The writing is clean, crisp and there is clear progression of the story in a smooth way. I liked how the author did not cause a repetition of scene in 5th chapter by using Elle's POV because the 4th chapter was in Adair's POV.
To summarize, it is a young adult fantasy novel that goes on a magical adventure in a unique presentation full of mysterious unravelling, where one mystery ended and another began until a dramatic plot twist is introduced making us hungry for more. Can't wait to see more of these adventures.

Synopsis from Goodreads: After a powerful wizard tears Elle’s soul apart and steals her memories, she’s locked in a house to rot. Her only remaining memory is of falling from the sky, though even that raises more questions than it answers. Upon her escape, she falls into a world that’s equal parts vicious and beautiful. Magic is everywhere, everyone is out for themselves, and every truth is accompanied by a lie. Her lack of memories grows maddening and painful. She’s positive that the key to recovering her memories is in the sky-castle from her dreams, but getting there will require magic she doesn’t have. Traversing an enchanted painting, stealing a sword from a dragon’s den, and outwitting a demon are only the beginning. And this time, she’s got more than freedom and memories on the line.

Review in return for ARC:
I really liked the premise of this book, and I wanted to enjoy it so badly, but in the end it just wasn't my style. The plot was interesting, and I did like Elle's character (especially the way she saw and experienced the new-to-her world), but the writing didn't flow very well. I kept getting lost in the descriptions, which seemed to drag on, and I didn't really find the voice of Elle to be compelling enough to keep me interested. I skimmed a lot of her chapters, looking for the action and pace that would drive the plot along. Overall, a good idea, but not well executed.

Where the Lightning Goes felt like a Studio Ghibli movie to me the entire time I read it. Warm beautiful environments, animated characters, and unique magic. (Only to be solidified when I saw that the Author had a cat named Chihiro :) ) If you are a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, high fantasy, and found family, this one is for you. It is reminiscent of a few different films, the most prominent in my mind being Castle in the Sky and Howl's Moving Castle. The idea of a girl falling to earth from some mysterious place in the sky, and a sorcerer who has no heart are big pulls from Studio Ghibli.

This is not to say at all that this story is unoriginal. I really really enjoyed it and was blown away by the ending, I didn't see it coming, and the whole book had this twining of mystery layered all through it. The settings and the magic were all incredible. I loved the dynamic of all of the characters, and their individual personalities. There is LGBTQ+ representation (a Sapphic relationship), found family, elemental magic, soul magic, dragons, dwarves, and demons. It was such a rich read and I am so thankful to Netgalley and Derealization press for the opportunity to have read it.

DNFed at 25%

The reason why I picked up this book was because the synopsis sounded so good. A girl who’s locked away in a floating island/house? With no memories? Who probably has incredible use of magic?

Sign me up.

But that’s not quite what the first quarter of the book is about. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I just read. There’s a painted lady, a heart-human-thing, and an evil guy who’s missing his heart? How they connect to the protagonist’s journey to find out what happened to her, who knows? There was nothing about the chapters I read that made me interested in continuing. I’m sure it all ties in together, but I don’t want to trudge through and read a whole book to figure out how it works out.

Would I recommend this book? N/A because I didn’t finish it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC but unfortunately I had to DNF this at 15%. I liked the writing and the world and idea had so much potential - a girl who'd fallen from the sky and been trapped in a mysterious house only to escape and discover a world of magic - which was why I requested it. But it felt like I was missing an entire first act; we didn't get to understand her situation and relationships in the house, so I couldn't root for her escape or feel invested in the conflict with Cynthia. There was no background for her and the other survivors (of what?), there wasn't set up for what Elle or this world understands about demons and magic and its own rules or environment. We were thrown right in, and it felt like I was supposed to rely on my understanding of these fantasy tropes from other media rather than the book building it out its own world. I couldn't feel invested in Elle as a character or her goals without that build-up.

This story starts with "A Promised Neverland" type vibe, which kept me reading. As the story progresses fantasy and the magic system become unique compared to many other stories that have come out. By the end, one feels sad but they expect what is going to happen. I will say this ends with the ability to not have to go into the next book if you want to make this a one-shot. I do see how it can be a series and I would be happy to read the next book. I would all around say this was not the most enticing read but a good start to a series if one is just looking for something quick to read.

