This book was everything I wanted and more. I feel like it's safe to say that I really loved Where Dreams Descend, and I was nervous about if it's sequel would live up to the hype. And I'm glad to say that it did. Where the first book embraced its Phantom of the Opera inspiration, this was straight up Hadestown in the best way possible - the reader gets to explore a whole new world past the mirror, meet a cast of new characters, and get to see magic work in a way that hasn't been shown before. There was angst, high stakes, and an ending that felt like a satisfying enough goodbye, even though I didn't want to leave this world behind just yet. Janella Angeles has an amazing way with words and I'm excited for whatever she ventures towards next.

When Night Breaks is a pretty epic sequel to the first book. It starts immediately after the events at the end of the first book for Kallia and you get the second POV from Demarco like before.

I enjoyed seeing more of Jack in this book and seeing what the ‘other side’ is like. The new cast of characters we get to meet (especially the Diamond Rings) were so much fun! I started to forget that most of this book we don’t spend with the original circus / cast of characters.

I do feel like some storyline or plot wasn’t resolved but I can’t quite remember what it was? I may have a missed an answer to something from the first book because this one was pretty long. And if it wasn’t physically longer is FELT longer. It took me quite some times to actually finish this book, which was surprising considering how excited I was to read it.

This was much different than book 1, but still really good! I did not love it as much though. It was a bit jarring and I don't really like getting a bunch ofnew characters in a book 2 and then not getting any of the characters I loved from book 1

Thank you for NetGalley, Janella Angeles, and the publisher for sending me this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a great continuous of this duology! I loved the first one, and when I saw this on NetGalley, I knewI wanted to apply to receive this ARC. I thought this YA book was written very well, and had a great mix of character development and plot. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great YA book to start!

Thank you Janella Angeles , Wednesday books and Netgalley from this e-arc. I have previously received the first book as an e-arc last year and I fell absolutely head over heels for Janella’s mysterious magical book. She has created a world filled with such magic and mystery that feels familiar but is new. The last book ended in such a dramatic cliffhanger and I was incredibly thankful to receive the sequel to review as well. The first book will always hold a special place in my heart but this one was so much more grand. The extent of the world building with this new mirror world is absolutely astounding. This mirror world where magicians live alongside devils where everyone who lived their was born a new and beloved for their talents. This story was one of heartache and longing. I could truly see all the Places the author was influenced from and this book was truly such a lovely tribute to them. It was such a fitting end to the series. I absolutely love this story and can’t wait to see what Janella has in store for us next!

Thank you Janella Angeles , Wednesday books and Netgalley from this e-arc. I have previously received the first book as an e-arc last year and I fell absolutely head over heels for Janella’s mysterious magical book. She has created a world filled with such magic and mystery that feels familiar but is new. The last book ended in such a dramatic cliffhanger and I was incredibly thankful to receive the sequel to review as well. The first book will always hold a special place in my heart but this one was so much more grand. The extent of the world building with this new mirror world is absolutely astounding. This mirror world where magicians live alongside devils where everyone who lived their was born a new and beloved for their talents. This story was one of heartache and longing. I could truly see all the Places the author was influenced from and this book was truly such a lovely tribute to them. It was such a fitting end to the series. I absolutely love this story and can’t wait to see what Janella has in store for us next!

I finished this book days ago, but I am still struggling to fully comprehend my ongoing feelings about this book, Especially since it was one of the most anticipated releases on my TBR.

I finished this book having enjoyed it, only to in the end wake up in the middle of the night afterwards realizing all of the gaping plot holes that had been left that I had so desperately wanted to be fulfilled. Many of them being wiped away under the guise of Kallia just not needing to know those answers about her past.

The first 2/3 of this book were wonderful, and where it falls short is in the execution of wrapping it up (So much so that I almost feel that this series could have done better as a trilogy). Because it feels like when a show get's canceled unexpectedly and suddenly it's a rush to tie things off as neatly as possible.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books, for the chance to read and review this book in exchange of an honest review.

When night breaks starts after the disastrous ending of the competition and the heartwrenching cliffhanger of Where dreams descend. Demarco's fallen from grace, Kallia is missing, the Patrons arrived and nothing is what it seems. Demarco is willing to try and do anything to discover what happened in Glorian and to find Kallia, even if it means risking his life in the process. On the other side, literally, after falling through the mirror, with a dangerous magician and "enemy", Kallia finds herself in a new world, populated by magic and magicians, illusions and memories, where mirrors show their past world, everything ruled by a powerful and scary showman, who is been waiting for her. But in a world full of shows and headliners and revelry there's a sinister force that is threatening both worlds and Kallia and Demarco will have to stop it.

When night breaks is the spectacular (pun intended) sequel of Where dreams descend and it's absolutely thrilling and captivating. Told by two POVs, Demarco's and Kallia's, from, at least in the beginning, two different worlds, the story is full of plot twists, new and old characters, brilliant writing and it captured me since the beginning.
Between secrets, new discoveries and lies, magic and powers, Kallia and Demarco will do anything they can to save each other and their world, navigating illusions, powerful showmans and their own feelings.

