Defnitely enjoyed the fact it had forests full of monsters and a secret society built to hunt them and an intrepid girl determined to clear her shamed family's name, but overall the story fell flat to me due to lack of world building and complexities in the characters. None of the side-characters stood out as more than just names, and I couldn't get a real grasp of who Winnie even was. She is so determined and in love with the idea of being a monster hunter, but yet doesn't seem like a bloodthirsty person. I did enjoy how it actually felt like a YA book, very Supernatural meets Shadowhunters. Lots to explore in the sequel I'm sure.

The Raven Boys meets Gravity Falls. THE LUMINARIES is mystical, mythic, cryptic, and downright DARKLY deliciously romantic.

Rating: 4/5
Pub: 11/1/22
I received an eARC for my honest opinion

I thought this book gave off a little bit of Hunger Games/Mean girls vibe, I thought it was well written. With a lot of attention to details, the nightmares are a mix of folklore and legends. With all the details in the book it really brought to life the nightmares and the overall atmosphere was very spooky.

When reading this book remember it is the first book, so a lot of details and background on the plot come out. We get to see why, what, and who Winnie is and slowly watch her development more into her own character.

I do think that there were some slow parts, but then again, I wouldn’t count it against the book. I do wish that we had a little more at the ending or more of a cliffhanger, but I will be picking up the next book. I have to know what nightmare is out there in their forest, is it a new kind or is it what they believe it is.

I loved the main characters and I found myself easy to connect with them. Winnie was a great character, who is still young and learning and you see that in this book. Jay is a young adult as well, but we really didn’t get to know much about him. I did find myself wanting more Jay and Winnie time, and I hope in the next book we get to know them more as a couple or friends.

If you love YA fantasy, paranormal, a little horror, with some Hunger Games vibes you should pick this book up and give it a try.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you so much to Tor books for my eARC and a finished copy!

"Death is a part of life in Hemlock Falls.It's a part of life beside the forest.You lose your family, you lose your friends, you lose yourself"

Susan Dennard has yet to disappoint me, so far I LOVED whatever her pen produced. The Luminaries is no exception, I love how her worlds are complex and highly imaginative, Hemlock falls is brilliant and delectably dark yet her writing made it very easy to follow the story. I am mesmerized by her descriptive writing and the way she'd written the "nightmares" is eerily fascinating, I love books with trials and tribulations and The Luminaries served
perfectly on that front too. The secret society and how they were divided in the clan to protect the community and the "nons"(normal people) is expertly done.

Winnie Wednesday, the outcast of the Wednesday clan is such a joy to read. I really enjoyed her perceptive character and how she handles all the high's and lows of the plot, the sweetest romance between her and Jay is so fun to read. The plot is fast paced and full of mysteries, I am so excited to see where the story goes and I am ready to go on another adventure with Winnie and Jay through the dark forest of Hemlock falls.

If you enjoyed Susan Dennard's books, you will most certainly enjoy this refreshing and original plot

"You either trust the forest or you don't, Winnie"

<u>On a high level</u>
-Hunger games but spooky
-Dark and eerie woods
-Nightmare creatures
-Secret societies and mysteries to solve
-Adorable romance
-Fast paced page turner
-perfect for spooky season without actually being scary

My only disappointment with this book was that it ended without (explicitly) addressing either of the two major reveals that the plot revolves around. It’s clearly a setup for the second book, and because of that, the pacing struggles just a bit.

That said, if the point of this book is to get you to read the second book, it’s extremely effective. I’m invested. I need more Winnie Wednesday, like, yesterday. I need the big reveal that has been so clearly setup from the start, and I need to know what our mystery monster is. I need to know Winnie’s dad’s story.

Basically, I am foaming at the mouth for this sequel, and if I want to complain that this book didn’t wrap enough for me, I really can’t, because it did it’s job. I will be holding my breath in anticipation until book two is announced.

If you you were a big fan of Supernatural or Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, definitely give The Luminaries a read when it releases November 1!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor for providing an eARC to review!

My only previous experience with Susan Dennard is briefly starting Truthwitch earlier this year, so I was excited to pick up something that seemed a bit darker/spookier from her. Sadly, this read like a pretty generic YA for me and I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters or the story.

