The world of Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is a world I would gladly fall into forever—a world of magic, illusions, romance, and danger. A world that is so elegantly-crafted and fantastical, but so real. I admit that my interest in this title was piqued because I am a shameless "Phanatic," a devourer of all things Phantom of the Opera-inspired. From musical versions, to movies, to every book imaginable... I was so excited to add another title to the collection! And there are little nods here, little "in" references that made my heart sing. But this story is so much more than an homage. Angeles has created characters that are fresh and exciting.

Kallia, a showgirl whose magical talents have kept her hidden, a valuable asset to a club owner named Jack (swoon-worthy & complicated... my favorite), becomes a contestant in a magic competition in the forgotten city of Glorian. But there is no place on stage for a woman, according to the other competitors, and Kallia is met with opposition every step of the way. She does, however, capture the attention of Daron DeMarco, a washed-up magician who's a judge in the competition. As the stakes get higher and magicians and friends go missing, Kallia must work to unravel the mysteries of Glorian while fighting off demons of her own. If magic has taught Kallia anything, it's that people may not be what they seem, and illusions are not to be trusted. Kallia is a character I'd happily follow through any number of books. Her strength, her humor, and her determination make her a captivating heroine. I am so excited for everyone to read Where Dreams Descend when it's released in June 2020! Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for review. I'll be lining up to buy my copy this June.

From the Macmillan site:
"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."

Where Dreams Descend is a wonderful, dark and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, the characters, etc.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building, as complex as it is, never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind.

1/3 into the novel but OMG PHANTOM OF THE OPERA vibes are real !!!! I am a theatre nut so I’m totally excited for this!! I will update when this when I finish with my long review that will go on my blog but so far I’m in love 😍

Update.... if you know anything about phantom you’ll know how the romance shall go. I am deducting 2 stars from my review as the perspectives jumped to different characters but it was not clear on who’s perspective it was as it was not marked, this caused difficulties reading! I hope this is resolved by the time the novel comes out !!

<b>Updated review:</b>

<i><b>Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sharing this book in exchange for an honest review. And of course, thank you Janella Angeles for making such a beautiful book! </b></i>

Ahhhhhh, the downside of reading a book (in a series) before it comes out is having to wait <b>waaaaaaaayyyy longer </b>for the the second book to come out😭. Especially with the cliffhanger to this book...........

I knew from the moment I looked upon this cover, I was going to fall in love with this book⁠—and I definitely did!😍
<img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-asXG4ADrhDo/V1XHloWacBI/AAAAAAAAJAU/xwwKegMPLiMhb7eca77qysBreeFSX7Y0QCLcB/s1600/hearteyesgif.gif"/>
Honestly, this was just too good. I think there should be a law making it an illegal to have a book this amazing. The world, characters, plot, suspense—literally everything was <i><b>magical</b></i>!!!

Also, I'm loathe to admit that I've never heard of <b>The Phantom of the Opera</b> until I came across <b>Where Dreams Descend</b>. I'll put that on my to-do list.😉

The main character, Kallia, reminded me so much of Jude (from The Folk of the Air) and just that made me love Kallia on the spot!
Kallia isn't like those 'damsels in distress' MCs. She fights to do what she wants and doesn't cower under any man. Especially where in this world, women with magic are not supposed to perform as magicians. Her strong resolve and confidence makes you root for her throughout the book, especially when she teaches certain people a lesson😈.

🔥🔥🔥Oh! And did I mention that she has crazy cool fire magic!!!🔥🔥🔥

Jack, on the other hand, is quite a mystery. I honestly can't tell what he's trying to do—AHHHH. Nope, nope. Not going to say anything else.

Demarco was also an interesting character. And after that ending...... I'm a little confused on what his role is in the grand scheme of things or if he even knows what he's doing.

