Oct 4, 20214 min read

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles (Review)

Thank you St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Two Second Review

★½☆☆☆ // 1.5 s t a r s

In the most basic sense, When Night Breaks follows Kallia as she journeys through the not-true Glorian(?), finds unlikely allies, and makes likely enemies. It follows Demarco as he dedicates every waking moment of his life to find his love.

The Book

Trigger Warnings: gaslighting, mirrors

Release Date: October 5, 2021

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy

Series?: yes, this is book #2

Page Count: 480

Storygraph Review…

Premise:

The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for who is now lost to this world and in the hands of a dangerous magician. Daron is willing to do whatever it takes to find her. Even if it means embarking on a dark and treacherous journey, risking more than just his life, with no promise of return.

After awaking in darkness, Kallia has never felt more lost. Especially with Jack by her side, the magician with who has the answers but cannot be trusted. Together, they must navigate a dazzling world where mirrors show memories and illusions shadow every corner, one ruled by a powerful game master who could all too easily destroy the world she left behind—and the boy she can’t seem to forget. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny, or lose everyone she loves, forever.

Review

You know. I didn't have the highest hopes for this because after the first book ended all I could think was that it would've made a brilliant standalone, and could've even been one of those "cycle-type books" where it ends on a cliffhanger that leaves you reeling but also leaves you guessing in the best way and subconsciously, you don't want a sequel because you're actually happy with how it ended on a shocking note. (*cough* The Burning God *cough* If We Were Villains *cough*) That's just my take, but I'm sure many do and will feel the same.

(I just feel the need to drop in and say it honestly makes me sad sometimes when I really only have negative things to say about books, especially after reading the Acknowledgments and understanding how difficult the book was the write for the author…It makes me sad, but also I have to be honest, I guess?)

Okay, let's do good first. I liked that Jacks was in this more than the first. I like that he got to see his character develop almost in a way that wasn't possible in the first. I liked feeling like Kallia was justified in her "like" of him and that it wasn't bordering on Stockholm Syndrome like it did in the first.

I loved Vain and Ruthless and Malice. They were the trio that was missing in the first book, for real. (I do think the author mixed up Ruthless and Malice a few times though, hopefully that's fixed in the first edition since I guess this is less edited because it's an ARC.)

Also, can't deny that I loved the magic of the world. It's not original by any means, but it was written quite well and the world itself was nice too. (I'm upset I can't think of a single thing else to say about liking it uGH.)

The repetitiveness straight up killed me. I swear, everything that happened seemed like it happened at least twice. Every show felt the same, the duels kept happening, the random conversations and moments were no different than past ones. Especially when you consider the first book, the plot in this literally seemed like a Walmart version of the first; which is so sad because the first felt really interesting at times, but this was just: no.

Along with repetition, I truly just felt the book was confusing. To me at least, I thought that no message was actually portrayed, no event that happened actually seemed like it happened? And there were time-skips of sorts where things would just kind of abruptly end and I'd be like um and…? Nothing really made sense, and everything felt rushed even though the book felt incredibly long and slow.

Another thing I disliked was the questions. Where Dreams Descend admittedly ended with a lot, but all in all it had so much intrigue that it didn't matter. When Night Breaks literally just answered all those questions that were left unanswered in Where Dreams Descend, but where was the oomph! It was just plain old sitting and q and a…It reminded me in a way of The Crown of Gilded Bones which if we know me, we all know I truly despise and wish i could get that part of my life back.

The romance was also so iffy. In the first book I already didn't love Kallia and Demarco's relationship and honestly felt like the chemistry that could've been possible wasn't there at all. It really just felt like a convenient thing, but I was hoping When Night Breaks would fix that issue and just make me ship them like crazy; and yet, it did the exact opposite.

❝ Everything he taught her, to keep him out of her head. Using magic

is the pull, but forcing it on others is the push so push first. ❞

Hence, I truly can't make myself recommend this book to anyone…But if you don't mind starting and never finished series, then definitely consider reading Where Dreams Descend and maybe ignore the last few chapters.

Tropes…

— unrequited crush (kind of, not really [better than the almost love triangle between Jacks, Kallia, and Demarco in the first, at leas])

— evil/magic mirrors (drop movies or books with this kind of trope, I seriously know there's something similar but I can't think of anything)

Read…If You Liked…

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova (haven't actually read this, I just kinda associate this with Where Dreams Descend for some reason)