Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that “Stars are Dying” is a fine romantasy book. The vibes for this book are kind of similar to a misty fever dream, with extremely abrupt transitions. This all felt intentional but made it very difficult to get into, especially through audio which became very hard to follow with this style. I switched at about the 30% point to reading on KU, and think I would have likely DNF’d it had that not been an option.

Many of the high stakes situations in the book felt like a moot point one chapter later (goes back to the misty fever dream feel). That said I did enjoy the characters for the most part, but feel like there was a whole lot of “gotcha” moments in the last few chapters, and I'm honestly not sure I’m interested enough to follow for book 2.


Update: this one is getting bumped from 3 to 4 stars. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and realized I enjoyed it more than I thought I did, and am looking forward to continuing the story in book 2.

I liked this book enough to want to read more but sometimes there was plot holes or too much going on

Okay the tropes are KILLER, I’m a sucker for the villain getting the girl, it just has to be done right and this was! Overall this book was great, there was just a lot of fluff and this made the pacing a little slower than I would have hoped. I am definitely going to read book 2!

Love the narrators. Excellent performance from both, Corvin King and Jacci Prior. Love the style of narration. I just heard it's called duet style narrating. Will be recommending this for all audio books with multiple narrators. It's much better than one narrator reading all the characters in a chapter.

For such a beautiful title, the cover art is too generic. There are dozens of covers with this same look. I wish authors/publishers would be more unique and even bold sometimes when it comes to cover art.

The story starts off intriguing. I didn't know this was part of a larger series, so I'm very happy that I was able to follow the story without reading the previous novels. That's a plus for new readers.

Unfortunately, once the story starts moving toward the main plot with the competition, the writing becomes a little dicey. There are areas where we get details on irrelevant stuff but no details on main concepts such as what is a Star Maiden and their purpose in the realm?


Parts of the story that were surely meant to be emotional pulls were hit and miss. For example, when the BFF, Cassia, shows up unexpectedly and gives away Astraea's plan, I felt the fear and devastation through the pages. However, two major deaths occurred just a chapter later, and they were done so quickly and anti-climatic that I almost didn't care.

Then, there is Astraea's lack of common sense. 😒
If you're talking to a man named Nyte and someone brings up a Prince with Nyte in his name... how do you not know who he is???  This chick has to be as sharp as a bowling ball

And then there is the ending. The last 2 hours were so utterly boring. After the big confrontation with the king, the rest is just a bunch of talking. I would have suggested keeping some form of pending doom, anxiety, or conflict to be resolved. Maybe the vampires or Hectors guild attempts to attack while these conversations are happening. Many authors put more emphasis on their secondary characters so that when the main character is decompressing from a climax, the story can follow another character to keep the emotional attachment to the story. Unfortunately, I couldn't care less for anyone other than Nyte or Astraea. 

Overall, this had a good start but didn't pull out a strong finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy.

I was given an advanced audio book copy by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook performance itself was great and there are a male and female reader.

I think a lot of people will love this book for the same reason I struggled with it. To me, it feels like someone read every popular romantasy and made a list of all the parts they loved, and frankenstined it into one book. And I think a lot of people will find comfort and joy in that. Unfortunately, it means there isn't a ton of room for character building.

Astera has lived the past few years under an abusive partner with no memories of who she is or anything. Through a series of mishaps, she's forced to compete in a tournament against other people from other sections in the world. Luckily, she has a voice in her head that tells her what to do, and she blindly listens. He might be bad though, but he might be good, but he could be bad, but what if he's good, but... he could be bad?

The author was trying to fit too much into this book and the amount of "BIG REVEALS" is excessive and becomes boring. Toward the end of the book, around 75% it is just like a very long conversation for most of the rest of the book... a lot of info dumps and "surprises"...And Astera makes no difference. All of her actions are guided by men, which she's fine with. Every success is owed to a man. The book felt a bit too chaotic and the back and forth of the goodness vs badness of the love interest was too much.

I am a big fan of Chloe Penaranda, and I first read her from The Heir Comes to Rise and the rest of its series. I was thrilled to see a new book from her and am obsessed not only with the hardcover's gorgeous sprayed edges, but also this audiobook! This romantasy is inspired by Greek mythology and is a fantastic standalone. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought it was great. Though they were used tastefully, there are undoubtedly some overdone clichés—more so if you read a lot of Romantasy. It was annoying that Astraea took so long to begin making sense of things. However, a shadow father always finds a way to make us forget things, and this was no different. All in all, I'll be prepared for book two!

The narrators did an excellent job, especially the female one. She’s very good at doing the multiple character’s inner voice in a way that is distinctive and unique to each one. The male narrator has an amazing groveling voice that I enjoyed a lot. The fact that it was dual narration made it quite unique and engaging.

