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smittenforfiction's review against another edition
3.0
This review can also be found on my blog https://smittenforfiction.wordpress.com/2021/04/17/where-dreams-descend/
Hey book lovers! I'm here with a book review for the first book of the Kingdom of Cards duology, Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles which I read in January (still catching up on book reviews). This is another book my husband gave me for Christmas (isn't he awesome?). He bought a few of the past boxes on Owlcrate. Where Dreams Descend came in an Owlcrate book box June 2020 called ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE containing:
- Cirque Du Freak Mini Donut Coffee (Bones Coffee Company)
- Ace of Shades-inspired Shower Steamer (Whipped Up Wonderful)
- The Greatest Showman-inspired Habit Tracker (designed by paperbackbones)
- Shakespeare-inspired Pencil Set (Team OwlCrate)
- The Night Circus-inspired Pencil Cup Tin (designed by Forensics and Flowers)
- Exclusive OwlCrate "Glorian Stamp" Enamel Pin (designed by Blissfully Bookish Co)
- Exclusive Where Dreams Descend Author Letter.
About The Book
whitneymouse's review against another edition
2.0
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.
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.
sophia_pearl's review against another edition
4.0
Let's be real for a moment: the main character of this book is its aesthetic, and I am 100% for that. It was like reading The Night Circus, full of atmospheric description and rich world-building, and I loved it. Do I feel that all of my questions were answered? No, but isn't that what sequels are for? ;) This story was full of twists, magic, candlelight... plenty of smoke and mirrors, both literal and metaphorically. I am so glad I read this book and I am looking forward to the next one!
ky_jay_wald's review against another edition
2.0
The story just didn’t made sense to me… it was all over the place and I felt like it was sloppy. I read it because of caravel and being told it was similar. To me it just felt like the book stood in one place and didn’t move
rsales2's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the atmosphere of this book, but I feel like none of my questions were answered (mostly about Jack). I mostly enjoyed the romance, but also very much hated the back and forth of “I must push him/her away or else they will get hurt.” I felt like this exchange happened every 50 pages. That being said, of course I will read the next book in the series!
blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
3.0
YA fantasy isn't really my thing, but the premise of this book sounded interesting enough that I agreed to review the novel. Since I received an e-ARC, I didn't realize until about 1/4 of the way through how LONG this book is. In paper form, it's 464 pages! In my opinion, at least 100 of them could have been chopped, if not 200. That being said, the story was engaging enough that I finished. I'm not sure there was any point, though, that I couldn't have put the novel down. It's not that the plot doesn't have any action, it's just that it gets redundant and somehow wasn't tense or suspenseful enough to keep me riveted to the page, at least not for 464 pages. In addition, the finale leaves a lot to be desired. The story ends on a cliffhanger, of course, but without satisfactorily wrapping up much at all, which makes the ending feel unsatisfying, especially after wading through so many pages to get there. Its disappointing end decided me on the sequel—no thanks. WHERE DREAMS DESCEND leaves plenty of questions that need to be answered, but I just don't have the patience to plow through another thick tome to get them.
In addition, the characters are pretty ho-hum, with none being super original. Kallia provides a strong female lead, but while her confidence and determination make her admirable, her vanity and coldness make her difficult to like. For leading men, neither Jack nor Demarco has much personality or freshness. The women of the Conquering Circus are the most interesting characters in the book by far, but they are not fleshed out nearly enough. Same goes for Glorian - for a city full of secrets, it's not nearly as mysterious as it should be. A shame because it is the most intriguing part of WHERE DREAMS DESCEND for me.
All things considered, then, WHERE DREAMS DESCEND was just an average read for me.
In addition, the characters are pretty ho-hum, with none being super original. Kallia provides a strong female lead, but while her confidence and determination make her admirable, her vanity and coldness make her difficult to like. For leading men, neither Jack nor Demarco has much personality or freshness. The women of the Conquering Circus are the most interesting characters in the book by far, but they are not fleshed out nearly enough. Same goes for Glorian - for a city full of secrets, it's not nearly as mysterious as it should be. A shame because it is the most intriguing part of WHERE DREAMS DESCEND for me.
