Chasing Starlight by Jennifer Siddoway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 Stars

“Moonlight shone through my bedroom window and I felt the knowing pull toward the flute hidden in the corner. I’d sensed it a thousand times before and knew exactly what it meant. I had work to do…..
As I reached for my flute, magic humming reverberated through my ears, an odd, hypnotic melody that called to me, and me alone.
The silver instrument fit perfectly in my hand. It had been a long time since I took the time to admire its design. The metal, and the carvings along the side, were of artisan quality craftsmanship. It was the first gift my father had ever given me. My biological father, Ellyllon—the King of all Fae and Lord of Night.”

Chasing Starlight: Cassandra’s Story is the first book in The Daughters of Night Chronicles by Jennifer Siddoway and Matilda Reyes. I was so excited when I saw this book appear on my recommended book feed, I actually squealed. It held the promise of being a great fantasy- one with such an original premise- so I had a lot of expectation going into the book. Plus, I have read Matilda Reyes other books and have loved them- so I was intrigued by what this collaboration would produce.
While the premise was exciting and new- the execution left me wanting, and fairly disappointed. I really wanted to love this book, so hard! I wanted to be swept up in a fantasy that would hold me spellbound from the moment I opened the first page! After all, the synopsis held such great potential. But, for me, there were just too many issues with this book that really detracted from what should have been an enthralling story. I really hate being critical, especially when I know what one of these authors is capable of producing- but there were so many little errors, editing issues, and missed opportunities here, that really let this down. This is definitely not the captivating polished piece I was expecting- a little more editing and a touch of revising- and this story could be amazing.
Simple things like spelling mistakes/wrong words, should have been caught in the editing process- but there was also a LOT of repeated information, things we had already been told before coming up again several times through the story and being ‘introduced’ like it was new ‘information’. Then there were fact checking issues- like when Cassandra sets up a classroom (she’s a 3rd Grade teacher) with 20 desks for her students, then on the first day of school she looks out at the smiling faces of 24 students? A character’s name changes from Adam, when we are introduced to him, to Andy/Andrew later in the story- which was confusing.
Cassandra has an anxiety disorder, and I applaud the authors for shining a spotlight on mental health issues. But, I felt there was too much emphasis on her anxiety- she spent so much time in her head, over analyzing everything- it became really frustrating and detracted from the story. Especially when her anxiety didn’t affect the actual storyline, or really ‘further’ the story in any way. (I hope I am making sense)
The characters were interesting, but lacked the real development and depth that I expected, or experienced the ‘growth’ I thought they would, having gone through what they did. It was a little hard to connect with them.
I would like to read the next book, ”Kissing Cupid”, just to see where the series is leading- and hopefully it won’t have the same issues as this book. After all, there are seven sister- so the potential for seven books. That should be exciting…. but more attention to detail (and the overall editing process) will be needed in the future, to really make this series stand out from the crowd.
(My ‘Verified Purchase” review can be found on Amazon Australia)

Thank you, Jennifer Siddoway & Matilda Reyes!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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