This book is confusing. It leaves you with more questions than answers. Only vague feelings about most of the characters because they're not really fleshed out or have too much mystery surrounding them. And am I the only one who doesn't see the comparison to The Phantom of the Opera?

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book hence the 3 stars. There were some parts I liked, others I didn't. For one thing, I think there's just way too much mystery in it. There's mystery about where our main character first lives, then there's mystery about the town she journeys to. There's mystery about the mentor she had for her magic practice then mystery in the next magician she makes a connection with. There's mystery in the entire competition when things keep going wrong for our main character. It does add to the mystical uncertainty vibe I think the author was going for but it didn't make for a very pleasant reading experience since I was constantly trying to puzzle out what was going on the entire 400+ pages. There's very few things that have any kind of concrete element to anchor the book.

The pacing was quite slow for me and ultimately I felt it had too much detail in the wrong areas. We're given detailed paragraphs of every single place our main character visits so the reader can picture the setting but then the worldbuilding is weak. After 400+ pages, I still have no idea how the magic system works in the world. Why some magicians are born and some use acquired magic and how the latter even acquire said magic. It took me until about 75% in to understand what a "labor magician" was since it was only associated with women magicians and so I assumed they were midwives of a sort but they're in fact just magicians who are basically maids I believe? I have literally so many questions about the characters and world which I assume will be answered in the second book but I'm also fearful will be glommed over for the sake of the storyline such as why the Patrons, some sort of researching and enforcing group for magicians, have never looked into Glorian, where the competition takes place, when it's surrounded by rumors and intrigue and widely known to be so.

I did enjoy the romance which boosted the story for me. And it was interesting to be able to see things from different points of view with the way the story is written in third person. The main character is pretty likeable and it's admirable how she is determined not to let misogynism stop her or intimidate her. Some of the side characters are pretty bland and flat, especially the other competitors. But I really enjoyed Daron's character, one of the competition's judges, and am intrigued to see the truth behind the mystery of him. Some portions of the book are predictable but since so much of the story has yet to be resolved, the mystery continues into the second book.

Overall, if you're a big fan of mystery and "the big picture" books, then you'll probably enjoy this. But you may want to wait to pick it up until closer to the second book's release so you'll remember all of the mysteries still yet to be solved and won't have to wait for answers like the rest of us.

This one was a bit too slow-paced for me. I struggled to get into it. But the language was beautiful and the cover was gorgeous!

I struggled greatly to get into this book. There were parts that were too descriptive and many of the characters felt way too young for a YA read. I will not be posting a review on my blog of this one.

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.

I already bought a copy for the library! It reminds me of "Night Circus". It has a similar vibe but for YA audience. That is the best review I could give it!

I honestly have no earthly idea how to rate this book. It's somewhere in the 3-star range, but I have no idea how to pinpoint it. There were parts that I liked and parts that I didn't. I think the writing was nice and descriptive and there were some plot aspects I liked. The last 100 pages were my favorite part and I liked the aspects of the mirrors. The characters in this book felt a little bit juvenile for a YA book that seemed at a cursory glance to be a darker, grimmer story. They felt very young to me which just isn't really my vibe. The plot was okay. I liked aspects of it, but other things I just felt ambivalent about. The world was interesting enough to keep my attention. Overall, this was fun, I guess, but still, I don't know how to quantify or articulate my opinions, so I'm sorry this review was all over the place.

Edit: Okay, I think I've settled on a 3.75. I'll probably read the sequel too but I still have no idea lol.

This was a little bit heavier of a fantasy read than I was expecting. There are things I liked and things I disliked, although the things I disliked outweigh the more positive things. However, I don’t think that will stop me from reading the sequel, so here is why.

I enjoyed the side characters, especially Aaros and Canary. They were Kallia’s found family, and she couldn’t have asked for better. The tension between her and Demarco was well done throughout, and the slow reveal of Jack as maybe not THE villain to fear.

But this book is too long. There are a lot of unnecessary descriptions that just added pages, and in the end, the payoff wasn’t there. The tension had been building and building, but there wasn’t a satisfactory outlet for it. Even in a series, one book should still be a complete story, and point us in the direction of where the next book is going. But this book did not feel like a complete story; it not only left us hanging, but also didn’t answer hardly ANY questions it had posed. That really frustrated me, because we should’ve gotten some answers instead of being forced to wait who knows how long for the next book. It wasn’t just a cliffhanger; it just wasn’t a complete story by itself. If you’re relying completely on a sequel to tie things up, then you haven’t told enough of a story in the first one. Which goes back to the time spent on unnecessary details and not on what really mattered.

I like the characters enough to read the next one, but I wish I felt like I knew what was going on.

Where Dreams Descend sounded so promising and the book cover is so beautiful! It ended up not being something that I enjoyed like I hoped I would. I am so sad about that, because I wanted to love it so much. I was immediately drawn in by the book description. It was a very slow start to the story and it took so long for things to actually happen that were exciting and would hold my attention. It wasn’t really until toward the end of the book that I was interested in what was happening. Because of the slow start and the lack of grabbing my attention, I wasn’t really invested in the characters. There were some things I really liked, like the magic. It just wasn’t enough for me to really fall in love with it. I thought the book was just okay. I can see why there have been a lot of people that really enjoyed this story though. Sadly, I wasn’t one of those people that did. I would still recommend checking it out. This was just one of those cases where it wasn’t for me

This book was a bit too slow paced for me and had to DNF. Won't be posting the review for that reason.

