A review by blogginboutbooks
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

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.