Wow! I really enjoyed Where Dreams Descend and got sucked in to Kallia's story from the beginning. This book has a slow build up to set the stage, but once it gets rolling things get interesting fast. The intrigue and mystery were woven so expertly throughout and will leave you guessing up until the very end. Perfect for fans of stories that don't have clear villains- you will be constantly trying to figure out the motivations of each of the characters, and whose side everyone is on. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a captivating and intriguing series. My only disappointment is that I will have to wait so long to find out what happens next.

Where dreams descend is an interesting read with an intriguing concept. A girl wAnts more for herself and leaves everything she’s known for a magic competition. However, the city where it’s located holds many secrets. What secrets idk yet because I was confused for much of the book. I think it tries too hard to be the next The Night Circus. We are dropped into a story that’s already going. There’s not explanation of who the characters are, how they got their powers, how they appeared, why they’re here. We are simply dropped in and the story gives no clues. There is a lack of motivation for the characters. Im not sure exactly what their main issue is because it’s never explained and tries to hard to be mysterious. I read this book and still no nothing about the why, if, and or what of all them

The world is intriguing enough with the magic and the competition but I hope book 2 spends time explaining everything behind the world.

Let me start off by saying that I haven't really ever read any circus themed books, this one would be my first. I have Caraval and the Night Circus on my TBR pile but something about this book made me the most excited to read it.

Where Dreams Descend was set in a world that was so beautifully-crafted that it drew me in within chapters. The world is filled with magic and shadows, circus and mystery, romance, and deception.

Kallia (our FMOC) is one of the strongest and most authentic female characters that I've read about for a while now. She's daring but also knows her limits. She treated unfairly but doesn't complain, she just accounts for those actions when preparing herself. This world is very heavy in male-dominance within the magician world and that doesn't bother her. She knows her chances are slim but she gives it her all when in the competition. And while is surrounded by men, both as a competitor and mentors, she doesn't lose her spunk and feminism. She defies the odds and makes a man her assistant, and she shows everyone how amazing and powerful she is.

While the male characters in this book do play a significant role, such as Demarco, Aaros, and Jack. They all play major parts in Kallia's life and decisions but they do not overshadow her.

I CANNOT wait for book 2 to see how the development between characters grows, where we go from here and of course closure from that ending! Not only did I receive an advanced copy of this book, but now I have to wait over a YEAR to read the next one, that's the unfortunate part about arcs… But I will be waiting on the edge of my seat until the next one is released.

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautifully twisted and intriguing book. A narrative that burns like a flame , hot and dangerous but also untamed and mysterious.
Just when you think you know how to quench it more fuel is added and once again you are lost to its spell.
It reels you in with intrigue, it makes you scan each word and phrase for hidden meanings. For glimpses of what lies beneath but the mirror is shattered. All you have are pieces and none of them quite fully fit together. Instead you are left wanting, searching for the answers that you can never quite grasp.
What happened to Glorian? What ties does Jack have to it? What really happened between the siblings? What happens when a mirror shatters and you are trapped inside?

I am hoping the second instalment will answer some of these burning questions. But while I wait impatiently for it to materialise let me say one more thing about this bewitching novel.

It’s so damn nice to see and male and female character be such good friends without any romantic entanglements between them. I have such love for Amos and Kallia.

Something about this book was just hard to get into. I can see why people might like it - and I've liked many flashy/show/con-men magic books before. A magic competition, a contestant against the world. Instead, I was slowly trudging through and trying not to doze off as I read this book. Maybe I should have DNF'd, but I wanted to give it a change to sweep me away, as I know WHERE DREAMS DESCEND has gained a fair bit of hype and garnered some glowing reviews.

This is a world where magic is for men only. Women can have it, and use it, but it's looked down on when they use it for anything other than labour of being a show girl (read - anything other than male gratification). This is nothing new, and no, fiction doesn't always have to be new and innovative (can fiction ever be?), but I am just bored with worlds where men can do something women can't because... sexism?

The logic behind why people say women can't do it is never explained. Sure, the real world is full of men putting barriers up to women on things, and yes I find it so frustrating (which might be part of the reason that I don't like it in books, because I want to escape in books). However, there are reasons given in real life. Yes, they're often laughable and stupid, but reasons are given. People will always try to justify why they are excluding others from power. They will play on a society's deep need for security and betterment to explain why something can't be given/allowed to others.

But it was never explained. Women are discouraged from magic, and most don't use it. There are plenty of women angry about it in the book, but only the heroine is challenging the status quo. What is it that means the other women aren't acting on their magic? What is the pervasive lie that means the general population sneers at women magicians and do the men tell themselves to justify their view that it's for them alone? This is basic world building, but it was never addressed.

