Unfortunately I really had to push through this book to finish it and I wish I DNFd it as I didn’t really enjoy it. I was somewhat sticking around to see if what I was predicting came through, and unfortunately it did. That being said, I found the book’s story lines to be predictable and boring as they’ve been done so much within the romantasy genre. I was intrigued at the beginning with the world building but that quickly changed as I got to know the fmc. I found her to be extremely basic, and boring as there wasn’t anything special about her distinguishing her from other fmc’s in other romantasy books. And this might just be me, but I noticed the fmc and her main love interest doing the infamous “who did this to you” trope excessively, to the point where I was thinking didn’t they already do this trope like twice? It was very strange, and sadly I feel like this book’s plot was primarily tropes instead of an actual story.

2.5⭐ rounded up to 3. For many reasons, I did not enjoy this book, and I won’t be continuing the series.

❤️ Zath and Rose
❤️ Intriguing worldbuilding
❤️ Duet-style audiobook
❌ Forced squishing of all the popular tropes in one book
❌ Clueless FMC carried by the plot for the whole book
❌ Predictable plot twists
❌ Choppy writing and inconsistent pace
❌ *Just plain confusing* despite tedious info dumps

Trigger warnings: violence, blood and gore, death and grief, murder, confinement, domestic abuse (physical and emotional), injury and injury detail, sexual assault, drugging and substance addiction, etc.

Plot:
Astraea is a prisoner in every sense of the word: her memories are clouded by amnesia, and she is held captive by a tyrannical leader. When she escapes confinement with the help of Nyte, a mysterious vampire who seems to stalk her dreams, her mind, and her waking hours, she takes her friend’s place and enters the Libertatem, a succession of deadly trials. Nyte promises to keep her safe, but she can’t help but think he has his own agenda and keeps many, many secrets.

The worldbuilding was very interesting, and it got me intrigued early on, but… but… How to say this without sounding too harsh? This book had lots of potential, but it simply did not live up to it, in my opinion. The predictability, the forced squishing of popular tropes, the pacing, the structure… I was bored or confused, or both, most of the time. There are common tropes that I’ll never be fed up with, regardless of the number of books I read that use them. But I just *can’t* enjoy a book where everything sounds borrowed and forced for the sake of squishing in as many popular tropes as possible. We get a “who did this to you” in the MCs’ first meeting, as well as a deadly competition that is as underwhelming as a salad without dressing.

Characters:
I never grew to like the two MCs. Astraea was simply too. darn. clueless. Being sheltered and captive for most of her life can explain some of it, but at some point… just use your brain, girl. (If you have one, that is.) Nyte was just another generic shadow daddy. Secondary characters were way more interesting! I loved Cassia and was intrigued by the prince-whose-name-I-already-forgot, and I felt more invested in the epilogue, which is centred around Zath and Rose, than I did for the whole book.

Writing:
I’ve read much worse, but this book would have benefited from more thorough editing. The prose was choppy more often than not, and the pace was very inconsistent, with a severe lack of structure and direction.

Audiobook:
Impeccable. I love love love the duet-style narration, where the female narrator does the female parts, and the male does the male voices. It’s not common, and I feel like it really adds to the experience. Both voice actors were great.

I tried so hard to get through this book but honestly couldn’t. The FMC irritated the crap out of me and I just couldn’t get past it. She was pathetic and winy. I did not finished this book. I had trouble getting into it and I just did not like the main character. I thought the storyline overall was fine. I just couldn’t get past the FMC. She was just not for me. I appreciate the opportunity to receive this ARC. I do not post books that I DNF on my account.

4.7 ⭐️

The stars are dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda

First off Thank you to NetGalley, the author Chloe Peñaranda, and Macmillan Audio for this ALC! I added This to my TBR not that long ago when I saw it on Libby I got so excited when I saw it was available for the ALC I got even more excited! Thank you guys for the opportunity to listen to this audio I really enjoyed it

Wings ☑️

Shadows ☑️

Realms ☑️

Vampires ☑️

Fae ☑️

If you know me then you know I’m a huge ebook and audiobook girlie so when I saw the chance to listen to the ALC I jumped right for it 😂 There’s parts of this book that felt like a few scenes from Vampire Diaries which I loved I’m a huge vampire diaries fan so when I heard this I was screaming yes!