We had the isolated society with distinct groups of Divergent, the traitor father with a daughter wishing to prove herself from Skyward, the monster hunting of We Who Hunt the Hollow and the fighting nightmares element of The Darkening. I think I would pitch this more to fans of The Darkening than the others, or newer YA readers looking for something a bit gritty.

The setting was cool, and I liked the idea of different monsters being generated around the world, but I didn't get enough from our protagonist or the 'conspiracy' to keep me engaged. Winnie I feel could have been very compelling, living as an outcast in an insular community and having her family's weight on her shoulders when she finally found a way back in, but I just didn't feel I got much from her. I also found her teeth chattering thing really distracting.

Sadly not for me but could be a fun quick read for a lot of people!

I was instantly sucked into this book. The world of Hemlock Falls was so creepy and addictive. I couldn’t put this one down. Following Winnie on her way to become a Hunter and save her family was such a heart beating journey; all the nightmares really had my adrenaline going right along with Winnie’s. The emotion in this book was phenomenal. I truly felt everything that Winnie was experiencing from the humiliation, to the anger, to the hunger to do what she was born to do. I love books that evoke the emotions of its characters in me; it really helps me escape into the book and lose myself to the world and that alone really made me love this book.
The plot was a little messy since there was a lot of things left unresolved in this book. I know there’s a sequel coming out and hopefully more will be wrapped up in that, but I did think that this could have benefited from more conflict resolution and conclusions. Everything was solely focused on Winnie’s trials and everything that came up during those trials was kind of ignored at the end. Hopefully book two will have more answers than questions and I’ll definitely be reading it to see what happens next in Hemlock Falls.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of "The Luminaries" by Susan Dennard.

In a world where nightmares are real and hunters have to keep the world safe Winnie is an outcast. Through no fault of her own, or the rest of her family's, Winnie, her mom, and her brother are outcasts in the small town of Hemlock Falls. Where they used to be welcomed as part of the Wednesday clan and her mother used to be Lead Hunter for the clan now they are ignored. Until Winnie's 16th birthday comes and she can try out to be a hunter herself. Doing so can earn back her families reputation. After she survives the first trial she pairs up with her ex-bestfriend Jay to train and become a better hunter now that she can but Winnie's home life is also starting to unravel and secrets are now surrounding her.

I thought this read like an average YA fantasy. It was enjoyable and the atmosphere of Hemlock Falls is great. I loved the clan system where large families do help run the town but there is also the introduction of Luminaries from around the world so you have a lot of diversity in what could have very easily been an all white town.

This was a bit slow to start off with and has a lot of different storylines happening, however it did pick up the pace and none of the storylines are so complex that you can't keep them straight. The ending of this book, however, caught me completely by surprise and while I figured this would be a series I wasn't sure and when I turned the page and saw acknowledgements I was completely caught off guard.

Enjoyable and interesting, 4 stars.

Holy Nightmares, this book was EPIC.

I was looking for a good Spooktober read and remembered I got approved for a The Lumanaries ARC so of course it became my next read. It was delightfully spooky and interesting and wowza! I still have soooo many questions so I sure hope we're getting sequel and SOON.

This was an action packed adventure that was over waaaay too soon. I need MORE MORE MORE. GIMME GIMME GIMME.

Sooz always sucks me into her stories and she's done it once again. Her writing is just unlike anyone else's. Any another author would have me annoyed at the fact we know so little still about The Whisperer and The Wolf, but Sooz just makes me crave that next book.

I would looove to see Jay and Winnie's friendship / relationship grow. I already love their connection and wish we'd seen just a tad more of it.

I'm giving The Luminaries 4,5 stars because there's a few things that irk me too much to give it the full 5 stars but DAMN, this book was so cool. I could really feel how much love went into writing this book.