I really loved reading this book and it was so intriguing reading about the Glorian from the other side, full of mirrors that show memories, magic and shows. I loved the new characters, like Vain, Ruthless, Malice and Harald and it was such a pleasure to know more about Jack, the Patrons and Eva. This book is full of discoveries, lies and truths in a compelling story, with intense characterization and brilliant and intricated relationships. Those who stand out are the one between Kallia and Demarco, of course and between Kallia and Jack, both weighed down with their past and traumas and hurts. I loved how the author explored freedom and cages, power and choices and everything in between. The setting is evocative and lush, truly brilliant and intriguing, a new world made of dangers and fascinating magic.

I loved reading this book, it's a wonderful and hopeful ending of the series and it's so recommended!

2 stars

One of the most frustrating things about reading is when one of your most anticipated books lets you down. Where Dreams Descend ended on a good cliffhanger, so I was excited to pick up When Night Breaks. And while it immediately picked up where it left off, I still found it unbearably slow.

For 40% of the book, I felt like nothing happened. I was just reading the same old characters doing the same old things. The characters were meh, Kallia, Demarco, and Jack were fantastic in the first book. But the lack of interactions killed me. I would have loved to see any of their relationships grow on the page.

While I do like the worldbuilding, I still find the magic system to be complicated and not explained well. It seemed to be too much with no real explanation, and I found that incredibly frustrating. I liked the aspect that there was a whole alternate world! But it still fell very flat for me.

I am hoping that we get a little spin-off. It seems like that is where the author is heading, at least I hope it is.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing an early copy.

When Night Breaks is a great conclusion to the Kingdom of Cards series! When Night Breaks picks right up where Where Dreams Descend leaves off and takes us on a journey through Glorian. Lots of complex character dynamics, lush storytelling, and breath-stopping moments!

I was a bit skeptical about this series--I tend to not like dark fantasy or circus books. However, I found the first book to be incredibly engaging. I was eager to pick up this arc to see how the story ended.

Here is what I liked--the author took the second book as a great opportunity to further develop several characters. I read some reviews that didn't like Kallia in this book, but I thought that her personality was also developed more by the author. The real breakout star was Jack though, and the author did great in explaining him (no spoilers).

I did find some things to be a bit confusing, especially near the end. I also feel like I had some questions that weren't well answered.

Summary: Interesting, clean, suspenseful YA dark fantasy.


Thank you publishers and Netgalley for the free e-arc.

Overall, I think that this book was a good sequel to the duology and brought the closure that was needed, but I can’t say it was exactly what I’d hoped it would be.

It was good, but I really enjoyed the first book in the duology and this one simply left me a bit disappointed because I had such high expectations coming from the first book.

I did enjoy that it really wrapped up the duology, and didn’t leave anything out that needed to be addressed. I think that the author did a good job at picking up where she left off, but I do think that there could have been a bit more to the book to make it just as good as the first.

I’d like to say thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an e-arc of this book.

After reading Where Dreams Descend, jumping into the book felt like returning to characters that I missed so much. Janella Angeles once again wows me with her storytelling, the plot is so gripping and I can't love these characters more.

When Night Breaks is absolutely brilliant, easily 5 stars. It is the perfect conclusion to the Kingdom of Cards duology. Janella Angeles creates a beautifully magical world that completely absorbs the reader. Everything from the costumes to the various rooms to the actual magic is so well detailed that the reader actually feels like they are there. The other Glorian is everything the True Glorian is not and traveling between the two (between Demarco and Kallia) is exhilarating. While I loved just about EVERYTHING in this book, I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of aerial arts (hoops and silks) and the duels. I also really loved getting to know Jack better. At the end of the first book, Jack was still quite the mystery. The reader truly gets to know Jack and his past in When Night Breaks. Without giving any spoilers, I'll just say that I was completely satisfied with the ending. I will recommend this duology to everyone. For anyone who loved The Night Circus, this is especially a duology for you!

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With the chaotic conclusion of the Spectaculore, Daron Demarco’s secret has been revealed and is headline news. But he is more focused on finding Kallia, who fell through a mirror during her final performance and is now trapped in another world with Jack, whose motives are still suspect. This mirror world is a dazzling place, but it also has its dangerous side, ruled by a powerful magician known as the Dealer who has sinister plans. With her magic depleted, Kallia must survive in this new world as Daron sets out on a deadly journey to reach her. But time is running out quickly and Kallia has to figure out a way to escape.

This is definitely a long overdue review as I’ve been trying to piece it together for ages. It was a hard one to write, because while there was a lot I liked about this book and series and the concept had so much potential, the execution was lacking and it made for a very frustrating read. It has been a very long time since I’ve struggled this much with a book. However, I loved the world building in this sequel, and I must admit, it’s the first time I’ve seen a sequel build a second world from scratch. The author has done a fantastic job of it, creating a parallel mirror world to the real Glorian outside and the descriptions are rich in detail, really bringing to life the illusions, duels and more.

