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A review by caidyn
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Stalking, and Classism