Janella Angeles
Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles
Released: August 25, 2020
Pages: 464
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Overall: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Setting & World-building: 4/5
Emotional Investment: 3/5
"Those in search of answers would be one step closer to finding them after an honest look in the mirror"
Phantom of the Opera really has a new look going in this book. Honestly, the resemblance and eerie feeling from the musical only enhanced this book. As a debut book for Janella Angeles, I have to say I am very pleased.
Quick Summary: Kallia is a powerful showgirl in a remote club ran by a charismatic but mysterious magician named Jack. But all Kallia has ever wanted was to showcase her magic and make it big so when she runs away to the neighboring town that's offering a competition to find the best magician she is onboard very quickly. But there she meets Demarco, a closed-off retired magician with his own dark secrets. When people start going missing and knowledge of the world becomes muddled in everyone's mind, will anyone survive?
This summary is kind of all over the place, but you really just have to read the book to understand. This is probably the most atmospheric book I've ever read, because of Angeles' ability to use adjectives and phrases to really make the tone stick out. Plot-wise the beginning was pretty fast, in a matter of pages Kallia was running away which I kind of thought was fast but it worked well. The middle of the story is where it kind of lagged for me because it was just her experiencing life outside of the club for the first time. But the ending really picked up and finished beautifully, setting up perfectly for a sequel.
The one issue I kind of had was that there were elements of a mystery woven in but no further information was ever given. Like in the new city/town there is a mysterious force working to harm people but it's never told what the force is or any more details about it. I thought this was annoying because it is a duology so I assumed she would tell us in this book and we would deal with the consequences in the next book. I understand that it is a stylistic choice but it was annoying because there was this buildup that later went stagnant because she just stopped talking about it.
Now, Kallia was a powerful character. It was refreshing to read about a character completely content with her femininity and knew she was a boss. She didn't let the men - who were clearly sexist and intimidated by a woman- push her over. There were a couple of times where if she did just pause to listen to what the other person was saying she could have avoided conflict, which pissed me off. Also, I originally thought that this would be a love triangle which I'm not the biggest fan of, but as I read I could tell there is a clear person for her. And as much as I love romance, theirs felt kind of forced. Their moments and build up and tension was beautiful but... it seemed too fast and out of nowhere.
Jack was an interesting character. He is clearly important but there is still so much no one knows about him which was pleasantly confusing to read. I honestly still have no clue if he is a good guy, bad guy, or just don't care kind of guy. He's kind of all over the place, but his possessiveness is lowkey fun to read. Demarco on the other hand is the most tortured soul I've ever read. He's honestly like a 50-year-old stuck in a 20 (I think) year old's body. He had so many horrible things happen to him and he tried to move on but it's hard you know.
At the end of the day, this book wasn't horrible. It was actually pretty good except for the few moments of disconnect I had because it was slow or I got bored. I would tell you to read this book if you liked Caravel and want to read a really well thought out magic system.
Quotes
"The power lay not in bending what the beholder could see, but in convincing the reflection it was something else."
"Why else destroy a light if not envious of its radiance?"
"Some mirrors are like windows designed to be more convincing than others"
"Favours are not a matter of lifelong trust, only guaranteed delivery."
"News from the outside was like cards, and each patron came in with a different hand."
"Strange how applause was just noise, when you were all alone."
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