Kallia’s arc was definitely the more interesting one and I honestly didn’t care about what Daron was doing until over half the book was done. In Glorian, Kallia was the star of the show, so it was interesting to watch her find her footing in the mirror world where she is just one among many. The connection between Kallia and Daron that was such a great part of the first book was almost entirely missing this time as they are separated until well past the 70% mark. Jack’s story was finally revealed too – and it was quite unexpected, nothing even close to what I’d predicted after book one – along with more details about Kallia’s origins and the truth behind Daron’s powers, or lack thereof.

Now for what didn’t work for me. For starters, this book was entirely too long and between the painfully slow pace and a lot of what felt like filler content, I was thoroughly bored for a significant chunk of this and it frankly ruined the reading experience. With a new world also came a whole new cast of characters, very ambitious for the finale, and while they were intriguing characters, there simply wasn’t enough time to fully understand and appreciate them. I’m hoping much of this is because I read an ARC, but this one fell pretty flat for me.

The ending was pretty exciting and I liked how things were wrapped up, it’s just a pity it took so long to get there, and there wasn’t much left by that point either. Overall, while the plot behind this book was a good one, it didn’t live up to expectations and it just did not work for me. Nonetheless, this series was an interesting read, and if you’re a fan of Caraval, I would recommend checking it out!

Sadly this is going down as one of my most disappointing reads of the entire year. I have no idea what happened between book 1 and this, but this conclusion did not work for me.

I recently reread book 1 and loved it just as much on the second read through. I thought the writing was magical and the world and characters were lush and captivating. But in this sequel, all the magic was gone. The writing was stinted and repetitive (in fact there were multiple instances of duplicated sentences....), the word felt flat, and all the character development was thrown out the window.

I definitely liked the bones of this story - especially the idea of the world on the other side of the gate. But in execution, everything fell flat. I liked the idea of this magical world, the devils, and the dueling - all really cool concepts. But despite the nearly 500 pages, I felt like there wasn't enough time to actually explore these ideas. So everything felt rushed and half explained.

On top of the rushed & repetitive narrative, everything was highly convenient. The stakes felt so low at all times because everything kept working out just right. Even the big conclusion felt lackluster because it all works out so simply and cleanly.

I also didn't like the way so many threads were left dangling. I love a good open ending, but this just felt unfinished.

Overall, this was a massive disappointment and I'm really sad about it. I'm not sure what happened between book 1 and this conclusion but it felt like this book didn't get the same love and attention in editing... which is sad because this story had so much potential. I definitely plan to check out more from this author in the future though.

The ending of the first book, Where Dreams Descend, ends with the main character Kallia falling through a mirror and disappearing from the world. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel and find out what happens to her. In a story that has been compared to Hadestown, we find Kallia in a dark mirror world ruled by a mysterious man known as the dealer. This book was atmospheric and had all the wonderful vibes of a vicious, theatrical underworld. There are magic duels, fun new characters, and more of Jack, the fan favorite bad boy. The plot itself confused me a good portion of the time, and a lot of it felt vague and meandering. The book is also very long and probably could have been improved by some trimming down. But it was still very entertaining. Janella Angeles definitely knows how to write a book with lush and dramatic vibes.

This is the exciting sequel to the author’s debut novel, Where Dreams Descend. We are introduced to many new characters as well as a new, darker world.

I loved getting to know Kallia and Daron better in this book. However, the two were separated for the majority of the book, which made it hard to get into. Also, a lot of the magic aspect that was so prevalent in the first book was missing in this one. I did like the characters and the plot, though, so I would recommend this duology!

When Night Breaks unfortunately ended up being very hard to get into and review. The first book had a lot of amazing ideas and a unique world I wanted to learn more about. But... the book also had mediocre characters, a boring relationship and a confusing plot.

I did love the cliffhanger at the end of Where Dreams Descend and the cliffhanger brought me to When Night Breaks with higher hopes. The second and final book in the Kingdom of Cards duology sadly did not improve much from the first book. This book was unnessarily long and drags... Some chapters could have been cut out entirely. Demarco and Kallia never grew on me as characters. Jack continued to be the best and most interesting character and earns a star for his presence alone.

Overall not the duology for me, but the author has interesting ideas and worlds. I will keep an eye out on the author's next work.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sequel had potential but just wasn't my style. I was in love with the first (if you haven't read it you should- but also I don't know why you're here if you haven't read the first book), but I don't feel like the sequel quite lived up to it. It seemed very slow moving compared to the first, not really starting the story for a while (and I'm talking about 100 pages).
I can say as a fact that the author is extremely talented, but I was not a fan of When Night Breaks. Considering that half the book takes place in a bizzaro version of our world, I can understand why it took so long to set the scene, but I found it really hard to stay focused on reading it.