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kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Stars are Dying... as well as my attention span throughout this book at times. It has the bones of a great plot but drawls on and on at various places. Just when I would think "ok let's DNR," another carrot on a stick would nudge me to read another chapter. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with it. The story was decent but hits lulls at times. Characters were well written. I'll read book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
kwista's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
The beginning chapters were a lot.
Then it eventually becomes an interesting story. Not sure if I will read book 2
Then it eventually becomes an interesting story. Not sure if I will read book 2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
corydory's review against another edition
Slow, boring, unlikeable characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting
asims723's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I am so disappointed! I very nearly had to respectfully DNF this one. This book is long, slow, and filled with telling instead of showing.
Let's start with the good, the why I picked up this book: the cover and title are chef's kiss great. I was immediately sucked in based on that alone. I'm a romantasy girlie, so the presence of a Shadow Daddy is another big plus for me. The language the author uses to convey her story is interesting. I liked the names of characters, and they were distinct enough that I didn't get any of the handsome men around confused.
The reasons for the nearly DNF: the pacing is terribly slow. I really struggled with the repetition of ideas and dialogue that I think a better editor would have cut down. There was also a lot of telling and very questionable decisions on the part of the FMC (why even go back to the house you needed to sneak out of in the first place when you plan to leave again almost immediately?) The Shadow Daddy was not more than a voice in the FMC's mind for so much of this, and without an established relationship it just felt like a cheap connection and a little unhinged with her even questioning whether he was real over and over again. This book feels like I've read this story before. The magic system might be unique, but it was hard to tell with how little is explained except for infodump chapters toward the end.
Why I did finish: I was up all night sick, and it helped distract me from how I was feeling. To that end, I was ultimately not upset with how long it is.
If you loved A Court of Thorns and Roses (specifically the first book in the series), you will definitely enjoy this one.
The audiobook narrators were fine, though Corvin King was difficult to understand at times, especially in the beginning. Most of the book is first person pov, with Jacci Prior reading the majority of the text, and King reads the first chapter and all male dialogue. I found the gravelly nature of his voice pleasant but not always clear enough.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.
Let's start with the good, the why I picked up this book: the cover and title are chef's kiss great. I was immediately sucked in based on that alone. I'm a romantasy girlie, so the presence of a Shadow Daddy is another big plus for me. The language the author uses to convey her story is interesting. I liked the names of characters, and they were distinct enough that I didn't get any of the handsome men around confused.
The reasons for the nearly DNF: the pacing is terribly slow. I really struggled with the repetition of ideas and dialogue that I think a better editor would have cut down. There was also a lot of telling and very questionable decisions on the part of the FMC (why even go back to the house you needed to sneak out of in the first place when you plan to leave again almost immediately?) The Shadow Daddy was not more than a voice in the FMC's mind for so much of this, and without an established relationship it just felt like a cheap connection and a little unhinged with her even questioning whether he was real over and over again. This book feels like I've read this story before. The magic system might be unique, but it was hard to tell with how little is explained except for infodump chapters toward the end.
Why I did finish: I was up all night sick, and it helped distract me from how I was feeling. To that end, I was ultimately not upset with how long it is.
If you loved A Court of Thorns and Roses (specifically the first book in the series), you will definitely enjoy this one.
The audiobook narrators were fine, though Corvin King was difficult to understand at times, especially in the beginning. Most of the book is first person pov, with Jacci Prior reading the majority of the text, and King reads the first chapter and all male dialogue. I found the gravelly nature of his voice pleasant but not always clear enough.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
sandra_ruttan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It took me a while to get into The Stars Are Dying. I found the unusual phrasing Peñaranda used distracting, as I often had to re-read sections or sentences to clarify the meaning. In some cases, it wasn’t just the phrasing that was the issue; there were fragments or statements that didn’t make sense. I also found some of the dialogue felt disconnected, like people talking over each other, about different things, because some of the responses didn’t make sense in the context of the conversation.
After a rough start, the story and writing settled some. I was hopeful for a strong growth arc for Astraea and I was interested in her story. While her real identity seemed obvious early on, sometimes, the intrigue is seeing how a character discovers their truth, and I was hoping for satisfying developments and revelations.
