I really enjoyed this one! The premise of hunting nightmares is so interesting and I really loved the lore of it all. The writing style was both haunting and quirky at the same time. Winnie is a very interesting MC and it was so much fun to see her journey from start to finish of this book. The story itself flowed so flawlessly and I found myself wanting to come back for more. I highly recommend picking this up upon release day!

Genre: Fantasy / Supernatural / Paranormal
Overview: Winnie Wednesday lives in Hemlock Falls, a town where at night, the forest on the edge of the town might just kill you. An outcast from The Luminaries, an ancient order protecting people from the nightmares in the forest, Winnie would do anything to find her way back into the fold.
Opinion: Solid fantasy/supernatural story. I enjoyed the different factions in the order and the setting of the forest. I was disappointed that it ended (which is always a good sign). I will definitely be looking out for #2 as I am absolutely invested in finding out what has happened (no spoilers, so I'll leave it at that).

Loved this book and fingers crossed to see more from these characters!!! As the story began I was drawn to the different clans and what they each stood for. When new characters were introduced, you could see what they believed in from their clan back grounds. Also loved the sports card like Info when describing the monsters and how to defeat them. This gave such a power insight into the monsters and training to defeat them!!

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

It took me a while to get into this and actually invested, around 20% of it, but I did eventually become gripped by the plot and invested in our main character Winnie.
I will say that this book was incredibly slow, and felt like it was mainly a prelude to the next book in the series, to set up the world and rules. I am very excited for the second book, as I feel that the plot might move quicker and Winnie hopefully become even more of a bad B.

In the town of Hemlock Falls, an ancient order called the Luminaries protects the town and world from the nightmarish monsters roaming the nearby forest every night. Winnie Wednesday yearns to join the league of hunters that protect the town, but after her father is exposed as a traitor, her family is shunned by the town.

But Winnie has a chance to prove her loyalty and restore her family’s name in the Luminary hunter trials on her 16th birthday. But after years of being shunned, Winnie must enlist the help of the resident bad boy and her former friend, Jay Friday, to survive the deadly trials. But dangerous creatures lurk in the forest, and it'll take everything in Winnie to survive the trials.

Dennard explains in her Acknowledgements section that “The Luminaries” was more or less conceived by her Twitter followers through polls to put her writing skills to the test. Although much of the Twitter-sourced ideas were scrapped from the final manuscript, Dennard took some big ideas and used those to conceptualize “The Luminaries.”

The world of “The Luminaries” was an exciting base concept, with clans named after days of the week running the town of Hemlock Falls and protecting the secret of nightmares from the world. Once more details were introduced, Hemlock Falls’ hierarchy and history became muddied every time the protagonist, Winnie, tried to explain them. Mainly, the clan histories and their functions within Hemlock Falls left me scratching my head and eventually moving on rather than attempting to figure out their place within the story.

Winnie, the protagonist, is a reserved, awkward teenager who exemplifies the ‘not-like-other-girls’ trope without the hidden jealousy and thinly veiled misogyny. Although I loathe this trope, Dennard makes it work with Winnie’s predicament and personality, but there are moments where Winnie’s insecurities seem unnecessary to her storyline–especially concerning Jay. I can understand the insecurities of being around a crush and hoping to impress them, but many of these moments were directed toward the other female characters in the novel and felt mildly misogynistic.

The gore and horror elements woven into “The Luminaries” was stellar––vivid descriptions and visceral emotions sent chills up my spine more than once while reading. The plotline centered around her father’s betrayal, and the mysterious envelopes felt rushed and placed haphazardly in the novel. Although this plotline will likely be built upon in future installments, there were few reasons to care about it, and it often read like an afterthought.

An atmospheric, imaginative concept with room for further exploration, “The Luminaries” has the potential of being the next great YA series.

Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor Teen Publishers for letting me read this E-ARC.

Susan Dennard has been one of my favourite authors since Something Strange and Deadly. I was curious to see where this boom would lead as for me this is entirely something different from the premises of her other books I have read, and I was also excited to read it. The excitement did not fail, and since it has been a long time since I read her other books, this one might be my favourite now. I love the premises of the Luminaries, the different clans each named after a different day in the week, and as well the forests with nightmares. I loved the world so much of how around the world there are these pockets of areas that are protected by a society to keep the 'normal' people safe.

