FWIW, I read the majority of this in about three days’ time while pretending to “adult.” That’s how good this was!

I had high expectations for this book, but tried to tamp them down with some realism— the Sooz Your Own Adventure of 2019 was a magical, unique moment in time. Could that really be captured within the confines of an actual novel?

LET ME TELL YOU. NEVER DOUBT SOOZ. Reckless idiocy is the name of the game, and boy does Winnie Wednesday have it in spades. I adored the writing style, even though it had a markedly different feel and tone from the Witchlands. I loved discovering the various aspects of the Luminaries world as Sooz peeled back the worldbuilding bit by but, very cleverly through Winnie’s constant stream of Compendium knowledge. (I honestly want to start my own Compendium now!) All the little nods to the Twitter polls of 2019, as well as Sooz’s other marvelous works seee much appreciated. Despite the Spring never coming to Hemlock Falls, I felt that warmth of the first blue-skied spring day fill my heart with joy.

This book is perfect for fans of the 2010s era of paranormal fiction, with a dash of romance & crushes, and is an adventure-filled romp!

I loved this book! I could not put it down once I finally got started reading it.

The story takes place in Hemlock Falls. A town near a forest where nightmares come to life each night fueled by a spirit. The Luminaries are a secret society of sorts, all around the world, that protects us from the monsters that come to life each night. Winnie is a 16-year-old girl who wants to chase her dream of being a hunter and get her family back into the good graces of their town. As she goes through the trials of becoming a hunter, she also goes through trials in her personal life.

This book gave me lots of questions and no answers! None. Well maybe one answer, but none of the important questions were answered and I will be impatiently waiting for book 2. While that maybe sound frustrating this book just has the magic that does it for me. And I'm not talking about the magic system. I"m talking about the characters, the angst, the monsters, and the plot. It left me wanting more.

I went into The Luminaries without any of the Twitter background, but even so I really liked this as the beginning of a series. Winnie Wednesday wants desperately to be back in her clan in the Luminaries, a group that runs the town of Hemlock Falls and patrols the neighboring forest each night to kill the monsters lurking in it. An outcast for the last four years since her father was discovered to be a dreaded Diana--a type of witch--Winnie has plans to enter the hunter initiation, which will theoretically wipe away her family's outcast taint and return them to their former glory within the Wednesday clan of the Luminaries.

If only it were so simple. Winnie is unprepared for what the trials will put her through, and when she winds up succeeding initially by accident she's burdened with the guilt of knowing she doesn't belong here. She wants to be a hunter, but she knows she's not good enough, not without training, which her former best friend Jay reluctantly provides.

The Luminaries' first installment is Winnie discovering who she is within her society and how she fits. It's about repairing broken relationships and overcoming the trauma of feeling like you're not good enough--all well done by Susan Dennard. Literally all the other mysterious plotlines are left hanging. Who is the werewolf? What is the Whisperer? What happened with Winnie's dad? What are Dianas? What corruption lurks in the Luminaries? All of that is left for later installments, and I'm okay with that. This book accomplished Winnie's emotional arc, and I'm eager to see where she goes from here.

I knew nothing of the author going into reading the book. While there are some issues, the character development and pacing are excellent. The world-building is extraordinary and illustrates a vivid imagination. The book is trap-like, in that it allows the reader to slowly engage without noticing how fully engrossed they have become. By the end, the reader has been on a wild adventure and is left wanting more.

tl;dr = Engrossing read, recommended. 4/5

4 stars
This is a really great read. Lots of action and adventure, world building is just right and not overdone, characters on both sides of the isle. I can’t wait for the next!

Thank you, Tor Teen, for allowing me to read The Luminaries early!

I was prepared for this novel and at the same I wasn't? I found it both enticing and predictable at times. Nevertheless, it was a fun reading experience.

I've been avoiding fantasy books like the plague recently - nothing can hold my interest, but The Luminaries finally did it!  I understand this story started as a 'choose your own adventure' style story on Twitter?  I knew nothing about that (and still don't, other than it was) so I had no prior information before starting the book.  

Monsters and dark forests are always my jam and this book had the creepy atmosphere and detailed monster descriptions down pat.  I loved that the main character, Winnie, was so into the anatomy and behaviour of the 'Nightmares'.  It gave great insight and enhanced the visual aspect of what the hunters were facing in the forest. I really appreciated the way Winnie didn't just accept everyone's sudden return to her life , after ignoring and ridiculing her for the prior four years, too.  It was much more realistic than the 'oh well we're all happy families, water under the bridge' type story that often happens in these situations.  I loved that she stayed determined to achieve her own goal, despite the treatment she received from the town.

I understand this is to be a series, but there were just so many plot lines left unfinished by the end.  I found that a bit off putting.  It felt like nothing at all was wrapped up - even the very obvious 'twist' that I'm sure is coming.  I just wish more of the important aspects had been explained.  Winnie's dad being a 'Diana' is a major plot point, however, what is a Diana?  It's hinted they're some type of spellcasters but don't recall a proper explanation at all - we're just told that her dad is one,  and that he's a traitor, therefore Winnie's family have been outcasted.

The book is very YA and felt like a 'not too complicated' read, but it was exactly what I needed to enjoy a bit of a fantasy again.  I am absolutely looking forward to the next book though - where I hope a little more will be revealed and explained.