All things considered, then, WHERE DREAMS DESCEND was just an average read for me.
litwithlauren's review against another edition
3.0
original review: sigh....
updated review:
I have to say that despite not totally loving the plot or pacing in Where Dreams Descend, I really did love all of the characters. Our star Kallia is everything I love in a protagonist. I love her boldness, her confidence, her ambition. I love that she knows that she is capable of greatness and won’t let anyone or anything prevent her from being recognized as the fantastically talented and powerful magician she is. While the other magicians competing in Spectaculore struggle to put together awe-inspiring acts, Kallia has a natural flare that she can easily back up with the raw power afforded to her as a born magician. As much as other people might try to bring her down, Kallia always manages to keep her chin up and show them exactly what she can do to prove that they are wrong about her. Indomitable as she might be, though, Kallia also has moments of vulnerability and immense loneliness as she comes to terms with the trauma and abuse she escaped from, and that balance is what makes her human.
Unfortunately, I did not love the plot as much as I loved the characters. Normally this isn’t much of an issue for me, as I tend to enjoy character-driven books over plot-driven ones, but the issues I had with the plot seeped into the personalities of the characters and their interactions enough that I couldn’t overlook them.
The bulk of the book centers around Spectaculore, the competition between magicians to determine who will be the next headliner of the Conquering Circus. The competition takes place in the mysterious town of Glorian, which has inspired multiple conspiracy theories and rumors throughout the years. I think I would have enjoyed Where Dreams Descend more if either of these aspects had been explored further. Much like Jack, who is undeniably our Phantom in this book, I was left without answers about Glorian and the other peculiar forces that interfere with Spectaculore.
You can read my full review here: http://loveyoshelf.com/2020/08/01/review-where-dreams-descend-by-janella-angeles/
updated review:
I have to say that despite not totally loving the plot or pacing in Where Dreams Descend, I really did love all of the characters. Our star Kallia is everything I love in a protagonist. I love her boldness, her confidence, her ambition. I love that she knows that she is capable of greatness and won’t let anyone or anything prevent her from being recognized as the fantastically talented and powerful magician she is. While the other magicians competing in Spectaculore struggle to put together awe-inspiring acts, Kallia has a natural flare that she can easily back up with the raw power afforded to her as a born magician. As much as other people might try to bring her down, Kallia always manages to keep her chin up and show them exactly what she can do to prove that they are wrong about her. Indomitable as she might be, though, Kallia also has moments of vulnerability and immense loneliness as she comes to terms with the trauma and abuse she escaped from, and that balance is what makes her human.
Unfortunately, I did not love the plot as much as I loved the characters. Normally this isn’t much of an issue for me, as I tend to enjoy character-driven books over plot-driven ones, but the issues I had with the plot seeped into the personalities of the characters and their interactions enough that I couldn’t overlook them.
The bulk of the book centers around Spectaculore, the competition between magicians to determine who will be the next headliner of the Conquering Circus. The competition takes place in the mysterious town of Glorian, which has inspired multiple conspiracy theories and rumors throughout the years. I think I would have enjoyed Where Dreams Descend more if either of these aspects had been explored further. Much like Jack, who is undeniably our Phantom in this book, I was left without answers about Glorian and the other peculiar forces that interfere with Spectaculore.
You can read my full review here: http://loveyoshelf.com/2020/08/01/review-where-dreams-descend-by-janella-angeles/
paigesinbooks's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.
darkandsteamylit's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me this mesmerizing ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Wowza! This book kept me on my toes the whole time! It is pitched perfectly as Moulin Rouge meet Phantom of the Opera and I completely agree, but I think there is a dash of Caraval in it as well. In that I mean just the magical mystery of never being able to guess what is going to happen. From start to finish I was hooked and did not want to put it down!
I fell for our cast of characters and the story wouldn’t work without any of them. Kallia is a MC who is a powerful female magician in a world where is aren’t any...left on the stage like her. But she dreams of a bigger stage then the night club she performs out. Jack who is her mentor and there is major sexual tension, and also secrets and lies he’s keeping.
This book was completely mesmerizing and I absolutely adored it. I felt everything from this book, love, anger, sadness, action, romance and all the magic I could ask for.
I definitely recommend picking this on up when it releases in June!
Wowza! This book kept me on my toes the whole time! It is pitched perfectly as Moulin Rouge meet Phantom of the Opera and I completely agree, but I think there is a dash of Caraval in it as well. In that I mean just the magical mystery of never being able to guess what is going to happen. From start to finish I was hooked and did not want to put it down!
I fell for our cast of characters and the story wouldn’t work without any of them. Kallia is a MC who is a powerful female magician in a world where is aren’t any...left on the stage like her. But she dreams of a bigger stage then the night club she performs out. Jack who is her mentor and there is major sexual tension, and also secrets and lies he’s keeping.
This book was completely mesmerizing and I absolutely adored it. I felt everything from this book, love, anger, sadness, action, romance and all the magic I could ask for.
I definitely recommend picking this on up when it releases in June!