I really enjoyed Where Dreams Descend when i first read it and so When Night Breaks was one of my most anticipated releases. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like this was as strong of a sequel as I was hoping it would be. Everything just felt toned down for me personally and I hate to say it but i found myself skimming a few pages here and there. Overall, I was left wanting more.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

When Night Breaks is the conclusion to the Kingdom of Cards duology, or the follow-up to Where Dreams Descend. As When Dreams Descend was one of my absolute favorite novels from 2020, I was super excited for this novel. The series follows a Kallia, Jack, and Demarco as they navigate magic and romance through a competition. In this sequel, the competition has ended and Demarco must embark on a journey to find Kallia, who is lost in a world of mirrors with Jack.

The first half of the book was a bit of a drag for me, but it really picked up by the end. I found myself once again enchanted and entranced by the world created by Angeles. It was definitely what I wanted from a sequel, and while it might not have lived up to the first book completely, I did enjoy it and will continue to recommend this duology to young adult fantasy readers.

This book was a bit of a letdown after how amazing the first one was. This book was way too long and not much actually happened in it.

This was the perfect finale to an amazing debut. I really enjoyed where the story went and all the twist and turns it took to get there. Those who loved the first book won’t be disappointed.

I wish we saw more of Kallia and Demarco together since without them being physically together, it felt like their desire to want the other was so forced. Besides that, this book felt ridiculously long because nothing really happened until the end.
Full review on YouTube

DNF at 14%

The first book in this series, Where Dreams Descend, was a bit of a disappointment for me; however, the 0 to 100 ending of that book meant that I found myself interested in picking the second book up.

Upon beginning When Night Breaks, it became abundantly clear to me that I would not be able to just jump back into the world. Angeles barely gives you any context for this second half of the duology, which meant that I was going to have to read Where Dreams Descend and then immediately begin When Night Breaks if I had any hope of understanding the full scope of the story.

Considering my feelings towards that first book and left with little hope that the second book would be much better based on the short section that I struggled through, I came to the decision to not continue on in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Second books in a series/trilogy/duology usually fall in one of two categories: exceeding the magic captured in the first book or falling short of expectations, leaving readers unsatisfied. Unfortunately, When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles lands in the latter category. Look, my friends, I adored Where Dreams Descend, but I can’t say the same about When Night Breaks. The final book in the Kingdom of Cards duology disappointed me. So now I’m left asking: Where did it all go wrong?

I looked forward to reading When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles as it was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. Aside from the fact that I adored Where Dreams Descend and the universe Janella created, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the idea that Hadestown will be incorporated. Having seen the musical the year it opened on Broadway and loving it, how could I resist?

Phantom of the Opera x Moulin Rouge x Hadestown seemed like the perfect combination. However, the final product turned out to be – well?

A flop.
It pains me to call this book a flop. But unfortunately, When Night Breaks is a hot mess. There are certainly flaws in Where Dreams Descend, but here with When Night Breaks? They’re harder to ignore. In fact? They’re front and center. Janella bit off more than she could chew. She took on far too many ideas and did not cohesively execute them.

Too much worldbuilding.
Worldbuilding should never come before the plot in the last book of a series. If something needed to be introduced or hinted at, then it should have been introduced in the previous title(s). While Janella hinted at larger forces threatening these characters, when these threats finally showed their face? Janella almost minimized their threat levels in favor of explaining how this world beyond the mirror works.

Rather than branch off what she built in the previous books, Janella added extra parts that were neither well thought out nor executed well. At times, it felt like she was forcing When Night Breaks to fit the Phantom of the Opera x Moulin Rouge x Hadestown pitch.

I’m sorry, but if this had been the second book in a trilogy, she could have afforded to take the time to explain those new ideas and concepts. She could have fleshed them out and explored them more. But When Night Breaks is the last book in a duology. Janella should have spent more time wrapping up story beats and plot lines.

Instead?

Plot = Disorganized.
Janella insists on introducing these new ideas in the last book of the duology. Unfortunately, this insistence causes When Night Breaks’ plot to become less cohesive. Quite frankly? It often felt like nothing was happening. Sure, there are new characters and a new world to explore, but worldbuilding doesn’t push the story forward.

When I pick up the last book in a series, I expect things to move. I expect the plot to roll on forward, characters to develop even further, and story beats to wrap up satisfyingly. Action needed to happen.

But where are the stakes? Janella can end chapters with fatalistic cliffhangers all she wants, but the stakes and action to further the plot in this book are nonexistent. So what was the conflict that would keep the story going?

And unfortunately? There was no movement.

WHEN NIGHT BREAKS BECAME STAGNANT.

The villains? Boring.
They neither compelled me nor terrified me. It certainly didn’t help that the characters didn’t seem terrified of them, either. Janella never showed us proof of why we should be terrified of these villains and what they can do to everyone.

Know why a character like Darth Vader is a good villain? Or Darth Sidious? Sauron? Sephiroth? We have a compelling reason to fear these villains. First of all, their creators show their depravity on screen. Furthermore, these villains put fear into our characters. Thus even if we don’t necessarily fear these villains, the most important thing is that the characters are afraid.

But what can I expect from characters like the ones here in When Night Breaks?’

Characters were flat and one-dimensional.
God, I can’t believe how bored I became of Kallia. I don’t feel as though she grew or developed. But then again? It’s not as though she was allowed to grow. With a plot so stagnant as the one here in When Night Breaks, it’s no wonder why Kallia couldn’t shine.

YOU COULD BE A GREAT ACTRESS, BUT EVEN A GREAT ACTRESS CAN’T RESCUE A FLOP.
Perhaps the only character that I could say had some development was Jack. Although, even then, that’s not exactly great.

There’s also the fact we have new characters playing important roles. Aside from Kallia, Demarco, and Jack? None of the other characters I cared about showed up in When Night Breaks. Why should new characters like Harold and Vain take center stage over Aaros and Canary? I would have been ok with this if the characters were interesting and fleshed out. But sadly, they’re as dry as sandpaper.

While I wish I could give this book a higher grade, When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles gets 2.0 stars with a D+. Try as I may to enjoy this book and blame stress from work impacting my reading experience? I could not enjoy it at all. When Night Breaks is a flop. While Janella’s descriptions shine, they can’t hide the fact that plot and characterization got left behind in favor of worldbuilding that should have been done in the first book.

I CAN’T RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.
As much as I enjoyed the first book of this duology? When Night Breaks disappoints. With no character growth or a sensical plot, it’s probably better to leave Kallia in the world beyond the mirrors.

Although I read and really enjoyed Where Dreams Descend, I really think that it could have stayed a stand-alone and existed just fine without a sequel. This sequel feels very much like a continuation of a story that was finished and seems to drag on and on without a lot to say. It uses 30 words when 5 would do. I loved the first book, and the characters are lovely, but it didn't need this next installment.

Never have I been more disappointed.

When I first read Where Dreams Descend, I also got an ARC and was one of its first readers and absolutely LOVED IT so you better believe when i got an ARC of the second book i almost screamed!! The absolute excitement and to be reunited with Daron and Kallia and Jack!!

So it breaks my heart to be immensely so disappointed. For one thing why were Daron and Kallia separated for so long??? I get that it was for the sake of the drama and angst but it really made things feel very long--and this was a very long book that's for sure. I definitely loved seeing more of Jack though!! He was definitely a character I so loved from book 1.

I don't know but it just felt like this book had a completely different vibe from book 1 and it makes me sad. Maybe one day I'll get back to this and give it another try to see that my thoughts have changed on it? I'm not sure but hopefully I can get to it.

The competition to be named the greatest magician has taken a turn Kallia didn't anticipate. Daron Demarco has been compromised and fallen out of favor, and even with Jack by her side, Kallia still is confused about who she can trust and what is real.

I genuinely didn't know what I was expecting from WHEN NIGHT BREAKS (especially fresh off a reread of Where Dreams Descend) when I finally picked it up. I didn't wind up loving this one as much as WDD (which is still one of my favorite reads), but I do still think it's a well-written and satisfying way to wrap up Kallia's tale.

Readers get a lot of answers to some of the questions that the first book left us with at the end, but also get tossed into a world filled with new rules and characters (which was a little jarring to begin with). I definitely missed the whimsical vibes and "will they-won't they" romance that heavily permeated the first book. Still, there's certainly enough action and spectacle to reel the reader in -- especially in the latter chapters.