4.5 stars rounded up
I actually don't have a lot of thoughts on this book. I might come back to make a more detailed review later, but this is what I have to say now:
The Luminaries is truly a great book. It establishes easy, consistent world-building with clans and traditions based around paranormal and urban fantasy. It is a bit unclear whether this town is one secluded town with Luminaries and the rest of the world (besides the other towns) is normal or if they all know about the Luminaries. However, this book was truly addictive, and even when I wasn't /invested/ I still wanted to keep reading. Susan Dennard really is a master of prose.

this is another case of while the book is decisively lovely, i just don't feel strongly about anything to love it. i even dnf-ed this book at the 40% mark and skimmed the rest.

as always, there are spoilers.

let's start with the goods, i love how poetic and precise the writing is, how dennard doesn't need much to build atmosphere and set up the tone for a scene. the spooky/unsettling vibes are just immaculate.

winnie wednesday is a very likeable heroine and easy to root for. she's imperfect in the most perfect way and her determination to rise above hardship is wonderful to read about. although my interest in her character immediately dips whenever she is around her love interest—whose personality is as exciting as a wet rag and who seems so easily forgiven (because he's tall, dark and handsome) after what he'd done to her. twice now i'd come across instances where the female mc miraculously forgets her "supposed hatred" *wink wink* for Boy and runs straight to him as soon as there's an opportunity to do so. where is my "hate to love" tension? speaking of ruined tension, their teenage flirting just makes me uncomfortable. (*whispers* the true wasted potential here is winnie and erica)

the world building is... interesting? there's certainly an attempt on slowly easing the readers into it, but ultimately everything still feels surface levelled to me. for once, i'm not quite sure if i "get" it and i'm not sure if reading the other 60% will help me. like sure, there are... these things? and they dream up supernatural creatures that needed to be put down? but why though? what's the myth behind it? and why these supernatural creatures specifically and not others? if your answer is because werewolves and banshees are cool, i agree with you; no shame in that. i just want… more. more depths. something to convince me to take all of this seriously and care. (why werewolves and not vampires, anyway?) i unfortunately has the same reaction when it comes to other characters beside winnie (except maybe erica), they just... exist without any depth whatsoever and are ultimately boiled down to (1) the camp who hate winnie's family, (2) the camp who are friendly bipocs and (3) adults.

while i do have a lot of grievances, i'm not the intended audience for this book, nor did i finish it. do not let me discourage you if anything about this book catches your eyes. i do think this can be a very fun and enjoyable read if you are able to Vibe with it.

Umm and where is the rest of it??

“The Luminaires” hunts monsters in the forest but Winnie Wednesday is on corpse duty cleaning up the mess from the night before as her family was blacklisted following her fathers betrayal. Loyalty above all else is key to rejoining the ranks but with a little lie she is able to sneak in and hunt the true monster lurking in shadows.

This was such a fun read I was surprised to see it end so soon!

The concept is a lot of fun bringing in some of our favorite monsters of the week giving us a new take on vamps, werewolves, sirens and the like as Winnie tries to become a Hunter and restore the family name and the idea of the respective families being named after the day of the week in which they guard the forest was a lot of fun. There’s a lot here that is merely brushed upon but it’s clear there will be a few more in this series so I’m not too concerned about the lack of explanation.

The characters are fine if not traditional for the type of story this is but I have no real complaints on that front though I have a sneaking suspicion about some of them that may or may not prove to be true. I still want to know more about the dynamics of the hunters and how the monsters are made as it doesn’t quite make sense to me in terms of creation that we know from mythology (which we see discussed here) and the idea of the nightmares.

My biggest critique is that this doesn’t feel like a completed book in the sense that while she does have a bit of a personal journey and we complete a rule of three I felt like we were just gearing up to some sort of big reveal that would springboard us into the sequel but instead we get the promise of tomorrow. That being said it’s hard to fault a book for leaving us wanting so while I wish there was more the sink my teeth into I’m satisfied knowing more is on the way.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review***

There is so much to enjoy here. I was not a part of the Twitter polls that resulted in early drafts of this, but I can honestly say that I think they helped. So often in YA coming of age/rights of initiation novels, we see characters keeping secrets from others for no reason. I hate that trope. Dennard deftly avoids that over used trap. If a secret is kept, there is a very good reason. When Winnie gets in over her head, she talks to people who can actually help. Because of this, we still get all of that solid YA angst that we look for, but also a protagonist who feels smart and capable, not just because of her strengths, but because she knows her limits. Winnie is the protagonist you want to be friends with, because sure, you may end up doing something ridiculous together, but at least you'll be prepared for it.

This kind of reminded me of The Hunger Games at first, but not quite as dystopian. It has all the tropes I love, and is a great first installment in a series.

Winnie Wednesday desperately wants to join the fighters that protect the world from a sleeping spirit. She longs for community and to know her place in it. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside her control, her family has a 10 year outcast status. Desperate not to lose her chance, Winnie takes on challenges she is not really ready for. Dennard's book is very compelling and keeps the reader constantly cheering for Winnie through all of her trials. The world building is great and is introduced in a way that adds depth to the characters. Overall a very compelling read and I couldn't put it down!

I absolutely loved this book! It was full of action and adventure which I really love in a book. The author did a great job keeping the plot moving and creating unique and interesting characters. This was such a fun read that I will be recommending it to everyone I know.

This is Susan Dennard's best book to date. The characterization, worldbuilding and everything is A++. I have so many theories and can't wait to find out the answers! I love that the book takes place over a super short period of time and yet everything changes for Winnie like 5 times. The supporting cast is gold.