Overall I really enjoyed this story. The lore was super interesting and I loved seeing how things unfold and secrets are revealed and twists come.

A few things I didn’t love though - the lore and history was actually quite confusing at times. I felt through the whole book I never had a great grasp on it. It was presented in what felt like a convoluted way, given in pieces and in riddles and I found myself forgetting what certain things meant or what something was supposed to mean. I didn’t love that every person was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen, or that there was so much back and forth between Astraea not trusting Nyte but then being swept up in him and then completely trusting him and then unsure if she should trust him. I think the going between the emotions emphasizes his shades of gray but it seemed every scene her opinion of him changed which made it harder for me to decide how I was supposed to feel about him, including knowing he’s supposed to be gray. There were quite a few typos but this is an Arc so I don’t really hold those against it, but hopefully for the release they’ve been updated. The ending was a bit abrupt, even knowing it’s going to continue in a series, but it felt like it stopped in the middle of a thought rather than the end of a scene with a cliffhanger.

I loved that we got a Zath and Rose bonus scene because every time they went off together I wanted a scene from their perspective.

The concept and lore of this book was really so good and so fun to read about! I loved the adventures and the magicalness and the conflicts and the secrets and I really want to know how everything plays out and who we can really trust and what’s going to happen in book two!

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the arc!

This book by far must be one of the hardest books that I have read this year. I could not keep track of the plotline, the writing style was just abysmal, the characters themselves are not consistent. There is just so much about this book I truly didn’t like. I made it all the way through, but it took days and a lot of motivation. I am still honestly not sure what I read. This is not a book I would recommend. The cover art is stunning, sadly what is between the pages doesn’t reflect. Also, the extra chapters were not necessary.
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group, Bramble, and Netgalley for allowing me an advance copy of this book for an honest opinion.

It took me a little bit to get into this book. I love the plot and the world building, but the characters had me a little confused at first. Nyte, especially, it took me a hot minute of reading to fully grasp the situation, but once i did, I really began to love his character.
Astraea, being the main FMC, left me a little less confused. She was strong, straightforward, and kept going even though her memories were forgotten, and she had no idea what was going on. Her relationship with Cassia was beautiful and tragic. The character growth was great. Trials to protect your kingdom from vampires, but there's a way more sinister plot... great story. Once you get halfway through this book, the pace really begins to pick up. I enjoyed reading this! The book is so beautiful too! I may be buying the physical copy even though I have the Kindle version.

I am lost. Confused. And not really sure of anything. The pacing was so off. I got hooked but then still had none of my questions answered by the end of it. Things change too rapidly and don’t follow up or through and overall it just needs some work

Just finished The Stars Are Dying and wow! I really enjoyed the dark, magical vibe of this book. The world-building was super immersive, and I loved the tension between the characters. Having different types of vampires, each with their own way of consuming someone was absolute genius! I went from “oh there’s vampires” to “oh my god did that vampire just eat their soul!?!”

There were some slower parts that dragged a little, but overall, the plot kept me hooked.

DNF. I really had a hard time with the writing style. I found it clunky and lacking in structure. There were several instances where I found myself confused from the writing. The world building and plot were also confusing. I also didn't really care much for the main characters. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

I started the first two chapters multiple times, listening and reading again and again, unable to figure out what was happening.

The blurb did not give me a context to fully understand the beginning and the book started in a place that left me confused and feeling lost.

Nonetheless, once I soldiered through I found myself sucked into a terrifying world. Astraea is an excellent character and her relationships with others felt real. I felt her emotions and confusion throughout. Nyte was sexy and intriguing.

I did find this is be incredibly predictable with me muttering about what would happen several hours before I reached that point in the story.

Nonetheless, it was highly enjoyable and I want to read more in this world.

Thank you to Net Galley and Tor Publishing Group for eARC.

I’m going to be honest. I struggled with this book, and even restarted it three times after making it to about 10-15% of the way through to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It was really difficult to keep track of what was going on at times. It felt like there were a lot of plot lines that would just stop mid-plot and move on to something else. Astrea was an interesting FMC. I didn’t dislike her, but found a lot of her actions to be unrealistic. She never asked questions about anything that she should have which was strange to me. Nyte was mysterious and mostly spoke in riddles. The chemistry between Nyte and Astrea was palpable and the best part of the book for me. I think some additional character development for Astrea would have been really helpful along with a bit more editing to clarify the plot.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed that it was a dual narration. Both narrators did a good job, but it was more difficult to discern between characters voiced by the male narrator.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ALC.

I am not able to finish the book before the publication date, but I am currently 20% through the book and greatly enjoying it. I am curious to see where Astraea's story goes and learn more about the world. Once I got through the first chapter or two, I was hooked. I look forward to seeing the final copy on release day!