3.5 stars!

At the beginning, I honestly had zero idea what direction this story was taking or what type of a world it was set in. And at the end, I was still pretty much in the dark, although Angeles does drop some very intriguing clues throughout the book. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading Where Dreams Descend! The magic, the circus, the mystery all combined into a story that completely hooked me. This world was so intriguing and I loved how its history is slowly revealed throughout the book. You never get the fully picture but the bits and pieces come together to form some very intriguing questions, which will likely get explored more in the next book. I also really enjoyed how the romance developed, although I’m going to be anxiously awaiting the sequel because I need answers.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for an entertaining, YA fantasy that will keep you guessing. I’m definitely planning to pick up the sequel because I need answers to all of my questions!

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A lush debut novel, full of fascinating characters and an entrancing setting. I was pulled in from the first page, to wonder at the prose.

I was a bit surprised by the direction that the book went in, and didn't always find that it was what I was expecting. But definitely still an interesting read and something I know fans of Phantom and Moulin Rouge will enjoy!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All I can say about this book is WOW! the plot was absolutely amazing. I loved the characters and the pacing.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

*Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

This book definitely didn’t live up to it’s hype for me. Once I heard it was “a combination of Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera” I was highly intrigued by this book. But it took me until about the last third of the book to even get into it. I feel like this book could have been a lot shorter than it was and not been as dragged out. There wasn’t many “performances” thrown in which kind of confused me since I thought that was supposed to be a big part of the book and the book as a whole felt too shrouded in mystery, I’m still kind of confused by what I read to be honest.

I will probably still read the next book in the series just because this book left off on such a cliffhanger. I’m hopeful the next book packs more of a punch and doesn’t drag on like this one.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020, and I tried so hard to get into it. Something about the writing or world building just didn't work for me. It was a little difficult to follow what was happening and to be engaged or want to learn more. The characters didn't jump off the page, and the plot did not capture or hold my attention, unfortunately. The premise is so promising, but the atmosphere and plot and characters still felt flat at the beginning of the book.

It could be that I was not in the right mood to read it, especially with the pandemic, so I think I'll likely pick it up to try again at a later point.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at 37%. Right from the start, I found myself extremely confused about the magic system. I don't find it clear what the purpose of these abilities are. The main character is shallow and not very interesting. I was totally captured by this premise and wanted to love it, but found myself completely disenchanted the further along I read. I do think the writing was fine, however, the start was too disjointed for me to continue on without comprehension. I am giving this a 1 star but only because the submission requires it. I will not be rating it on other websites.

The Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge! Oohh, I adored this book! It had so much tension and I couldn’t put it down. The atmosphere the author creates is palpable and moody. Also the characters are so wonderful, especially Aaros.

Coming into this story, I really thought this was a standalone for some reason, so upon finishing this, I was shocked and confused to realize that wasn't the case and I had reframe my entire read which wasn't a bad thing as it made me realize that I enjoyed it more than I would have if it was a standalone.

<b>Where Dreams Descend</b> is written beautifully. It’s magical and flows smoothly. The atmospheric writing allows one to truly get immersed into the magic of the story.

Kallia, is a female magician breaking into the man’s world of magic. The strength and grace she has while doing this is wonderful. She is not afraid to challenge the status quo on bit and frequently had such quick retorts for comments or actions that were meant to bring her down. No matter how many times the men tried to knock her down, her confidence never wavered. She knew what she could do and was determined to show everyone up and really let them know what she was capable of. Kallia is a stunning character.

The romance in this novel is slow-burn which was perfect. I love slow-burn romances and this one had me gripped. It was perfect as this whole novel in general had a slow-burn pace to it and I feel like anything else easily could have ruined the atmospheric vibe it had.

The mystery in this book had me questioning so much. I really had no idea what was going on, in fact, I still don’t. Left on a cliffhanger, I’m eagerly awaiting the next release to see what happens and how the rest of the story unfolds.

I have always been a fan of the circus, not the animals which were sad, but the magic, the artistry and the family that seemed to exist. This books examines all of those aspects as the characters vie for the top spot, even if it costs them their lives. The story is as dynamic as the circus and the high flying action keeps the reader on the edge of their seat!

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A richly compelling tale of magic and desire which pushes the boundaries of what women in this world can truly do.

WHERE DREAMS DESCEND is one of those books that will stay with you long after you close the cover and anxiously await the sequel. The layers built into the story by the author make it downright addictive.

What I loved the most about this book is how woven into this elaborate narrative of magic, competitions, and mysterious happenings, Kallia is grounded in her need to prove herself. She will be a female magician and wow them all, even if the cost could be greater than she even knows. There is a strong feminist message hidden between the lines of the entertaining events. In addition, there is such a wonderful balance of grandiose moments with personal ones. The author truly thinks of the whole of the story while she allows her characters to grow and become who they are meant to be.

Angeles gifts her readers with eloquent prose, thrilling theatrical performances, and an ending that made this reader gasp. I truly cannot wait for the next book to come out. I have not had this desire since I finished CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber.

Where Dreams Descend gave me echoes of Shadowland by Peter Straub. The magicians competition as a central theme was excellent. As the characters act out their parts in the competition, we will see how their competitors fail, then just disappear. The MC has strength and talent but can she defeat the magic behind the contest to become the best of the best? This is a duology so I will have to wait to find how this journey will end.