<b><u>UPDATE:</u></b>
I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION SOMEONE! SHAME ON ME!🤦‍♀️
I forgot him—the one <i>AND</i> only.......AAROS!!!
You see, I was washing the dishes, when my mind drifted to <b>Where Dreams Descend.</b> Then, I thought about Aaros and realized that I forgot to mention him in my review. (Idk how the dishes and this book correlated to each other.🤷‍♀️ But I've never been so grateful to wash the dishes😂)

Anyways, who is Aaros? Well my friends, he is..... a thief—and by far my favourite character. Aaros is hilarious and such a loyal friend to Kallia (never thought a thief could be trustworthy). He was always there for her even when she shunned everyone away. His stubbornness to not abandon his friend when she was in dire need of consolement was so heartwarming. I think everyone needs an Aaros in their life....🥰

Even after finishing this book, I'm left more confused than ever. I seriously don't even know who the antagonist is. All these characters do one thing to make you suspicious, and then they do something else to shift your opinion on them.😵
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I tried so hard to take my sweet, sweet time reading this, but we all know that you can only prolong the ending for so long, until you finish a book. That time came sooner than I wanted it to.

Now I really, really need the second book <b>ASAP.</b> I just <b>NEED</b> to know what happens next. The suspense is killing me!

Don't be surprised when you see me lying in my gravestone..........
<img src="https://media0.giphy.com/media/stM793x0ORB96/giphy.gif"/>

<b>P.S. It really should be illegal for a book to be that good.😂</b>

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with this free advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

You know, I love me some YA fantasy, but this one was a mixed bag... and mostly of the disappointing sort. The blurb sounded promising, and the book started off cool, but floundered between 20% and the last 5% (and that’s the bulk of it).

Let me just get this out of the way: I typically write my reviews while I’m still reading. Every so often, I jot down notes and add or redact things from what will become my final review. As I write this, I’m only just starting Chapter 4, but I had to stop reading and come back here to remove a bit of a rant I made about writing and context and vague world-building. After initially lambasting the first three chapters, I must confess that I was wrong for those criticisms, because that little twist made up for it all. I was so caught up in my annoyed confusion, that I didn’t even notice... well, you’ll see.

Still, though, as much as I applaud something that surprised me (which, sadly, doesn’t happen often enough these days), the way it’s structured is a bit faulty. Three chapters to develop that, but I’m still less aware of how this world operates. But yeah, major kudos for making me eat my words. Truth be told, the books doesn’t really get much better beyond that.

On our main characters:
Kallia- Our MC: an orphaned showgirl with lots of power and visions of grander stages. Admittedly, I thought she was great at the beginning while with Jack, but then her character became annoying for the stage competition. She became cocky (which is never really a bad thing, but she came off rude), arrogant, dismissive, and so distracted by a MAN!
Jack- “The Master”. Honestly, we get little-to-nothing about him. He just flits in and out, broody and secretive. The story remained too obtuse around his character, and I think it did a disservice to the plot.
Daron- I could not get behind him as a character. I don’t even have anything to say beyond that.

As for the rest...

There was a severe lack of characterization of the other magicians in the competition. We only get a few names and one surface-level description, but nothing of substance in regards to the nine men Kallia must face up against. By the time they start (for lack of a better phrase) dropping like flies, I felt nothing. I was like, “Okay? Who cares?” It was not very interesting. Having some background on these side characters was sorely needed; It would have raised the stakes (emotionally and narratively). A greater sense of foreboding and tension would’ve benefitted this story immensely. This should not be the case: “The magician now performing—Daron forgot his name, the men already blurring together in his mind—...”. Aside from the others in the competition, the side characters are: Kallia’s assistant, the leader of the circus, a reporter (Lottie— funnily enough, one of the only characters I liked), the mayor and his daughter, all the judges (Daron among them), a snappy elderly seamstress, and a horde of young women that belong to the traveling circus. We’re introduced to two of the circus performers who I would consider second/third billing in this book, and then a dozen others. It was dizzying. I was trying to gauge the reasoning behind giving us all these goddamn characters, but developing (poorly, I might add) only a handful. Herein lies another problem this book had: too many characters and ideas made it seem discombobulated, resulting in severe pacing issues. We don’t even get a clear idea of what many of the characters look like (Daron and Aaros included!), but we are greeted with detailed descriptions of everything anyone is wearing. Speaking of Aaros, Kallia’s assistant is such a prop of a character— his only purpose is to subvert the gender roles and provide moments of banter, but he is so undervalued and underutilized. There is nothing of importance that comes from having him around, which is disappointing.

