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A review by mubangak
The Stars are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda
4.0
SPOILER REVIEW
4/5 ⭐️
I was sent The Stars are Dying as an e-arc (thank you to Chloe and her team!) and I’ve rated it 4/5 stars purely because I actually greatly enjoyed the story. I adored Nyte and Astraea’s relationship, the things he said to her had me kicking my feet and giggling!!!! ☺️
I was super intrigued by the trials, I expected something hunger games like but the trials were nothing like that and it was so cool. Overall I loved the book but there were elements that I struggled with however!
The Writing
I’m not a first person kind of gal so it did take me a longgg time to get into it just because I find first person a bit clunky and shallow but that’s a personal preference!
I found the readability difficult at times in certain paragraphs, there were moments where I didn’t actually know who was speaking to who or couldn’t really get a clear picture of the scene. Especially in the beginning when she was dancing for Nyte and then when Hektor locked her in her room. But once I realised what was going on it was easier to read. I’m hearing people mention ‘floating head syndrome’ and I admit there were times I kind of wondered where a character came out from. This is very present in Rose’s character even though she was an ICONNNN and I loved her to bits, she came out of no where in a scene sometimes and it caught me off guard.
As well, there was information that never really got explained? I have no idea who the celestials are or why they’re hiding beyond the veil. No clue what or who the star-maiden is or why she was so important. (I kind of gathered a bit towards the end but not much!) The world building was SUPER interesting, the whole concept of the stars are dying was *chefs kiss* but I didn’t understand it very well. No clue who Hektor actually was or what he did? Was he a merchant? A Lord? Maybe I missed that part. I wish there was a clear way to explain the war and the vampires and the world much better. Perhaps chapter intros of like the history of the world or an appendices of the religion and the history or something!
I think the books biggest strength is the mystery of it all. That’s the whole plot, you have this girl who lost her memories, lots of secrets, a king with an agenda — the mystery is what honestly kept me going because I was just on the edge of my seat all the time. I know a lot of people don’t like feeling confused in books but I think my confusion made me want to read it more. With that being said, despite the mystery being the biggest strength, it also in a way is the books downfall and I think it’s because it’s written in first person.
Because we’re only experiencing the world through Astraea’s eyes, we don’t get to see the scheming or the mystery. We kind of just get given a foreshadow or piece of info that then doesn’t get brought up again and then at the end boom its revealed as a massive plot twist or plot point. Which is totally okay but I think if it was told in third person with multiple POVs we could see all these characters scheming and it would’ve helped a) bridge the confusion gap of missing information and b) give more depth to the characters.
Characters
Astraea: my babe, I think she has lots of potential!!!! I would love to see more of her strength, I think her arc of going from a girl who was helpless and lost to being her own person could be super strong
Nyte: I STAN HIM WITH MY WHOLE HEART friggin love him
Calix: we actually don’t talk about him. Little punk, I hope he ROTS
Zath: I loved him but the fact he knew about Nyte caught me off guard? Again this is where I think third person would’ve been soooo beneficial because if there was a scene where Zath was being hella shady and Astraea saw him lingering around where Nyte was being held or if he said something suspicious and Astraea was like huh? Like something to indicate to us as readers that we should not trust this mannnnnnn, it would’ve been a nail on the head. But it was kind of just a plot twist surprise (that still blew my mind though) that just appeared and I think the reveal would’ve hit home more if there was that level of distrust between us and Zath
Rose: Love this kweeennnn
Hektor: GOOD RIDDANCEEEEEEEE ya lil punk
4/5 ⭐️
I was sent The Stars are Dying as an e-arc (thank you to Chloe and her team!) and I’ve rated it 4/5 stars purely because I actually greatly enjoyed the story. I adored Nyte and Astraea’s relationship, the things he said to her had me kicking my feet and giggling!!!! ☺️
I was super intrigued by the trials, I expected something hunger games like but the trials were nothing like that and it was so cool. Overall I loved the book but there were elements that I struggled with however!
The Writing
I’m not a first person kind of gal so it did take me a longgg time to get into it just because I find first person a bit clunky and shallow but that’s a personal preference!
I found the readability difficult at times in certain paragraphs, there were moments where I didn’t actually know who was speaking to who or couldn’t really get a clear picture of the scene. Especially in the beginning when she was dancing for Nyte and then when Hektor locked her in her room. But once I realised what was going on it was easier to read. I’m hearing people mention ‘floating head syndrome’ and I admit there were times I kind of wondered where a character came out from. This is very present in Rose’s character even though she was an ICONNNN and I loved her to bits, she came out of no where in a scene sometimes and it caught me off guard.
As well, there was information that never really got explained? I have no idea who the celestials are or why they’re hiding beyond the veil. No clue what or who the star-maiden is or why she was so important. (I kind of gathered a bit towards the end but not much!) The world building was SUPER interesting, the whole concept of the stars are dying was *chefs kiss* but I didn’t understand it very well. No clue who Hektor actually was or what he did? Was he a merchant? A Lord? Maybe I missed that part. I wish there was a clear way to explain the war and the vampires and the world much better. Perhaps chapter intros of like the history of the world or an appendices of the religion and the history or something!
I think the books biggest strength is the mystery of it all. That’s the whole plot, you have this girl who lost her memories, lots of secrets, a king with an agenda — the mystery is what honestly kept me going because I was just on the edge of my seat all the time. I know a lot of people don’t like feeling confused in books but I think my confusion made me want to read it more. With that being said, despite the mystery being the biggest strength, it also in a way is the books downfall and I think it’s because it’s written in first person.
Because we’re only experiencing the world through Astraea’s eyes, we don’t get to see the scheming or the mystery. We kind of just get given a foreshadow or piece of info that then doesn’t get brought up again and then at the end boom its revealed as a massive plot twist or plot point. Which is totally okay but I think if it was told in third person with multiple POVs we could see all these characters scheming and it would’ve helped a) bridge the confusion gap of missing information and b) give more depth to the characters.
Characters
Astraea: my babe, I think she has lots of potential!!!! I would love to see more of her strength, I think her arc of going from a girl who was helpless and lost to being her own person could be super strong
Nyte: I STAN HIM WITH MY WHOLE HEART friggin love him
Calix: we actually don’t talk about him. Little punk, I hope he ROTS
Zath: I loved him but the fact he knew about Nyte caught me off guard? Again this is where I think third person would’ve been soooo beneficial because if there was a scene where Zath was being hella shady and Astraea saw him lingering around where Nyte was being held or if he said something suspicious and Astraea was like huh? Like something to indicate to us as readers that we should not trust this mannnnnnn, it would’ve been a nail on the head. But it was kind of just a plot twist surprise (that still blew my mind though) that just appeared and I think the reveal would’ve hit home more if there was that level of distrust between us and Zath
Rose: Love this kweeennnn
Hektor: GOOD RIDDANCEEEEEEEE ya lil punk