Then there's the character of Aaros, who is a pickpocket and tries to pinch Kallia's stuff in minutes of her arriving, but she then turns around and offers him a job as her assistant like that? They're suddenly relying on each other and good friends?

WHERE DREAMS DESCEND has three POVs. Kallia gets nearly all the page time, and I cannot work out why we needed the other two. There's Daron Demarco (who's name I had forgotten and so was using De as a placeholder until I could flick through and find it in the book to write properly) and the master, yet they add nothing.

Demarco is passive. He has a big tragic past, so he no longer is performing magic. It is clear he is the love interest from the first page with his sharp interactions with Kallia. They're clearly going to perform together by the end, for romance blossoming. With this obvious, there's no effort put into their relationship, no chemistry created. Then there's also the fact that his tragic backstory is also obvious from his first chapter, and yet it's treated as a mysterious reveal.

They weren't even my main problems with Demarco's POV, but rather the fact that he's very passive. Sits and grits his teeth at the insults. Accuses Kallia of cheating and other things with flimsy evidence.

Next we have the sinister master, who is stalking Kallia. At least it's not shown in any good light, but why do we need to see a stalker? He's there for tension and threat, but that can be done without his POV. He and Demarco are hardly around narrating, so why not just remove and focus on her?

I think, if I hadn't been so frustrated by the lack of world building around this central issue or without the two other POVs, I'd have really enjoyed it. But they were a barrier to me easily getting into the book, and then I never really clicked with it.

I really wanted to like this book as I'd been anticipating it for months but it honestly fell flat. The characters felt cardboard, the plot was meandering and while the writing is very pretty, there's not much worldbuilding.

Where Dreams Descend is wonderfully atmospheric, as dark as it is daring, and it's synopsis had me at *Moulin Rouge.* I love Kallia, our showgirl at Hellfire House who is strong yet flawed--I am always here for an ambitious main character who dreams of something more. I found the book to be a quick, enjoyable read that readers of Caraval are going to love. Thanks, Net Galley!

Admittedly, it took me a little while to truly get into Where Dreams Descend, but after I did, I enjoyed it quite a lot.
I had a hard time at first, visualizing some of the characters and memorizing names; not something I usually struggle with; but I felt like some of the character introductions were a little short (yet, there where many of them at the same time / in very prompt intervalls) and that resulted in said troubles, most likely.

I also needed time to grasp how the society in the world of Where Dreams Descend works, because it seemed almost opposite to what I would have expected from it. That might have been intentional to get a message across though and I'd like to possibly get some more background info in the follow up novel.

Janella Angeles' writing style is very beautiful and descriptive, but, at least in the beginning, read almost a bit too descriptive / too flowery to me. There were a lot of comparisons used especially, which stood out because I didn't understand why they needed to be there in that particular moment, since nothing of significance was happening; just a mundane act like opening one's hands. But this might boil down to personal taste.

However, about 30% into the book I was hooked by the atmosphere, which is fantastic. I'd grown fond of some of the characters (especially Demarco) and I became very curious about the setting of Glorian and all the secrets to be found within. That and Hellfire House came to me very easily visually, and both were equally intriguing. The writing began to flow better as well in my opinion and the story took off and pulled me in with its mystery of vanishing magicians and Kallia's experiences throughout it all.

I will also say that I really enjoyed the way Angeles wrote the various relationships our main girl Kallia formed along the way or had already formed prior to the beginning of the book. They were all interesting in their own way, and at least one also full of (very enjoyable) tension. If you like mysterious tortured boys, look no further.

By the last page, I had even had some slight goosebumps because I honestly was so eager to know how the story continues. Needless to say I will read book 2 as soon as it's out and I would recommend Where Dreams Descend to anyone who enjoys some glitz and glam, mystery, circus themes and Phantom of the Opera vibes in their reading.

The writing in this book was truly lovely. The prose is ornate and elegant and completely fulfilled my expectations. Where Dreams Descend is reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera in that we have our love triangle--Jack is our Raoul, Demarco is our tortured musician, and of course our love interest, Kallia. Kallia is a strong heroine whom I couldn't help but love. In a male-centric world, Kallia thirsts for magic and enlists in a magic competition (Night Circus, anyone?), ready to brave any danger in order to prove herself.

Sometimes the magic in this book was a little confusing, but again, the writing was so beautiful and the overall world building was so vivid that I had to love this book! I highly recommend!

This book was pretty good all in all. I would say the plot was very interesting. I will say I didn’t really enjoy the slowness o the book but I will say it was a good debut novel.

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Where Dreams Descend is an excellent start to this fantastical and romantic duology. A beautifully dark and magical setting, this first book felt like it was setting the scene for more action in the next.
Kallia is a strong-willed showgirl at Hellfire House and is determined to win a magicians’ contest. Her mentor insists she is not to leave Hellfire House, but Kallia aches to participate in the challenge. After finding out about her Mentor's (Jack) deception, she runs away to the city of Glorian to participate in the competition. Things take a turn for the worse when magicians from the show start to go missing. As Kallia fights for the top spot, she also tries to find out what sinister forces are at work.

