A review by kalventure
When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles

dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

 
"Misinformation grows faster than knowledge, and people will take to it first."

I really enjoyed Where Dreams Descend and was so excited to read the finale of the duology and get answers. What is Glorian? Why can't people remember things? Why is Jack a butt? I love how everything came together, characters dealt with the consequences of their actions, the beautiful writing, and revelations were made, but I did find myself a little confused and frustrated by all the lying and gatekeeping of information.

"Everyone lies. Sometimes they have to, sometimes they want to. But good or bad, we all lie --especially when it comes to power."

The duology is plotted well and I love that all the mystery of Glorian laid out at the end of Where Dreams Descend take center stage in this book. The worldbuilding is vast and expands our understanding of the world Angeles created but I struggled with keeping everything together. There's this moment in the book where Kallia asks "What the fuck is going on?" and that's basically how I felt most of this book.

Revelation after revelation, at times it felt like the plot was a giant WTF wrapped up in a character who doesn't tell the truth to conveniently make all of this confusion possible. I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope where everything would basically be fine if someone would have spent 5 minutes at the start. While the allure and mystery of Jack in the first book kept my annoyance at bay, for some reason it bothered me more in WNB. I never really got a valid sense of why; rather, I found a very good reason for him to be honest with her if he really wanted to ~protect her~. Then again, characters -- just like people -- don't make sense sometimes!

"Even in a world of illusions, the truth will come out."

The theme of memory and trust are again at the fore throughout as Kallia and the reader are never really sure what is true. Reality blurs and so much is unknown by our main characters, and the way worldbuilding is revealed is like standing on shifting sand… constantly leading you to readjust your footing.

Overall I enjoyed this debut fantasy duology and would recommend it to fans of magical fantasy stories where trust is precious and the book keeps you guessing.

eARC provided by the publisher Wednesday Books for my honest review. This has not impacted my reading opinions or the contents of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication.