Purchased for my high school library. Students have enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next installment.

The Luminaries takes place in a world where there are creatures called nightmares. Nightmares are not nice and they will kill humans. the Luminaries are a group whose purpose is to kill these nightmares and keep them away from humans. Winnie and her family were banished from the order because her dad was a traitor, Now Winnie is finally old enough to take the test to become one of the Luminaries again. She hopes that this will restore their faith in her family and they will no longer be banished from the community. This book puts you right into this world and you won't want to leave.

DNF. I have loved Susan Dennard's Truthwitch series and I was so hoping I'd enjoy this one as well but sadly it didn't work out. I've been trying to read it for months now and I have to admit that it's just not for me, unfortunately.

This book is amazing! It's really fun, it's fast paced and it has romance...so, it has it all. Short chapters made this book a page turner and impossible to put down. After I finished it, I was left wanting more. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I initially requested a copy of The Luminaries not necessarily because I loved the premise, but because I enjoyed (and am still reading!) Dennard's Witchlands series. I had decent hopes for this! However, I was left quite disappointed.

Winnie

Winnie is a very shallow character, made that much worse by her being the main character. There's very little to learn about her beyond a few cardboard cut-outs for "teen girl" and "extra special chosen one." What I wouldn't have given to get away from Winnie for a bit.

I can't remember anything about Winnie from the book other than she was also boring. She didn't have anything interesting to say, just a huge chip on her shoulder that is absolutely beaten into you. She has daddy issues, I get it.

Several of the other characters drew my attention more than Winnie did, and they were even weaker than she was. The broody love interest, the clingy mother, the frustrated brother...I'd almost rather read about any of them than spend more time with Winnie.

The World

The world was also pretty disappointing. One of the major sources of conflict in the book is related to a betrayal committed by Winnie's father, rendering his family outcasts. This was a good opportunity to express the complex tension that can exist between loyalty and family.

Dennard doesn't pull it off. The way the rest of the world treats the family is unrealistic and unbelievable. I can't say a lot about this without spoiling it but it almost seems like a child wrote how they thought adults would act in that situation, without knowing the reality.

Another issue that I had with the world is that it was boring. The different clans are organized to a day of the week (which, I don't know why the day of the week was so important they built their whole society around it) and each has a specific function. They also fit into very clear stereotypes, right down to how they dress and what their clan houses look like. It was comical.

The Hunters instituted these trials to thin the herd but at the same time, they're really low on Hunters? The trials aren't even particularly difficult as there is help from adults available.

Plot

There wasn't much of a plot in this book. As many other reviewers have said, all that happens is exactly what is written in the publisher description. There are no surprises here. What you read there is exactly what you will get.
What you do get isn't explained at all; you're supposed to go along with that but there isn't anything revealed as the story progresses. There are several important secrets hinted at but by the end, you're just as confused as you were at the beginning. It's very unsatisfying.

Some of the conflict is the drama around Winnie's family and her taking these trials, but we all know she's going to pass them. There is never a hint that our protagonist might not succeed. We all know somehow that it will be wrapped up with a little bow - and it is too neat. Instantly it's all forgive and forget.

The worst part is that the book couldn't get me to care. Not for the flimsy characters, the shallow world, nor the thin plot. I kept reading just to finish it and get it out of my mind. I can't imagine how this came from an author I like so much. I'm disappointed and I'm not sure where that leaves me for the rest of the Witchlands series.

Thank you to Tor Teen, Macmillan, and NetGalley for allowing me early access to an eARC in exchange for my review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I made it about an hour into the audiobook and just wasn’t hooked into it. I had “paused” it in the meantime but I’ve just hit the point where I don’t think I’ll be picking it back up.

Adventure, secrets, action! This book was another amazing adventure. Written well, character driven, descriptive and immersive. What an amazing story.

This author is one of my buy without question, I found her through the truth witch series which I love and got a friend even hooked on to it. So when I saw she was writing a second series I had to get it

The Luminaries is a YA coming of age story following Winnie as she restore her family name after her father’s betrayal resulted in them being kicked out of they community.

Sadly there is romance which is okay if you like that (my heart is too black for that). The plot has a lot of twist and turns which I can’t wait to see develop as the series goes on. The story flow is great and as someone who has read her books you can see how. She has a grown as an author as well as a story teller.

Easy to read with short chapters and great monster guides. Just need book 2 to see if I am right about a few things

Unable to review at this time. Will review at a later date. I'm cleaning up my netgalley in order to review 2023 books. This book sounds delightful and will read once fully caught up on my account. Thank you for this opportunity! I look forward to reading this book!

I must say that I didn't read this book but, I listened to it!
Beacause I liked it so much, I decided to buy a special edition of the book!

The Luminaries is such a beautifully written fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. Susan Dennard has earned herself a spot on my auto-buy authors list. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out The Luminaries today.

This one was too slow for me, too repetitive, nothing is actually happening. Beautiful cover, but i did not liked the book. Boring and annoying characters, i was not curious about them. Nothing big is happening, no twist, no plot development.

