Chloe C. Peñaranda's The Stars Are Dying is a bold entry into the realm of fantasy fiction, weaving together lush world-building, complex characters, and a high-stakes narrative. While the novel shines in many aspects, certain elements hold it back from reaching its full potential, resulting in an enjoyable yet uneven reading experience.

What Works:
Peñaranda's prose is undeniably beautiful, often lyrical and evocative. She paints her world with vivid strokes, immersing the reader in settings that feel alive with detail and mystery. The central characters are deeply flawed and multifaceted, making their journeys compelling to follow. Themes of destiny, betrayal, and resilience resonate strongly, lending depth to the narrative.

The book's strongest asset is its ambition. Peñaranda tackles expansive lore and intricate political dynamics with confidence, creating a world that feels both magical and grounded. Fans of slow-burn relationships and morally grey characters will find much to love here, as the tension and stakes between characters simmer enticingly.

What Could Be Improved:
At times, the pacing falters. The novel often gets bogged down in lengthy descriptions and exposition, which, while rich in detail, can slow the story's momentum. Some plot points feel overly convoluted, and certain resolutions lack the punch needed to leave a lasting impact.

Character arcs, while engaging, occasionally feel uneven. Secondary characters fade into the background or serve primarily as plot devices, and moments of emotional payoff are sometimes undermined by the rapid shift to the next plot twist.

Additionally, the intricate world-building, while impressive, can be overwhelming. The novel introduces a plethora of terms, histories, and factions, and readers may find themselves struggling to keep track of it all without a glossary or additional context.

Overall Impression:
The Stars Are Dying is a story that sparkles with promise and offers glimpses of brilliance, but it falls short of delivering a fully polished gem. Chloe C. Peñaranda's talent and vision are evident, and readers who enjoy immersive fantasy worlds with morally complex characters will likely find much to appreciate. However, those looking for tightly paced storytelling and fully developed side plots might feel left wanting.

This is a solid debut that hints at even greater potential in future works, and it's worth picking up for fans of lush, character-driven fantasy willing to navigate its occasional rough edges.

I have mixed feelings tbh. I love a good villain gets the girl story, so I did enjoy aspects of this, but the pacing was really odd and took away from the story.

This was not for me. I really struggled with the fantasy/political storyline. It seemed like the author was trying too hard to do too much. There were vampires, fae, celestials, magic, other unspecified...beings, combinations of all of the above, a competition that was all important and then just didn't matter anymore, a royal system that didn't make any sense... I don't know. I don't mind complicated world building or back story, but I just felt like this was too much. The romance was okay, but that can't carry the whole (long) book. I don't think I'll read more from this author, but maybe others might find this to their taste in a way I didn't.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thanks to Tor Publishing Group | Bramble and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, the special edition is absolutely gorgeous! The cover, character art and sprayed edges are just stunning.
I enjoyed this one. I loved the characters and world building. My problem is I was confused at times. And that might be a me problem but I was confused on the background of our MFC and who she is even at the end. I’m hoping I will get more clarity with the next book which I’m excited to read!
“How do you find me so easily?”
“Because you are the brightest star,” he said, a murmur over my lips. “And the brightest star needs the darkest night.”

Disappointing… I was excited to read this but found it boring, confusing, and so I dfned it. The cover is beautiful, though, and I love the title of the book.

I really loved this book! Not only is it beautiful, but it was also very good! I'm already looking forward for the next book

This was definitely nothing crazy special, it has a lot of tried and true tropes and plot lines you see in soo many romantasies. I don't think it's as bad as some of the reviews made it out to be, I think there's just a little bit of a romantasy fatigue going around. I felt like Astraea was a pretty good heroine who underwent a ton of growth throughout the book. Then we have Nyte, your classic Shadow Daddy. I think it got long winded and so was really hard to get into but the last third was really good and damn what a plot twist! I think it just needed to be shortened

A good start to a series. At times the story felt disjointed, almost as if pages were missing. The overall story is well thought out, just execution needs a bit more finessing.

I've seen a lot of other reviews say this so it seems a bit redundant now but I found this to be a little confusing & a little boring? It took me awhile to get through the first third which isn't good for me when it comes to fantasy novels. I found it difficult to keep up with what was going on, mostly because the FMC didn't know so we didn't know. I didn't find much about the characters o=to really like which led to my boredom.

I'm hoping that in the next novel we get some more explanation throughout instead of an info dump at the end & the main characters start getting some development.

While I really liked Astraea and Nyte in The Star are Dying, I felt like this book was confused about what it was supposed to be. There were so many plot points, it was hard to grasp any underlying theme. Astraea has no recollection of her life beyond 5 years prior, yet she doesn’t seem overly concerned figuring out who she is. She enters a competition, but that seems to be a side plot. The only somewhat constant is her relationship with Nyte, but she’s very fickle about that as well. Even though Nyte repeatedly asks her to trust his actions, she’s constantly doubting him and second-guessing. It got a little frustrating. Additionally, there were quite a few things where I was thinking, hmm, I’ve read this before. It seemed like a lot was borrowed from other popular romantasy series. I don’t think the book necessarily ended on a cliffhanger, it was almost as though the book just stopped. Usually there is an organic stopping point in a series, not just a full-stop. It was like the author just arbitrarily decided on a stopping point and the next book will just lock back up. Finally, the writing was very confusing and difficult. For example, “The sun was setting, spilling serene warm hues like glitter on the top level of the city, and this time nothing in me surged with the urgency to be somewhere I’d never wanted to be anyway.” There has to be a more direct way to say whatever this is. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what the author was trying to say here. Overall, while I like the idea of this book, I think it just needs more work.

I received a copy of The Star are Dying from NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank for this early read!

For some reason this one didn’t grab me and pull me in. I think the plot has some workable material. The idea of the book is good but maybe it’s a bit over detailed for my taste—I’m not sure if that’s a thing, but that is how I feel.

I couldn’t figure out if Astraea was a warrior or if she wasn’t. Sometimes it felt like she had the skills but sometimes not.

This one just missed the mark for me, but I hope others enjoy it.

This is unfortunately one of the most confused books I've ever read.

It's riddled with sentences that fall off or have to be read multiple times to be understood.

This could be forgiven if the book had strong character writing, plotting, world building, or an identity. Unfortunately it seems to transition from one identity to the next casting aside would appear to be central characters and replacing them with new ones. This made it very hard for this reader to care about anybody as we met them. Suddenly about a third of the way through the bucket turns from a romanticy escape into a rip off of The hunger games.

There were some fun moments and fun scenes, but they did not rescue otherwise difficult read.

My rating is based purely on the amount of entertainment and enjoyment I received while reading this book. As I saw in a few reviews (after I finished) it seemed as though people were upset that the author was trying to encourage God reviews of the book. I am not falling under that guise because I didn't know anything about that and it wouldn't have affected my thoughts on the book.

I personally enjoyed reading this book and ate it up in 3 days (darn you, sleep and adulting).

I really like the world we've been placed in and I found myself even dreaming of it or thinking about it when I wasn't reading. I really like the chaotic nature of all that's going on at once and I couldn't stop reading until I had answers. I needed to know what was going on.

I don't typically enjoy lots of questions in my mind while reading, but found that I didn't mind it while reading this book because the world of Nytefall just drew me in.

You've got fae, vampires, magic, gods... so much lore. I can't wait to read the next.

Our main character is in an abusive relationship with someone she sees as her savior because he often love bombs her while keeping her hidden and all to himself.

She finally escapes and then regrets her escape as so many in abusive relationships tend to do because they are worried of the unknown. It's sad.

She's trying to learn who she is and what her past was and everything will slowly begin to unveil itself.

I still have many questions, but that just makes me want to read more and learn more about this world.