WHEN NIGHT BREAKS has an overall tone that is a bit more melancholy and reflective; this isn't necessarily a bad thing given it lines up with the character journeys. I also liked the themes: perceptions and choice, illusions and reality, light and darkness, just to name a few. It made for an interesting story, all together told, and I'm glad I was finally able to read this book!

Very much looking forward to seeing what Angeles comes up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This review is really frustrating for me.

Objectively, I feel like this deserves 4 stars, however, for me this gets a disappointing 3.

The writing was beautiful, the story tied up the loose ends nicely, I have no actual issues with the book itself, but for some reason, I wasn't invested at all. Somewhere between book 1 and 2, some magic was lost (HA), and I wasn't feeling as connected to the story or characters. It felt like I was watching the story unfold, instead of being a part of it, and that disconnect unfortunately really took away a lot of the tension and stakes for me, especially in a story that really relies on you caring about the characters.

I was also more aware this book, that the magic didn't seem to have rules, which also took away from the agency in scenes, because I couldn't figure out why I should be worried about things going wrong, if anyone and everyone could just do magician stuff to save the day.

Overall, I think if you liked the first book you'll love this one, and I'm hoping that I'm a random outlier wirh these opinions.

Thank you for publishers and netgalley for providing me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm. It is hard to start this. After the excitement of the first book, this one felt a little flat. all the tension and magic of the first book were missing. It was a great ending to a duology. But 80% of the great rating came from the first book.

This was such a great read! I loved the first book and it was really looking forward to reading this one! And oh, it was such an entertaining story! We learned so much more about the world, and I just couldn't put it down!

Like the first book, we mainly follow Kallia, followed by Demarco, and with little snippets of Jack's perspective. Which was really great, because at the beginning, they're separated, Kallia and Jack went inside the mirror, and Demarco was left behind, but he's desperate to try and get her back.

The main mystery for me last book was about Jack, and why he kept these secrets from Kallia. We find out why in this one, and I can understand why he kept them secret. But oh, he probably shouldn't have, because that wrecked a lot of the trust that they had!

Some really shocking reveals happened, though they were set up for it, and some of them should've been expected. They came together in such a great story! That ending, I'm a bit confused as to what happened, about how many people could travel back. So the ending was bittersweet, but so great to read!

I loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Janella Angeles!

Hmm. I don't think I'm going to go too deep into this one because I honestly find myself without an opinion.

I'll start by saying I adored Where Dreams Descend. It was one of my most anticipated releases and I have read it twice. It was so swoony and magical and impossible to look away from, with its Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera vibes. Whatever was poured into that book's soul ... it was absent from its sequel in every way.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. The issue was more that I had no idea what was going on, and I don't think the characters knew either. In hindsight, I honestly could not tell you what it was about in full detail. Kalia is trapped in some underworld without her magic and Daron is trying to get her back. I dunno. I was kind of just vibing the whole way through. The magic, the romance, the wonder--it was all lost under a vague, meandering plot. There were a few great moments, but for the most part nothing seemed to really connect and find its footing.

I'll leave it at that. I know the author had a really hard time writing this book and was entirely honest about her struggles. I mean, her debut came out at the start of the pandemic and then she had to muddle through writing the sequel at the same time. I get it. If she ever does publish more, I'll happily support.

The Kingdom of Cards duology was simply perfection. The characters, the plot, and the writing all made this book as well as the first completely bingeable. Janella Angeles shines as closes the curtain on this particular tale.

I really wanted to love this more than I did, but I think magician stories just aren't for me. I really enjoyed the setting, romance, and plot line in the first book but this book took it to a place I was pretty disappointed in. While the setting was interesting, the main character felt a little flat to me and the ending was just ok.

A beautiful, stunning sequel and conclusion to Where Dreams Descend. Janella Angeles is a wonderful writer and masterful storyteller. From the worldbuilding, to the magical elements, to the romance, I had such a great time reading and was pulled into the story very quickly from the beginning. The writing is lyrical and the descriptions were vivid and lush that I felt like I was a part of the story.