I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had such a hard time actually getting into this book! The character felt un relatable and it felt like it just drug on and repeated things over in the beginning!

However once the book got going I actually enjoyed probably the last ⅓ of the book! With that being said I will definitely get the second book when it comes out!

4/5 stars and I will definitely let my friends know to pick this one up.

The Luminaries is the first in a series about a community of people tasked with eliminating creatures of nightmares in the nearby forest. The main character, Winnie, and her family have been ostracized and ignored by former friends and family based on the actions of her father. Winnie has the opportunity to redeem herself on her 16th birthday, and does so despite her lack of preparation in comparison with the other potential "hunters". A former friend, Jay, begins to help her train for the other phases of the trial, and the rest of the community welcomes Winnie, her brother, and her mom back into the fold with open arms.

Despite now being included, there are clearly things amiss, questions unanswered, and deceptions within the community. The story ends leaving more questions asked than answered, so I am looking forward to the sequel.

Unique world and premise for a fantasy. Great ending that left me interested in what was to come, but yet wasn't the dreaded cliff-hanger.

I knew when picking up The Luminaries that I wasn't the intended audience and I should of trusted my gut.

You'll follow a shunned Winnie Wednesday, a young girl living in a community that hunts monsters in the town of Hemlock Falls.You'll watch as Winnie desperately tries to earn her families way back into the towns good graces after her father, a traitorous witch, left them as outcasts. Danger lurks around every corner and an ill times misunderstanding plunges Winnie straight into the middle of it.

I was in a bit of a dilemma when I saw this book announced. I adore Susan Dennard while simultaneously having a deep dislike for Urban Fantasy. I knew it was a roll of the dice trying this one and sadly it just didn't work for me. I certainly don't think that's a fault of this book though. The writing is strong and the characters are likable. If you are someone who really enjoys urban fantasy, that reads on the younger side, this will easily be a five star for you!

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of both the book and the audio version and I read them interchangeably. The narrator of the audio really adds to the youthfulness in the story. It's a wonderful option for someone who's looking for a listen.

Endless thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copies.

In this first-in-a-series young adult fantasy, Winnie Wednesday has spent four years as an outcast in her society due to the actions of her father. But she comes into her sixteenth birthday with a plan to take the hunter trials and force The Luminaries to allow her, her mother, and her older brother back in. What follows is exciting and scary and filled with the emotions of a teen outside of her group.

I enjoyed this dark fantasy and raged with our main character as she fought to be heard and believed. I liked how the main story wrapped up but with plenty of loose ends for the next book. And I can't wait to see what happens with her childhood friendships and possible romance?

YA books when you’re an adult—that’s always a take-it-or-leave-it thing; some like them, some don’t. Well, I do, that is, the good ones. And this novel definitely belongs to the category of good YA books. It combines a well-thought-out fantasy universe with likeable characters and a gripping storyline.

The plot is set in Hemlock Falls, a small town at the edge of a spooky forest beneath which an ancient spirit is sleeping. Each night as the spirit dreams, it spawns nightmares, monsters come alive that roam the forest hunting for prey. That’s why the local population consists mainly of people who know about the nightmares, who know the lore, and who generation after generation have learned how to keep their town and mankind safe by killing the bloodthirsty monsters.

Winnie Wednesday is one of these Luminaries. She’s sixteen, she does corpse duty in the early mornings, and she’s… an outcast. In fact, her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor some years back, which meant immediate retribution by the close-knit community. She, her brother and her mother were not so much expulsed as put on a six-year-hiatus from village life, ostracized by everyone. But Winnie knows the compendium of monsters by heart; she has also read the rules. She plans to run the trials everyone, even the outcasts, are allowed to attend in order to become one of the Hunters. Little does she know that the nights in the forest are even more dangerous than she ever thought… and that sometimes it’s not the monsters one knows that one should fear most…

The book turned out a compelling page-turner from start to finish. I read it with bated breath, literally, first trying to wrap my head around the universe the author created (she leads the reader into it little bit by little bit), then trying to process the countless twists and turns. I never knew what expected me, and as the plot progressed, the secrets became thicker and thicker, the tension more and more palpable.

Winnie is a likeable character, as teenagers go, of course. She shows flaws, fears, hopes, sometimes random behavior (weren’t we all like that at that age?). There’s even a burgeoning love interest (no insta-love but a slow-slow-slow-burner, perfect) with the town bad boy—granted, that’s not an original trope but rendered interesting by the character in question, Jay, whom I couldn’t quite fathom, but who, I’m sure, will show his true face in the next instalments.

Because yes, and that’s a huge plus for me, this is book 1 of a series (hopefully longer than just 2 books), so the author had time to lushly paint the setting in several brushstrokes, to unravel the spooky universe, to present the different characters, their interactions, the links, the back stories (not too detailed so I still kept guessing at the end), the whole dynamics of the place. I finished the book in no time with loads of questions (and suspicions) in my mind and can’t wait to read the next book. A story that drew me in and didn’t let me go.

