I truly think this was just not my cup of tea and that's ok. I needed MORE from it. I had entirely too many questions at the end of this and I was a bit confused on the magic system while reading it. The characters needed a bit more development, I wasn't too attached to them. The cover really drew me in and I kept hearing good things about this but for me, it wasn't my favorite.

Where Dreams Descend is one of my most anticipated books in 2020. Aside from the gorgeous cover (!!!) and the intriguing summary, I was excited because this was written by a Southeast Asia author, which I rarely find in US publishing. Sadly, it's not going to be my next favorite. I didn't exactly hate it, but I didn't love it either, and here's why :

The good :
+ The friendship between Kallia and Aaros in this book is probably my favorite thing!! I feel like it's quite rare to see platonic friendship between man and woman in a book, and Where Dreams Descend deliver it in the realest way possible.
+ I didn't particularly like Kallia (or any of the characters, I suppose), but I do admire her strength and bravery in dealing with sexism from fellow magicians in the competitions. In this book, stage performers/magicians world are dominated by man, and the very few women who became one often vanished (not sure why tbh, but I think it was implied they were eliminated?). Anyway, throughout the competitions, Kallia often faces discrimination from the judges, eventhough it's clear that her performances are the best compared to others. It definitely takes some strength to get through it all.

The bad :
+ I'll be honest first, the mystery surrounding the vanished/injured magicians is what kept me going, and yet it's also the source of my disappointment. I love reading mystery book, but here's the thing : you have to let the crumbs fall once in a while to keep the readers engaged. Throughout the book, I was quite frustrated because it kept repeating the same info over and over again. By the time the truth was revealed (or like, 1/5 of it because there's still SO MANY questions. Book 2 has a lot to answers), I already lost my interest with it.
+ The world-building actually has potential, but I feel like it's underdeveloped here. By the end of the book, I still can't get a clear picture about how this world works.

All in all, I think I'll still read book 2, but I'll lower my expectations of it.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles is the first book in the young adult fantasy Kingdom of Cards series. The Kingdom of Cards series is a dark magical fantasy with this first book only being the beginning of these characters story so it’s definitely best to read the series in order.

Kallia is a showgirl at the top of her magical game but has been trapped by Jack, the master of the club. Only wishing for escape to compete against others Kallia takes her opportunity when it comes and heads to the city where she enters the magical competition where she meets the brooding Demarco.

Where Dreams Descend is yet again another young adult fantasy that made me question why I continue to pick up this genre. Anyone who has read my reviews before have probably come across my one biggest complaint in fantasy in them moving just way too slowly with not enough progress to pull me in. This time it didn’t help that I also didn’t particularly care for the protagonist, Kallia. As much as I love a strong female lead I felt instead of strong she came off arrogant which was annoying to me. When it was all said and done this one only came in at two and a half stars for me but of course I’m more in the minority with my rating.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is a magical debut with lush writing. Circus books are normally not my thing but this was really good. The setting and descriptions were magnificent, Fans of Caraval and The Night Circus will eat this up. I also agree that this book has vibes of Phantom of the Opera & Moulin Rouge. The characters are compelling and the atmosphere mysterious. I do think the world-building could have been a little better but since this is a debut I'll let that slide.

I enjoyed the freshness and personality given to this story and feel like it is perfect for needs of mere entertainment rather than looking for a story that has some deeper philosophical umph.

Where Dreams Descend is an un-put-down-able adventure. Angeles beautifully develops a lush, magical world that immediately draws the reader in. I truly would read this book just for the setting but the most intriguing part for me was the way the story combined magic and mystery. The plot kept grabbing me in and I couldn't let go until I finished. I took away one star because I didn't find the protagonist to be different than many other fantasies I've read before.

DNF
Unfortunately thisbook just couldn;t keep my interest, which is such a shame I thought I'd truely enjoy this book.

I am a sucker for any and all things Phantom of the Opera, so I knew I had to have this. The setting and the magic system were solid. Some of this book was really here just to set up the sequel, so I'm hoping that one is more action packed and offers more character development. I wanted to feel the romance more than I did. It looks like there could be a potential of more romantic interests and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm not typically into love triangles because one of the love interests is usually far superior, so if they choose to go that route I want to be torn. I want angst and seduction, as much as young adult gives me that is.

This one is a slow burn, but if you want women magicians, a circus, and mystery this is a good bet.

This was extremely enjoyable, but it was all a bit bland to me? The story was 'just' okay, as were the characters and their development. I really did enjoy the ending, it had me positively reeling!

This was a delight from beginning to end. Kallia is a young woman with magical talents where a woman with magic is not accepted. Choosing to escape the mysterious master, Jack, she travels to a magic competition to show the world what she can do. Demarco lost his magic in a tragic accident, yet no one knows, so when he is tasked to judge the magical competition, he reluctantly agrees, but quickly finding himself intrigued by the alluring Kallia. When her competitors begin to disappear, those around her look to Kallia for blame. Demarco and Kallia, although distrustful of one another, and yet drawn to one another begin to work together to find out what is going on with the competition, however things become even more complicated and the danger is closer than Kallia could ever imagine.

I love the combination of mystery and intrigue. For me it was such a perfect balance - the magical element added to the overall effect. I look forward to the second book in the series.

I wanted so badly to love this book, but I just didn't. I was extremely bored and couldn't connect to any of the characters. The writing style just didn't jive with me. It's such a bummer, because that cover is gorgeous and the synopsis sounded so intriguing! I definitely think lots of people will love this book, though, and that it will appeal to fans of Ace of Shades.

This book had wonderful Greatest Showman vibes, and the cast of characters were really well developed. It was great to read a circus based book.

I greatly enjoyed this! The beginning felt a little slow to me but I ended up enjoying the pace and the plot of this story! Looking forward to book 2

I had to DNF this book. I was so confused and just not feeling it. It seemed to have so much potential, but I was so lost. I hate to be that person, but I do usually struggle with carnival/circus performer type stories. Please don't let my opinion weigh too heavily on if you decide to read this book, but maybe at least try out the sample to see if this book is for you.

Even so, I may try this book again someday in the future once the series is complete.

I finished this book in one day and for good reason!

It was so pretty and well done!

Think magical competition of the night circus meets phantom of the opera and that’s it. That’s the book and it’s beautiful for it.

The setting and the magic was wonderful

The fact that even after the end we still don’t know a lot of about Jack makes me love it more.

I don’t know who I was Kallia with, Jack seems to love her but he loves her as a thing or does he. It’s not clear. But Demarco seems to love her and he’s hiding something.

Love triangles don’t die as a trope and that’s fine. Bring it on.

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!