Overall, a fun book. I enjoyed the mysterious town of Glorian and can't wait to find out all of those secrets! Creating a competition type show with judges, was a refreshing idea and I ultimately enjoyed the ride. The characters are interesting, but maybe a little immature or maybe underdeveloped. It felt a little younger than the recommended ages 14+, a very easy read.

If you liked Maxwell's The Last Magician, Garber's Caraval, or Morgenstern's The Night Circus, you’d enjoy this book.

This book was good, but a really slow read for me. The whole story felt really drawn out, especially the love connection. The ending was a good cliffhanger, but it was a LOT of build up and angst for a very fast-paced sudden climax at the end. A lot of the middle felt like dragging out the story in order to end on the cliffhanger (like, maybe turning a story that could have been one book into two..? Depends on how the sequel goes.) and the emotional back and forth and off-and-on reappearance of an antagonist felt really predictable, so I just couldn't get hooked. The imagery and magic were lovely though.
Recommend for: fans of circus magic (Night Circus, Caraval, By a Charm and a Curse, etc.), fans of The Paper Magician

What worked: Beautifully written tale where a girl performer breaks away from her cage and enters a competition of magicians that goes terribly wrong. Carnival meets Night Circus with a twist of Phantom of the Opera.

The beginning of this novel pulled with in with it's lavish scene setting and a girl that desperately wants to break away. Kallia finally breaks away from her master 'Jack' and ends up in Glorian, a town filled with mysteries and deadly secrets. I really loved the world-building and the mystery behind Kallia. Jack calls her 'Firecrown', which hints at her magical powers. The premise of Jack taking people's memories was intriguing. So was his true relationship with Kallia.

What I had issues with had to be once Kallia ends up in Glorian. The writing is fast-paced, with numerous different characters. I got confused more than a few times on what was really happening in the story. There is a three-way love triangle between Kallia, Jack, and Demarco, who has his own secrets. I didn't really feel the chemistry between Kallia and Demarco. I did feel it with her and Jack though and wanted to know more on what exactly held them together. Hopefully that will be revealed in the second book in this series.

Gorgeous writing throughout this story. I really wanted to love this story, but the different plot twists and turns confused me. I ended up wanting to know more on why it was so dangerous for Kallia to be in Glorian. I especially wanted to know more about Jack and his own magical abilities.

Carnival meets Night Circus set in a lush world of magic, intrigue, and danger. Perfect for fans of circus stories with magic.

I love the movie Moulin Rouge. When I read the description of this book I knew it was right in my wheelhouse. At the start of the book, I was a bit confused (and I'm still not sure if I understand it 100%.) When the action moved to the "city" it became much more interesting. The settings were so descriptive, that I could imagine each location during the scene. It definitely played like a movie in my head.

I struggled with this book from the very first page. It reads like a sequel despite being the first book in the series. Many parts are unclear or underdeveloped, side characters were kind of forgotten and it simply feels like we missed a prequel were the world was explained and characters were introduced. Sadly I cannot give this more than one star.

It's hard to put down this debut novel by Janella Angeles. "Where Dreams Descend" is the start of a spectacular series that everyone will be talking about.

It is the story of a group of magicians competing against each other for the headliner of a circus. The acts are dangerous, and some prove to be deadly.

With twists and turns, superb imagery, and an unstoppable heroine named Kallia, it is sure to be a hit!

3/5 stars. I think people who enjoyed Caraval will enjoy this, so that comparison in the blurb is pretty apt.
There’s a lot of showy, performance magic, which made the book really fun. I haven’t actually seen Moulin Rouge, I don’t remember a ton of the Phantom of the Opera plot off the top of my head, and I haven't read The Night Circus. Having read this book, I don’t think it quite matches its blurb, mostly with the idea of the traveling circus. It doesn’t seem like Kallia is competing to be part of the traveling circus, rather that there is a traveling circus with magicians who are in the same town at the same time, and Kallia is friends with them and performs with them sometimes.


What I liked:
-The magic was really fun! Most of the magic we see used is purely for showmanship, and it’s showy and entertaining.

-The beginning few chapters so of the book had a lot of really good build up. You could tell there was something dark lurking under the surface, and I think Kallia’s character was the best here.

-The secondary characters that are on Kallia’s side (I mean that they are not her enemies) in the story are fun. Like Kallia’s assistant, the seamstress, and members of the traveling circus. (The other secondary characters, aka her direct competitors and people who don’t believe in her and are sexist, are barely characterized in my opinion.)

-There is a lot of good descriptive writing, especially with the way greenery/plants and clothes are described. There are a few greenhouses in this book and the descriptions are so lush.


What I didn’t like:
-The thing I disliked the most about this book is that it’s just build up with no actual answers. It keeps telling us that there are things we don’t know and dangling that in front of the reader like a carrot. I know that there’s something/someone dark and mysterious lurking in the shadows. But what are their motives, who are they, and how is that affecting the characters? Some of the smaller reveals at the end were so obvious that they should have been revealed hundreds of pages earlier, and bigger things are never revealed. And I honestly couldn’t tell you the goals of any of the characters except maybe Daron Demarco. There’s an emphasis on “born magic” versus “learned magic” with “born magic" being stronger, but we don’t get a backstory on why, and we don’t get a description of how magic can be learned. I also have no idea what the limits of magic are. I want to read the second book solely out of curiosity regarding character motivations and world building, because this first one had little to none.

-This book seems like it’s trying to do enemies to lovers but doesn’t actually make the two characters real enemies. It’s more like mild tension that seems to be exacerbated because they don’t know each other well yet.

-Not every book needs a “mean girl” character. This book could have done without one, as the character doesn’t actually add anything to the story, not even petty obstacles. She is just there to make snide comments, and nothing about this book would change in the slightest if her whole character was deleted and everything else left the same. It adds an air of “I’m not like other girls” to this book that it didn’t need.

-This book also has one of my biggest pet peeves in YA: characters passing out frequently. I can’t tell you why YA uses it so much compared to other age groups, but in my opinion it’s used as a crutch a lot when transitioning between scenes. The narrative can just skip to somewhere else because the MC isn’t awake, and then it doesn't have to explain how things happened or what anyone else was doing during that time. Most of the time in this book, I think just skipping to the next scene with a line break would have been fine.

All in all, I’m the most annoyed at the lack of world building. Otherwise it was pretty typical YA fantasy for me. I think I might check out the next one just to see how things are explained, because this book really gave me all questions and no answers.

A magical story for the ages, Where Dreams Descends is a beautifully told story bursting with amazing prose and well developed characters. Kallia and Demarco’s chemistry kept me on my toes and the mystery around Jack made me lose sleep. Janella Angeles spins a strong debut that will be a favorite for years by many

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for asking me to be a part of the blog tour for Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles (and thank you to both Wednesday books and NetGalley for the free early review copy)! I first heard of this book via Roshani Chokshi's instagram stories earlier this year (I think... it could have been last year too... time is an interesting concept right now) and it sounded so interesting- a mix of Moulin Rouge and the Phantom of the Opera with magicians- so I put it on my list ASAP and kept my eyes peeled for any way to read the ARC. I'm so glad I was able to because this book was freaking amazing and is one of my favorites of the year! This book comes out August 25th, so make sure you pick it up/check it out!

Where Dreams Descend 5/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: 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

So besides this book reminding me of the Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge, I also got notes of Caraval and Ace of Shades, and I absolutely adored both of those! It was also super original in a lot of ways. I really loved the magic system, which was slightly confusing, but like confusing in a good way that kept you wanting to learn more (like what's the significance of the mirrors? How do they get their magic? Why is Kallia the only female magician? How do acquired magicians get their magic? Why doesn't Demarco use his magic anymore?) I loved Kallia and I even loved Jack and Demarco grew on me the more I read. The way the story progresses and the characters that come in once the magicians begin disappearing and the twists and turns that we go on until the ultimate ending took me on a journey I was so excited to be on and I couldn't put this book down! I cannot wait to read book 2!!!

For as long as she can remember, Kallia has longed for more: to learn more, do more, be more. As the star of Hellfire House’s nightly performances, Kallia’s dances are mesmerizing and filled with powerful magic. She dreams of escaping to Glorian, the mysterious ruined city beyond the woods. When she learns of a competition between magicians taking place in Glorian, Kallia is determined to compete, never mind the fact that no female magician has ever competed against men in such capacity before. But a dark force is gathering in Glorian, and magicians are quickly disappearing. As darkness and danger threaten, Kallia must choose her friends carefully and depend on her magic if she wants to escape the perilous competition alive.

Full of magic and intrigue, this book kept me reading until the early hours of the morning. While it takes a good chunk of the first half before the story really gets started, the action, mystery, and romance of the second half mostly make up for it. The characters are well-developed with realistic flaws, dreams, and struggles, and Kallia’s fight for equality is timely and well-written. Dark and magical, Janella Angeles has crafted a fantasy world with questions around every corner. However, despite some of the excellent features of the book, the plot does create more questions than answers, which makes it difficult to be completely satisfied by the end. I’m looking forward to a sequel to dive into this world once again and hopefully have some of my questions answered. Fans of darker magic and fantasy will enjoy this thrilling novel.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)