I’ve heard a lot about the author, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried one of her books.

The Luminaries is the first book in a new series, and I have to say that I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis.

Winnie and her family were exiled when their people discovered that our heroine’s father was a spy. Since then, they have all been trying to make amends, to no avail. But Winnie’s 16th birthday is coming up and if she can pass the trials of Luminaries, she can help her family reclaim their old life. But these tests are dangerous and she is not trained. Still, she goes in without a second thought, hoping that she will succeed in killing a nightmare in the forest. Unfortunately, her ordeal doesn’t go as planned and she soon discovers that the woods are home to a much more terrible creature, one that no one believes in.

I had a great time with the novel. Winnie is determined to change her life and do what it takes, even if it’s far from easy. She’s going to team up with an old friend who ditched her when she was exiled so he can help her train. And then there’s the werewolf whose behavior is strange and who I had my suspicions about from the beginning.

This was a nice first volume. Several stories were started and I am curious to see where the author will take us.

When it comes to moral dilemmas Winnie finds herself at the center of the biggest question of her life.

After being outcast because of her father She, her Mother, and her Brother have barely been holding on, after deciding to try and become a participant in the hunter trials she hopes to shorten their exile and give them at least part of the life they had before her father was declared a traitor.

To say that it all goes downhill from there is putting it mildly. From finding out she may not know all she thinks she knows to question everyone around her Winnie finds herself not knowing what or who she believes or who believes her.

With twists and turns that make you question everything you've read, you get drawn into this world of mystery that has you trying to figure all of it out up until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for providing an advance copy of this book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for offering me access to an eARC!

This was such a fun novel! I love that the author paid homage to her followers, first of all! Super heartwarming. I really enjoyed this book! It was very reminiscent of early 2010s YA fiction, but in the best way possible. I really liked the main character—I want to wrap her up in a blanket and shove copious amounts of tea at her.

I see many people saying that this is not a unique concept, and I don’t disagree, however, I believe that the way it was written was what made the story fresh and enjoyable. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and will be purchasing a copy for my library. I have many teens who would absolutely adore this book.

The Luminaries is a YA fantasy about Winnie, a wannabe hunter who hunts banshees, werewolves, etc. Her family has been exiled for an incident caused my her father and she trains to become a nightmare hunter. There’s a slight romantic arc with Winnie and her old hear friend, Jay Friday.

It’s an urban fantasy that drew me in from the beginning. I 100% picked this book mostly based on its cover. While I wanted the world building to be better, the fantasy drew me in very quickly. The book is a bit formulaic but it was paced well enough that I finished it in a few hours.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian-Tor/ Forge for this eARC. The Luminaries came out on Tuesday.

I haven’t been in the mood for fantasy lately so I thought I would struggle to get into this. I was sucked in right away! Loved the main character and the way the story was told. Can’t wait for the next one!

Super fun contemporary urban fantasy focusing on a teen's quest to join a monster hunter group. The story felt like a great throwback to 2010s ya fantasy books!

The Luminaries is a wonderful fantasy novel filled with Banshees Werewolves, Vampires, and all sorts of nightmares that haunt the woods.
Winnie aspires to be a hunter, and only one thing stands in her way; four years ago her father was deemed a “traitor” to the Luminaries and thus exiled from Hemlock Falls. Winnie and her mother and brother, however, are allowed to remain considered outsiders in not only their luminary community but also in their family clan.
If Winne can survive the hunter trials and become a Hunter family will once again be accepted into Luminaries and reclaim the respect they once had.
The Luminaries is a supernatural fantasy novel that is filled with just the right amount of gore and adventure. I always love a kick-ass young protagonist and in this regard, Winnie fits the bill.

This book felt very Middle Grade when it is meant to be YA. If it was a middle grade book, cool great! But because it is YA, I am judging it a little harsher.

The MC really read super young. Yes, she’s 16 but she acted more like a 12 year old.

I also didn’t really connect with the writing style of this book. It felt very repetitive. Some times I would read something and be like “did they just mention that two pages ago??” And also: HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE PERSON CLICK THEIR TEETH. According to this author, 65 times in a single book. By the end of the book every time that came up, I full body shuddered.

