Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

*Spoiler free*

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 she’s 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

Knowing almost nothing about the Phantom Of The Opera or Moulin Rouge expect for the love or brief glimpses I’ve seen online, I was of course very much interested in a book inspired by both of them. It sounded like something decked in red, with mystery, and a lot of secrets. It was something I was curious about reading and I wanted to find out more.

This is another book where I want to do it justice with my review, but all my words feel clumsy in comparison. I don’t know what to say that can encompass the true brilliance of this book. I don’t know what I can say that can describe the depths of the love I have for it. I am going to try my best, because this book is seriously something amazing.

It’s lush. I know that word is used to describe so many fantasy books, but it fits so well here. This story is wrapped in red silk and performed on a glittering stage. It’s filled with mystery and teeming with secrets. The characters shine through and the world is something to behold.

Seriously, this book is filled to the brim with secrets and they way they are hidden and scattered throughout the book is truly something amazing. They leave you wanting. There’s something behind the curtain, but you only get little peaks here and there. There’s something darker waiting around the corner. But information is giving sparingly, but in a way that doesn’t feel frustrating. There is always something interesting going on and there is always something attention grabbing, so I didn’t feel like I was missing something. I just knew something lurked beneath and it created something really amazing. Even at the end, ugh, I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I loved how it ended. It ended in a way that was really, really fantastic and just really, really well done.

I also loved the characters. Even the irritating ones were really well done. Kallia is so sure of herself. I loved her confidence how she knew she could anything she wanted to. I loved her bright dresses and red lipsticks. I didn’t think I would end up loving Daron as much as I did, but he really grew on me. He’s sweet and a little reserved. Aaros was adorable, seriously he was great. Canary, Juno, and Ira were also great characters. Jack was dark. He reminds me of spiced licorice if that makes sense? Even though I’ve never had spiced licorice and I don’t even know if that’s a thing.

I knew this would be a romantic book. It’s right there in the description, but I wasn’t expecting to surprise me as much as it did. I went for awhile thinking I wouldn’t like where it went, but it really grew on me and a lot more than I thought it would. It was subtle and it grew, and it was just really well done.

The world was also really interesting. It felt very vast, but it doesn’t take place in a lot of that vastness. There’s a lot of lore behind everything and it’s explained very sparingly, but in a way that creates mystery and made me want to know more, but not in a way that left me wanting for more information in a bad way. Plus, Glorian, the city where most of the book takes place is really, really cool and something is definitely going on there.

The magic and performances was also another great part of this book. I love competitions in books and this one definitely delivered. I don’t quite know what to say about it without spoiling, but it was done in a unique way and it had a really awesome feel to it.

This book was truly amazing. It’s fantastically written, the characters are full of fire, there are so many secrets, and it’s full of magic. It’s truly incredible. The end left me breathless and I’m so looking forward to the next book and seeing what new secrets are in store. Seriously, this book is all kinds of incredible and I loved it so much.

Where Dreams Descend Comes out June 2, 2020! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!

Thank you for reading!