I was wary to pick up this book. I've seen a lot of comparison to Caraval, and I haven't been in a rush to read that one yet. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book, but I was hooked the minute I began reading it.

The book begins with a section entitled Dramatis Personae and it lists the characters who will appear in the novel by their roles. Each role is reminiscent of a tarot card, which I'm always a sucker four. The novel itself is then divided into four different acts. The main point of view throughout the novel is that of the main character, Kallia, while small interludes are written from the perspective of other characters. The way the novel was assembled is utterly brilliant. It allows the reader to know when shifts are coming while still providing plenty of twists and turns. My only formatting complaint is that occasionally scenes from The Master's point of view immediately followed those of Kallia's, and I would have appreciated a break between them.

The plot of this novel is unlike anything I've ever read. I usually know roughly what will happen within a book, but this novel kept me questioning everything. Within the first third I was wrapped up in Kallia's role in the competition. I wasn't too concerned about any of the other characters. However, the second things start slowing down, the author hits you with another plot twist. The characters are all entangled in a web of mystery and magic and I constantly questioned who could be trusted. To be honest, I'm still not sure, but I mean that in the best of way. The ending is both satisfying and maddening. Janella Angeles somehow managed to answer just enough of the question that I had that I'm satisfied with how the novel turned out, but I also desperately need to know what is going to happen next. Usually I end up continuing a series because of my love of the characters, but with this book I'm also driven by the need to know why.

The characters of this book are all wonderfully well-rounded. Kallia herself has a myriad of layers. While on stage she is dramatic and fierce, her everyday life is fueled by ambition and determination to be the best. Jack is enigmatic in an intentional way; his character is developed, even though we may not know everything we can about him. Demarco may be the token brooding character (is that a phrase? I'm making it a phrase), but the emotions and small gestures made by his character have to make him more. Canary and Aaros are my favorite side characters. They add a perfect balance of humor to the rather serious main characters.

The romance in this book is also well done. It never feels forced or unexpected, which is always a nice surprise. While there is no obvious LGBT+ representation, the romance is a clear subplot and we only know about the romantic leanings of two characters (possibly three), so there's always a chance that representation will increase in the second book.

Kallia herself is outright described as having brown skin (thank the gods there were no food comparisons) and having a powerful female poc is something I always enjoy seeing!

Overall, the novel is a mix of glitz and grit, fear and euphoria, and will leave you wishing you could return to the dream-like haze the novel casts.

Mystery in magic and illusions, perfected with a pinch of romance.

OMG.. I just died a thousand deaths at the ending. I need the next book! How could the author do this to me? I’ll be wreaked till the sequel is out next year 🙈

I must say that this book was very mesmerizing. When magic alone isn’t enough, illusions combined gives it an extra punch. And this book is all about that.

So in this story, we have Kallia, a lady magician, who is trying to prove that she is the best magician and can survive outside the small stage she has been given by Jack. Then we also have Jack, a powerful magician, who I still can’t place if he is evil or just possessive because he is constantly trying to hinder Kallia from venturing into the world with the fear that she might get hurt.

But she escapes and meets new allies, Aaros and the Conquering Circus and joins a competition that could change fate for her. Along the way, she meets Daron, one of the judges in the competition, who was a magician before with a dreadful past and they both eventually fall for each other 😍

I really enjoyed the setting, character development, plot and everything else. They were all very exciting especially with the romance and terrors but I hoped that the minor characters could develop a bit more too, especially Aaros and Canary. I hope that will happen in the next installment.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from St Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4 and a half stars (rounded up to 5 because of Goodreads’ rating system). Let me just start out by saying WOW. When I heard all the comparisons of this book (phantom of the opera, moulin rouge, the night circus) I had extremely high expectations and they were met! Although it does have its similarities, I’m happy to say Where Dreams Descend has a beautiful uniqueness. Who wouldn’t be enticed by magical contests, circuses, a heroine that wants to be more than the cards life has dealt her, and some broody, mysterious men?

I want to start by saying a lot of readers will be able to relate to Kallia, especially millennial women. I saw in her a lot of myself and I’m sure many others will too. She has the toxic millennial mindset of wanting perfection, obsessing over little mistakes and imperfections. She also suffers from being caged in and sheltered and then subsequently blamed for keeping herself in that situation (aka whoever is keeping her caged is manipulating her into thinking it’s her own fault she’s where she’s at). That’s why I loved her attitude and some may think it’s arrogant, but it’s mostly an armor.