A solid if formulaic YA novel, The Luminaries hits nearly every expected note in the post-Twilight YA expectations symphony, with a few unfinished moments. Many elements of the story were sourced directly from Twitter polls, which explains much of the lack of originality, and it shows. Winnie Wednesday is about to turn 16 and is facing her only chance to join the Luminaries, a monster-hunting group that exiled her family after her father was exposed as a traitor. Joining as a teen will allow Winnie's family back into their prior lives and into the society of Hemlock Falls. The trials are dangerous, however, forcing Winnie to seek help from former friend and current badass loner Jay Friday (yes, every person in Hemlock Falls has a day of the week as a last name, in various languages based on national origin. Why? No cllue. Maybe it polled well on Twitter). Do the obvious romantic leads get together? Yup. Does Winnie redeem her family only to find a threat to the town only she is equipped to face? Yup. Did I spend most of the book wishing for something, anything, to break the established mold beyond questions of how the mechanics of life in Hemlock Falls works (the monsters are supposed to be secret, but the local TV channel warns of a loose werewolf, the Friday clan is famously strong but is also down to two members)? Also yup. For preteen or teen readers looking for an intro to genre, though, they could certainly do worse.

I really enjoyed THE LUMINARIES ! It was a really fantastic spooky season read with an endearing main character, a forest filled with terrifying monsters, and a society of monster hunters tasked with keeping the world safe. I really thought Winnie was an adorable MC and really enjoyed watching her fight to become a hunter. I felt so angry for the way The Luminaries treated Winnie after her father betrayed them and honestly I wanted her to burn it all down, which I hope we get in the sequel. I thought that Ugh Jay was also a fun character and I lived for the banter between him and Winnie. There’s a small-town secrets vibe to this setting similar to Riverdale in this one and I was really interested to see how the different Luminary families were structured. I definitely was left wanting more at the end and I am really excited for more of Winnie and this world in the future!

It is expertly plotted and paced, and beautifully written. I felt that the story did lack some world building, I wish there was just a bit more. But I did love the characters and the story!

Atmospheric settings, monster hunters, a mystery killer creature, and broken family dynamics, what's there not to love?
This is the first in a duology and it is going to be a long wait for the second book.

What a perfectly spooky read, full of mystery and clues.

Winnie Wednesday is an outcast among the Luminaries. Her father betrayed them four years ago, leaving her family to be shunned by their community.
But Winnie still dreams of taking the trials and becoming a hunter of Nightmares, creatures who wander the forest at night, killing anyone who crosses their path.

I loved Winnie. She was a loner but wasn't afraid to stick to her guns, even when no one else would listen. I felt so mad on her and her family's behalf when everyone changed suddenly. I loved the descriptions of the nightmares, especially the Whisperer, they were so spooky and vivid.
I have some unconfirmed theories, so I'm keen to read the sequel to see if I am right!

The Luminaries is a gripping contemporary YA fantasy novel that will suck you from the first page!

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to pass the hunter trials in order to redeem her family from their status as outcasts from the Luminaries. With little training, Winnie enlists the help of local bad boy, Jay Friday, to prepare her to face the nightmares that lurk in the forest of Hemlock falls. But when Winnie discovers a terrible new nightmare creature during her trials, none of the other Luminaries seem to believe her, and it’s up to Winnie to face the monsters lurking in the darkness as well as in the past.

The premise of this story was so much fun and I loved learning about the Luminary society (though I did want more clarity surrounding their relationship to regular people). Winnie’s story was a very compelling one and I was really rooting for her despite her flaws and mistakes. It was refreshing to read a “normal girl” main character who was actually normal and not somehow incredibly naturally gifted without training. I appreciated her so much more for her relatability and fallibility.

I did want more from the side characters as I didn’t feel I got to know anyone well enough to care about them aside from Winnie’s mom and maybe Jay. The twins especially I would have loved to get to know more through showing than telling, Winnie often repeated how nice they were but flashbacks may have been a better way yo convey that information. Similarly to how we keep being told how mean everyone else is to Winnie, I would have rather been shown that more.

Ultimately, what really kept this book from being 5 stars for me was that it felt like half a book. I get that this is a series and there is more coming, but the ending was so dissatisfying. We weren’t given a single answer to any of the questions I was dying to know about. Even the prologue was no addressed again. You need to have open plot lines to carry into a second book in a series, but each individual book should also have some sort of full circle moments and the only thing that really came to and end was the hunter trials. We got no information about the boy from the prologue, no information about the Whisperer, very little information about Winnie’s dad, none about the Werewolf… I was disappointed. I kept couldn’t put the book down because I was desperate for these answers and I wasn’t given any of them which really bummed me out as a reader.

I had a really fun time reading this book, I just wanted more of it to feel satisfied. Overall I do recommend it to fans of the YA fantasy genre, with the warning that it does feel very incomplete.

I loved it!! It was the perfect mixture of haunting, whimsical, mysterious, and comedic even in places with dynamic and relatable characters. It gave Supernatural vibes in places, and had me hooked from Chapter 1! A great spooky autumnal read.

Finally a Heroine who doesn’t act like a damsel, or spend the whole story losing it over a guy. I was hooked on watching her struggle and grow. She was relatable and a role model. The lack of sexual content also makes the book something a wide range of readers can access and fills the void that over sexualisation has created within the YA genre