Super disappointed I didn't love this one... After loving the entire Witchlands series by Dennard, I really expected this one to be a new favorite book. And really, it was my expectations that let me down.

I went into this one expecting the same level of completely that the Witchlands have. I expected moving parts, worldbuilding, complex characters, and an impeccable romance. Instead I got something that was just ok. By itself, I would've really enjoyed it. But with my preconceived expectations, this was a letdown.

Part of the reason for that was the worldbuilding. It all felt so messy. This is urban fantasy, but the outside world is barely mentioned. We know one clan keeps word about this community from escaping, but how? Why? The concept was so strong, but the execution was so lacking. After seeing this described as atmospheric and bewitching, I really wanted more.

The other thing that really bugged me was the predictability. Every plot "twist" felt overrused. This read like every other cliche YA fantasy, with very little variation. And, even though some twists have yet to be revealed, I'm almost certain I have them right. (Not cocky, just seems to be the way this book is going)

Like other reviewers have said, this book ended in an odd spot. Not quite a cliffhanger, I'm not desperate for the next book. At the same time, this left off with no conclusion. It just ended. I expected another chapter, but I guess I must wait. I'll read the next book, but my expectations have been significantly lowered.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Part of me wishes I didn’t read this, just so I would have the opportunity to read it for the first time again. Absolutely AMAZING. Couldn’t put it down, I was glued to the story with an unnatural hold. Didn’t think my request would be approved, so thank you a million times over to NetGalley and the publishers!!!

I didn’t think I would get to read this early and I’m so glad I could!! It is SO freaking good!! I really loved getting more insights into the creatures and the dark foreboding forest. I have so many theories because there’s just a lot of things happening and a lot of things still coyly hidden away.

Our main character Winnie (and the rest of her fam) are shunned by no fault of their own. Despite the hate Winnie continues her plans to compete in the trials to be hunter. Winnie achieves her goal but not like she thought. There’s a mysteriously new and potentially more dangerous creature within the forest but no one in their society is taking it seriously. I really loved the world building and I’m so curious about other forests in other parts of the world.

I honestly forgot I was reading the first book in a series lol. It was a sharp reminder when it ended how amazing Dennard is at reeling you in. I can’t wait for the rest of the series and more ugh Jay. I have a desperate need to know all the things. Many thanks to Macmillan publishing for an early copy!!

Luminaries, by Susan Dennard, is a YA fantasy that you NEED to get your hands on!

I was completely hooked by the first sentence, and I didn't want to stop reading. It's so easy to fall in love with the Luminary world that Susan created, that I didn't want the story to end. I really hope that this is going to become a series, because there are so many unanswered questions that I have.

Definitely one for the personal library.

Beyond amazing! This book was an incredible read and I can't recommend it enough. This is a book you'll want on your shelf and to give as a gift. Everyone needs to read it.

4.5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: fantasy, training schools, mystery, monsters, secret groups

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 6/15 and will be posted to my review blog and instagram on 6/16.

I forgot how much I love the 'secret pocket of society w/ intense training regimen' trop/setting. It's always fun to see the direction authors choose to go with their secret communities and there's a certain allure to the kind of physical strength and endurance that kind of training/school provides. It's been a while since I've read something with this trope/setting, so it was nice to get back into it with this book.

The forest, mist, and the monsters were an interesting, fairly unique concept. I liked the scenes with the various monsters in them, and the kind of fear and respect people seem to have for the woods. I did wonder, though, why the Luminaries don't just patrol the outside of the forest instead of risking their lives inside it. I also liked that there were hints of something other than 'pure monster' in the woods, and Winnie notes a couple of times the beauty or human elements to some of the creatures she comes across. I probably would've liked an explanation for the forest and monsters a bit earlier in the book, because I was going in thinking that Hemlock Falls was the only forest like this and then was confused by mentions of international Luminaries (and summarily decided the forest must be the same forest, just appearing in different places), but the explanation given clears all that up.

Winnie is desperate to rejoin the Luminary ranks and regain respect from the community. She's definitely tenacious and comes up with some pretty bold (and sometimes crazy) plans. Once she's set her mind to something, she's set it and is determined to make it known, regardless of who shoots her down. She has a bit of a 'do it myself' attitude, largely as a result of being cast out, and part of her arc is overcoming this and deciding that it's okay sometimes to lean on other people.

Bretta and Emma are two young Luminaries who are taking their trials at the same time Winnie is. Unlike the rest of the community, both girls are consistently nice to Winnie and her family, even when their exiles. They seem to be genuinely good people, and it comes across in the way they act. Fatima is a third, though her interactions with Winnie only start really happening about halfway through. The three of them together make a good group, and it's nice to see Winnie join it and finally get to let go of some of the loneliness she's felt. I like their cluster and hope we get to see more of them in the next book.

Jay is Winnie's best friend from before the exile, though he dropped her once the order came through. While he agrees to train her, and seems to want to be her friend, there's definitely tension there as Winnie has to reconcile the nice Jay with the one who ignored her. At the same time, I definitely think something's up with him that impacted him around the same time as Winnie's family's exile, and I do think that played into why he ignored her.

The characters do come across as kind of young, but that fits with their ages (most are 15-16) and I think actually plays into some of the things Winnie begins identifying as issues within the Luminary community.

Speaking of the issues in the community, I really really liked that Dennard addresses this in the book. Obviously people who are raised within a tightly knit community like this and are drilled on the concepts and beliefs from birth are unlikely to question those things without an outside motivator or event, but I do feel like in a lot of books with this same theme the MC either doesn't end up questioning or only questions surface-based things (looking at you Rose Hathaway). Winnie, on the other hand, does seem to begin deeply questioning the Luminaries. She still wants to be part of that community, which is understandable all things considered, but she does have moments where she's angry at them. She does have moments where she goes 'this isn't right and what they're doing isn't right,' and so I'm really interested to see how this plays into the things in the second book.

The book was kind of predictable, though since we don't get solid answers about a lot of the mysteries in this book, it's hard to tell if it's actually predictable or if it's just misdirection. I'm leaning toward the former, but am also open to the latter.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it introduced an interesting world and community. I think the characters act appropriately for their age, and I absolutely adored the Winnie-Emma-Bretta-Fatima friend group! I read the OG Twitter thread after reading the book and think it's cool to see how much has changed and what threads of the choose-your-own story are still there.

The Luminaries was an amazing well written book and I loved it so much. With great characters and a story that had me hooked from the start this book will be a hit with all ages. I can’t wait to read another book by Susan Dennard!

This book was a little hard for me to get into. I don’t know if it was the mindset I was in or what, but it kind of fell flat for me after having high expectations.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard is very creative, and just a whole new take on the contemporary Fantasy/YA genre.

I thought it was well-written, clever, creative and the pacing was extraordinary.

The magic is spectacular, purely brilliant.

This whole book keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what Eleanor is going to do next!

Amazing character development, well- thrown twists, lots of witchy magic, secrets, hiding a family darkness, this book includes all of those amazing qualities, storylines you'll absolutely love and enjoy!

I loved being lost in Hemlock Falls. It's a town unlike any other.
It's a dark, unknowing place where the forest here could be deadly!
Winnie & Jay's story captivated me and kept me glued to my Kindle.
Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.
Her characters show strength, determination, grit and heart!
Dennard's writing was phenomenal. Her writing style is truly riveting.

Gripping, immersive, and absolutely masterful, THE LUMINARIES reels you in and hold you captive till the amazing ending!
Can't express enough just how much I enjoyed reading this novel!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Tor Teen,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

2/5 stars. To be released November 2022.

I've always enjoyed Susan Dennard's books, but this one missed the mark for me. What started out as thrilling and interesting switched to dull and predictable halfway through. A very unique concept, especially how this started as a 'choose your own adventure' story on Twitter, but the book itself just didn't keep my interest. It felt repetitive at times and the pages and pages without dialogue didn't do much for me.

The Luminaries was filled with supernatural intrigue and a magical world of horror. I really enjoyed the plot line and the monsters and the folklore behind them. I thought it was a really unique read! I however did not love the main character as I felt she was a little immature for her age which made the book difficult to enjoy at times. Otherwise this was a great read and definitely gave me Supernatural vibes!

The Luminaries was a wonderful concept by Susan, whose Witchlands series I enjoyed very much. I really liked how the main character developed throughout the novel. Even though the premise seemed sort of basic at first, needless to say I became enthralled by Susan’s prose.

This book was EPIC! Filled with monsters, mystery, and mayhem, I just couldn’t put it down. If you loved House of Hollow and Our Crooked Hearts then you’ll definitely love this.

I can’t wait for the next book, this series is going to be spectacular!

"You either trust the forest or you dont, Winnie."

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm going to preface this review with the fact that this is the first Susan Dennard book I've read, though the Witchlands series has been on my radar for a while now. I dove into The Luminaries not knowing what to expect, and came out of it NEEDING the sequel... it's terrible knowing I'll be waiting for quite a while, as The Luminaries doesn't release until November 8th!

