When Night Breaks
JANELLA ANGELES
(Book two in the Kingdom of Cards duology)
Synopsis:
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.
Content:
Language: with the first book in mind, this book unexpectedly had a lot of strong language in it. “F” was probably used around fifteen times, and “s” was frequent as well, along with minor swear words.
Violence: Again, not much violence in this book. There are some fires and a scene where an immortal character is being killed over and over again, but it is all done with magic. There is a final fight scene at the end, but it was extremely confusing to read and there was no time to describe any gore or hand-to-hand combat—it was all handled with magic. There are also magic duels.
Sex: allusions to sex, several heated kisses, romantic pining, and one fade-to-black scene.
LGBTQ: Not Present
My Review: Having loved the first book, I went into When Night Breaks with high hopes. And it really pains me to say this, but it took me two weeks to get through this book. I wanted to like it so much—and there were parts of it I did love, but other parts that I didn’t understand or just didn’t like. The editing throughout the book was terrible, and that made it harder to get lost in the world as with the first one. It also added to the confusing factor. I had to go back and reread paragraphs before realizing I hadn’t read it wrong, that was just how it was written. And the last few chapters just had my brain hurting trying to figure out all the things that had been lost in the chapters before, either from editing or lack of explanation.
I feel truly awful writing this. For one, I loved Where Dreams Descend with all my heart, and for another, I have heard how hard this book was for the author to write. And I think it shows through in the writing. When you as the author are not enjoying what you are writing, chances are the readers won’t either.