There were moments in which the POV switched from Kallia to Jack to Daron with no clear transition or warning—no break in the page to indicate anything had changed—and I had to go back and make sure who’s POV I was reading from. I’m guessing this is simply because this is an advanced, unfinished copy? Or maybe an eBook/Kindle issue?

Come the conclusion, I still had no idea what the main plot was. Usually with novels such as this, there is a clear endgame/antagonist, but all I got out of it was characters running from their pasts amidst a magician’s competition, and something to do with mirrors. That’s it. There was nothing to say in the grander scheme of things, and I should’ve been okay with that, but it just felt, well, lacking. And this is a fairly long book (overlong, actually, by at least 100 pages)!

At times, the feminism theme was extremely heavy-handed. I’m all for it, and you have my attention, just don’t drown me in it. I get it. We’re dealing with fragile masculinity, mansplaining, et al, and yet we have what is undoubtedly what I couldn’t help feeling like The Taming of the Millennial Shrew disguised as YA feminist fantasy lit. Kallia frequently rebuffs Daron, but also moons after him and Jack (“leaning in” to their hands and “warm touches”), which is pretty disappointing. This book would’ve been so much more effective without a romance aspect. It’s more of a slow-burn, sure, but sooooo much angst and repetitive back-and-forth/hot-and-cold between the love interests. Certainly, there’s an ‘enemies-to-lovers’ trope at play, which may appeal to most readers, but I found it frustrating. I’ll be honest, towards the end I hard skimmed dozens of pages of kissing and touching and flirting and dancing. It was so unnecessary; You sacrificed plot progression for saccharine swing.

In terms of the whole “magician competition”... Kallia was just waaaay too overpowered. There lacked any real surprise there, when it was clear from the start she could out-perform all the others. And really, the whole “competition” was so lame. We don’t get any of the other performances (because the other magicians are throwaway characters—fodder for a plot that ultimately went nowhere); We only get Kallia’s. Her acts are showy and kind of intriguing, but lacked much substance beyond grandstanding and theatrics.

I could not get over the inconsistent world-building. I was pretty damn confused about what was going on for most of the book (and even still after it concluded). The author went ham over detailing inconsequential (for me) scenes, and then at times throwing all this random info in our faces without much explanation. I craved more context and less vagaries. We spend so much time with the Conquering Circus girls, but like, what other purpose do they serve? We spend all this time with Kallia prepping for her performances, her annoying back-and-forth with Daron, a few pages for each show day... and that’s pretty much it. I know more will probably be explained and is being saved for book two (this is a duology), but for a 400+ page book, I expected more substance and less filler.

4 out of 5 Stars

*** ARC received from Wednesday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are all my own, thank you for the opportunity to read and review!!!

So, a little Phantom of the Opera, mix in a little Moulin Rouge, swirl with magic and you have a pretty solid debut novel.

Kallia escapes from her current life in hopes of finding something more in the city of Glorian and more she finds in a competition. In a world where female magicians are looked down upon when they try to step outside their place she wants to be more than anything. Glorian as a place is rather bland, there is nothing really about the city that drew me in as a reader. Its just there, unlike Hellfire House which seems to be bursting with something bigger. It was a shame that we couldn't spend more time there but it is the characters that carry this book.

The book is told from three different perspectives, Kallia, Jack and Demarco. I liked Kallia, she is powerful, confident and prideful but she never steps over that line into arrogance She never becomes cruel and while very confident there is a fear in her of being seen as weak. While she grows over the book she never really lets go of that spark of wanting to be the best, especially in the face of so much male aggression. Despite being another perspective Demarco did nothing for me as a character, he's flat and uninteresting for the majority of the book. It doesn't help that this book has a lot of other strong character, sweet and funny Aaros, over the top Erasmus, confident but caring Canary, dark and not nearly in the book enough Jack. Then there is Demarco, haunted by his past that takes far to long to get to that by the time we got there, I just did not care. There were just far more interesting characters to invest my attention in.