So book two... Can we strike a deal, Sooz? GIMME GIMME GIMME

Exactly as the blurb describes. Which is good and bad. If that is what you are looking for then excellent, however it meant there were few surprises or things I didn’t expect to happen. This book would appeal to teens more than YA I’d say, not that is was bad, it just didn’t require me to think at all. Everything was given to me on a plate. It is what it is and no more, which as I say, isn’t a bad thing if that’s the style of book you like, but for me, I like an extra layer. I was drawn into the story however, and the writing is very good, but even the creatures involved are you typical creatures with only minor additions. Not a bad read, but not one of my top reads by far. A few too many plot holes throughout the book as well, I don’t know if ill bother to pick up the sequel.

I picked a perfect time to read this! While it's set in early spring, the monsters in this book make it a great fall read. Winnie Wednesday lives in Hemlock Falls, where a secret society called the Luminaries hunt the nightmares manifested from the dreams of a sleeping spirit in the forest.

Winnie's family became outcasts after her father betrayed the Luminaries (made up of clans named after each day of the week), and Winnie is determined to earn the prestigious role of Hunter and win back the society's trust.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot, as Dennard is a skillful writer, and never fails to draw the reader in. Many of the monsters were typical, such as vampires, banshees, and werewolves; but with some fresh twists to them, like the vampires walking on needle-point stilt legs.

At times, Winnie's thoughts and actions made her feel younger to me than sixteen, and I think this book would appeal more to teens between 13-15, versus the older set of 16-19.

This story was quite engaging and the ex-best friend/love interest was compelling. The many plot holes interfered with my enjoyment, however:

Winnie’s family are made outcasts because of the betrayal of Winnie’s father, to the extent that her mother’s sister and first cousin treat them viciously… yet Winnie participating in the first Luminary trial is enough to overcome that, even with 6 years of the outcast sentence remaining? Maybe this will be explained in a later book in the series.

Other discrepancies can’t be resolved that way, I fear. For example, Winnie has been training on her own to be a Luminary hunter. To that end, she can run an 8-minute mile, recite entire paragraphs of the Compendium from memory, and spends all her free time drawing nightmare creatures… yet she doesn’t recognize a halfer (described and illustrated in the Compendium) and is easily winded running laps?

Another example: after the first hunter trial, Winnie recognizes she needs help training for the other trials and so she chooses her ex-best friend who dropped her like a hot potato when her family was outcast 4 years before? Even though her mom was Lead Hunter prior to being outcast?

I’m afraid I couldn’t get over contradictions like these in an otherwise interesting and novel story.

Now THIS is what I would consider a spooky season book! This is such an interesting YA novel that weaves magic throughout the entire tale. It brings to life nightmares one would never wish to meet in person and various clans to defend the rest of the world against that darkness. It reminded me of those early 2010’s days where I’d read a book of a young female MC who stays in the shadows until something happens that pulls the attention to them. And… I loved every second of it.

This book is fine. It’s a YA fantasy that is pretty straightforward. Nothing really keeps you at the edge of your seat, but it isn’t bad either. Winnie goes through 3 trials to become a hunter of nightmares (monsters) because her family are outcasts due to her father being caught up with the enemy, the Dianas, a few years ago. There is a bit of a plot twist, but you can see it from a mile away, even if Winnie cannot. Do you come into this as a quick and easy YA read, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect literary genius.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I’ve been excited about this book since it was just a choose-your-own Twitter adventure, and I was ecstatic to be a part of the physical ARC tour and to be approved for an e-arc! I’m not usually a big urban fantasy fan/reader, but I love Susan Dennard and had so much fun with this story back on Twitter that I couldn’t help but be excited about this!

To begin with, I quite enjoyed all the nods to the original twitter adventures and appreciated that they were still well-hidden enough within the narrative that it wouldn’t bother people who didn’t get the references. It felt like such a fun bonus, and it did help draw me back into this story and world a bit faster. I also really liked how quick and breezy of a read this was, and it was honestly a great break to have in the middle of a busy exam period for me. It was also comforting, returning to this world I’d technically been a part of before, even if the book itself is quite different from the original story we saw on Twitter. It meant I didn’t feel like I was rereading an old favorite, but more experiencing a new, cleaner version of something I’d loved before.