Dare is a sweetheart with a sad past aka my cup of tea when it comes to fictional men. It takes a long while to learn what happened to him (and even now I still have questions) but overall I enjoyed his character. Poor guy just needs a drink and a hug.

Jack.... Jack Jack Jack. He’s grey for me. I think Janella purposely framed him at first to seem like the big bad guy but there she’s hiding something for us for the next installment. He’s got his manipulative qualities but in the end, we don’t exactly understand why (not yet at least!).

I gotta say that the side characters stole the show and I hope we get to see more of them (but I don’t know if we will or how it’ll work in the next book - no spoilers here). Aaros is my favorite of all the characters. My dumb little thief with a big heart. There was a scene with him and Kallia on the floor (it’s not what you think it is!) that rugged at my heart strings. I’m glad to see a wonderful female-male friendship (although I gotta say I kinda ship him and Kallia.... I always pick the wrong ships though so I’m gonna steer clear and not get my hopes up for any one camp).

The romance was also wonderful. And there’s definitely a love triangle vibe no matter how much Kallia wants to deny it. And again, I always lose when I pick a side in a love triangle SO IM NOT FALLING FOR IT!! I remain neutral as to not get my heart broken.

I dinged half a star because there are a lot of questions left unanswered surrounding a lot of the characters. However I expect the next book to address them. Also because I never could visualize the entirety of the characters physical features. Unless I missed it, there were some details explained but not all. I like to have a clearer picture in my mind what characters look like.

All in all I think it’s a great debut and I think the next book will be even stronger. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Excellent world-building and absolutely beautiful writing! While understanding the timing in the novel could be a bit muddled at times, the character development, overall mystery, and tension between the cast was so much fun to follow. I'm very interested in any future novels by Ms. Angeles.

An ARC of this novel was provided to me for free from NetGalley.

DNF 33%

I realize there are so many books out there that I might enjoy more than this one. I had a hard time from the beginning with following the story or finding any connection with any of the characters. All of the characters, besides Jack, were so flat. I can't keep reading for more Jack so I'm giving up. Kallia was pretty bratty. I felt bad when she is accused of causing problems but that isn't enough for me to really care about her. She was all diva and a bit childish as well from what I have seen. Daron Demarco has a great name but again, so flat. I didn't mind the assistant, Aaros. He was entertaining and funny. I was so hoping for something to draw me in but nothing yet. I found myself going back and re-reading pages over and over again. I would stare at words but nothing would register. Basically, this one wasn't for me. So much promise but fell so flat.

I absolutely adored this. I loved Kallia from her first chapter, and I love the dynamic she had with all the characters and the world around her. I was just as intrigued with Glorian and the magic contest as Kallia was, and it all felt real and alive, and there was never a dull moment. The secrets of Glorian and Jack and a few other characters I won’t name were wonderfully done, giving you just enough to keep you wondering and on the edge of your seat.

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!

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's Caraval meets the Night Circus, sprinkled with a little bit of Moulin Rouge/Phantom of the Opera! Magic and mystery and mayhem topped with a dash of romance and danger.

For a while now I have been searching for a carnival/circus themed story that pulled me into it's world wholeheartedly and Where Dreams Descend did just that! I was enraptured from the very first page.

The story follows Kallia, a nightclub showgirl and magician, who is looking for her place in a male dominated world of magic. She enters (as the only female) into a competition of magic and showmanship where the winner is to become the headlining act in the visiting Conquering Circus. As the competition advances, the acts become more dangerous and an unseen danger begins to threaten them all.

In her past lies Jack, the master of the club she left behind. Ahead of her lies Demarco, the magician and competition judge with a dark past of his own.

I devoured this book in a couple of days. Kallia is a character you really want to stand behind and hope for all the best for her, although at times she does come across as a little naive. BUT...she has such an enticing backstory full of glittering chandeliers and steamy romantic tension that you can easily understand where her naivete comes from.

As the first book in Janella Angeles' debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology, she has hit the ground running with this exciting ride of a story. Magic, danger, romance. Could you ask for anything more? My only complaint is that I have to wait so long for the journey to continue!

This novel was an enjoyable read, bringing together magic and mayhem, mysteries and secrets. To some, magic is power. Some use it for good, evil, entertainment, or manipulations. After all, Shakespeare said "all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players". However, a women has never been selected to compete in the game, but Kallia is no ordinary magician. Kallia is determined, stubborn, arrogant, and as the novel progresses, she begins to show who she is from the inside, showing she is more than what she appears. Demarco, once a rising magician, has his own secrets, like Kallia, but is broody, lost, and wants to right a wrong. He tries to avoid Kallia, and both have many arguments and debates, but like calls to like. Kallia has her own troubles with Jack, the one who trained her, lied to her, and stalks her. Most of the judges and the mayor want to blame Kallia for all the things going wrong with the competition, but something sinister is within the city, and has been for a long time. No one knows what its after, but none can escape and therefore they have to figure out what exactly the game is before one of them in next. Looking forward to then next novel in the series!
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has an amazing mashup of themes and I adore it! However, the cover and title quickly drew me in, and the writing had me hooked!

You simply must read this!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

i've been looking forward to reading this book since THE moment i heard about it, and it did NOT disappoint! the drama, the sensuality, the danger — everything that was promised with a concept of phantom of the opera meets moulin rogue was DELIVERED and i loved every second of it. the characters, the worldbuilding, the romance, i ate it all up. i love kallia immensely. i love the conquerors. i love aaros, and demarco. i love that i finished this book and then kept trying to open up the kindle app again to finish it bc i kept FORGETTING that i finished it bc it left off on such a note that i was itching for the next one and i love that i stILL DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

Wow, very magical and dramatic story with an ending that has you on your seat for the next book. I really loved the fiery power of the female lead, and seeing her vulnerable side. Definitely one of my all time favourite characters.
The only critique I really have is, for some reason, I felt pretty disconnected to this book. I can’t exactly place where it comes from, because the characters are relatable and the events were dramatic. Perhaps it was because there wasn’t enough setup in the beginning to have me really immersed in the world. Either way, I still enjoyed this book!!

This was a breathtaking read with inspirations of Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rouge that was felt throughout and reimagined. I definitely think I felt more of the story was drawn on Phantom if the Opera than Moulin Rouge. This however was an amped up magical twist and I am so here for it. A must read that I highly recommend.

When I read the summary of this book I thought it could either be completely amazing-or a book I can't finish. I debated requesting it, but finally decided to go for it. After downloading it, it took me a couple of tries two get into the book. I found the beginning to be confusing, and it took me about 100 pages to really understand what was going on. The characters are interesting and unique, as is the storyline. Although it didn't blow me away as I was hoping it would, I did enjoy it overall.

This was and is a most anticipated read of 2020 and it delivered. It was beautiful, intriguing with great characters and story building I need more... now Cant wait to buy it in hard copy for my shelf!!! Thankyou Netgalley for providing it for a review!!

Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem -- three words that perfectly describe this book. Angeles took me on an adventure I have never traveled before. While magic is always an added element I like in my stories, I have never seen magic used in this way. A story where magicians actually have magic and uses it to perform, basically, magic tricks appealed to my magic show loving soul. When watching a magic show, you know that it is just slight of hand and misdirection. But that isn't so with the magic in this book and I absolutely loved it being utilized in this manner.

The characters in the novel were a joy to read. Kallia, Demarco, and Jack were different and unique in their own way. Kallia's confidence and swager made me love her character from the start. She is someone who has scars and fears, but does her best to overcome them. Demarco is a broken man who is trying to find answers. And Jack. Oh Jack. He has all the mystery and villain vibe that (dare I say?) The Darkling posses. Unlike The Darkling, I find Jack has some redeeming qualities, which I can't go into because it spoils the book so definitely need to read it to find out what they are :)

The world felt real and believable, even though there is the fantasy element. It trapped me in its grasps and I was sad to have it let me go. Waiting for the second book might be too much of a burden to endure.

The only criticism I have for the book is 1st, the description of the book. It is described as a combination of Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera, when I didn't find any Moulin Rouge elements in the story. If anything, it is more of a Phantom of the Opera mix with The Prestige. The magic shows, magician competition, mystery, deaths, and danger, lines up exactly with The Prestige. So, I would change that when describing it.

The second criticism I had was I didn't feel I got enough information about the history of Glorian and the families that started the city. When introduced, it didn't seem like the information was all that important, so I wrote it off in the way that they characters did. But come to find out, they are actually very important to the plot of the book. So, I personally would like to know more about those, then I feel like the ending would have more of the high stakes and cliffhanger element it is trying to incorporate.

Overall, an adventure and enjoyable read.

but he was fixed on her alone, unable to bring himself to look back to the sky."