Ultimately, the story didn’t deliver the way I hoped. While Astraea learning who she is and discovering her purpose is a worthy arc on its own, there’s a goal post change when her friend dies and she decides to compete in her place. Unfortunately, decisions like this underscored issues with Astraea. Yes, she’s been sheltered, but she was also rebellious enough to sneak out, make friends, and acquire skills behind Hektor’s back. These actions suggest independence and willfulness and an awareness of the threats around her. And throughout her friendship, she had plenty of exposure beyond Hektor’s confines. However, she never seems very alert or aware, and she doesn’t seem to consider risks. For someone who had to plan carefully to sneak out and avoid detection, she jumps into risky decisions with no forethought later.
It can be very hard to write a compelling character who starts out naive and who makes impulsive decisions without having them seem erratic. And when it comes to Nyte, Astraea bounces back and forth more than a ping pong ball during a ping pong championship game. Ultimately, it felt like some of her decisions were more about serving the plot than organic character growth.
There were other issues, such as developmental contradictions, that a good developmental edit would have addressed. And in truth, since I read this before its re-release, some of the word level issues may have been addressed, so I wasn’t factoring those into my ranking. It’s less likely there were developmental corrections, but still possible.
Therefore, what I focused on when ranking this book was how I felt about the story and character arcs.
The competition was frustrating. While I can appreciate the guts it requires to do things differently, having the competitors competing against themselves and working at their own pace towards a general deadline eliminated a lot of potential for tension and drama. Instead, we had competitors doing things that didn’t make sense, such as starting fights with other competitors. Truly, what was the point, given that they weren’t allowed to kill each other, and they all had bodyguards assigned to them to prevent harm? It felt like distracting chest-thumping so we remembered some of those characters were around.
Several of my biggest issues center on the ending, so this is where I’ll warn you to stop if you want to avoid spoilers. The ending went on forever; having a notable chunk of the book continue after the competition ends isn’t easy to pull off, and it felt like momentum floundered. A lot of the revelations that followed confirmed things already suspected, and felt anti-climactic.
My biggest complaint had to do with Hektor and Astraea’s arc. I’d hoped she’d grow into a strong, independent character. Killing Hektor at the beginning certainly paved the way for this growth arc. However, then we learn during the competition that she didn’t kill him. At first, I hoped it was an illusion (like other things we’d seen during the competition) and she only thought she was confronting him. And then, after a late-in-story Astraea-Hektor confrontation to bring resolution to their story, Hektor was back in the next stage of the competition. Hektor resolution redux. And to top it off, since we now know Astraea didn’t kill him, we don’t even get the satisfaction of her correctly eliminating her captor and abuser. Instead, one of Astraea’s many protectors had to kill him. Ultimately, I found this book dissatisfying and frustrating. I really wanted to like it, and I remained hopeful until near the end of the competition, but it floundered and never really recovered for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
kidprezident's review against another edition
This main character was so pathetic and rage inducing. She couldn’t do ANYTHING for herself. My good bitch had a dagger in her hand and STILL let her man lock her away. What the fuck? Hello? I also thought the writing style, especially in the first few chapters, was pretentious and did not flow well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings: Physical abuse, emotional/mental abuse, confinement, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, sexual content, violence, blood, murder, death, gaslighting, forced substance abuse, sexual assault, and loss of body autonomy.
This was a buddy read pick with some friends ^^
Total honestly...the MC drove me batty...a lot. I think I'm just used to reading mentally strong women regardless of circumstance or physical limitations...I personally hate the years that I felt weak and unable to escape my own nightmare...so it's really hard for me to see fictional women who remind me of that 😅
The history and lore is interesting in this universe...really hoping as the series continues we get more and more information. Also can't wait to see our MC's evolution to finding she's strong and has been strong the entire time.
I feel like there were still too many mysteries left in this first book...like I expect some from a first book but I felt like I needed a few more questions answered in order to feel more invested in the story. I do look forward to reading the second book and hopefully finding what I need to fully be invested and cheering for the characters. 🤞🏽
This was a buddy read pick with some friends ^^
Total honestly...the MC drove me batty...a lot. I think I'm just used to reading mentally strong women regardless of circumstance or physical limitations...I personally hate the years that I felt weak and unable to escape my own nightmare...so it's really hard for me to see fictional women who remind me of that 😅
The history and lore is interesting in this universe...really hoping as the series continues we get more and more information. Also can't wait to see our MC's evolution to finding she's strong and has been strong the entire time.
I feel like there were still too many mysteries left in this first book...like I expect some from a first book but I felt like I needed a few more questions answered in order to feel more invested in the story. I do look forward to reading the second book and hopefully finding what I need to fully be invested and cheering for the characters. 🤞🏽
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship