[Skye’s Review:] Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Where Dreams Descend
by Janella Angeles
Series: Kingdom of Cards #1
Pages: 464
Published by Wednesday Books
Release Date: August 25th 2020
Genres: Magic, YA
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Where Dreams Descend felt like a set-up book to me. It felt like the author was laying the groundwork for the next book–which makes me super excited for the sequel. The author has a lot of questions to answer in the next book because, honestly, she didn’t answer many in Where Dreams Descend.

The first two chapters of this book were phenomenal. I was immediately captivated by this magical story, but then the story lost its initial sheen that drew me in. In my opinion, the story didn’t pick up until the 80% mark. The last 20% of this book was great; it was exactly what I wanted. 

This book was told from 3 different perspectives: Kallia, Jack, and Daron. Jack’s point of view was by far my favorite. He’s such a mysterious, intriguing character; you never have a firm grasp on who he is or what he wants. I’m really looking forward to learning more about him in the next book. Kallia, on the other hand, is brash, ambitious, and impulsive. She exudes confidence, no matter what she does. Sadly, I never felt a connection with her. The last of our trio, Daron, is a sweetheart with many secrets in regards to his past. His interactions with Kallia were endlessly entertaining. I’m a sucker for good banter, and they had great banter in this book. 

I enjoyed the magician and circus aspect of this book. The magic system seems fairly simple: you either have magic naturally or can acquire it through learning, or you have no association with magic at all. However, it’s important to note that natural-born magicians are far more powerful than those who learn magic. 

This book sat at a 3-star rating until I hit the 80% mark. The last 20% and the ending were so good that I’ve decided to give this book 3.5 stars. Overall,  I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. I’m not quite sure what caused my disconnect with this story, especially since I started off loving it. It might have been the writing or the fact that I simply didn’t connect with Kallia all that much. She was just okay, in my opinion. I found the other characters, particularly Aaros, to be more interesting. I’m hoping the other characters play a bigger part in the sequel!