Speaking of, can I just say I adored Jack and I loved the dynamics between Kallia and Jack. Jack is not a horrible person but he is certainly not a good person either. He shows up now and then to drop bits of plot on us to keep the story moving and try to warn Kallia that she is in way over her head. Kallia is headstrong though and you can't blame her for not listening and Jack very clearly has another agenda at play.

Which is the one downside of this book, there is a lot going on but it never feels like the plot fully develops. Its almost like this book is a prequel to a much bigger series, setting but the world and the magic system. I don't feel like we ever got to know the main antagonist or what their whole game was, everything is just hints dropped along the way for the next book. The romance also did not work at all for me, this book didn't need a romance and I felt would have been a much stronger book without it. I know the inspirations but it just does not work.

The writing is nice, even if at times I felt a little lost with the way things were worded. The last half of the book is the strongest and sometimes it drags itself along to get to that point. It also doesn't help that we don't get hardly any information until the end. Yet, it was still a good book and I cannot wait to see how it concludes.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, but it was too long and repetitive. I kept waiting for the conflict to resolve, but it never did.

When I got a copy of this book early, I said I might never get over the excitement. This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and I had been dying to get my hands on it. Now that I’ve finished, I know I will never get over it. Ever.

I want to start with the negative. Just get it out of the way since there is only one thing I disliked about this book: the beginning truly does this book a disservice. I realize I read an ARC (thank you Wednesday Books!) and it may very well be changed come publishing day, but it was absolutely the wrong way to set-up such a phenomenal book. It was sparse and rushed with very little useful and clear detail. I was very confused about what was being laid out and where this story was supposed to be going. It is the big introduction of Kallia and Jack and the magic of this world and it was poorly done in my opinion. Once Kallia enters the mysterious city of Glorian, the meat and potatoes if you will, I got precisely what I wanted. AKA romantic and magical perfection.

This is marketed as Moulin Rouge crossed with Phantom of the Opera. I can’t say how close it came to either, but I can make my guesses. What is important is I adored the dark and sultry showmanship vibe it brought together. The writing is so good with surprising little lines that paint such a big beautiful picture with so few words. For a debut writer, you may colour me impressed by Angeles' prose. The magic system is a patriarchal one, but wholly interesting and well thought out. It felt very magician-like, if that makes sense. However, it is not the sole focus of this book, and technically neither is Spectaculore, even though they’re both a central part of the plot’s motion. No, most of the mystery comes from the secret city hidden in the woods called Glorian. There is a deep history to this city that we barely scratch the surface of. From one of the reveals at the end, it’s clear we will dive head first into it in the next book, and I honestly can’t wait. Apart from the history, there is the mystery. Why is it hiding? What is it hiding? And more importantly, what is waking up in it?

The cast of characters deserves its own round of applause, particularly for standouts like the thief-turned-assistant Aaros and the biting fire-eater Canary, but I’ll keep my love to the three mains.

Kallia – The star of the show, literally. She is a firecracker of a young woman, brimming with confidence and power that she can’t help but show-off. Kallia has a unique history that we don’t see nearly enough of, but I loved what we did get. She has spent her whole life trapped in the Hellfire House, and she finally escapes with the chance to be the star of her own show in Spectaculore. She is admirable in her facing down of the patriarchal society and those who blame her for every little thing gone wrong. And yet, beneath that strength and confidence is a girl who is scared of her past and those in it.

Daron Demarco – The other main POV character, Daron is one with one hell of a backstory that is unveiled layer by layer in a delicious slow-burn. He is a young and powerful magician who retired a few years before when his last act went wrong. He is now in Glorian as a judge for Spectaculore for appearance sake, but is really trying to find where his sister, Eva, has disappeared to.

Jack “the Master” – We get very little of Jack in this book, but he is forever a presence that is on Kallia’s mind. This was a fault of that lacking beginning I mentioned, but we aren’t entirely clear on why he was keeping Kallia in the Hellfire House and strongly discouraging her from leaving. However, what mysterious glimpses we get have me comparing this character to Leigh Bardugo’s the Darkling and Stephanie Garber’s Legend, which is a big heck yes from me.

