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ellemnope 's review for:
Where Dreams Descend
by Janella Angeles
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
2.5 stars.
Whelp. This was not how I expected things to go. Billed as Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge with a little bit of The Night Circus, this had ALL of my attention and I was pegging it for a potential 5-star read. It may have been my most anticipated read for the whole of 2020. That's probably what makes this so stinking painful.
The general overview of the plot was a decent one, as is the premise, but the execution unfortunately fell very flat for me. I am SO SAD that this didn't work for me.
The writing honestly flummoxed me. It was beautiful in spots and then choppy for large segments of time in a way that lacked transitions. There were wordy and unnecessary chunks of narrative that did nothing but drag the pace down, but then there would be moments of spectacular magic and beautiful atmosphere. It felt like two different authors attempting to write the story together without communicating to help blend their approaches. It was disorienting and frustrating. I kept finding GREAT moments in the plot where I was simply mesmerized and fell in love with what was happening. I would starting thinking "okay, it's really going to take off now" and then it would be like a light switched off and I was right back to slogging through the pages.
I think I would have really enjoyed it quite a bit more had it been shorter. Had the pace been faster and the magical bits sprinkled closer together, it may have kept my attention more. As it was, it was something like taking a walk headed for a surprise destination, but then you just end up walking around the block a bunch of times and wind up at the neighbor's house.
Don't get me wrong, it did have good parts and there was some promise here and there in both the writing and the plot, but I just could not connect with it. I loved the magical bits and the circus bits and wanted more of that. Instead, the romance was weak and wishy-washy, the misogyny was just plain annoying, and too much time was spent futzing about town instead of getting to the action. I'm sure there is an audience out there for it, but it doesn't contain me.
2.5 stars.
Whelp. This was not how I expected things to go. Billed as Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge with a little bit of The Night Circus, this had ALL of my attention and I was pegging it for a potential 5-star read. It may have been my most anticipated read for the whole of 2020. That's probably what makes this so stinking painful.
The general overview of the plot was a decent one, as is the premise, but the execution unfortunately fell very flat for me. I am SO SAD that this didn't work for me.
The writing honestly flummoxed me. It was beautiful in spots and then choppy for large segments of time in a way that lacked transitions. There were wordy and unnecessary chunks of narrative that did nothing but drag the pace down, but then there would be moments of spectacular magic and beautiful atmosphere. It felt like two different authors attempting to write the story together without communicating to help blend their approaches. It was disorienting and frustrating. I kept finding GREAT moments in the plot where I was simply mesmerized and fell in love with what was happening. I would starting thinking "okay, it's really going to take off now" and then it would be like a light switched off and I was right back to slogging through the pages.
I think I would have really enjoyed it quite a bit more had it been shorter. Had the pace been faster and the magical bits sprinkled closer together, it may have kept my attention more. As it was, it was something like taking a walk headed for a surprise destination, but then you just end up walking around the block a bunch of times and wind up at the neighbor's house.
Don't get me wrong, it did have good parts and there was some promise here and there in both the writing and the plot, but I just could not connect with it. I loved the magical bits and the circus bits and wanted more of that. Instead, the romance was weak and wishy-washy, the misogyny was just plain annoying, and too much time was spent futzing about town instead of getting to the action. I'm sure there is an audience out there for it, but it doesn't contain me.