This was a bit of a miss for me. I liked the concepts - twisted trials, star crossed lovers, vampires etc - it all just felt quite formulaic and flat. The writing style was a little hard to get past - there was a lot of dialogue without any contextual description and the world building felt a little lazy.
Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually ended up reading this book and listening to the audiobook after. I do have to say that listening to the audiobook made it a lot easier to follow along with the story line. Especially when there were inserts from Nyte. I found myself having to reread several passages just to figure out if Nyte was physically there or not. However, the story in itself was captivating, and interesting.

The world building was just enough to give you sense of what it was like without it being too overwhelming. The characters were also interesting and you can begin to see the FMC's growth, the mystery behind the MMC unravel as the story moved along. The side characters were also interesting, and I would like to see more development in them in the next book.

This book seemed like it was written like a movie script. I wouldn't mind if this was made into a movie, but it made it kind of hard to follow along if you're the type to just want to read the book and absorb all the details that way.

This book was great and I would recommend it to fantasy/ romantasy readers. Audiobook was amazing, and for sure opt for that one if you love audiobooks.

This is not my go to genre, but the cover intrigued me. And I'm a cover girl. I think the character was unique- a bit complex- I personally just had a harder time reading this. I'm not sure if it was translated and something got lost in that or if it's just me and the genre. That being said it was actually a great story. I just didn't enjoy it as much as others might because I had to reread several parts to follow along. Again tho, it might just be me and this genre. It did seem to follow along with things that all of my customers look for in this genre, so I think it will actually be a hit with them!

2.5 rating rounded up to 3. I was very excited for this book as it sounded very good. However, it was slow paced and I also felt like not a lot of things happened. I did not connect with the characters which made this read difficult. I’m not sure if the hints were too strong or I just happened to put pieces together, but it was painful waiting for Astraea to figure things out or be revealed. I was also expecting more spice. While that is not a necessity for a good book I feel like I was lead to believe there would be more.

Thank you to Netgally for providing this ARC.

The Stars are Dying is a darkly seductive, beautifully written fantasy that sweeps you into a world of deadly trials, ancient secrets, and irresistible romance. Astraea’s journey is captivating, as she fights for freedom from a tyrannical king and struggles to reclaim her lost memories. Each step brings her closer to the truth but also deeper into a dangerous world where every choice could cost her life. Chloe Penaranda’s blend of mythology and dark romance gives the story a unique, addictive edge that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The Libertatem trials are intense, and the constant threat of vampires adds to the book’s tension and allure. But it’s Astraea’s connection with Nyte, a mysterious and dangerous vampire, that truly takes this story to another level. Nyte is equal parts charming and deadly, a perfect anti-hero who lures Astraea in even as she doubts his intentions. Their relationship is a constant push-and-pull, filled with undeniable chemistry and enough intrigue to leave you craving more.

Penaranda masterfully balances Astraea’s personal stakes with her role in the kingdom’s survival, creating a high-stakes world that feels richly layered and full of danger. The ending, though… just when Astraea begins to understand her powers and her connection to Nyte, a shocking revelation leaves her fate—and the fate of everyone she loves—hanging by a thread.

With secrets left unraveled and her past creeping closer, book two can’t come fast enough. The Stars are Dying is a hauntingly addictive fantasy that promises an even darker journey ahead.

Hhmmm mixed feelings

The book was confusing. Period.

That is the one word I can use to describe it. Overall, I think that may actually stem from the pacing because I felt like I missed things at times. I think the inclusion of time lapses would have been very beneficial to the book as a whole. There's also the stereotypes of the dumb fmc getting used by a dark and broody character. I would love more authors to stops crippling their fmc characters this way. Physically, I get that writing a little 110 lb female as beating up a big guy may be a stretch unless there's a method to it. Buuttt...there are plenty of other ways to make your fmc characters strong and capable besides powers and physical strength like through intelligence, compassion, and emotional control. So it's frustrating to feel like this is yet another book, where the fmc has been denied these qualities.

I did enjoy this book, although I found the writing style was hard to follow at times, and the pacing could have also been a little faster. But overall it was a solid high fantasy novel. I liked the romance between Astraea and Nyte, they had some great chemistry, and the tension between them was written well. I look forward to reading the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC!