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Descent
Haven Clark doesn't have much in life to look forward to, but thankfully, she's not limited to living one life. Born with the incredible power to Fall into books, Haven spends most of her 'time' as a dystopian warrior living through characters in the pages of action novels to avoid her abusive father and bullies at school.Her classmate, Tyler Miller, has grown up knowing no such woes, living what appears to be a charmed life as The Boy Who Always Smiles. That all changes when Haven accidentally pulls him into a murder mystery novel, and his eyes become opened to a reality he never expected with a girl he never imagined he'd actually get to know.With no clue how to return to the real world other than finishing the plot together, Haven and Tyler must put aside their differences and play the parts they've been assigned, even while they risk losing themselves in the process.From the Author of The Ghost of You, Descent brings escapism and dissociation a whole new meaning, blending the signature element of psychology into the story that started it all.
316 pages, Hardcover
Published December 31, 2023
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 1, 2024
📚Book Review 📚 "Descent" by Mason Carlisle
✨Genre: YA coming-of-age contemporary fantasy
💬 "I just wanted a pencil, man. That's it."
⚠️TW: child abuse, mentions of SA, elements of a murder mystery
I had the pleasure of being an ARC reader for this book. This review and opinions are my own.
This is about Haven, a loner and outcast girl who can "fall" into the world of any book she's reading and live out the events of the plot as the main character with no real life repercussions. But one day, when Tyler—the popular and happy-go-lucky kid—taps her shoulder to borrow a pencil in class, she accidentally pulls him into a murder mystery book with her, and chaos ensues.
This was such a wild and fun read. This novel changes genre at least twice throughout the book, and it's making fun of the murder mystery genre while also being one itself. The characters are strong, and the individual arcs they go on are rich and detailed and handled very well. Each character has secrets they don't share with their friends or family, and while they are forced to live out the plot of this book together, it forces them to face each head on.
The writing is very good, the humor is very good, and the banter is excellent. Carlisle excels when her characters are quipping back and forth with each other. I think the subtle shift into darker and more heavy content is handled very well.
Some tropes here: grumpy sunshine, reluctant hero, twist ending, reluctant hero, forced proximity, emotional scars, who did this to you.
This book is all about trauma and things in our past that we're afraid to face. About the walls we put up to protect ourselves and the people who want to get close. About finding yourself and others. About realizing that we are not the worst versions of ourselves, and it's never too late to heal or grow or change. Or to want the things we're afraid to say we want.
This comes highly recommended. I am honored to have read this beautiful story. It's book one in a four-book saga. Read it!
✨Genre: YA coming-of-age contemporary fantasy
💬 "I just wanted a pencil, man. That's it."
⚠️TW: child abuse, mentions of SA, elements of a murder mystery
I had the pleasure of being an ARC reader for this book. This review and opinions are my own.
This is about Haven, a loner and outcast girl who can "fall" into the world of any book she's reading and live out the events of the plot as the main character with no real life repercussions. But one day, when Tyler—the popular and happy-go-lucky kid—taps her shoulder to borrow a pencil in class, she accidentally pulls him into a murder mystery book with her, and chaos ensues.
This was such a wild and fun read. This novel changes genre at least twice throughout the book, and it's making fun of the murder mystery genre while also being one itself. The characters are strong, and the individual arcs they go on are rich and detailed and handled very well. Each character has secrets they don't share with their friends or family, and while they are forced to live out the plot of this book together, it forces them to face each head on.
The writing is very good, the humor is very good, and the banter is excellent. Carlisle excels when her characters are quipping back and forth with each other. I think the subtle shift into darker and more heavy content is handled very well.
Some tropes here: grumpy sunshine, reluctant hero, twist ending, reluctant hero, forced proximity, emotional scars, who did this to you.
This book is all about trauma and things in our past that we're afraid to face. About the walls we put up to protect ourselves and the people who want to get close. About finding yourself and others. About realizing that we are not the worst versions of ourselves, and it's never too late to heal or grow or change. Or to want the things we're afraid to say we want.
This comes highly recommended. I am honored to have read this beautiful story. It's book one in a four-book saga. Read it!
April 30, 2025
I can't believe i didn't read this before now... I remember getting it when I saw the author post about it. answers, it got lost in the shuffle of my Kindle, but oh am I glad I found it again. This book felt so relatable. the anxiety, taking meds for anxiety (normalize!), talking to a therapist... and just wanting to get lost in a book... in this book, they got to literally get lost in books. This book does hit some hard parts like child abuse, but finding help and letting others in gives it a little light. you're not alone. to say the least... my emotions were definitely all over the place.
July 26, 2024
Descent is an fantastic book with a very unique concept. Haven the FMC has an extremely abusive father and is bullied at school (check your trigger warnings). Thankfully, she is able to escape with her "superpower" of being able to fall into books. Once inside the book she lives out the storyline, as the main character. However, one day she accidently brings Tyler, a boy from her school into a book with her. In order to make it out they need to escape a serial killer and get to the final page.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and watching Heaven and Tyler's relationship grow as they work together to make it out safe. I can't recommend Descent enough and am looking forward to the next installment in the series! This has some very dark scenes to it so please sure to check trigger warnings.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and watching Heaven and Tyler's relationship grow as they work together to make it out safe. I can't recommend Descent enough and am looking forward to the next installment in the series! This has some very dark scenes to it so please sure to check trigger warnings.
April 6, 2025
This book was a fun mix of genres with plot twists and serious topics. The teenage uncertainties were amongst the lightest and most humorous sections of this book as our two protagonists work together to escape the murder mystery. I also enjoyed the side characters and how they became part of the story. I felt like this novel was a good representation of using escapism (maladaptive daydreaming, even) to deal with trauma. I loved the plot twists. I did not expect the main antagonist or how the "magic" of this world would develop. It was very creative. I'm looking forward to reading this author's other works.
January 28, 2024
I seriously loved this book so much. I was thinking about it all through out the day wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the growth of both main characters and figuring out what not only they needed but the other needed as well. There were funny parts, sad parts, and happy parts, and I truly could feel all the emotions. Overall 12/10
February 6, 2024
Holy Moly. Mason will always be one of my favorite authors with The Ghost Of You series, but this new series came with a bang! You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll probably hate the author a little, but that’s okay too. The emotions in this book are so raw, but you’ll be rooting for the characters and all the adventures they go through! I can NOT wait for the second one, and I need it ASAP!
January 7, 2024
Absolutely could not put this down! Highly recommend!! And that cover is stunning!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews