An intriguing book. I struggled to follow along sometimes as it seemed to abruptly end scenes & pick up somewhere else but I still enjoyed the concept and world building. It was a lot of information for the next books to come. Astraea was frustrating at times. She would be a victim one minute to a skilled maiden the next. There were many plot twists & secrets along the way as she struggles to get her memories back & discover the world outside of her previously caged home. She is being manipulated on so many fronts it keeps you guessing who is truly a friend or foe. You can’t help but cheer for the mysterious, morally grey, protective, caring & handsome MMC of Nyte. He guides Astraea & is her companion along the way. The slow build up of romance & their banter has you hanging for more for them.

‘So hate me, fight me - the truth? I want you to fucking despise me. Your anger is my pleasure, your darkness is my light, and I hope you use it without apology to right every wrong you’ve endured, starting with this.’

The book does delve into loss, suicide, betrayal, deceit, manipulation, abuse, memory loss, magic, romance, some spice, vampires, fae, celestials & more.

‘Your loss is deep, but you will heal. It will linger, but you will keep living.’

‘Rest now. When you wake, the world will still be cruel and your heart will still be bleeding, but you are breathing, Astraea. And every breath is a reminder that you will live for something’

A shock plot twist towards the end & a cliff hanger ending left me wanting more!!! I look forward to reading more books in the series. I was lucky enough to receive a free arc of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Astraea does not remember who she is or how she really ended up here. A mysterious visitor unleashes a chain of events that Astraea can not come back from. Desperate to escape a cruel man, Astraea steals away with her best friend Cassia while she competes in the King’s Central. Tragedy strikes and Astraea must go alone and take Cassia’s place. During the trials she meets Nyte, a man who is not all he seems with an equally tragic past.

The Stars are Dying is a tale of star crossed lovers finding themselves and each other in a Hunger Games series of trials. The narrative was a little confusing at times but I felt that mirrored Astraea’s memory loss and confusion. There were so many twists and turns in this book that you didn’t know who was truely good and who was evil. And that ending came out of nowhere. I’ll definitely pick up book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, the format for this book was all over the place on my kindle so I was unable to read it! I've heard such amazing things from friends with the same reading taste as me, so I have no doubt it's an amazing read.

4.5 stars

“one touch would make the stars collide, and neither of us would care if we collapsed the world with it.”

If you're obsessed with star-crossed lovers and the lost memory trope, this has to be your next read!

The Stars are Dying is the perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and trials. Astraea, our FMC with missing memories, embarks on a journey of self-discovery in a world teeming with vampires, deceit, and danger. As her quest to uncover the truth behind her lost memories unfolds, she faces heartbreaking discoveries and is left questioning everyone and everything.

“The brightest star needs the darkest night.”

The chemistry between Astraea and the MMC, Nyte, is electric, to say the least. Their slow-burn romance is filled with tension, witty banter, and unexpected twists that keep you hooked. While the author’s narrative style leaves readers piecing together clues, the emotional payoff is absolutely worth it. I've seen lots of people DNF the book due to gaps in the timeline and the blending of reality and hallucination, but persistence is key—it’s SO worth it!

The world-building is immersive, and the spice factor? Oh my goodness, YES! The Stars are Dying is a must-read for fans of When the Moon Hatched, as it evokes a similar emotional impact. Be prepared to have your jaw on the floor while eagerly awaiting the release of book two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the e-book to review.

Overall a good book, a great plot idea and I enjoyed exploring it. I love a book with trials and this was good.

The Stars are Dying was such a good romantasy read. It had a great deal of world building. It set the scene right from the start, and it didn't feel like an information dump, which is an unfortunate occurrence in many fantasy books. The Stars are Dying did it PERFECTLY.

I really enjoyed the story and plot. The author has written this book in a way that is very easy to read and follow along with. I enjoyed the relationship element, both in regards to friendships and romantic relationships.

I genuinely cannot wait to read the second book, I have so many unanswered questions!!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book about 30% in. Considering the main female character does not remember her past and she hears a male voice in her head should have created an intriguing atmosphere but she came across as very non interesting instead.
I didnt feel any of the characters kepted me interested enough to keep reading and the plot was extremely slow moving. I have been trying to read this for over 3 months, and its been hard, so Its time for me to put it down.
This book has a promise of trials and an enemies to lovers relationship which i love, but I am the type of reader that needs more earlier on and this one just didnt deliver for me unfortunately.

💫 the stars are dying review 💫

Wow this was a hefty book, but an enjoyable one!

Nyte and Astraea (aka Starlight) are now two of my favourite main characters and I adored reading their character development and about the relationships between them and the other supporting cast.
Astraea is broken, missing her memories and covered in mysteriously beautiful celestial markings.
Nyte is our shadow daddy, full of secrets and oozing with deadly power.

Following Astraea’s path from being locked away by her gross captor, to fighting for her life and her realm, I did find it challenging to keep track of everything all at once. The characters and their personalities really are the winning elements of this story!

There’s vampires, shadow/light magic, fae, celestials, magical challenges based on the deadly sins and a whole lot of banter and tension. The spice was great and the twist at the end was not expected!

Tropes:
💫 slow burn
🌙 opposites attract
💫 one horse
🌙 magic

*The Darkest Deal* is an addictive dark romantasy inspired by Greek mythology, where Astraea, plagued by lost memories, must navigate a world ruled by a tyrant king and haunted by bloodthirsty vampires. When she encounters the mysterious Nyte, he offers her a dangerous deal, pulling her into a world of temptation and secrets.

The chemistry between Astraea and Nyte is electric, and the stakes are high as she faces brutal trials to protect her kingdom. With rich world-building, twists, and a slow-burn plot, this book is perfect for fans of dark fantasy and complex characters. I’m hooked and can’t wait for the next in the series!

This was my first C. C. Penaranda book and I probably had my expectations set too high. I'd heard so many great reviews of this indie author and her An Heir Comes to Rise series. Trad-published books often tend to get a little more support in the editing stage, but unfortunately, I just couldn't see it in this book. The writing felt clunky and I found myself spending far too long trying to get the pronunciation right which pulled me out of the story. I just really struggled to engage and feel excited to read this after the first chapters.
Although this book isn't for me, there is no doubt an audience out there for it.

An epic romantic fantasy with star-crossed lovers and deadly trials inspired by the myth of Astraea and the fall of the Golden Age. A world abandoned by its celestial guardians, a tyrannical ruler and one who can only recall fragments of their memories. Determined to discover more about her past, she leaves behind the only safety she has ever known by venturing out into the world.

Making her way into an unfamiliar would where bloodthirsty vampires are rumoured to roam she begins to question her decision when she strikes a deal with a ruthless being her people have always feared. Enemies to lovers, he falls first, and heartbreaking unconditional love are a few things you’ll find within the pages of this story.

There are some darker aspects in this story that were hard to read but the characters growth and retaking of herself brings some comfort to the reader. This story unfolds and reveals itself slowly as do these characters. It’s definitely worth taking your tome to savour this story.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 (𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐥𝐨𝐞 𝐂. 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚

I really struggled to read this and wound up not finishing. I felt though I was going back more than forward, I loved the premise, I love an enemies-to-lover, trial/competition troped book but this just wasn’t for me. I wish the author all the best.

The Stars Are Dying
C.C Penaranda

“How do you find me so easily?”
“Because you are the brightest star, and the brightest star needs the darkest night.”

The intrigue, the banter, the games, the slow burn! This was exquisite!

‘Knowledge could turn into the most dangerous weapon.’

Star crossed lovers with a deadly game to play. Yes please! This was beyond satisfying. The ending was iconic! That cruel deception and conflicting depiction. Insanely good. This definitely packed the Touch Her And Die trope in. Nyte was exhilarating and utterly devastating and I would follow him anywhere. Honestly this became my newest enemies to lovers obsession.

“Think of me, and I will answer,” he spoke to my mind. Then he pulled away, lingering against my mouth to say aloud, “long for me, and I am right here with you.”

A favourite quote of mine is “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”. And this went thru my head many times whilst reading T.S.A.D.

“Hello, Starlight.” Oh yeah I’m a dreamer and he was everything.

A world abandoned by the celestial guardians and left to suffer a tyrant King’s reign, all Astraea knows is safety in seclusion.
Astraea is determined to discover more of her past even if that means escaping the cruel arms that hold her safe from the wicked vampires, rumored to roam the land.
The opportunity to travel to the King’s Central with her best friend Cassia arises as she’s set to complete in the Libertatem, a succession of trials hosted by the King in which five human lands compete for a cycle of safety from the vampires, seeking blood, claiming souls and savaging after dark.
When tragedy strikes, Astraea must decide if taking the place in the Libertatem for the potential safety of her kingdom is a ruse worth dying for.

“Rest now. When you wake, the world will still be cruel and your heart will still be bleeding, but you are breathing, Astraea. And every breath is a reminder that you live for something.”

Waiting for book two, The Night Is Defying, late January will be the death of me.

“I wouldn’t free a lion because it whined like a house cat,” I said.

‘You need to get better with your words.
They were weapons. Tricks. Somehow I was always tripping over them.’

“The world will always have dark corners of cruelty. Life, no matter which species, will always deal unkind hands of fate.”

“When you turn the key on the past and stop looking to the future. Because there is nothing but now to be found. There is nothing more certain than the need to treasure every second of the now as if there won’t be a tomorrow.”

“I followed you… because I can’t stop.”

“You all like to think you’re different. Everyone believes their intentions are the right ones. But you are all different faces of the same monster.”

(Review posted 25th October 2024.)

2.5⭐️

The Stars are Dying follows Astraea (FMC) as she works through her forgotten past and her present with an abusive partner/captor.

- Trials
- Mysterious MMC
- Fae
- Vampires
- Celestials

This book has potential with the world building and main plot line however, much of the story I was confused. I had to reread sections and finished with more questions than I had answers. Some sections seemed to jump around without much explanation.

I received a copy of the eARC and would like to thank NetGalley, Chloe C Penaranda and Hatchette Australia for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I’m loving romantasy at the moment and this book was so good. I loved the storyline and characters so much!

This was the type of story I love!

Enemies to lovers, he falls first, unconditional love. Heartbreaking tragic love.

It was hard to read about Astraea being confined and controlled in the beginning. The feeling of being trapped.

The slow fight and retaking of herself is fantastic to read. She slowly discovers her courage and power. It resonates with me and a past experiences.

And Nyte so dreamily mysterious! This book reveals and unravels deliciously.

I saw so many negative reviews on Goodreads for this book and am so dumbfounded! I absolutely loved it! The story is absolutely incredible and I am an absolute sucker for a villain love interest. I will definitely be reading more from this author ASAP!

Thankyou Netgalley and Hachette Australia for this e-arc in exchange for my thoughts.

The Synopsis of this book drew me in with its promise of deadly trials and star-crossed lovers. Unfortunately I was let down by this book and did not enjoy reading it.

The biggest thing for me was that I just found it so confusing. I'm not an editor, but a lot of this book was just hard to read. There was also a lot of dialogue, and much of it was repetitive. And even when I thought I knew what was happening, I was still so confused.

I was interested in the direction of the plot, with deadly trials held by the King. The execution did fall short mostly due to disjointed pacing and not ever being sure if what was happening was real or an illusion? The world building was a bit ambitious with complicated world building. It started off small and digestible, but quickly expanded and left me behind.

I won't be continuing the series.

A magical world that's filled with celestials, gods, vampires, humans, evil kings, fae and a swoon-worthy romance, this premise had me gripped from the start. Following the story of Astraea, we unpack her backstory as we piece together the missing fragments of her memory, whilst competing in a trial, assisted by the mysterious but handsome, Nyte. There's a host of friends that we meet along the way, and fall in love with, and morally dark MMC's who just say the most gutwrenchingly romantic lines.

Overall, I had an enjoyable time in this world - I'm a big fantasy girl, and when reading a new world, there's something enjoyable about trying to piece together the magic system, who's who in the world, and trying to guess where the plot is going to go. I adored some of the side characters, and empathised with what they were going through. The premise was intriguing and I found myself wanting to know more.

Where the book fell down for me slightly is the world-building and pacing of the plot. In a fantasy world, I look for a fleshed out, well-detailed world, where I understand the magic system thoroughly and can then fall in love with the novel. For me personally, it felt overwhelming trying to keep track of the many different elements, storylines and magical beings that were introduced in the book, and whilst I enjoy complex fantasy novels, I personally felt that the book suffered from how short it was, as we didn't get the most amount of time to become familiar with each of the different elements that made up this world, and so oftentimes felt like I was missing crucial information from the book, which led to a feeling of disjointedness.

Overall, I still had a good time with this book, but it felt slightly too similar to other well-known fantasy novels to really become immersed in the world. The writing was delightful though, and many of Nyte's lines had me giggling and swooning.

The Stars are Dying Review
Thank you to Netgalley, Hatchette Australia & Nee Zealand and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this title and provide my unbiased opinion.
This wasn’t an advance copy read, but as this series has been picked up for traditional publishing, I thought it was worth a go.
In a fantasy world where the King controls the vampire population, using them as threats to the humans under his rule, five combatants will be selected to compete in the Libertatem which will win their part of the empire safety from vampire attacks for 100 years.
Twenty-three year old Astraea has no memory of her life before she was found by criminal underlord Hector 5 years ago. Feeling trapped by her benefactor and his lust driven strictures, Astraea boldly decides to masquerade as a dancing girl and captures the attention of the mysterious Nyte, and makes an unlikely ally. She finds her escape alongside her best friend Cassia who travels to compete in the Libertatem amongst rumours that the King is losing his hold on the vicious vamps.

I must admit that this wasn’t my favourite fantasy read. I found the premise very similar to other popular fantasy stories and, as a primarily fantasy fiction reader, it was unsurprising, plot wise. I liked the side characters a lot but had a hard time investing in Astraea, with a lack of build in regards to her character.
The world building was convoluted and I just couldn’t make it work. I will compliment the author on the action scenes which were well written and the ‘celestial’ element which was original.