The main character Winnie I loved so much, her personality, her stubbornness that sometimes causes big trouble, and the awkwardness she feels from being outcast from her society she has known her whole life. Just like with Winnie, I couldn't help but feel the excitement and pull towards wanting to be in the forest, to see the different nightmares. The world and the characters just welded so well together, I didn't want to put the book down. I am excited for the second book to come out.

3.5?

I'm so happy to see the revival of the contemporary fantasy/paranormal genre in YA! This book is light and fun, with plenty to like ahout it. The quaint characters and worldbuilding will definitely appeal to this book's target demographic; they're familiar, but relatively refreshing.

On a personal level, I did find some of the story elements to be a little simplistic and overly familiar at times, namely the romantic subplot and some of the side characters, but the overall charm of the book still yielded an enjoyable reading experience. Winnie in particular is a sympathetic and charismatic point of view character, even if her conflicts did feel a bit frictionless at times.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for an eARC of this read.

Firstly, the idea is extremely original and interesting. The MC’s are likable and relatable. I think given more honing and crafting, this world could be more vibrant and less confusing. It took me awhile to see how this community worked and lived. Even at 80% into the book I was getting confused with the roles of some of the characters (i.e. lead hunter vs. clan leader, and their families) There’s clearly a lot of history in this town, ancestors who were the creators and first hunters and their descendants, but it is just A LOT to digest. And while it’s written in smoothly, and isn’t jarring, it still feels like either an unnecessary information dump, or something that needs more careful consideration by the reader to acknowledge the facts being written, which mean writing them in a more flashing light/neon sign kind of way.

The timeline of this book was all over a period of a week, and everything is just shoved into this week. It doesn’t feel possible that all of this could happen in a week and as a reader it seemed like it should have been so much longer. Winnie would train for one day and then go into the forest and do her tasks. At one point she had a cold for 24 hours and then was back to running obstacle courses and handling weaponry. The pacing of events just didn’t feel natural.

I also felt that mostly this was a mid YA book for ages around 14-16, but the length of this book felt too long for readers of that age, as well as some of the subject matter (violence/killing nightmares/death and injury as hunters/family betrayal) just felt like it was too grown up to fit the genre. This book either needed to be shorter with a little more froth and light-heartedness to it, OR have it be LESS YA and more NA and beef up the more adult content and keep the length or potentially make it longer (and preferably over a longer period of time).

Overall, I would like to see what happens on Winnie’s journey, as it’s very clear that Erica is more than likely a Diana, and Jay is the Werewolf, and Rachel is very likely to have been involved in the incident with Winnie’s father.

This book was everything I hoped for and more. While it is a very different story than what I remember from the #TheLuminaries Twitter thread, it carries the same energy forward into a compelling YA fantasy. We still have our favourite stubborn but charming Winnie, Ugh Jay and Erica, though in this version, Winnie and Erica aren’t currently as close anymore because reasons. But we also meet so many new characters who round out the story. Where the create-your-own-adventure was fairly basic, this is a true novel, complex and full of nuanced backstory.

There is plenty of fan service – such as the iconic boop moment straight from the Twitter thread. And believe me when I say I squeed out loud when I got to it. We also get answers to a lot of things that remained open questions, especially around the locket, so central to the story. I did wish there was more Diana action, as I found the organisation fascinating and I was disappointed that the shed didn’t find its way into this version. But then I think about the fact that this is billed as book one and gleefully think about how Susan will go on to torture us next and get VERY excited.

The Luminaries is both an exciting, action-packed YA fantasy for those new to the universe and a lovely comfort read for those who have been following the story’s journey since Summer 2019. Susan has done it again, and I for one am a fan – I’ve already ordered my copy from the US because I can’t wait for the UK edition.

This is going to end up being one of my favorite reads of the year.

As usual, Susan writes a world so detailed and fantastic that from the first page I was hooked. I loved Winnie as the main character, I was angry for her and scared for her. Jay and Winnie's interactions gave me life, and while they will definitely be a slow burn, they are now one of my new favorite ships.

Susan adds in lots of little hints of what's to come in the next book, and I can't wait! There are so many unanswered questions that leave me wanting more.

Content Warning: violence, bullying

I’ve only read two books from Susan Dennards Witchland series and I didn’t stop because it wasn’t good. I just think I forgot about the series because there were just so many other books I was reading at the time. So I was curious about the blurb from this book, The Luminaries – a forest that could kill you? Sounds perfect for fall reading and I was right! This is what I liked and didn’t like about the book:

+ I love all the tropes in this story: a mysterious, dark forest that filled with monsters or nightmares as they are called, a girl trying to redeem the scandalized family name, a girl lacking in skills who wears ill fitting glasses but filled with passion and drive, a boy who was a best-friend and first crush who shunned her and is now training her, a secret…I loved the intensity and the action that moved that story.

+ The world-building is fascinating and creative. There is a secret society called The Luminaries and they are monster hunters. Monsters are called Nightmares in this story though and basically they are the stuff of nightmares like werewolves, vampira, melusine, kelpies, banshees – every monster of myth and legend but there is something new in the forest. The Luminaries go into the forest each night and kill Nightmares. Winnie interestingly enough is assigned to clean-up duty, she picks up what’s left in the forest when it’s morning and the mist is gone. The hunter clans are interesting and their last names correspond with a day of the week (Monday, Tuesday…etc…) they all have their own niche and expertise.

+ Winnie Wednesday is that kind of heroine that you can easily cheer on. Her appearance sounds mousy because she’s not wealthy, she wears glasses that need to be updated, she never sounds put-together and yet she is brave and a natural hunter instinct even with a lack of training. She is determined to get back into the Luminaries good graces and don’t underestimate this girl, she can kick butt when she needs to! There is a lot of growth in character and I look forward to seeing what happens to her in book two.

+ The friends to enemies to lovers trope is teasing us in this book. I want more of Winnie and Jay. I love their interactions and the spark between them, the intense emotions that’s going on under the surface. I’m invested!

+ There are a lot of interesting characters in this book, like Mario the lab guy and Erica, Winne’s ex best friend. There is so much more to uncover in this world, that I’m looking forward to the next book.

~ This is just the beginning of the world building and it sounds like there is so much more to learn about The Luminaries and the different families. I did have some questions about the forest and how it works all over the world with different Luminaries – there is mention of international Luminaries. We need more information about the Dianas who are witches and Luminaries enemy.

~ It ends with a cliffhanger where many things are revealed but nothing resolved…but makes me want book two ASAP. It’s definitely not a bad thing, I just need more info!

Tropes: secret society, girl trying to redeem her family reputation, friends to enemies to lovers, monsters in the forest, a trial,

Spice Level: (there is no kiss, there is no romance…but there is intensity!)

Why you should read it:
*world building, story with scandal, redemption, secret society, monsters and a girl who has a desire to belong again
*budding romance between Winnie and Jay
*diverse characters, lots of action, mystery

Why you might not want to read it:
*I feel like the world-building for this series is going to be huge, but we are only getting the tip of the iceberg for now. So much more to learn about the Luminaries, the Dianas, what happened to Winnie’s dad and Erica’s sister, what is up with the daywalker, what is the Whisperer… so with that said…you may want to wait until more books are out to binge it?

My Thoughts:

This story is fun and exactly what I was kind of looking for in a contemporary with fantasy elements. I love the scary forest and the mist and monsters that come in the night. There was lots of action because Winnie is taking part in trials to become a hunter and that was fun because we get to see her fight or try to monsters. Winnie is a heroine I can root for as she tries to redeem the family name, but there is more to the story – a mystery about her father and some other characters in the book. I love the intense interactions between Winnie and Jay and I just want to learn more about this world about Luminaries! The only issue I had was that I wanted more information about everything and now I have to wait for book two. This is a great start to what seems like an exciting new series.

I sort of remember the twitter thread that started this book, but not enough to really have any context. It occasionally felt like I was missing details. I know this is normal for a first book but it felt like I was missing more than normal. I liked the setting and a town that’s off the map, but the plot moved too slow for me. I might wait until there are more books so that the first one doesn’t end in such an odd spot with nothing until the next book.

Winnie Wednesday is my hero.ni absolutely adored "The Luminaries." It was a fun adventure going along with Winnie on her hunter trials in a forest of nightmares. But the nightmares could also include some people in her hometown that completely mistreated her family for the past few years after a scandal touches he family. But did her father really do what he is blamed for?? Will definitely recommend this book to my followers and friends.