As one would expect from a book with comp titles like those mentioned earlier, there is absolutely an element of romance. Now, I won’t spoil it, but I ship it. Oh, yes indeed do I ship it. I think they are well suited for each other and the banter and chemistry is exactly what I adore. It’s sassy, sultry and swoony all at once. For a while I feared there might be a love triangle, but as time went on and we began to see more of the story as a whole, it took a turn that I absolutely support. The relationship dynamics involved are very much my cup of tea and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

The ending still has me reeling. This book does a great job of building and building the tension that leads to the explosive events that end it. And boy, did that ending snap. Twist after twist after twist with a bombshell in between, making you question everything you thought you knew. In case you haven’t figured it out, yes, it absolutely ends in a cliffhanger, but I promise you won’t be disappointed. Now I enter that awful phase of needing the second book, which I will have to wait longer for than most people. Hold me, people!

Where Dreams Descend is a brand new debut by Janella Angeles. We follow Kallia, a magician showgirl who grew up an orphan in a nightclub, and is kinda trapped by Jack, the master. When she sees a flyer for a competition in a town she’s been longing to visit, she takes her chances and runs off to compete. However, women don’t get to compete, and she has to pull all the tricks out of her sleeves to be taken seriously as a competitor.

I love Kallia, she’s a very strong and very feminist character. She’s very sure of herself and a bit arrogant to be honest and doesn’t take any crap from anyone. I don’t think you need to be like this to be a strong character, but with Kallia, it works. She reminded me a bit of Celaena actually. However, if I look at the competition, the other contestants all really boring and nameless, so it’s kinda easy to win lol so girl be cocky about it! I think the women circus camping in town has more strong magicians than the entire competition. The women all were great, too, they all worked together and lifted each other up (and no, not just in the acrobatic way lol). They became real friends to Kallia and accepted her. There is a lot of women power thrown in, and I love that aspect!

Kallia also makes a friend, Aaros, and makes him his assistant about 5 minutes after he tried to pickpocket her, which is the best way to start a friendship. The roles are reversed, as he is the eye candy now and does so splendidly. He’s an amazing friend and always there for Kallia, but tbh I didn’t like the way she treated him. Convenient if he is there, dismissed when he’s not needed. They didn’t really have a mutual conversation where we found out more about his background or likes and dislikes. He’s just there to cater to every whim, and while he does it admirably, I think this is just not right in a friendship. But Kallia did grow a lot and learned that she can actually trust others and ask for help, so that’s a big plus!

Daron is one of the judges, who has come to town for a whole other reason, but he gets swept away in the competition anyway, especially when he sees a certain pretty girl lol! Unfortunately, they dislike each other on side, but maybe there might be a slow burn enemies to lovers plot. And if there were, it was done very well.

The antagonist was really creepy, and very mysterious, and I honestly lived for the scenes with him, because he’s very interesting.

The story takes a long time to set up, which I personally don’t mind at all. The worldbuilding was big, with many aspects and ideas, and the magic system was pretty cool too! Some things remain unclear (like there is this kind of magic police that is threatened to be called in, but why they should come and what they actually do I have no idea). However, there were aspects I liked less... for me, the writing didn’t work. It was very unclear to me in the beginning when flashbacks began and ended, and throughout the book I was wondering where exactly I was sometimes. I couldn’t really feel the surroundings and I was confused sometimes and found myself flipping back to see where I was exactly, which didn’t always have an answer. I don’t really know what most of the characters look like... The competition was a really nice element, but to me it fell a bit flat, it wasn’t spectacular and there wasn’t much emphasis on them. We basically only see Kallia’s performance, and that’s it. The other competitors remain mostly nameless, and we don’t see them much at all.

The story has much mysteries, and set up for a very rich world with its own questions, and after 400+ pages I expected to see at least some of them answered. But unfortunately, there is no resolve, and no questions answered at the end, only more questions. This frustrated me a lot, the ending fell flat for me, as I want at least some answers instead of a few hints and a cliffhanger.

So, all in all, I’m not entirely enthousiastic about this book. I did enjoy it a lot (except for the ending lol), because I loved the worldbuilding, the slow building romance and the characters. And the magic system is unique in its use and intruiging. But I think there are some flaws that unfortunately brings the rating down a bit.

