The highlight of this book for me was the writing style, which was gorgeous and descriptive. I loved the imagery and the repetition of color and other symbols, which were deftly integrated and given multiple significances. (I love symbolism and themes so much.)

I also loved the characters! Aaros was the best and most loyal assistant and cared so much for Kallia despite his history and how they were strangers at the beginning of the book. He always went out of his way to help her and always seemed to know what she needed, and Kallia appreciates him as he deserves. Kallia was such an interesting and distinctive personality - extroverted and confident and unashamed of herself. She constantly took me by surprise in a good way. It took me a while to care for Daron, but I eventually grew to care about him and his personality as well. I was actually rooting for his and Kallia's romance, which is unusual for me and testament to the writing and the characters.

However, I didn't understand the plot with the underlying Glorian magic, what the heck is going on with Jack (who is he? what does he know? how does he do what he does? why does he care? why is he even important anymore?), and the dark mirror things. I know this is more going to be the plot of the second book, but I felt like there wasn't enough clarity in the crumbs dropped for us. I'm sure the next installment will bring more clarity, though!

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love fantasy fiction books a lot especially ones with mystery and magic and this fit the bill. I enjoyed the story and look forward to more from the author. I felt the book had strong characters and motivation behind their actions, however some sections of the book ran long and weren’t necessary for the overall plot to still flow . I loved the themes and the setting though and would love to read more of the characters. Overall I enjoyed the book a lot.

**Review will be published August 24th!**

WONDERFUL DEBUT.

You hear this has some The Night Circus aspects and you’re immediately drawn in. I am definitely in agreement. The magician, circus, and romance aspects were soooo good. Soooo good that I can’t wait for book two. There’s a lot here to unfold!

One of my favorite pieces is that I still haven’t decided who’s on what side. The ambiguity of characters and story leave much open to interpretation (in a good way). While plenty is revealed and you’re not left hanging, I love how much isn’t revealed.

Since I’m always a fan of romance in books, I am setting sail of Kallia and Demarco’s ship. I absolutely LOVED how this relationship moved. It’s one of the textbook slow-burns that are my faaaavorite. It was believable and they have true chemistry between them. I really can’t wait to see where they move on next.

Kallia is an amazing heroine. Goodness, I thought she was spectacular. Kallia was brave and bold, confident in her abilities and was striving to better her life. She was also flawed, and got herself wrapped up in tough situations. The conflict made her seem real and truly like someone you can root for her, and root for her I did!

This book reminded me why I love reading young adult fantasy. I would love to see a map to further expound on the world, but I thought the overall development was good. The magic system was interesting and all of the mystery kept me on my toes. The atmosphere and creepy vibes were some of favorite aspects.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: very little light
Romance: kisses / make-outs
Violence: physical, magic, elements

I have to go with 4-4.5 stars. I can’t decide which so let’s just stick with that. Where Dreams Descend was described as “a combination of Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera,” and with a description like that who wouldn’t want to read it?

The book started a bit slow for me, it just took me a few chapters to find that groove. But there is a moment that I won’t share (hello, spoilers) that turned the book around for me. The magic system was a bit confusing but I didn’t mind a system I don’t fully understand yet. I assume more will be explained down the line.

The characters were a fun bunch. Kallia, a powerful mc who doesn’t take crap from anybody especially the male characters. I found it refreshing to see a female be assertive, it was without a doubt my favorite trait about her.

Slow burn + a love triangle and you got yourself the romance aspect of the book. I love a good slow burn and I dislike love triangles but this one worked. Even if it is obvious who will end up with who at the end. And if it doesn’t go in that direction, I will cry and update this review.

I was warned by a friend that the book did end on a cliffhanger and boy were they right. Is it possible to ask that book 2 gets published immediately? Because I NEED ANSWERS.

Read this book, it is magical and amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley, Janella Angeles and St.Martin's Press for this arc!