Unfortunately, despite my piqued interest in this title, I no longer intend to read/finish/review this title. Thank you for the opportunity!

Elle has fallen from the sky…again.

With no memories of who she was, locked in a castle with demons, and the yearning for freedom and to figure out who she is, she’s finally escaped. And landed right in Adair’s backyard.

A man without a heart and an enchanted painting.

In Where The Lightning Goes, we’re thrown into a story of magic, lost love, and a young girl with determination. Jackary Salem creates a world where the characters are easy to love and yet frustrate you at the same time. Elle and Adair team up in order to figure out who she is and potentially help Adair become whole again.

The storytelling in this novel was so well done. And while I find myself a bit rushed in bits, it was incredibly enjoyable. I have more questions than answers after reading this book. Some things I just took at face value but others still have me wondering. For instance, I still don’t quite understand the way magic works in this world. But that being said, the story was incredible. If you’re looking for a new fantasy novel with a wholesome point, I highly recommend picking it up!

I received this ARC for an honest review.

This was a really fun read albeit a little confusing at times.

Elle, our main character, has fallen from the sky with no memory of the events leading up to that and she has been trapped in a creaky house ever since.
Determined as ever she wants to know what happened to her and her magic, so, she escapes.. but not before making a deal with a friend that she will come back and rescue him.

The character’s interactions with each other kept the story lively and the descriptions in the beginning were incredibly vivid but I felt as though that dropped as I continued reading.
The world building left much to be desired and at times the magic system became quite confusing.
The romance, while cute (because who can pass up on sapphic romance), felt a little rushed and dry unfortunately.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review…. It’s a deal that occasionally I lose because the book isn’t actually worth my time to read or leave a review, this is not the case for Where the Lightning Goes. This time I came out on top. The the plot of the book felt familiar and comfortable despite its constant surprises. The characters are written in way that makes you interested and causes you to care about them without leaving feeling bludgeoned by the details. I raced to finish it and feel a loss now that it’s over. I hope with all my heart that the author will give me more of Elle and this world. I highly recommend this book even if you’re not into fantasy because in the end it’s a story we all can relate to.

Great adventure…quite complex at the beginning…it really pulled me into the narrative.I hope there is a sequel

For starters this book is super queer, and I love it for that. And it’s queer in a way that is unique and rarely seen in books in that there is a romance that is queer but also the innate themes of the book are queer in a way I’ve never seen before. The queerness is not obvious in the summary, but it so queer. So, if you’re looking for a queer book for yourself or for your library, this is a great addition.

Generally, I’m an impatient reader and often find my attention lagging, but that didn’t happen with this book. The writing style is exactly what I love and even without that, I loved the characters and was completely drawn in. I did have a few questions about the world as I was reading in the beginning. These were explained later, and I’m the type of reader who doesn’t mind a little confusion about the world if I love everything else, which I did.

I loved all the characters, but I really loved Cypress. He's a fantastic villain and driving force of the story. The readers only know as much as Elle knows, which is not always my favorite type of story, but it's executed flawlessly here. Not knowing made me want to read more and root for Elle to find all her answers.

I enjoyed the climax scene with the fight and all the revelations. It was well done and hit all the plot points and emotional beats needed for a satisfying conclusion.

I’m hyped for the next book and more of Elle’s adventures.

I loved it! It reads like a fast paced, light hearted fantasy quest while also exploring some much deeper and thought provoking themes. I loved the whimsical characters. Salem does an excellent job of capturing exactly who her charters are flaws and all. This book is full of fantasy tropes with a fresh twist. I really enjoyed it from cover to cover.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for this honest review.

This would have been a 5-star review if the author hadn't ruined the entire story towards the ending. I don't want to see Clarissa and Elle together, I wanted to see Elle and Adair together. Elle should have been Clarissa. If this is a series, I can tell you I will NOT be continuing. With the way Adair and Elle were bickering back and forth there should have been connection there that was of herself, why would she be a man and female, that too doesn't make sense after finishing the book. This author in my opinion knows how to reel the readers in with everything that went on with the story, but she ruined it within a matter of seconds towards the ending, not only do I vehemently despise the ending, I thought she could have had the potential to create something better. This is probably my first and last book I will ever read from this author. As for grammatical errors and spelling there were only a few instances. Thank you netgalley for the free arc.