I received a free e-arc from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A well written Fantasy Novel with nicly developed Characters.

To be earnest the storyline is mostly the same, with books in this genre but that's not important for me.
It about how I feel when I am reading and if I got sucked into the book.

And what can I say this book got me and I hope we will see some more of the author.

Thanks very much that I got the chance to read this book.

I was so excited about this boook! I’m always a sucker for magician stories, but this one didn’t meet my expectations at all.

This book is a journey of magic and deceit. Kallia is a born magician who performs at the Hellfire Club, seemingly trapped there by Jack who has trained her. She craves her freedom and finally slips away to a nearby town, Glorian, to join a magic competition. There she meets the judges, including Daron Demarco, who has his own shadows in his past. As the two are thrown together repeatedly and the competition turns deadly, Kallia fights with the demons of her past which are somehow related to the history of the town. This book has a surprising ending and sets itself up to make readers want more in a sequel.

There is so much I can say about this book, but to wrap it up - bluntly and aptly - this book makes no sense.

None.

What did make sense is how loosely elements from Phantom and Moulin Rouge were borrowed an thrown into this book. Even still, that did not help the plot.

1.) There is a night-club in the woods owned by someone who is ... a man? a teen? He is called 'The Master' and the endless fawning and obsessing over the way that he enters the room, harasses the 'lead', broods and sulks is all noise and means nothing to the book. Apparently The Master (called Jack) can erase memories but the purpose of this is not ever fully explained or makes sense why he keeps wiping the main character's memory (or has, many times before).

2.) There is a town that apparently was broken into four ruling factions, but the factions fell into disarray and now the people are governed by a mayor who... I guess hires a circus to come and entertain the poor people? Oh and the winner of the circus ends up... who knows? Apparently there are two kinds of magicians - born and trained. I never could understand the difference between the two or why one is so disliked than the other, but apparently there are also grunt work magicians too? They get stuck doing repair/work instead of entertaining people. Oh yes, another thing about this city? Apparently people can enter the city but they cannot LEAVE the city? But postal mail somehow gets to city... so that's never explained.

3.) The editing on this book was sloppy and there was a lot of times a character was doing something and either they would switch to a different area in the room, a different movement, or even a different train of thought without really allowing us to bridge into the next thought.

4.) There is a lot of repeated things that the characters do (i.e - drumming of nails on the table, cocking of the hip, lounging in the door, etc. etc.). It got annoying after a while to the point where instead of picturing a character doing it when they're irritated, it was thrown in there as if it was ness. for a scene.

The fact there will be a sequel to this book is a little concerning. I don't know what the author was trying to convey and I wish that someone would kindly point it out to me, because it felt like some low-key Phantom of the Opera fanfic with names changed (I think I counted a girl named Meg, a character named Joseph Buquet, the Phantom - Jack - and the Raoul character - Demarco.)

This book had gorgeous world-building and writing, and reminded me a lot of The Night Circus or Caraval. I loved the atmosphere and intrigue of Hellfire House and wish we spent more of the book there with Jack, who was easily the most interesting character in the whole book. I liked Kallia and the feminisit, female-positive notes in this book, especially among the friendships. I felt like Kallia's character changed after she left Hellfire House and started the competition, where I found I didn't like her as much as I wanted to, and the romance left me confused and wondering who I should be rooting for. The twist at the end was exciting and unexpected, and overall I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Kallia lives in a seclude house, Hellfire House. Jack, who lives with her, often leaves for weeks to work. Lonely, Kallia wonders about the mysterious town in the woods that no one visits.
When she finds a flyer for a magic competition, Kallia devises a plan to leave and enter the competition.
Kallia soon finds out that the town is not what it seems. With other contestants disappearing and other strange things happening, Kallia is not sure who to trust.
She ends up being paired with a judge, Demarco, for the final event. The book culminates at this event and leaves a powerful image in your mind.
This book was awesome. There are so many symbols repeated through the book that you are constantly guessing their meaning/role. The characters are well defined and you feel as if you know what choices they will make. The twists to the story truly make the plot something to read. I look forward to reading the rest in the series. Great book!