There was solid world building and the story has a wonderful premise and starts with young woman desperate to escape her current situation and experience life on her own for the first time in her life, much to the frustration of her current mentor. This is where the story starts to get confusing, our "villain" Jack, has questionable past, hides everything behind illusion and I was not sure if he was supposed to have a romantic interest in the main character or not. Too many little hints leading nowhere make it hard to understand "the master" and determine if he is actually looking out for Kallia or not - leading us to believe, hopefully, we will receive answers in book two.

Kallia, our heroine, at times comes across as spoiled and very unclear about her life, of course she was manipulated her whole life by the sire and Jack but there is no other major history provided, how did she get to Hellfire House in the first place, I wasn't clear on the answer. There is also no clear reason provided as to why using her magic leaves her so weak.

The magical competition and other magicians don't really stick out and the middle of the book drags along as they wait in between each "show performance." So of course, bring in a circus of traveling women, and I'm all for girl power, but how do they advance the plot other than as a tool for Kallia to make her performances all the more exciting.

Our hero, Daron Demarco, from a powerful magical family, is torn and broken, his past haunting him and his magic as he searches for his last "assistant." Demarco is also a judge in the competition she is competing in and this means they really shouldn't be exploring anything as it would mean "favoritism," but of course they can't resist each other. Demarco goes back and forth in his opinions on Kallia, and she on him, which is ultimately couched in her need to protect him from Jack. In the end, their romance doesn't quite ring true because it goes from "hate" to "love" almost over night with each of them keeping secrets from each other and afraid to share, which Demarco does, but Kallia still holds back.

The last quarter of the book is where the real action takes place and where interest is developed. However, the reader is left with too many questions in the end, leaving matters unclear which wasn't necessary based on the rest of the cliffhanger. Oh, yes, there is a HUGE cliffhanger, which we could see coming because she left so many unanswered questions throughout the whole book to be answered in another book.

So I liked it, but I also have issues. I don't know if I will read the sequel.

Geeez! Talk about a cliffhanger. I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book, but it was really something else. I loved the strong female characters, the mystery, and the writing style was fun and easy to read.

Overall, I really liked this and I need the next one as soon as possible, please.

I am so sad, I had to DNF this book. The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis sounded great. I wanted to love it but I just could not get into it. The world building was practically non-existent and the characters and their relationships were pretty flat. It just didn't work for me and no one is more disappointed about that than me.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Where Dreams Descend is a circus fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of Caraval. It features a magical competition with much higher stakes than anyone anticipated. The story is full of secrets, rivalries, and lovers. The characters are vibrant and entertaining. The plot and world/character building took some time to establish, but by the end, the plot moved quickly and kept me engaged and wanting more.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles will be published on August 25, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

I have been waiting for this book all year and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! This book just feels so lush and magical from the very first page. I found myself skimming as I read as quickly as possible because I just couldn't wait to see what happened. The characters were brought to life on the page and I cannot wait for more of my friends to read this so we can talk about it! I anticipate a reread coming very soon!

This book fell short for me. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this. The Phantom of the Opera vibe was the best part of this for me. I did get a bit of the Moulin Rouge feel as well. The book started off so stinking powerful that I had high high high hopes for this one.

A wonderful. mash-up of Night Circus, Caraval and The Phantom of the Opera (basically if you love circuses and magic then this book is right up your alley).

I loved getting caught up in the semi-love triangle, secrets, dark pasts, and riveting story-telling that hooks you in from the beginning. The story centers around three fierce main characters: Kallia, Jack and Daron. Kallia is a strongly independent (and at times arrogant) orphan who works as showgirl in a magical club since her childhood. She lives at the magical club with Jack who is doing whatever it takes to protect her, but he has a mysterious past and seems to manipulate Kallia to keep her safe.

And then we’re introduced with Daron Demarco was a successful magician till he stopped performing two years ago (something world changing happened, but we still don't know what it is).

When Kallia learns about a magical competition so she wants to participate immediately, but the competition takes place in the nearby town and going there alone is a big challenge for the young woman like her. She runs away from the magical club and Jack and accepts the challenge to participate in the competition.

The ending of this book leaves you with a lot more questions than answers so I'm looking forward to getting more background information on these characters in the next installment.

What an intriguing book...reminded me of both The Night Circus and The Arcana Chronicles. The story grabbed me from the start. The characters kept me engaged. And I can't wait for the next installment!!!

This book is absolutely stunning from start to finish. I couldn't put it down, and has that romantic atmosphere that just makes you want to keep reading it. There are not nearly enough pages, and I honestly cannot wait until I get the opportunity to read the next book in this series. God, the magic especially. It's so mysterious, and you'll wind up with even more questions afterward than you do answers. Those are some of my favorite stories because you get to speculate quite a bit!

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I think that the beginning and the ending were the strongest parts of the story and I wasn't really interested in the competition part. I think the characters lack some depth and additional information about them to make them more interesting.

I thought about DNFing this, but I felt like something big was coming at the end and I wanted to see what so I kept going, but around 40-50% I stopped fully following the story and after 70-80% I just read the dialogue.

It wasn't that bad, but it really didn't spark my interest that much.

As for the characters, I liked Kallia's character and Demarco was also interesting, but I felt like Jack was supposed to be the villian of the story and we didn't really learn much about him or why he's really important. Aaros was also nice, but I didn't care for the others.

All in all, it reminded me of Caraval a bit, but still 3 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

Where Dreams Descend was one of my most anticipated books of the year. AND LOOK AT THIS COVER! I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and the storyline in the book. It did not disappoint. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

I received an early e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
As soon as I heard this book compared to The Greatest Showman I was excited and intrigued and Where Dreams Descend did not disappoint.
With Angeles's atmospheric writing and well-crafted characters that felt real, this book is one of my favorites of this year. I liked Kallia's character, the strong fiery leading lady who doesn't let the story's gender roles dictate how she acts. Aaros, Kallia's assistant was one of my favorite characters, his friendship with Kallia felt sincere and his dialogues made me giggle a few times. 'The Master', Jack felt really possessive and creepy to me so I didn't like that aspect of the story.
Now I am highly anticipating the sequel.
Overall I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars, I think fans of Caraval and The Crown's Game will also enjoy this story.

this book. THIS BOOK. i had such high hopes for this book and it surpassed everything i was hoping for and more. it was JUST. SO. GOOD. the writing??? the characters??? THE ROMANCE???? wowowowowowowow. kallia is one of my new favourite characters of ALL TIME. AND DARON???? I JUST WANT TO HUG HIM. this is definitely one of my favourite books of the year, probably one of my new favourites of all time really. i read the second half of this book in one sitting because i literally couldn't put it down, i NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. i honestly can't say enough good things about this book it was EVERYTHING. i can't WAIT to get a physical copy so i can just hold it and cry. also i need the next book like now??? pls???? because THAT ENDING???? one of the best last lines in a book i think???? OOF i just can't deal with my emotions right now. Y'ALL MAKE SURE YOU PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK AND READ IT AS SOON AS IT COMES OUT BECAUSE IT'S AMAZING AND ALSO I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT OKAYYY. anyways in case you can't tell i LOVE THIS BOOK AHHHHHHH

The publisher provided me with the opportunity to read this in exchange for providing feedback. (via NetGalley)

4.5 stars. I was pretty excited to see that I got approved for this on Netgalley. Once I started it it was pretty hard to put down. (Boo needing to sleep and work.) Really the worst part about this book was that it hasn't even come out yet which means I have to wait for the sequel!!

Lush and enchanting, this was a fun read. It reminds me quite a bit of The Night Circus, but it certainly does things its own way.

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to love this, as I am obsessed with all things magic, but unfortunately this fell a little flat. I liked Kallia and thought she was a very strong, independent protagonist, and she had great chemistry with Jack. For me, it was the language itself that I had the most problems with. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but to me it was so fantasy-driven that it made it hard to get through. There were a lot of descriptions and almost too much magic, and while normally I think telling and not showing is a problem, in this instance, it was the opposite. The magic itself was fun, but after reading Caraval, I may have had too high expectations, so that's also definitely on me. I think I'll be in the minority of those who don't enjoy this, so take my review with a grain of salt! I can definitely see most people absolutely loving this if they're into magic and fantasy, and I know that mostly everyone will enjoy the lush world that was built.