The other part of me felt like I was stuck in someone’s head who didn’t know much of anything which will make sense much later on in the story however it’s part of the journey with this book. Does this give vibes of other fantasy books yes but that’s what I loved about this it’s very hard for me to read or listen to a fantasy book and say I loved it but this one had all the feels and emotions I was looking for I’m happy with my experience for this audiobook it made me laugh some parts made me shout why are you doing that along with a few more words 🤭

Astraea’s mind feels like a lot of things while you’re listening to this once I realized what was going on it was a full circle moment for me with the FMC and the MMC there’s mystery to this story for most of it you feel like you're experiencing this whole thing with Astraea kind of like you're reading her journal. There's romance with tension and of course, flirting another thing I really liked about this audio is the duel narration I felt it was perfect for this particular story and made the characters come more to life it’s not an easy thing to do when it comes to fantasy audiobooks

Some of my fave moments/quotes

( How high do you wanna go starlight? Endlessly )

( Do you still trust me? Yes I answered )

( You have to let her go I’m not ready )

( You’re going to see the world now )

( Destiny is cruel to bring us together because you are the most precious gift I can never have )

I would recommend this audio to anyone that’s into fantasy

A book that begins with some promising world-building, only to be brought down by stale characters, a nonsensical plot, and uninspired “romance.”

I don’t know why I keep trying romantasy when I’ve already been burned so many times. I don’t think there’s an inherent flaw in the genre, but there does seem to be an inherent flaw in all the new romantasy releases that get popular: the romance is Not Good.

From the very first time meeting the love interest, I knew I was going to have to hold out hope for the fantasy elements because the romance was doomed.

Picture this: You’re running through the presumably hotel-sized building (brothel) you live in. You’re not supposed to have left your room, because no one can know you exist according to your captor/abusive boyfriend. You’re attempting to make it back to your room before he knows you’ve left. But you’re in a long hallway and he could turn the corner at any moment. He will punish you. There’s a door nearby that’s marked unoccupied, so you slip inside. You turn around. There’s a man in the room, hidden in the shadows. There’s music playing. What is your first instinct? What do you do? Well, you sexy dance on over to the guy! And would you believe it? He’s hot.

The romance does not get better from there. I couldn’t even count how often “Who did this to you?” is said between the two main characters.

By the 70% mark I was over everything. It felt like the book had reached a good ending point but it just kept going. Everything that happened was just convoluted and dumb. Also did I mention the love interest is named Nyte?? Incredible.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the ALC.

I really like the narrators, I love dual narration and these 2 were perfect.
The first half did not feel as cumbersome as when I read it the first time and the pacing was actually quite good.
I hate Hector even now this time around and really can't wait for the next book.

DNF @ 25%. I really don’t tend to DNF, but I just really didn’t connect with this main character. I felt from the start that I was dropped in the middle of a book instead of the start of a series, I even checked to make sure I was starting book 1. There’s just a lot going on but not enough to help me root for the main character honestly, so I had to stop.

Alright the voices were nice , i like the tones and how you can clearly know who is who. Enjoyed that a lot, the plot was interesting and keep me hooked. Definitely want the second book really fast 😅. Overall enjoyed

I wanted to love this book so much. I had been looking forward to it since before it was released. I was granted the opportunity to listen to the audio book in exchange for my honest review (thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio). I found it to be somewhat confusing at times and it didn’t really hold my interest. I also struggled with the radical back and forth of Nyte. He’s good. He’s bad. He’s good. He’s bad. Do you trust me? I’m screwing you over again. Idk. It wasn’t really morally gray, just straight up confusing. Like which is it?

I struggled with the audio. It’s a duet narration and the way it is edited doesn’t sound seamless. Her portion sounded fine. His recording sounded weird so then when it went back and forth, it just sounded weird. Majority of his voices sounded the same.

As a whole, this one just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed this audiobook even though I have already read the story before, hearing it with the audiobook was like reading the book for the first time again and experiencing it in a different way.

I love vampires, I love fae, and I love that society is finally combining the two of them.

This book is dark. Like super dark. It starts out with the FMC being SA'ed and then continues from there. So, if you don't like dark, then maybe this isn't for you.

However, if you like a game that has been created to grant immortality, a world where ever kind of monster exists, strong female characters who find their own inner strength, and a handsome love interest. You should 100% pick up this book. I loved every minute of it, it made me laugh, cry, and feel all kinds of rage listening to it. I need the second book like ASAP.

Love the story and the audio is great! You can hear all the different voices and it's very clear enough that you know what's going on.

Thank you to NetGalley, C.C. Peñaranda, and Macmillan Audio for this Audiobook ARC.

DNF

The opening of The Stars Are Dying hooked me. It is such a beautiful, powerful, and mysterious bit of prose, that it left me craving more. However, as I continued this story, the more and more I became disenchanted from the writing and the narrative as a whole.

I listen to audiobooks because I am a busy mom who doesn't have a lot of time to sit down and read. My least favorite thing to do with an audiobook is rewinding it in order to make sense of a story. I had to rewind this a lot. It was like I blinked, then suddenly we're going from a bleeding head injury to perfectly stalking someone.

I enjoyed the fan fiction vibes in the beginning, but the lack of cohesion, clarity, and confusing prose leaves this at a 2 star read for me.

Good story, but kind of confusing. I kept feeling like I was missing something throughout the story. And even the ending, I feel like I was left with more questions than answers. I really like the characters, they were great.

I received an advanced listener copy of this book from NetGalley. The audio narrators were great. The male is supposed to have a “gravely” voice which sometimes was too gravely and hard to understand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this Audiobook ARC.

2.5 stars.

First, the audio was really well done. I loved the duet narration. I think sometimes it was confusing when it came to the male characters because the narrator never changed anything about his voice, but otherwise it kept it entertaining. Honestly, I don’t know if I would’ve kept going if it wasn’t audio.

When it comes to the story, I was confused the majority of the time because there are elements that you aren’t told. That was on purpose, but it made it hard to read.

I also could not vibe with the FMC because she was a lost puppy the whole time and took way too long to understand what she was.

This just wasn’t for me, unfortunately.

I had difficulty getting into this book. The beginning was slower, but things started picking up in the back half. This series has much potential, but after the first book I was left confused and with questions. The Stars are Dying touched the surface of world-building, magic systems, and, politics. I assume as additional books are released, we'll get more details.

I enjoyed the narrators of the audiobook. I appreciate it when there is dual narration for the male/female characters. They had a nice flow and helped the story move along.

The FMC initially gave me Poppy vibes, but she struggled to gain confidence and was all over the place with her emotions. I felt like she couldn't focus, which left me feeling jumbled. MMC is very similar to Rhys. Personally, it was difficult to get past the similarities of Nyte compared to other MMC in similar books.

Ultimately, I am intrigued to read the second book once it's released to see if we get more answers and a better path for the ultimate plot. This book is also the September 2024 Bookish Box read so I'm hoping I can re-read and get more details from the physical book vs the audiobook.

Thank you Chloe C. Peñaranda, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of The Stars Are Dying. All opinions in this review are my own and left voluntarily.

I’m not gonna lie but I had high expectations going into this one and I’m pretty disappointed. I wanted to love this so badly, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I felt the storyline was messy and convoluted purely to “create mystery” but it didn’t quite work. I will say it was entertaining and tropesy so if you’re into that, you will most likely like this.

There was an insta-love feeling throughout which felt even more accentuated because of how the story was set up. It could’ve been solved with a duo-POV in my opinion.

I will say the tropes were done well and I liked them but I was hoping for a stronger story.

This was an enjoyable audiobook, The plot had my attention immediately - even though it felt a little too much like the crowns of Nyaxia. The dialogue got a little repetitive and the plot started to slow, so my interest started to fizzle around the middle. It redeemed itself about 75% through where I binged the rest!

It's possible that I've just read too much romantasy, specifically stories that involve trials or games, but it took everything in me to finish this book. I found the plot to be boring, repetitive, and full of abrupt scene transitions.

The writing itself was fine—dialogue-heavy, but I don't usually find that to be a bad thing. What drove me crazy was not the writing mechanics, but the repetitive nature of the dialogue.

The characters with any dimension felt recycled, particularly our hero. His name is Nyte, and I don't feel like I need to explain further. Astraea, the leading lady, is a bit more developed, but not enough to hold my interest.

Both voice actors did a great job, but the alternating style didn't work for me. I highly doubt they recorded at the same time.

Overall, this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you Chloe C. Peñaranda, Macmillian Audio, Tor Publishihng Group, and NetGalley for my advanced digital and audio copies. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 1
Writing and Editing - 3
Character Development - 2
Personal Bias - 1
Narration - 3
Final Score - 2

Great audiobook! The dual narration and writing is top notch! I preordered the special edition in print to add to my library.

Thanks Macmillan Audio for granting me an ALC!