Hi world! Chris here. Sorry I didn’t check in last week, but it was Easter weekend and I gave myself a little holiday for it. However, I’m back now and I’ve recently finished Janella Angeles’s debut duology, Kingdom of Cards, and I am OBSESSED!

I haven’t written a real book review before, but I am so in love with this series that I’m going to give it a try. Angeles deserves the free publicity. Her books slap.

Based in the fictional realm of Soltair, the first novel in the series focuses on a competition between performing magicians for a headlining spot in the Conquering Circus. On it’s own, that description doesn’t seem too exciting, right? Well, what if I told you that the main character, Kallia, is the only woman competing in a world where women with magic are not allowed to use it in any way but to serve others?

That raises the stakes immediately.

And it doesn’t even include the mysterious masked figure from her past that continues to hunt her down as she begins to experience her first true romance with one of the judges! GASP. So scandalous, I know. But it doesn’t even compare to the strange circumstances that arise when fellow competitors begin to suffer unexplainable setbacks including (but not limited to) physical harm and magically induced comas.

Kallia’s story isn’t the only one with all the drama though. Fellow point of view (POV) character, Demarco, is the disliked judge of the competition. Unknown to everyone else, he’s not actually there to judge at all though. He really came to the city of Glorian to find traces of his long lost sister that disappeared years ago in unexplainable circumstances.

Set to the backdrop of a gloriously ruined city frozen in time, Kallia and Demarco are forced to face not just their pasts, but each other as well. Combating their feelings and the world’s discrimination, they must decide for themselves what is real and what is not in this magical adventure.

Reminiscent of classic performances such as the Moulin Rouge or The Phantom of the Opera, this book is sure to be a show stopper on your bookshelf. If I were you, I’d grab a copy before you lose the chance! It’ll fit it nicely next to books such as The Night Circus or Caraval (and maybe one day my own book too).

All images are links to my favorite indie bookstore where these titles can be ordered. I highly recommend buying from independent bookstores rather than Barnes and Noble. It’s a struggling industry, and it needs all the help it can get. Personally, I love Bookmarks which is the store linked above. Just click on any of the pictures to check it out!

Thanks for reading this week. If you’re hungry for more, check out Where Dreams Descend. You can tell me all about it next week. Until then, stay safe out there!