The main character, Winnie, along with her mother and older brother, are outcasts from The Luminaries. We first meet Winnie as she is on corpse duty - a task given to the teenage members of the Luminary clans before they attempt the Hunter trials. The story is told through her eyes as she navigates being rejected by her extended family and friends, all because of her father's betrayal.

Winnie is a very lovable and relatable character, and I especially appreciate her anger towards the other clan members, and her reluctance to open herself to some of the girls who don't care that she is an outcast. I enjoyed seeing Winnie's character develop over the week or so that the novel covers, and I can't wait to see more of her interactions with Jay!

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed The Luminaries! It had a bit of a slow start and I do have some questions about the world building, but I'm looking forward to the sequel and hopefully having some of my theories proven (or disproved!).

"Never surprise a nightmare..."

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

In this book, we follow Winnie Wednesday (yes, that’s her last name). She and her family were part of the Luminaries, a group of different clans that hunt nightmares (monsters like werewolves, vampires, etc.), until Winnie’s father was discovered to be a Diana, the Luminaries’ enemy. Since then, her family had been deemed traitors as well and have been outlawed from the clans. (This happens four years before this book takes place.)

Because of this, Winnie loses her two best friends, Erica and Jay.

Winnie, wanting to gain her family’s reputation back, enters the Trials to become a hunter. There’s three stages:
1) Kill a nightmare by yourself.
2) Survive a night in the forest of nightmares without aid.
3) Complete your clan’s specific and secret challenge.
Winnie “completes” the first trial by kinda cheating. So she’s allowed to enter the next trial and can also get formal training. But because she’s so far behind on training, she hesitantly asks Jay for help. And he agrees.

Most of the book is essentially her training with Jay to become a hunter. But there’s also another factor: there’s a new nightmare in town and Winnie is the only one who has encountered it. The few people who have seen it through cameras don’t know what it is. Everyone else doesn’t believe that it’s real. So Winnie sets out to find out what it is.

Thoughts about the book:

Overall, I enjoyed it. The beginning was a little slow for me, but it definitely picked up quite a bit towards the middle.
The world itself was interesting (though not completely unique), but I could have used a little bit more explanation on some aspects.

The trials itself was pretty straight forward. The execution was fine. Nothing special. Most of the monsters in this book are ones that everyone probably had heard of, except for the one that Winnie is hunting. Looking forward to seeing what that monster is.

My least favorite thing about this book was the characters. I wish we got a little bit more of everyone’s personality. Everyone kind of sounds and acts the same. But a lot of our main characters have secrets to them, and I’m intrigued to know more if I read the next book.

Another thing I didn’t really like (but can be easily fixed in the next book) is Winnie’s friendship with Jay and Erica. Jay and Winnie spend a lot of time together because he’s helping her train. And it seems like Jay is the love interest. The thing is, we don’t see a lot of Erica for some reason. And if Winnie, Jay, and Erica were all BFFs so long ago, why did Erica appear only a handful of times? I would have liked to see her a little bit more. I also didn’t like how it was Winnie who was trying to make amends with Jay and Erica, given that they stopped talking to her.

The thing that happens about Winnie’s father at the end of the book is also very interesting. I was going to make comments about why we don’t learn much about him, but I think the next book(s) will answer that.

Overall, solid read. I’m very willing to pick up the next book!

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

Winnie Wednesday is a luminary, or, at least, she used to be one. Four years after her father was found to be a traitor to the Luminaries, Winnie sets to undo the outcast status that has been placed on the rest of her family by completing the Hunter Trials.

This book is a lot of fun. High stakes, but not sad stakes, a likable protagonist, a cute love story, and a great fantastical world within our real one. I would recommend!

