The Stars Are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda
Series: Nytefall, Book 1
Pages: 426
Format: Hardback (Special Edition)
Astraea is a prisoner of her own mind, the past sliding from her grasp like water. But she knows she must escape the tyrannical king who holds her captive and find her clouded memories once again. This quest leads her to the Libertatem, a succession of trials hosted by the king in which five human lands compete for a cycle of safety from the vampires seeking blood, claiming souls, and savaging after dark.
But even winning the Libertatum will not keep Astraea safe from vampires. She’s made a bargain with Nyte, the beautiful, deadly vampire who stalks her dreams and haunts her waking hours. He promises to keep her safe, but she knows she cannot trust him, cannot trust his lies, even as she finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into his seductive embrace.
Caught between Nyte and her own mysteries, Astraea must decide if winning the Libertatem for her kingdom is worth her life, or if protection―and the answers to her past―really are her strongest desires.
The strength of The Stars Are Dying is that it is very much centered on the plot that is happening and the broader plot that we don’t get answers for yet (which is understandable – you don’t reveal everything in the first book). From what we’re told about the overarching conflict, this series has the potential to be a very intriguing fantasy/romantasy series. But this first book had a few foibles.
Before I get into some of the issues, I must say that Astraea was quite an enjoyable main character. She starts as a victim of abuse with no memories from before five years ago, and has to grow beyond the fear and hesitation trained into her from the abuse. It’s a complex but important topic to tackle, and I applaud Peñaranda for making that choice.
However. Astraea’s lack of curiosity causes some plot problems. She doesn’t have most of her memories, yet doesn’t seem too concerned about that fact. She focuses more on the issues of others, which also means that her desires and goals flip-flop around for a while until she becomes more confident in herself. In theory, it’s a reasonable response, but it does result in the first half or so of the book coming across as almost directionless. Sure, Astraea has short-term goals. But those should be resolved relatively quickly, and it takes a while for us to see a solid, long-term goal out of Astraea. Not to mention the constant stream of questions introduced to the narrative without any indication that Astraea wants to answer them.
(As a consequence, this means the Nyte—the MMC and love interest—does not make much sense for a while. He’s clearly alluding to important things that Astraea doesn’t know and doesn’t want to discover, so his “mysteriousness” is just plain confusing at times.)
Despite its blunders, The Stars Are Dying does have some good things going for it. The chemistry and buildup of the romance are pretty strong. There’s a consistent pull between Astraea and Nyte, which is made more intriguing by Astraea’s lack of memories and Nyte’s apparent abundance of them. Neither of them is perfect, but their interest and feelings for each other prevent their romance from completely dissolving under pressure. The worldbuilding is also quite extensive, and there is more to this world that Peñaranda has dropped hints about that will likely be explored in future books. Overall, I’d say this was a relatively solid romantic fantasy novel, and I plan to read the rest of the series in the near future.
AMBER BUDD - Author 