The book however is outright copy paste of Sarah J Mass and other popular romantasy authors. I mean… word for word in some instances. I can’t believe this got published lol

This is a 5-star!!!

Thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

This book seems to be one that you either love or hate. For me? From the very start this story kept me engaged and eager to uncover the secrets and mysteries of Astraea’s past. I COULD not put it down.

The story is from the POV of our FMC, Astraea. Astraea has no memories from before the last few years and has been kept safe but ultimately prisoned by her rescureer this entire time. When she finds out he means to sell her she escapes to join her best friend on their journey to go compete in the royal trials. Unfortunately, due to a twist of fate, Astraea must join the trials instead. All of this is happening with the mysterious help of our MMC, Nyte.

”Hello Starlight”

Let me tell you, who doesn’t love a tall, dark, and dangerous man? I was so intrigued by Nyte. He is so supportive but what is his motivate?

“Was it possible to belong not to any space? But with a person? To find home not on land but in another soul?”
The ending of this book definitely gave me some emotional whiplash. Who is friend? Who is foe? Do we trust anyone?

Hold onto your readers friends - its a wild ride!

Troupes: “who did this to you” vibes, morally grey MMC, hidden identity/amnesia, magical trials, shadow daddy, shadow mommy maybe
Spice 2/5
Plot 5/5
Pace 5/5
Character Personality 5/5
Character Growth 4.5/5
Writing Style 5/5
World Building 5/5

This book had the perfect romantasy plot for me. The drama, the mystery, the romance had me gasping. I can not wait for more from this world!!

I want to start out by saying I have been absolutely dying to get my hands on this audiobook after all of my friends hyping this book so I went into it with very high hopes and I have to say right out of the gate, it wholeheartedly exceeded my expectations. I was hooked in FAST, and absolutely invested in our FMC faster than I think ever before. She’s immediately root-for-able (I mean it’s impossible not to!) The world building was beautiful, thorough while not being heavy handed, It was beautifully written, and well timed with the bread crumbs of information. The shifts in timeline were so much fun and really added to so much of the mystery and intrigue. There were so many moments I didn’t see coming which is really exciting for someone who reads as much as I do because all to often I can decipher the plot, but not here! It was unique, and I really connected with all of the nods to astronomy as an Astronomer myself, the connection to stars felt like I’d found the story I’d always been looking for! (I want a million more stories in this world please!) I truly can’t think of anything I didn’t enjoy here and can say there’s just something about the way this author writes that pulls you in and never lets go and I can’t wait to read more from her after this.

As for the narration hands down I also absolutely loved our MMC ans a whole, and let me tell you the narration stood strong with this incredible character. Both narrators were incredibly talented especially for this setting and the characters themselves, but they really added to the ease of immersion into this world. My only complaint would be that at times I wished that the male narrator would have had more distinct side character voices but trust me his main voice was one that will have readers coming back time and time again, and looking up his catalog of narrations. I think this audiobook is a must listen, and it truly adds so much more immersion into an already full and heart stealing tale.

What can I say, this was everything I could have hoped for and then some. It stole my heart and my sleep and I am so grateful for it! This will definitely be a reread again and again for me.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Chloe C Penaranda for this ALC

I hate to say it, but I did not enjoy the of this audiobook that I listened to. The narrators did a great job. However, I think listening to this book as an audiobook made it harder to ignore the things I did not like. For instance, two of the first characters you are introduced to are named Zathrian and Astraea… A little out there for me, but sure. But then one is named HECTOR?

Overall, I felt a lot of the characters were very cliche. Astraeda was ~not like the other girls~. This is due to the writing style, and it just did not work for me.

Because of these reasons and reading the reviews of my fellow netgalley reviewers, I will not be continuing this book, at least for now.

I think I would maybe enjoy it not in an audiobook format.

Thank you for the ARC!

I love love LOVED THIS STORY! This is a really good book to read during spooky season because of the vampire aspect and also if you just love fantasy books with vampires💖

I feel terrible saying this, but I just listened to a very long audiobook, and I couldn't tell you a thing that happened. The vibes were good at times, and I mostly liked the characters, but was there a plot? I fell for the hype and didn't love this one...

I will say that there are a TON of quotes that I really enjoyed, though. And the narrator(s) were great!

The Stars are Dying. Dramatic, entertaining. Ultimately it’s a book about a competition. The king of the vampires allowing five champions, one from each of the surrounding kingdoms, to participate for a chance to join his fabled golden knights but also to win new freedoms for their homeland. But not everyone is what they seem, and the competition may be more dangerous.

