Wow. Give me a minute..

This book was all I hoped for from a book that I saw advertised as a mash up between Phantom of the Opera, Caraval, and Moulin Rough... and maybe a little more.

Kallia is such a strong and awesome female lead character. I was thoroughly impressed by how much I actually enjoyed her. The author did an awesome job at slowly pulling away at her to get to the real grit of who she was.

I was thankful for the POV from all three of our leads. Stories told this way are so much more enticing, to me and I feel like they truly pull the readers in that much more.

This was a dark, broody, seductive, enigmatic read that caught my attention on levels that many YA books do not.
Definitely a must read!

I'm not going to lie, reading this book was a struggle to me, at first. It was so weird. I did not feel like I wanted to pick it up, It took me ten days to get to the 40% percent mark, but the next day, I had read the rest in one sitting. I honestly don't know how it happened. Everything was so slow, and I was confused over all that was going on. To summit up, I was bored. But then, something change, things started to happen, and I could NOT put it down.
I'm surprised I decided to rate this book 4-stars because circus themed books aren't my thing, but I thought it was pretty good. This book was different from everything I've read before, probably thanks to Kallia. She was such an interesting main character, likely because I wouldn't want to be friends with her. Her personality was annoying and too condescending at times, but I'm still not sure if that is really her, or the mask she wears for most of the story. Anyway, I liked her even when I couldn't stand her. Another character that I loved, but couldn't quite understand was Jack. Jack was, for me, THE mystery of the book. What does he want? What is his objective? Jack's relationship with Kallia was so mysterious I didn’t understand what it entailed. Lovers, friends, family...? This depiction was most certainly done on purpose. I have a love-hate relationship with not knowing what is going on.
Halfway through the book, I started enjoying the mysterious atmosphere, but the world-building was rather lacking. It enhanced the whole "I have no idea what is going on" at first, but then, you just followed the story. I hope the author goes more into detail about the world, magic, and politics in future books.
So basically, I have too many questions that still need to be answered.

I absolutely loved this book! If you are looking for an amazing fantastical book to sink your teeth into, then you NEED to read Where Dreams Descend. The ending left me wanting more, I cannot wait for the next book to come out! The characters were so well developed and enchanting, I especially appreciated that there was such a strong female lead, who does not give a crap about what anyone around her thinks.

i will read any circus book ever in the entire world ever created. this book was fantastic and full of fantasy and love and all good things. i love the cirucs and circus type books.

I had some trouble getting into this one that I’m going to attribute to how much ya fantasy I read. It reminded me a lot of Caraval which I did not care and I ended up putting it down about 1/4 of the way in. I’m going to try again because people have raved about this book!

From the day Wednesday Books announced this book deal, I was dying to read this story. The Night Circus...Caraval...Moulin Rouge....they are all "performances" I wish I could experience again for the first time, so WHERE DREAMS DESCEND seemed perfect for me; I was more than ready to be spellbound.

However, I wasn't. The book's comp titles are spot-on, but I was not sucked into Angeles' world the way I was with Erin Morgenstern and Stephanie Garber, nor did I connect to the characters. I could picture everything, the descriptions and dialogue smart and sharp, but I didn't find myself fully immersed or invested. I felt like I was watching a performance rather than being a part of one.

And I think most of that falls on me, so take the above with a gigantic grain of salt. Whenever I start a book, I like to dedicate time to really get into the story--an hour or two--and unfortunately, I did the exact opposite here. I would read only a chapter at a time before bed. WHERE DREAMS DESCEND definitely deserves more dedication than that, because the concept truly is enchanting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a nice mash-up of Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge. I love the world we were brought into and how the magic was explained and the performances, but I didn't like how immature Kallia seemed to get sometimes, I know we all do act immature sometimes but it seemed like she was for most of the book. , I do wish we had a little more background for Jack and the others, but I'm hoping we will in book 2. I have a lot of questions and hope they are answered in the next book. That being said I do agree that it is annoying how there are a lot of almost happenings with things in the books. I like a good tease but i'm dying here. I do think this would make a great movie though!

Thank you to Negalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for something a bit dark with shadows that bite, something enchanting with magic that will set you back with awe, and something a bit mysterious with twists that pounce around corners then WHERE DREAMS DESCEND needs to be your next read. Darkly dazzling and written with a captivating prose, the first book in Kingdom of Cards is sure to whet your appetite and have you clamoring for more.

I requested this book from NetGalley because it was pitched as 'Moulin Rouge' meets 'Phantom of the Opera'. These are two of my all time favorite shows, and I've never come across a book inspired by Moulin Rouge, so I was all about it. After reading it I would say it is veeeeeeery loosely based on POTO and the only comparison to Moulin Rouge I could see was in the opening chapter when the main character descend from the ceiling on a chandelier.

