failed to hold my interest.

In this review, I'll do my best to outline the various issues I had with Ms. Angeles debut, as honestly as possible.


Writing quality/readability - 3/5 From a purely technical standpoint, Where Dreams Descend is an easy read. The writing style is direct and to the point. It is also, unfortunately, very spartan. For a novel that centers around showmanship, magic, and the stage, the writing is surprisingly bland. To put it bluntly: there's no magic in the writing itself. No sense of wonder or suspense. Janelle Angeles has stumbled, here; succumbing to a common pitfall of YA, where the writing feels watered down to the point where she inadvertently talks down to her audience. Forgetting, I think, that YA isn't just for ages 12 - 19. I didn't connect with the writing style, and because of that, the score suffered. The writing wasn't compelling/gripping enough to hold my attention. But, if you like no-frills and little description, Where Dreams Descend meets this criteria. In this case, I've scored purely on readability; not necessary because it's an enjoyable read.

Plot - 1/5 Oh, goodness. Where to begin? This is perhaps a question Ms. Angeles should have asked herself as well, as Where Dreams Descend is very slow to start. Nothing of note happens until 69% of the way through the book. I'm willing to chalk this up to a rookie mistake for a first time author/ a poor pacing decision, but unfortunately, my eyes were glazing over by the time the semblance of a plot took shape. Even then, I was left with more questions than answers. This is a novel that suffers heavily from unresolved loose ends/plot holes.

There's also the fact that for a novel about magicians, magical competitions, and the stage, very little of the above is ever actually shown. It certainly isn't the focus of the novel. The blurb is misleading, in that respect. We're promised magic. What we get is an overdone heterosexual will they/won't they? romance, a stereotypical "feisty" PoC, and...plot holes. Lots and lots of plot holes.

Characterization - 2/5 In this case, the score is generous. The characters in Where Dreams Descend felt very...flat. Perhaps 'underdeveloped' is a better word. Unfortunately, across the board, Kallia, Aaros, the mysterious 'The Master' aka Jack, and even the love interest Daron were one dimensional. Kallia quickly goes from being a sympathetic character to thoroughly unlikable. She's also reduced to the role of the 'hysterical/haughty woman,' depending on who she interacts with, and (I'm still bitter about this) the 'feisty/mouthy/aggressive PoC woman.' Ugh. Just...ugh.

Jack is introduced as the antagonist early on, and plays such a minor role/contributes so infrequently to the plot that he's instantly forgettable. While it's obvious that he's meant to be a nod to The Phantom, he mostly serves as barely more than a stereotypical Scooby Doo villain for the duration of the novel.

Even the circus performers fall flat. They're hastily introduced, brought back when it's convenient to the plot, and then banished from sight/mention again, with no growth or development. Aaros is the one saving grace, and even he doesn't live up to his full potential. He's also the only thing saving this score. If I could give a 0 for this category, I would.

World Building - 0/5 The elusive 0/5 made an appearance, after all. That's because, unfortunately, there's nothing to score. Where Dreams Descend has a glimmer of a world, but unfortunately, it's never fully explored or explained. Even the characters claim that they know nothing of the city/town that the majority of the novel takes place in, beyond a certain point.

Yikes. This is unfortunately lazy writing. Irredeemably lazy writing. And incredibly frustrating, to boot.

I had high hopes for this novel. It was unfortunately a far cry from what I signed up for. I doubt I'll have the interest (or the masochism,) to return for book 2.

Where Dreams Descend follows Kallia as she auditions for a contest amongst magicians where women are not supposed to compete. During this competition, people start mysteriously getting hurt and disappearing.

This book is so disappointing that it makes me angry. It didn't live up to the books it was compared to: The Night Circus and Caraval.

There was no plot from this book other than the competition that Kallia is participating in. There were threads that were mentioned but never brought up again and side plots what had no relevance or significant meaning to them. The romance was not slow burn, it came out of nowhere. Everything is very convenient in this story. Information pops up out of nowhere to further the plot instead of subtly putting it earlier in the book.

The characters were so one dimensional. Most of them didn't have a names. The actions of the people who do have some development make no sense.

The world building doesn't exist. Kallia is an overpowered character with "born magic" which is inherently stronger than "learned magic". We don't know the boundaries of the magic system. We don't know much of anything about the world at all. This is easily explained by the fact that no one knows the history of the city, but that's just lazy writing.

The writing for this baffles me. This book is 70% feminist statements Kallia thinks up on how sexist this world is. I don't mind a feminist book, but I do mind the blatant hypocrisy of this since if the roles were reversed, Kallia would be considered sexist. She gets a pass though, since she's a woman in this story. It is not acceptable to have a female character throw feminist statements out there when this character is verbally abusive to every male character and most female characters. This female character physically abused two male characters, one of which is the love interest! This female character doesn't doesn't actually care about the feminist issues she brings up (sexism amongst stage magicians) otherwise she would be uplifting other women to do the same thing. She doesn't embody any feminist trait. She is rude, arrogant, self centered, and a hypocrite. She still somehow has a love interest!

This book is incredibly problematic and YA readers deserve better than this. YA readers should have protagonists that care about lifting other people up with them when they face sexism. There needs to be better examples of this in books, and Where Dreams Descend is an incredibly poor example.

1/5

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 3
Pace: 3
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

I really loved and enjoyed this book. It got me out of a huge reading slump! I loved the whole atmosphere of the world, the magic system was good and the characters were amazing. The book was well-paced, it took time to develop the characters, their friendships and the world but it wasn't boring and I really enjoyed reading about them.
Kallia was really powerful, a little bit too powerful at times. I couldn't really believe in her and her abilities because everyone seemed so weak compared to her. I loved all the characters, they were all well developed, the friendships were so endearing and fun to read about. I also loved the romance! It's a bit of a love triangle but I didn't mind it. I really liked the plot twist at the end, and the vilain was someone I really enjoyed seeing and reading about.
I only wish we had more POC and LGBTQ+ characters in this book. I hope there will be more of them in the next books. I Highly recommend checking this book out when it’s out!

E-arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review!

I wish this had worked for me--it has all the things I would love in a story. But the prose felt awkward and I couldn't connect. I also really wanted a better, richer atmosphere, but instead I felt there was a reliance on telling instead of showing, and ultimately I didn't even finish the book.