The idea of this story is super fun! And the spicy scenes were written well.

Besides those things i felt maybe a bit conflicted about this book. I did enjoy reading this and I absolutely cant wait to read book 2, however i do feel that the story was slightly confusing and i just felt a lot like there were scenes plot parts that i have read before in different series which put me off a bit. I think Astraeas character development was nice and i loved reading how she found her own confidence.

The plot twists in the ending were nice and the cliffhanger was a nice ending and setting up for the next book. I have hopes for book 2 since this book does have potential for sure! I just maybe feel like it didn't reach its full potential yet unfortunately.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy in exchange of an honest review.

I had a really hard time getting into this one. At 20% in I felt like I had no understanding of the world or how any of the characters were connected. I didn't really know what was going on and this made it difficult for me to want to pick it up again.

While this one wasn't for me, you may enjoy if you like dark romantasy and books loosely inspired by Greek mythology.

DNF @ 20%

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Oh boy, I really wanted to like this one, but it did not work for me.

I spent a lot of the book confused, mostly because I felt the prose and world building were very overwrought and did not deliver much in the way of substance. The female lead was incredibly naive and didn't know it. Naivete is one thing, but when characters are so naive, they miss obvious things in front of them and it becomes painful for the reader. They male lead did not have a lot going for him either, and he very much felt flat to me. There was no chemistry between the two fo them, so their story never quite seemed believable.

This book held a lot of promise initially, but ultimately, it didn't work out for mem

I am absolutely in awe of this book.

From the very first page to the last sentence of that cliffhanger, I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down.

I am obsessed with the storyline and the romance. Starlight and Nyte are everything and I love that they are polar opposites that fall in love against all odds - or do they. The lore was well written and I cannot wait to read more about the history and what happens next.

This is your next romantasy obsession, and I cannot wait for everyone to be sucked in.

This one was so, so good. Great world building and an intricately woven story of deceit and betrayal. Astrea has escaped one bad situation and found herself in a few others. As she takes Cassia's place, she realizes that there is so much more to the kingdom and the war than she ever knew. She also realizes that there is a part of herself she's desperate to uncover. As Nyte guides her, we learn so much about the past and present. There were so many twists and surprises, I cannot wait to start book 2!

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

I really did enjoy this book. I loved the male main character, but had some issues with the female lead. She was hustling too naive for me. She had her moments, but I think she could have been so much stronger by the end.

I enjoyed it…until I realized how much it was like From Blood and Ash. The ending is what made me go from a 4 to a 3 star rating. It’s not a bad book, and I know it can be difficult to not have heavy influences from other books. However, when you have a type of maiden, vampires, <spoiler> ASCENDED and a male lead with a hidden identity….</spoiler>it’s just wayyyy too similar for me.

I will continue to read this series. Again, I did enjoy it. I liked Nyte way more than Casteel (sue me). If I had not read From Blood and Ash before this, I probably would have gave this book a higher rating.

Let me start by saying the premise of this book was really good, fantastic actually. And I truly wanted it to be a five star read. But that’s okay, because four stars isn’t bad, it’s just an “I wish there was this.” And for this book, I just wished it was a little less drawn out and there was a little more emotion to the characters. The star? The forbidden love? Heck, forbidden communication? The who did this to you? All really well done. And then climax and ending? That was A LOT, both in good and bad ways, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t like being overly mean in reviews. I know people like what they like and just because I didn’t enjoy something doesn’t make it innately bad. So I’m going to keep this review short and just say I was so disappointed. The plot had so much promise but for me I found it poorly written, confusing, clogged with way too many superfluous points and full of characters that just made no sense and acted in ways I couldn’t follow. It’s a no from me.

This novel envelops you in a mystical world full of adventure and trials. The writing was a tad hard to follow the first 20% of the book and I often got confused on which character was speaking. The story, while similar to other novels, does make you fall in love with the villain. The author did bring the romance, that is one thing I will never forget!

To give the book another chance, I will be purchasing an edited copy and perhaps have an even better experience reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook via NetGalley.

I wanted to like this book. The synopsis had so much promise. It had a lot of potential for world-building, different creatures and gods, and a cool magic system, but I felt like we got a minimal explanation for any of those things.

I did not find the FMC or MMC likeable. They had no chemistry to me. Basically I just felt like <spoiler>the FMC became obsessed over this mystery man she had a 2 minute encounter with. I swear for 60% of the book I thought she was hallucinating.</spoiler>

The saving grace in this book to me were the side characters. I found the other contestants, Astrea's best friend, and even the servants far more interesting than the two leading characters. I think that was the driving force for me finishing this book.

I know this is a really popular book on booktok/bookstagram, but I was sorely disappointed in it. The writing was so disjointed and unnatural to read that I struggled through the whole book. The plot feels forgotten throughout and the characters fall flat.