When Night Breaks (Kingdom of Cards #2)

Hey book lovers! I’m here with a book review for When Night Breaks, the final book in the Kingdom of Cards duology by Janella Angeles. I am grateful to have received a digital arc from the publisher and deeply apologize for the late review. I read this in October, and it was published on October 5, 2021.

I liked the dedication:
“For those who thought they’d lost their light and kept walking in the dark regardless. And the ones who never left that dark, who know night is not the end.”

About The Book 📚

Title: When Night Breaks

Author: Janella Angeles

Publication Date: October 5, 2021

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Suggested Reader Age: Teens (I’d say 14+ due to sexual content and language)

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

About The Author

“Janella Angeles is the bestselling author of WHERE DREAMS DESCEND. A Filipino-American writer, she got her start in writing through consuming glorious amounts of fanfiction at a young age–which eventually led to penning a few of her own, and later on, creating original stories from her imagination. A lifelong lover of books, she’s lucky enough to be working in the business of publishing them on top of writing them. She currently resides in Massachusetts, where she’s most likely to be found listening to musicals on repeat and daydreaming too much for her own good.” https://janellaangeles.com/about-janella/

My Review

› The story picks up after the cliffhanger ending in the first book, Where Dreams Descend. The night of Spectaculore was exciting, scary, and left everyone confused. The star performer, Kallia, disappeared into thin air and her boyfriend, Demarco is left grieving the loss of his love and his magic. He’s been searching the Dire Woods for weeks trying to find Kallia. Demarco’s Aunt Cata makes the long trip to come and see him but doesn’t give him much hope. As the reader, we know Kallia fell through the mirror and is stuck in an upside-down version of Glorian. She isn’t alone in the mirror world – Jack is there too. She escaped his cage once, and now… here she is… stuck with him again. Jack isn’t calling the shots in this world though. How will Kallia escape this world on the other side of the mirror? And will Demarco ever find her or forgive himself?

“Glorian is a city built on cards. That had stuck with Kallia, ever since the mayor said it across a dinner table a while back. The irony in it was just the truth. How fragile a city of cards could be.”

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 4
My favourite characters are Kallia and the Diamond Rings. Reading about their performance was exciting and the best part of the story. I found the character development to be lacking.

› Atmosphere: 5
The setting of the nightmarish Dire Woods, Glorian, and the upside-down world are all fantastic pieces of this world, however, there is a lack of description and emotion.

› Writing Style: 5
An easy plot-driven story. Quick read, great for reluctant readers. The repetitiveness drove me up the wall.
“nostrils flared” was used 28 times (I searched for it on the ebook).

› Plot: 4
The big twist of someone’s identity blew me away. The beginning and middle are muddled and boring. The last quarter is the best part of the book.

› Intrigue: 3
I didn’t want to keep reading. I probably would have DNF’ed if it wasn’t an arc.

› Logic: 3
I had to re-read many parts because I was so confused.

› Enjoyment: 5
I really, really, really wish I had enjoyed this more. I will read more from Angeles because I think she has the skills to write an incredible story.

Average 4.14

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★

› Final Thoughts
• When Night Breaks is about illusions, deceptions, dreams, nightmares, friendship, love, and finding the truth, no matter how painful it is. This book wasn’t for me, but I will definitely check out Angeles next book!