All in all, The Stars are Dying was a fun romantasy, with a main character you’ll love to root for. The almost-typical fantasy competition plot line is a good familiar base, and Chloe Peñaranda keeps it fresh with unusual magics and some less typical involvement from all of the other competitors (by making sure we don’t know every single move they’re making. Adds a tough more intrigue and keeps you guessing).

My only complaint, and the only thing keeping this from being another five star read for me, is near to the end where we start seeing the setup for whatever is going to happen in the next book, we also start to see a lot of loos threads being tied up a little too quickly. And a few things happen that felt like they didn’t have the founding or the build up to be effective.

As for the narrators, near perfect execution. The narration was full of heart and feeling, the only complaint here was our guy reading the voice lines for all of the men had a habit of making almost every voice line as sultry as possible and it was uncomfortable in a few places when a father figure or brother figure were the ones talking.

I was very excited when I received an audio book ARC for this book. The plot was very intriguing and something I thought I would enjoy.
But, I was unable to finish this audio book and DNF it at approximately 60 percent. I don't DNF a book easily. I really try to give a book a try and at least make it halfway through.

What I did like were the narrators. I thought they were compelling and added something to keeping me as interested as possible in the story. However, what I didn't like is I found the writing was choppy for me and the plot jumped around a lot. I was confused and found it hard to follow along. Maybe if I was reading the physical book, I could have jumped back to re-read some parts, but at the same time, I don't think a book should be that confusing that you have to go back and reread it, especially a book about fiction.

DNF at 33%.

Unfortunately the writing style is not for me and I struggled a lot with the pacing of the book. I was also lost a lot of the time if what was happening in the book and with the characters. I understand that Astrea is supposed to be an unreliable narrator and doesn’t know what’s going on as well. But I did not enjoy the way the world was built.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook, I did enjoy the multiple narrators aspect.

I tried REALLY hard to get into this book I truly thought this was going to be an amazing book the premise was set up so well. However the story didn’t go anywhere and the entire time I felt the FMC was so confused and whined and I just could not tolerate her.

The story was messy and confusing and it felt the author tried so hard to keep things a mystery that the actual plot was a mystery. The details were over explained and descriptive but the actual plot and progression was a confusing muddled mess.

It also reminded me so much of other books it truly felt I was reading serpent and the wings of night and from blood and ash. The scene of the FMC starting out not where she’s supposed to be and walking into the wrong room and finding the MMC in that room felt like an exact knockoff of Poppy and Casteel in Blood in Ash. However this book seemed to take exact copies of those other books and make them more confusing.

I also don’t particularly mind or dislike books that are very similar to other books my main issue with this book is it was done in such a way that this amazing world, premise and potential wasn’t very fully flushed out.

I truly truly hope the editors are a bit harsher in future books to ensure the reader isn’t left feeling confused and like something is missing the entire time.

In regarding the audiobook the narration was good I just felt it also added to the FMC feeling meek, concerned and confused always. I would have preferred the female narrator to try to make out FMC a bit less confused when she was just speaking the inner dialogue about the world and story. However that may be a writing issue.

I love books that have a duel narration for male and female characters I think both narrators did a good job I just wish there was more confidence in the reading as I felt everyone was lacking confidence and it lead me to not want to continue.

I do think if it was cleaned up a a bit and the story flowed better this would be a top tier book as Chloe has a very interesting and gripping premise she just needs to flush out how to get the story there more.

Depending on reader requests will be the deciding factor as to whether or not we order this book for our library, as of now I’m leaning towards no.

A romantasy that hits all the right spots. It has tension, banter, the description of lust wonderfully done. The main character, Astraea, is kind of stereotypical "Savior" type lead for a these types of books. Yes she has depth but she has the damsel yet I want to be independent vibes. Nyte very morally gray "shadow daddy" vibes. The world is easy to follow with the information given since they only live in a small section that was easy enough to follow and I feel the story will build on as it goes. The side characters add some depth to Astraea and the story line and are a joy to read.
I did listen to this book and the narrators were at times hard to follow. This was my first duet narration and both seem to have a very limited character voice range especially the male narrator I felt like all the males characters were the same voice and it sometimes made it hard to follow the story plus the switch between the female narrator to him was interesting. 
The story overall is very well balanced lots of twists and turns of not knowing how it really is going to plan out which I absolutely loved. I really cannot wait to finish this series! 

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the change to listen to the book early. This is my honest opinion.

I really seemed to struggle with this book. I finally stopped at 60% because I went on vacation and wasn't able to listen and haven't been able to pick it back up. In the audio I was confused that the voices are the exact same for characters and it was a bit jarring to have the man voices appear so quickly. I was also confused with what was happening in the story and couldn't seem to stay focused.

I do not plan to share this book on my instagram page because I dont feel like I can give a genuine review on it. I know that I may not be the perfect reader for this story and I can picture many others loving this story.