Book Review: Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles

A+ | Lush, breathtaking, show-stopping, splendorous, marvelous, decadent, exquisite. These are just a few words that I can use to describe Janella Angeles’s debut novel. Many of the reviewers I trust have described this book as something akin to a dessert. You know what? I agree. It’s a salted caramel cheesecake. It’s that Bake Cheese Tart from Japan that I adore so much. I have not fallen in love like this with a book in a long, long time. There are some things that I hope Janella improves upon in the second novel. However, these issues did not take away from the fact that I absolutely enjoyed everything that this book offers.

Read this for Wikathon w/ Rose, aka @thatbookishteacher, and you should absolutely check out her blog.

There might be minor spoilers below.

Title: Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1)

Author: Janella Angeles

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication Date: August 25th 2020

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 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.

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— REVIEW:

When I saw OwlCrate’s June theme, I immediately jumped and got my butt on that waiting list because I wanted this book. Yes, I had already preordered myself a copy but that’s beside the point. Was it a little crazy? Yes, absolutely. But it worked out in the end because I absolutely adore this stunning debut.

Part of the reason why I picked up this book (aside from, of course, supporting a Filipino-American author and her debut) was because of those supposed Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rogue influences. I can’t say much about the Night Circus influence because I’ve never read that book.

But let’s be clear right now.

This novel might take inspiration from POTO and Moulin Rogue, but it is its own book with its own soul.

As a fan of both of these, I can see the similarities. I won’t deny that they are there and that I looked out for them. However, I also saw the differences and how this book took on a life of its own. Most importantly, it neither took any sort of enjoyment nor distracted me. If anything (at least for me), it helped color the world and influenced what I imagined. It certainly captures the spirit and atmosphere of these works.

I saw an icy Paris when I was reading this book. Everything I was imagining is straight out of the sights and sounds of Paris. From the Palais Garnier to the streets in Montmartre, everything screamed Paris. I even pictured scenes from Moulin Rouge.

Was this intentional? I don’t know. This sort of brings me to the thing I hope Janella improves upon for the next book.

The Worldbuilding

I don’t know if it was intentional for us to imagine Glorian to be a Parisian-esque kind of city. It was hard for me to get Paris out of my head. It didn’t help that there was really nothing worldbuilding wise that gave me fuel to think otherwise. I am curious to see how others imagined this world, especially those who have never seen either Phantom or Moulin Rouge.

Basically, what I’m saying is the worldbuilding here was pretty vague.

I’ve said it before in my reviews: even though I’m usually big on worldbuilding if everything else works out and is stupendous and amazing? I don’t mind it too much if we’re missing worldbuilding details. It works here because that’s not what the story is about.

But the issue here?

Authors shouldn’t be relying on people’s knowledge of the works that inspired their book to help color the world and fill in the gaps. Again! I don’t know if it was intentional, and I’m not going to say that this is the case.

However, suppose the Glorian and Hellfire House are meant to be inspired by Paris and the Moulin Rogue, respectively. In that case, I want to see those details in the book smack me in the face. Make me smell, hear, see, and feel the streets of Paris with the book’s worldbuilding. Don’t make me rely on my memories of Paris and the works that inspired this novel to create the setting around these characters. Yes, this book has incredibly descriptive writing, but it was far too vague when it came to certain things.

Furthermore, for a book about magic, the magic system here is pretty vague. I had a lot of questions that were left unanswered. Was this also intentional? I don’t know.

In any case, I won’t talk too much about it, nor will I drop the book’s grade because it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book. However, I really hope that the next novel answers those questions. It would be such a shame because what Janella has here is an excellent place to start, especially in a debut novel.

I just want to see the worldbuilding fleshed out. And I know Janella is capable of it because of Kallia.

Kallia is a star in her own right.

Kallia is hands down one of my top 5 favorite characters of all time. It’s not just because I felt a connection with her, no. She felt real. Even more important is that she doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of Christine or Satine.

She is confident, headstrong, takes no sh!t from misogynistic men, powerful, resilient, a riot, fierce in every way, and an ass-kicker. Kallia knows she’s talented and isn’t afraid to show it off. Bless her for that. We need more female characters like her, who are proud of their gifts. But you know, she is also incredibly loyal, lonely, and vulnerable.

I loved seeing how hard she tries to maintain her mask to prove her strength. I liked that she didn’t automatically start befriending everyone and took her time to learn to open up. Kallia’s relationships with the characters in this book made me feel things. I especially loved her friendship with Aaros.

Also! Is Kallia a Filipino-coded character? I don’t know. But I’d like to think that she is.

The moment she appeared on the page? I legitimately started imagining her as Maja Salvador.

But what really drove me to see Kallia as Filipino-coded is essentially how she became the scapegoat for all the nonsense that happened, despite doing everything else right.

She longs to create a better life after escaping from a man who spent years manipulating and gaslighting her. She comes to this city to join this competition to prove to everyone, but especially herself that she can stand on her own two feet. And she does this to the point I started to question how much of this desire to prove everyone wrong and be in the spotlight is due to the years of manipulation and gaslighting she experienced.

But although she consistently proves that she is someone with incredible talent and skill, she’s continuously put down. She can do everything right. But those around her will still cast her aside and told to go back from wherever she came. Worse is when things go wrong, men automatically blame her.

Jack and the men in Glorian force her to carry the burden of perfection while also continually blaming her for others’ actions and mistakes.

And it doesn’t matter if she can do things perfectly every time because the slightest mishap is always going to be her fault. She disrupted the “natural order” of things by being in the competition. To these men, the only way to fix things is for her to fall back into that cage.

Yes, we can argue that this doesn’t necessarily mean she’s Filipino-coded, mainly because this world is vague. We can say that any it’s just wishful thinking on my part and that this struggle against the patriarchy and the dynamics of how women are treated within society is universal.

However, it’s the way that Kallia carries herself that reminds me so much of Filipino women because of her strength, resilience, and passion for the stage. It’s the fact that she was praised for her gifts, but scorned for trying to chase her dreams.

How many of us Filipinos (or Asians in general for that matter) went into music or dance as a young kid, pushed to practice and practice, and then praised for our talents? But when we said we wanted to go into music or dance as a career, we got scoffed at? How many Filipinos were mocked by family, friends, and strangers for daring to dream beyond what society told them they can do?

Now, how about the other characters?

This book has a large cast of characters. If you’re a Phantom or Moulin Rogue fan, you might see which characters here are influenced by characters in those works. Or maybe that’s just me.

Once you’ve read the book, come and tell me who you thought the characters were based on. Let’s compare notes! I’ll be super interested to hear your thoughts.

I’d talk about them all, but then this review would be too long. I know it’s getting lengthy already. Besides, I don’t want to get too much into spoiler territory. I will say that I thought the majority of the characters were impressive in their own way. I’m really looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

Daron Demarco, though? Oh yum. Please let me give this guy some hot chocolate. I legitimately squealed at a particular part in the book. Like, wow.

And now, plot!

This book? Nonstop. You know? Like that song from Hamilton.

There is always something going on, and I was never bored. Janella does a great job keeping me interested and intrigued. I wanted to know more. Needed to learn more. It’s mysterious and magical.

Like I mentioned above, it certainly does have those Phantom of the Opera and Moulin Rogue influences. It captures the same atmosphere, but this book has its own heart and soul.

The book explores gender inequality, sexism, and feminism. While there is a competition, it’s not the main focus. Yes, it’s a vehicle for Kallia to achieve her dream. However, there were no stakes. At least, I didn’t really feel like it was believable.

To be honest? This book is more character-driven than plot-driven.

The competition is there to show readers, “Hey, look at all the bullish!t these female magicians have to deal with!” Like I said above, Kallia can do everything right. Still, because of society’s misogyny and dislike of powerful, gifted women, she will always be at fault and be the one to blame when things go wrong.

Meanwhile, look at how the men treat Demarco. Compare and contrast how they treat him vs. how they treat Kallia.

Aside from the mystery and intrigue, there’s also romance.

Don’t worry! It doesn’t overpower the narrative. Yes, there’s a hint of a love triangle (Phantom influences for ya), however, the romance that develops here felt natural because it wasn’t rushed. Janella scatters clues of the characters’ growing trust and affection for each other throughout the narrative.

This is definitely one of those cases where I didn’t mind the romance. In fact, I swooned over it. Started blasting “All I Ask of You” during a particular scene.

Janella’s writing is what brought everything together.

The writing here is absolutely decadent. It is lush, breathtaking, full of flavor. It’s like salted caramel cheesecake. It’s like that Bake Cheese Tart from Japan that I adore so much.

But this is not a book you can do in one sitting. You really shouldn’t do this in one session. Like any dessert, you need to take small bites to savor every detail on every page you consume. This is the kind of book you want to take your time with to indulge on everything. It is so flavorful that you need to take those breaks.

Of course, some people might disagree. However, to get the full taste of this book, reading it at a slower pace than you usually would help a lot.

The big question: Do I Recommend?

Absolutely.

This is hands down one of my favorite books of 2020 — at least Top 5. It is pure magic. Janella wrote a marvelous and exquisite novel. Even with the issues I’ve spelled above, it does not distract from the fact that this book is an absolute wonder. It’s worth reading for Kallia alone.

This debut novel is absolutely worth preordering and picking up ASAP. It is absolutely worth it to support this Filipino-American debut author, especially right now during this pandemic.