Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles
- Overall rating: ***
- Reading rate: **
- Romance: ***
- Pages: 464 pages
- Release date: August 25, 2020
- Publisher: Wednesday Books
- Recommended if you liked: Caraval, The Night Circus
You get a bit of Caraval and The Night Circus vibes in this slow build dark fantasy threaded mystery. The story revolves around a magical contest and a world where women are not allowed to be showmen, Kallia aims to change the game…and everyone is trying to hide their past.
This book was one of my most anticipated new releases of the year, but it did fall a bit short for me. It was a very slow start where you are left with all kinds of mystery and not a lot of answers, so I struggled to continue reading at times. While I thoroughly enjoyed the MC Kallia overall, I was not a huge fan of the other characters POVs and the sudden shifts in POV without any page/chapter break were difficult to adjust to.
The book started to take off around the final quarter and while it ended in a lot of excitement and was not totally predictable, I still found myself needing more answers to be sufficiently involved in the world and attached to the characters. The story does leave you with a cliffhanger ending and I while the first book was not right on the mark for me, I look forward to seeing how to second book in the series delivers.
Synopsis:
In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.
As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.
The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove sheโs the best no matter the cost
The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told
The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide
Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angelesโ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martinโs Press for a copy of Where Dreams Descend in exchange for my honest review.
Lovabull Books 