”For in the world of magic, a woman’s place lies in the quiet shadows of labor magic, the encouraged path. The safer one. Because the ones who dare most often disappear.

This review is also posted on my goodreads account.

The magic, the romance, the atmosphere, the beautifully written world descriptions, the tension (romantic and chaotic) is just a few reasons why this is a 5+ star read! And probably the best book I’ve read so far in 2020! Woo hoo!

I was annoyed by the main character, Kallia for 60% of the book, although she was a strong, determined girl which is always good. It’s refreshing to read books where the main character isn’t a damsel in distress.

All the characters were interesting, mysterious in their own way and sucked you right into the story. (Demarco being my favorite)

The last 4 chapters will leave you on the edge of your seat, the epilogue will have you counting down the minutes until the next book is released, even though this one isn’t on the shelves yet haha.

I am a new fan of this author after only reading one book and that says a lot! One of my all time favorite books for sure. I recommended everyone grab this book when it’s released.

5/5 🌟’s

This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I cannot believe this is Janella Angeles debut novel as the writing feels as though it came from a more seasoned writer.

This book had me hooked within the first two pages. The plot was extremely captivating and held my interest. There were references to secrets and mysteries throughout the story line, and it made me want to continue reading so that I could learn the truth.

The characters were extremely well developed and written in a way that I cared about them and what they were experiencing.

I'm really hoping that Janella Angeles has already started the sequel, because I can't wait to read it!

I absolutely adored this one! It was definitely one of those books that when you get to the last page, you yell WHAT, I WANT MORE! I have to admit this got off to a rocky start for me- I think way the narrative was framed and conflict was set up was not what I expected, so it just took me a second to get in to it. But Angeles writes beautiful prose, and it doesn't take long to fall in. Angeles continued to make unexpected choices throughout the novel, and I feel like a less skilled writer, they would have bothered me. I thought this was going to be more about the competition, but it's less of an ensemble cast, and has a much more narrower scope in character and conflict. Also, one of my biggest pet peeves in fantasy is when there's a made up world but still a strong patriarchal system- this is a major part of the plot here, but by the end I warmed up to it, and Kallia is truly a fully realized character that you just can't help but root for. I'm a little all over the place because I went in to this book so excited for it, highly anticipating the premise, but it ended up being something else all together that I still ended up loving and having a really great reading experience. Definitely one that I was thinking about, even after I put it down. Excited for the sequel (that cliff hanger, though) and anticipating anything else Angeles writes.

WOW!

2020 is starting off strong with a fantastic book from a debut author. Full of mystery, suspense, magic, and great dialogue, Where Dreams Descend is what has been missing from YA for quite some time - an original plot, complex characters, and motives that felt meaningful and kept me on my toes as a reader.

There's a lot going on in this book. Kallia's complicated existence with Jack -who is nothing short of a mystery, the treatment of female magicians, a city that is possibly cursed, a magician trying to reconcile his past, and a competition that leads to magicians going missing.

Despite so much happening at once, Angeles is a magician in her own right, by keeping the plot moving smoothly. Both new and experienced YA readers of all ages will enjoy the suspense of this book and will note the subtle influences of Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge that give an already incredible book a little extra dose of magic.

Magic and chaos are juggled in the most beautiful, fascinating way that are complicated by wonderful prose. With the turn of every page, readers will feel tension (both romantic and stressful), the pull of magic, and something sinister lurking within the pages - ready to steal the show and possibly more.

Where Dreams Descend is a beautiful debut that I highly encourage everyone pick up and read. It's the right mix of ominous and fun with characters that are brimming with development and growth, and there is plenty of symbolism to dissect and ponder over until the sequel! Do not miss this book!

I almost threw my kindle across the room last night when I finished this! Then I checked to see if it was a series and looks like there will be at least one more thank god. This is a cool story but I struggled a few times with how wordy (?) it was. Maybe wordy isn’t the right word. More like it lost me with the story lines going in different directions. I’m sure more sense will be made with the next one which I definitely intend to read! Kallia and Demarco’s relationship is fun and toasty hot.