Have you ever read a book that you make excuses to stop what you're doing to read? This is that book. What world building! I am hooked. Get the second one out as fast as possible please and thank you! #NetGalley

There's definitely a lot of worldbuilding happening here! Between the different monster fighting clans, the monsters themselves and then the secret society-ish thing that serves as something of the opposition, there's a lot going on. But the complex worldbuilding is integrated pretty seamlessly, and there is still time for the main character to get some good character development (the side characters could be better developed, especially the twins). Everything that bothered me from a worldbuilding perspective (which mostly hinged around "why would you put up with this crap from the townspeople") was addressed at some point in the book. There's a blooming romance that I found enjoyable, although their main source of romantic conflict could be solved with some communication which isn't my favorite romantic trope. But that said, I think teenagers are going to love every single second of this book - it's fast paced, the main character is very relatable/likable, the romantic interest is broody, and the worldbuilding is super creative and a lot of fun. This is a promising series opener for sure and I'll be recommending it widely.

WHERE IS BOOK 2?! I NEED STAT!!! Cheers to this being my first ever approved ARC because I will never forget this book! I can't stop thinking about this cast of characters - I can't stop thinking about the way the scenes played in my head as I read and I can't stop thinking about the mystery and what's next for Winnie. This book is like the best episodes of Supernatural but with an awesome female lead who kicks butt and needs to trust her instincts more than she realizes...while she did decide to keep her first trial to herself (no spoilers) this made me like her even more - for the family, for their lives and the decisions she made moved the story further. I NEED more!!!

Recommending this book to anyone who is a fan of Supernatural, October Faction and the like. I haven't read many books with this type of genre so I'm choosing TV shows to compare it to. Whenever I look at a forest, I'll think of Winnie, the monsters that might be out there and who is fighting them.

I can't remember when was the last time when I read a book in which the whole plot was 100% equal to what was written in the blurb and nothing more. There was no surprise there, no resolution to any of the plot threads and the whole story was blatantly predictable and painfully dull.
We know that the main character has to go through three trials to become a hunter... and she does exactly that. And that's when the book abruptly ends, leaving no hooks to convince me that I should read a sequel. I'm actually baffled by it's poor structure, because I understand that there might be books where I don't like characters or plot, but I can't recall an example of a book where there is no resolution whatsoever, and the time I invested in the story seems completely wasted. There are several main plots within the book apart from the trials: the love story, main love interest true identity, Dad's betrayal or this new type of monster that all adults seem to deliberately ignore, but none of it (maybe apart from Dad's plot) is resolved in any way, even a little, and just keep hanging there in the void.
Also we don't learn much about Luminaries as an organization, so the world building here is very poor. And we learn even less about the main antagonists, the Dianas, who are described only as "those bad guys that want to take over the world" and that's it.
All in all a very disappointing read.

I love this author’s other work so I was excited to read this one. Well I did like it, it is definitely very different from her other books and not as good for me. I found this book to be more YA. I found Winnie whiney and annoying. It had this high school, vibe that for some reason I was not expecting. It bothered me how happy they were to get the people who treated them badly for four years to treat them well again. I did like the eeriness and the different monsters. I like how the plot has a mystery part. I do sometimes not mind Winnie and the other character interactions are pleasant to read. I love mysteries so I am wanting to read the next.

First thank you to Tor Teen for the eARC of this beauty!! I was a part of the Twitter Luminaries many moons ago and was so excited when word spread that it was becoming a book!! I especially loved that this book wasn’t just a remake of the Twitter story but it’s own dedicated story with some glorious UghJay moments thrown in!! I loved learning more about all the monsters that haunt the forest and the people that hunt them!! I was so entranced in this book that I didn’t even notice I had reached the end until I flipped the page and there were the acknowledgements!! I just kept saying no, no, please no!!! I need so much more of this story and have so many questions left unanswered!!! Overall it was a fast paced, super unique and creative storyline with characters you absolutely love!! I cannot wait for book 2!!!

I remember when Dennard was making this story on Twitter all those years ago. At the time I didn't want to be involved because not knowing which way things would go stressed me out. Oh how I regret past Laura's decision! But I am super grateful for the chance to read it early and shout about how great it is now!

Winnie Wednesday is a badass and I'm so excited to have a badass character who is also a rep for something that is frequently ignored in books. Winnie has glasses. Do you have any idea how RARE it is to have a character wear glasses, especially one who fights with the supernatural? I didn't realize how much I needed a character to worry about the state of their glasses until I read Luminaries. I related to Winnie hardcore because of her glasses but also because she was kind and eager and wanted to do what was best even if it cost her.

I love the whole premise of the Luminaries. I love that there's a whole network of people protecting us. I feel like the Luminaries is just the tip of the iceberg for how big this world that Dennard has created will become. She's so good at world building that it was easy to forget that I was just reading a fiction book!