The premise of Where Dreams Descends sounds spectacular, a magician competition gone awry and filled with defying characters. However, what we received in this novel wasn't mystifying or life changing it was bland and all over the place. The book tries to get somewhere, yet due to the pace and the characters whom you rather ignore than love the end results was a blabbering mess of magic with no sense what so ever.

My first problem with the story was the characters. Our main character is (or was) a showgirl, however she wanted to do more with her life. Therefore she escapes her Master Jack and goes to Glorian to participate in a magicians show to showcase to the world her real powers. However, when she gets there she realizes that although she might be powerful winning the hearts of the judges might be hard as the only female magician. She was plain arrogant. There is not other way to describe her. In many scenes I found myself rolling my eyes as she couldn't wait to see people's reactions when she dressed up nice, when she argued for the 100th time how wonderfully powerful she was, and how she continues lying to people to prove she's strong. Her attitude towards life and magic was all too snobby for me to enjoy and I ended up hating every scene she was in. Her assistant, whom she met while he tried to steal from her, interests me more than our protagonist.

The background is not thoroughly explained and the ending leaves you with even more question than what you started. I understand it is a series, yet we never end up understanding anything of what is going on. It ends up being frustrating that no sense of mystery is uncovered. Another issue I had was our supposed villain Jack. I never understood their relationship, it seemed they were lovers but this was never explained or shown . However, when they see each other they gravitate towards each other, yet he is still the bad guy for some reason even when he continuously admits he's not and blames Demarco. However, Demarco is also clueless about all the mystery. The whole book is them pointing fingers at who is at fault and I have a big theory the problem is not within their inner circle.

The writing is not horrible and it is a fast book to read, yet I won't be reading the next one no matter how intriguing the cliffhanger was.

--- 2 stars --

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this book!

I have been trying to decide if i should give this book a 3 or a 4. I did enjoy this book but not as much as I thought I would. It was really well written and the characters were great but for some reason I could just not get into it. The plot of the book was really interesting and attention grabbing which is why I wanted to read it. One of the main reasons I feel that it feel flat for me was I haven't seen or listened to either Phantom of the opera and Moulin Rouge. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had. There was nothing wrong with this book but it just didn't hit it for me. I did thoroughly enjoy the ending though. If you like those two shows plus The Night Circus and Caraval you most definitely will like it. I am gonna try and listen/watch those two shows and read this book again because I do feel like it could be a favorite but just not yet.

For these reasons I am giving this book a 3.5

This review is also posted on Goodreads

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available for purchase on June second.

I was interested in this book because a review said that fans of The Night Circus would love it. I must say, I have no idea why the review said that, since the two books are so incredibly different. However, I still found this book to be incredibly enjoyable.

Kallia is a very powerful magician. When the book opens, she works for the enigmatic Jack (also known as The Master) in a club known as Hell House. She lives on his estate, a pampered but lonely existence. Kallia dreams of leaving and travelling to the city of Glorian. When she sees a flyer advertising a competition for magicians she seizes her chance, despite Jack’s warnings against leaving.

Kallia is the only female in the competition, and it is clear from the beginning that she is not wanted. Strange doings start and what began as a competition turns into something far deadlier.

What makes this book stand out are the fantastic characters. On top of Kallia, there’s Canary, a fire eater; Aaros, a thief-turned-magician’s assistant; and Demarco, a judge from the competition who’s hiding something. And, of course, there’s Jack. I didn’t love Kallia because she’s so convinced that everyone is against her. She’s very prickly. However, it made her incredibly interesting. The other characters were all very well-developed. Jack is my favorite. He’s such a mystery. There’s obviously more to him than is revealed in this book, and I can’t wait to see where his story-line goes.

This book ends on a cliff hanger, so if that’s a pet peeve of yours, you might want to wait for the sequel to be released before reading it. I loved it, though. The stakes were raised and there are loose ends waiting to be tied up. If the sequel continues in the vein of this book, it’s going to be a doozy.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is a dark fantasy whose world and character building excel. The fantasy world is unique- no plot tropes here- and is described by the author in ways that made it easy to feel as if I had dropped in and was there with the characters. The characters changed and grew (or devolved) throughout the book, leaving me desiring to know even more about them. There was tension between characters, tension in the world setting, tension in the activities the characters participated in; I read the book in one sitting, wanting to see where this all lead.
This is where I dropped a star from my review rating: there are questions raised throughout the book, and very few of them answered in this first book of a duology. The ending is definitely a cliff hanger, and it didn't feel like a closure of a story arc. It felt unfinished. I would have preferred to see at least some questions answered, or for the story to be published as one book.
I was given an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.