Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Where Dreams Descend

I came into WHERE DREAMS DESCEND which practically no expectations and... I loved it. I really did. This book is magical and mysterious and just the right amount of spooky. The secrets of the city are woven so well into the story that I felt like I was peeling aside the layers at just the right pace to add suspense. I absolutely want to know more. I want to know what is happening here and I can't because, alas, book two is not yet published.

The characters themselves varies between flat and just okay, I think. I liked Aaros and Canary best, both of whom are secondary characters, but a preferences for side characters over the heroes is not uncommon for me. I liked the magic, but I want to know a bit more about how it works. Angeles did an amazing job of drawing me into the story and getting me interested. I will want some answers in book two, but for now, I'm just utterly enjoying the sensation of it.

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Content Warnings

glitterkitty459's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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caidyn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received an ARC through Edelweiss and a physical ARC directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

CW: deception, pin-up magic shows, sexism, and stalking

3.5/5

Apparently this is the year of retellings! Unique retellings, too. Ever since I was a kid, I loved The Phantom of the Opera (musical, not the book). It captivated little Caidyn and still does, honestly. It's a very good story.

And I enjoyed this one, how it took that and did its own thing with it. Like, I could see the roots of both musicals, but this took those elements and made it into its own thing rather than directly copy both. That's something I appreciate. As much as I love retellings, I don't like it when I can see where it's going completely.

The world that this is in is very interesting, although it didn't pull me in as deeply as I wanted. My interest felt very surface, if that makes sense. I was interested and when I picked it up, I always read more than I intended to. But, I still didn't sink into the world as much as I know I could have. I did like the characters and appreciated the multiple perspectives. Honestly, I found Jack's the most interesting, which should surprise no one at all!

I found the writing poetic, but a bit wordy at times. Like, it was trying to be flowery and fancy, but it just came across as verbose. Not necessarily a bad thing, but at times I was pulled out of reading because of it. Where three words would have done to describe something, there's six or more used in a sentence. Basically, it could have been a bit more concise.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and I definitely plan on picking up the rest of the books in this series!

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