Trudged through most of the book to get to a great ending. 3.5 stars

Summary:
If you want found family, a unique magic system interaction, a headstrong female protagonist, and a clever demon all wrapped into clean fantasy with good writing, read this.

I wavered at a 2.5-3 rating for the first 75% of the book where it felt like every other YA fiction book of a young girl with unlimited power and quest to find herself while being mentored by a grumpy dude. Then the last 25% hit and I couldn't put it down. The twist at the end was such a unique take and kept me up late reading. However, it was too little too late to bring the rating above a 3.5

Highlights:
Cypruss was my favorite part of the book, hands down, and it's his actions at the end of this one that would make me pick up book 2 just to see what he does next. I loved the magic system. How Elle eventually interacts with it was adorable and a new take on magic having a will of its own.

Plot:
It begins as a pretty typical YA book with a female protagonist. The party is spoon-fed information by a demon to push them through the story, which felt really forced. And even then, they hardly dwelled on any information given. They remained ignorant for the sake of progressing the story, with the compulsion on them not to seek answers feeling like a weak attempt to fix this plot hole.

Characters:
The characters were over-exaggerations of certain stereotypes (and yes I know this makes sense with the ending but I still didn't think it was done well enough). Adair has glimpses of good moments and great character arc, but the rest fell flat for me.

Writing:
The writing is solid. No gorgeous prose I was gushing over, and at times it felt oversimplified for the sake of explanation though that could be due to being truly YA (very clean, no romance, fighting isn't graphic, protagonist is 16 but acts more like 14). It does get a bit flowery during fight scenes which took me out of the action (a big pet peeve of mine).

I liked it. If the sequel popped up on my Netgalley needing ARC readers, I probably would request it, but otherwise I'm okay with this being the end of Elle's story for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Derealization Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Jackary Salem for early access to Where the Lightning Goes. The story had a great imagery and description with this fantasy book. I like the aspect of the good and bad magic and following Elle through this storyline.

Last year I read many fantasy books and I truly have to say that this book was unique. This book to me felt like the hobbit meets the hunger games set in one of the paintings of Dali (you know the one where the clock is melting over the edge of the table). The combination of magic and going on a quest is obviously not new, but the setting and the context of the story definitely gave it a new layer. The book also had a lot of mystery.

The pace of the book is very quick, which is an advantage, but in my opinion also a disadvantage. On the hand, it made it easy to read and really drew you in. I wanted to know what would happen and it fitted with the excitement of the story. On the other hand, due to the pace of the story, I missed some world building in the book, which in turn made it sometimes difficult to follow everything that was happening. I feel like this book in itself could have easily been double the size or two books.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to readers that love fantasy books. It was a well rounded story.

Where the Lightning Goes is the first in a new series by Salem. We follow Elle who knows she has fallen from the sky but has no real memories of before. She escapes her prison with a goal to find her memories and along the way meets new friends and foes. I really enjoyed this story and the crazy turns it takes. I guessed a few things but overall liked the twists. I will definitely read the next one just for more Cypress.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. This review is full of my own opinions.

The story follows Elle, a 16 year old who has no memories after falling from the sky. We follow an adventure filled with demons, dragons and wizards and not to forget magic. In order to survive Elle must gain her magic. She meets friends and foes along the way.

The writing style is easy to read as well as the world building which was definitely a plus for this book, but I was confused for most part of this book which is typically not something I enjoy. None of the characters really stood out to me as well, which made it a bit bland for me to continue. The ending was okay, not spectacular. Overall I would say this book was alright, just not my favourite. I don't know if I'll pick up the next one though, but time will tell!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to the book in exchange for an honest review.

A young adult fantasy adventure book. An enchanted world filled with good and bad magic, wizards, dragons, and demons. A young girl must navigate her dreams and empower magic to survive .Thank you to netgalley much appreciation to the author