In some cases, it did feel a bit simpler and younger than I had originally been expecting, though at the same time this is a YA book, and does slot perfectly within those expectations. I would say it’s a bit on the younger side of YA compared with some other books (and from what I remember of Truthwitch), and I feel like this is mainly due to the main character. She’s clearly young and naive at points, though this did endear me to her a bit! She’s still extremely driven and passionate about her dream, but she does make mistakes that many teenagers would, and while this can sometimes be frustrating, it does feel extremely realistic for her! 

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this book, even if it was a little less than I was expecting. I still can’t wait for the next installment, and to see what Illumicrate does with their special edition!

(Blog review is live on October 31)

I literally shouted WHAT?! not because the end was a shocking twist but because it went so fast I felt like I only read half a book and I am now Impatient give me book two immediately

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Luminaries releases November 1, 2022

“Culture runs thicker than blood.”

I had really high hopes going into this, but ultimately it fell very flat and was so lackluster.
While the intro chapters were atmospheric, the rest of the story becomes rather stagnant. Usually whatever I read, I have no issue imagining the world or scenery, but I was really struggling with The Luminaries to picture anything — the world building in this urban fantasy could have been developed further.
Honestly, not much more happens in the book than what is outlined in the synopsis which was disappointing. Told in a third person narration, with a lot of filler, this lacked the necessary action and tense to propel and grip a reader.
I have no issues reading from the YA genre, but the writing definitely read as lower YA which wasn’t my favourite.
There was a lot of repetition — popping of chewing gum, teeth clicking, the scent of bergamot and lime, zipping of her zipper, cleaning her smudged glasses. My goodness, to never hear the phrase teeth clicking ever again - it was like nails on a chalkboard for me.

I found the concept of the clans within The Luminaries to be interesting, especially given that all of their surnames are a different day of the week.
I wish the part where the decoding of the messages within the birthday cards was expanded upon because it was one of the only things that piqued my interest. If I were to pick up the next book in this series, it would only be because of that cryptic message that Winnie’s dad left.

Overall, not bad, but I was left wanting a lot more. I thought the world and characters could have been developed more since we still don’t really know a whole lot of anything deeper than surface level stuff.
Hopefully the next installment provides more insight, and dives into the Dianas / who the werewolf is. I love a good traitor/spy/secret inside person - something about villains and misunderstood characters always have me gravitating towards them.

*I didn’t follow the whole choose your own adventure thing on Twitter for this book, but I would assume that those who participated would have a greater investment or connection to this story.

[clan mottos]
Monday: Intellect at the fore. Knowledge is the path.
Tuesday: Strength of body and heart. We hold the line.
Wednesday: The cause above all else. Loyalty through and through.
Thursday: Always prepared. Never without a plan.
Friday: Integrity in all. Honesty to the end.
Saturday: Leadership in deed and word. Persuasion is power.
Sunday: Patience inside. Calm under pressure.


“They forged a bond that they truly believed could never be broken. But that’s the thing about the forest: it can break just about anything. And it did.”

“You either trust the forest or you don’t, Winnie. You have to make up your mind.”

“That’s why we’re called the Luminaries, Winne: we are lanterns the forest can never snuff out.”

As a reader of the original “Sooz your own adventure,” this was so much fun! All I can say is there better be a sequel.

This is, by far, the best book I've read all year.

The blurb was intriguing: who wouldn't be interested in a girl who has to fight to restore her family's reputation in deadly trials, and needs the help of her ex best friend to even have a chance at survival? The descriptions of the forest and the nightmares were so real I could have been standing in Hemlock Falls fighting for my own life, rather than safely reading on the couch. The scenery was ethereal and mysterious, perfect for spooky season.

As far as characters go, Winnie and Jay's awkward dance of "are we friends?" felt just like all uncomfortable interactions in high school should. Winnie was a badass, yet still stumbled and wasn't perfect by any means. She was the perfect heroine for such a unique story.

I'm excited to see this book listed as Luminaries #1, because I definitely need more from this world.

This is my first Susan Dennard book. I’ve seen her books referenced constantly, particularly amongst fans of Sarah J Maas and she’s been acknowledged by several of my favorite authors. This book sadly ended up being a bit of a let down for me; however, I think I went to this with unrealistic expectations