The book follows the magician Kallia as she escapes from 'The House' where she's been performing for...forever? Not too clear on that. She manages to escape and enters the mysterious city of Glorian where she enters a magic competition. Since women are not allowed to practice magic on stage everyone is against her from the beginning and she needs to overcome these obstacles in order to perform and try to win. Strange things begin happening during the competition and magicians start to disappear, which has Kallia wondering if she really left her past behind her.

The beginning started off very confusing and nothing really made sense until I reached chapter 5. Although it was a confusing start I thought it might be promising, but it never really got any better. I would have DNFed at about 25% if I hadn't received the book through NetGalley. The main character enters a new city and has no problem at all fitting right in and meeting people even though she's never left the house before. During the competition it is so clear she is more powerful than all the other magicians and we only ever get to see her acts. The other competitors are simply side characters and are not fleshed out at all. We "hear" they are nowhere near as good as she is but we never "see" it. There is barely any world building at all. There might have been a paragraph about the background of the city of Glorian and the 4 families that used to rule it, but I forget immediately after I read it and it was barely ever mentioned again until it played a big part in the ending. The book felt like it was 200 pages too long and nothing happened until the last 20.

As for the main characters, Demarco is a flat love interest and really offers nothing to the story except apologizing over and over. Jack was the most interesting to me but he played the smallest part. For someone who is most likely based off the Phantom he was not that intimidating and also pretty absent. Kallia was annoying and overconfident, and I didn't really like her as a main character. I don't know how old these characters were supposed to be or what they looked liked due to lack of description. I kept going back and looking for descriptions because I thought I missed them, but I just think they weren't there. Apparently all the main characters are PoC/Southeast Asian, which is awesome, but I wouldn't know that if I hadn't read it in other reviews of the book.

Also, I know ARCs aren't the final version of the book but there were so many errors they actually interfered with my reading in a couple places. At one point one of the characters states "Ah, answering a question with a question" and I searched for 5 minutes for the question that was apparently asked but it was nowhere to be found.

There are so many positive reviews of this book so I know it will appeal to a lot of readers. It just wasn't the book for me.

Did I just discover a new favorite book? Potentially! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting my an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and was hooked on it from the first page. I really loved Kallia as a character and even the antagonist was super interesting to me. I'm hoping to read more about him in the next book! I felt immersed in this world, the setting felt alive and was nicely described without being too flowery. The pacing of the book was good also, as I didn't feel there were many parts that lagged. Overall, I found this to be a super entertaining read and a great introduction to this author for me. I'm really excited to pick up the second book.

This book was like taking The Night Circus, The Phantom of the Opera, the movie Now You See Me with a little sprinkle of Caraval on top.

A lushly detailed fantasy romance that is sure to appeal to fans of Furyborn and Caraval.

Janella Angeles takes great care to set scenes and relishes in descriptive language, but the book is a bit light on characterization for me. Kallia is so clearly competent and powerful that there isn't much tension - the stakes in the competition didn't feel real, and the other competitors aren't fleshed out enough to really invest in them.

I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a fun escape or if you love a good fantasy romance. It's not the densest of books, but some times it's fun to just skip dinner and eat the dessert!

This book is absolutely one of my favorite reads of the year.

Phantom meets Moulin Rouge is 100 percent up my alley and I loved all the angst and feelings that came with the story.

Kallia is a great protagonist. She learns and grows and is fair to the situations around her. I enjoy that she wants independence but also gets a bit in over her head. It feels authentic.

Jack is obviously the phantom type character, he has taught Kallia how to use her ability but at some cost to her autonomy. I'm intrigued to find out what happens next on this front as we know what happens with phantom and I wonder if itll play out that way.

Daron is also a great character and full of his own drama. I feel for him so much throughout the story and also cant wait to see how his tale will end, tragic ala moulin rouge or not? We shall see.

I recommend this for fans of Stephanie Garber's books and for anyone who enjoys some proper angst. Cannot wait for the sequel!!!

Dark, sexy, alluring, and mysterious. This book encompasses these words and so does it's characters. It's a book so reminiscent of Carival and I loved it. The allure is as much the magic it contains but also the duality of it's characters because it's not everyone is completely good or bad. Kallia is a bird with so much fire to live and want to be free. She's a woman of agency and she's excellent. This book really acted almost like a mystery and it gave me murder mystery vibes minus the murder. The cliffhanger at the end is great and it just solidified that this book is a great book one to what I feel will be a a fun and enchanting series.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own

I love this book, simple as that. It was a highly addictive read about a woman trying to make it in a male dominated world and escaping her literal master and his power over her while finding new friends and even more when she decides to compete in a magician's tournaments of sort. However, there's a looming threat and too many secrets.

The world is very interesting and has that old style glamorous feeling. At first I was a little confused at how they chose to weild magic until our dear Demarco pointed out that they're humans not tools. It's a rather broad type of magic where you can basically do anything and the cost is that it drains you of energy. The world is still very mysterious and so many unanswered questions that have to wait until next year.

I really enjoyed Kallia's character and how she was "not like other girls" (in this particular town) but still it wasn't used as a nasty competition between woman but rather as a way to show that she was a threat to the fragile men of this place. Her friendship with the circus was really sweet, as well as her friendship with her assistant.
One complaint I have is that everyone is pretty superficial and we don't really get to see much of who they are, only how they benefit the main character.

Also, love me some slow burn romance

Totally recommend!

Janella Angeles’s writing is so beautiful and hypnotic. She really knows what she’s doing, and she knows her audience. If you are looking for a lush, magical performance/competition story similar to Caraval or The Night Circus, this is it. The characters are vivid and complex, which is something I always appreciate. I felt like it dragged on a little in the middle, focusing on the romantic storyline, but that’s my only complaint, and totally just my opinion. If you enjoy romance you won’t be disappointed, and if you usually find it “meh” like I do, you don’t need to worry about it being too saturated. There’s a lot more to keep your attention. Highly recommend you pick it up when it’s published on August 25!

Thank you net galley for providing me this eBook in exchange for a fair an honest review. As soon as I saw this was a book that had circus elements, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. Definitely had night circus and caraval vibes which I adored.

The magic system in this was great. I liked that I truly got sucked into these characters and stories which put me right there. Then came the world building, not the strongest but definitely satisfactory. I found myself being sucked in and really dealing like I knew these characters. I would definitely recommend!

I don’t know why, but this story just fell flat for me. I couldn’t get into the writing or connect with the magical world. I liked Kallia and her fight for freedom and independence, and I really enjoyed Daron. I wanted to like the Phantom of the Opera influences, but I don’t know. I just couldn’t get into this one. But if you’re a fan of magical contests and POTO, this one might still be up your alley!

Ok, wow. When I read the description of this book, I had high hopes - and it never disappointed. It's like Janelle Angeles took all of my favorite dark, magical, romantic mysteries and wove them into one incredible story. Hints of Phantom, Caraval, Night Circus, Darker Shade of Magic, Moulin Rouge and dare I say Howl's Moving Castle? Reading that sentence back, it sounds like a lot, but it delivered. I can't go on enough about how much I loved this book, how unexpected the twists and turns were, how beautiful the prose is, and how much I can't wait for the sequel. The atmosphere and world-building of this book was beautiful and the characters were so complex. I only wished that we got a little more of Kallia's origin story, and I hope the sequel delivers. For a debut novel, Angeles blew. Me. Away. This is a must-read for VE Schwab/Stephanie Garber fans, and I can only hope for a Baz Luhrmann adaptation in the future.

Where Dreams Descend is a magical escape into a dangerous world of magic and mystery. For Kallia, a female magician trying to escape the life of a showgirl, the Conquering Circus is her ticket to something more. She is the protege of The Master, Jack, a master magician who owns the club she works at and who, it seems, has not been entirely truthful with her. Kallia decides to take her fate into her own hands and plans her escape to Glorian where she meets Judge DeMarco and a number of wonderfully enchanting characters. Each of these main characters has a mysterious background and dangerous magic. The world is so beautifully written that you cannot help but get sucked into the dangerous, dark, and wonderful world of Spectacular!

I loved the different point of views between each of the main characters and seeing what each was going through during each trial throughout the book. My personal favorite character was Aaros, the enigmatic thief turned Magicians assistant. He is full of energy and support for Kallia and has nothing but love for her. I am definitely excited to see where this dark and magical adventure goes next and look forward to the next installment.

I want to thank Netgalley St. Martins Press and Wednesday Books for granting me this ARC in exchange for my honest reviews and opinions!

Janella Angeles’ debut novel reads like a instant favorite. Many times books are compared to other works and as a reader I only see hints at it. That is not the case here.

Compared to Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge The Night Circus and Caraval, this book takes the vibrant and mysterious aspects of those and weaves it together into something completely spellbinding. The description and world building here are splashes of colors popping up over a grey mystical background that make it come alive.

Like a magician that never reveals their tricks, this book never reveals the twists and turns fully, drawing you further in page by page.

Kallia is such a fun character, who strives to find her way in a world that doesn’t want her to have the power, running from a past that refuses to let her go and getting insnared in a life changing and possibly life ending mystery. The cast and crew that surround her are some of the more colorful and spunky characters I’ve seen in books lately, I just wish we got MORE of them to know who they were outside of Kallias journey.

It starts out slower, giving you hints of what’s to come. By the second half I was losing sleep to find out what happened next. Thank goodness this book is a series because I cannot WAIT to know what happens