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Luminaries*
Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why do I keep requesting ARC's of the first installments to a series that doesn't exist yet? Why do I insist on burning through book one of a proposed many, months before its release? Why must I put myself through the emotions of getting hooked on a budding series and have to wait who-knows-how-long to gain clarity, resolution and conclusion?
Because I can!
I must be a glutton for punishment yet it is such a sweet form of torture I am gifted.
What do I have to say about The Luminaries? A few things.
This was a story that pulled you in. Almost against your will. Almost before you realize what is happening. I was not hooked in the beginning. It took a good bit of this book to wrap my head around the world spreading out before me. While I was anxious to understand the concept of this muted world, there were several holes that didn't get filled until much later in the book. While making it intriguing and mysterious, it also left me frustrated and mildly confused. There are still gaps that remain even at the completion of this first installment. However, there was just enough explanation to keep me going, craving more! Half way through this book grabbed a hold of me and didn't let go. In fact, I am still in its clutches as I keep picking it back up hoping for more words to magically appear. My mind keeps going back to the what if's and what now's hours after finishing. I was definitely not ready for it to be over.
The world building was both interesting and puzzling. I followed the bread crumbs like a good little Gretel through the haphazard explanations to the world I was now sucked into. It was enough to keep me hanging on and not completely exasperated at the lack of completion I will say that by the end I had finally painted a picture of Hemlock Falls and the dystopian snapshot that was laid out for me.
The character development was a bit more thorough and set a little bit of a faster pace. While bumpy and in snatches, I was able to form a viable look into who these characters were. Our protagonist was a likeable and relatable character albeit irritating at times. I waited until the very end to see her grow a pair. To come into herself. To blossom into the badass I sensed and suspected she would be.
I appreciated the basis for this world, this story. I was captivated watching it unfold. The beginning didn't necessarily grab me. I was going through the motions to just get through it and realized I was enjoying it. I was looking forward to the next page. I was sucked in and held tight to the end.
I have been teetering between 3-4 stars for this book. 3 for the sheer frustration of the unknown. 4 for the blind sightedness, the sneaking up of the hook. The hook that caught me and reeled me in and left me wanting MORE, MORE, MORE!

Winnie Wednesday and her family is an outcast in her own community due to things outside her control. Her community, The Luminaries, that live in the hidden town of Hemlock falls hunt nightmares in the woods surrounding town. Her biggest dream? To take the Hunter trials and become a hunter like her mom and grandma. Due her outcast status she hasn’t been allowed to train but Winnie is determined to make it.

I loved The Luminaries from the moment I picked it up. It was a vortex in to a magical realism realm that I never wanted to leave. Susan Dennard wrote The Luminaries using a series of Twitter polls and put together a story both enchanting and mysterious. A page turner to the end.

This is my first book by Susan Dennard so I didn't know where to set my expectations! Winnie Wednesday and her family, the Wednesdays, are basically pariahs in their town of Hemlock Falls due to what Winnie's father did. The world-building was definitely one of The Luminaries' strongest aspects while other aspects such as the repetitiveness of certain (unnecessary, in my opinion), character development, and mystery fell a bit short. I couldn't really keep track of who was what and nothing exactly stuck. I really liked the vibes, however, and the concept of the secret society explored in this book. I'll definitely be checking out the next installment in this series and I have hope that it'll only get better!


Thank you to MacMillan - Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars.

Hemlock Falls seems like a normal small town, despite the fact that it can’t be found on a map and is surrounded by a forest filled with supernatural nightmares. Selkies, changelings, werewolves, banshees, are just a few examples of what stalks the dark woods surrounding the town. The townspeople of Hemlock Falls protect the world from these supernatural horrors, and killing monsters on a nightly basis is the norm. School even starts later than normal for the sake of the teenagers who had corpse duty the night before. For Hemlock Falls, these things are the norm and are ingrained in their lives.

Winnie and her family are ostracized by society after her father was revealed to be a traitor, siding with the witches who want to release all the supernatural horrors into the world. Despite this, she doesn’t want to give up on her dream of being a luminary and fighting monsters every night. She soon finds there are unknown nightmares in the forest that are a far greater concern than werewolves.

By far the strongest part of this book was the world building. With a town that isn’t on the map and is surrounded by a monster filled forest, you’d think they’d be living off the grid or living off the land. But nope! Hemlock Falls has everything you’d expect a small town to have, from clothing stores to fine dining to a local coffee shop. The teenagers train to fight monsters after school then go to the coffee shop to watch their favorite local band perform. Hemlock Falls quite literally has anything and everything a normal town has. Everyone is nonchalant about the supernatural creatures that are a part of their lives while everything else screams normalcy. I found that very cute and quirky.

The plot left more to be desired. I get that this is book one in a series, but the entire book did little more than set up for the rest of the series. I had my theories ready and all, just for nothing to really be revealed at the end. The characters (especially the love interest) were flat and unoriginal, and nothing about their motivations or reasoning behind their behavior was revealed. The book could’ve been significantly shorter as well, since the middle 60% seriously lagged.

Solid world building though, because I really did love Hemlock Falls. 3.5/5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for sending me and advanced copy in return for my honest review.