Winnie Wednesday has ben an outcast since her father was outed as one of the Dianas, a group that is effectively the mortal enemy of the Luminaries. She is still required to do corpse duty every week but will never attain the status of ‘Hunter’ within her community, a fact that leaves her friendless and ridiculed despite her mother previous holding the title of head of the family. Despite this fact, Winnie decides she will still undergo the trials, a series of dangerous tasks that would usually determine entry into the prestigious order of defenders of her home town. There’s only one problem, Winnie has trained for years and isn’t suppose to enter the forest unaccompanied.

I thought throughout that I knew where this book was heading and for the most part I was correct. That tiny chunk that I couldn’t predict though – an absolute revelation. Let me scream it from the rooftops that this novel will not serve as a replacement for the next Witchlands novel, it will just make you need yet another sequel from the wide works of Susan Dennard.
I absolutely adored (but also lowkey despised) Jay Friday with his rugged good looks and marshmallowy demeanour towards Winnie. He’s the big brother figure of this one – there’s also the ACTUAL big brother but he has his own thing going on – and while he has his flaws, he’s really just a likeable guy. Winnie on the other hand holds grudges against pretty much everyone because, well, they all decided to be jerks post the ‘dad’ incident. She’s independent and smart but also a little bit sassy so she makes a rather good protagonist for the most part.

If you have read Dennard before, you know she goes hard on the worldbuilding and this one is no different. The forest has its own personality, lurking in the background the whole time with its sinister fog and dastardly creatures after night falls. As a reader I appreciated that it wasn’t just tacked in for the tournament, instead forming the centrepiece of the story.

While on the surface this is a YA fantasy novel, it also delves into current world issues relating to bullying and social isolation. Winnie and her whole family have been shunned from polite society based on something that they had no control over – her mother’s family even vetted her dad prior to accepting him. But as soon as Winnie does something that the town can see as valuable, the change is instantaneous with Winnie suddenly regaining lost friends and being welcomed with open arms. It actually gave me the heebies and I really hope it gets explored in the follow up because can you say society dysfunction?

Overall, The Luminaries is another triumph for Dennard, appealing to the masses as well as long term fans. As previously stated, this one is not like Witchlands and I am definitely here for it. Also, that ending was *chefs kiss*

Had the opportunity to witness this project come to life in Twitter as a create your own ending kind of game, but finally reading it in print transported me back to the world and characters. This is a contemporary fantasy with a unique lore and world-building, and a book that holds promise and adventure and I can't wait to read more in the rest of the series

This BARELY squeaked a 3-star rating for me. Unfortunately, I just found myself mostly bored. The concept is great, but I struggled with the execution.

The world-building was mildly interesting, but seemed to get a little bit convoluted and I started not to care as much when I got confused. Instead of fully explaining the world and how the magic worked (why do the Luminaries exist??) in a way that gripped me, there felt like a lot of textbook entries and quick quips of information. I found the mythological setup for the background really interesting and liked this basis for the world, I just wish it had been delivered a little bit better.

The protagonist and the writing both came off a bit whiny for my liking. Winnie has a strong backstory, but there is a LOT of repetition about how she feels like an outcast and it just makes her feel like a weak character rather than one who is overcoming the crap hand she was dealt. She wound up being a fairly bland character when she really could have been a diamond in the rough. Disappointing. Meanwhile, the writing felt a bit childish for a young adult read and there were several moments where the narrative felt much more like a middle grade novel. I expected more subtlety and more sophistication than I got. This was incredibly sad given that I have heard so much about how great Susan Dennard's books are and now I'm just not certain she's for me.

I nearly DNFd this read, but held out to see if things would pick up and give me something to root for. As the first in a series, I wanted to give a little wiggle room since sometimes world-building can really blight the story to begin with. Unfortunately, I was not rewarded for my patience. The ending is a bit abrupt and things were highly unresolved, which felt more like a ploy to create a series than a naturally progressing story that warrants multiple novels. There is definitely a lot that can be done in this world, but there was not enough resolution present in this book to make it feel like a satisfying read.

Maybe if I had waited and read the whole series back-to-back after it is finished I would feel differently, but right now I walked away just feeling frustrated and likely will not continue with the series unless I hear fantastic things about the remaining books. Either way, I will not be jumping to the next read until the entire series has been released.

I really enjoyed the world-building and I love Dennard's writing staying. However, this is a very YA book and probably not the most enjoyable for older people, but teens will love it. I will definitely recommend this to students.

What unique worldbuilding, compelling characters, and engaging prose and pacing. I can't wait for more in this saga!

The Luminaries is a contemporary fantasy that’s full of action, thrills, and romance! It’s a refreshing take on the “hunter” and secret society tropes. p

A slower set-up, but I AM DESPERATE FOR MORE because I know that the bigger picture with all the magic, cryptic & monsters is setting up an incredible world.

I loved the realistic take on the exiled main character, who is NOT magically fantastic at everything when they try to win back their honour. The number of secrets within this book that are just waiting to e revealed is the strongest alluring factor about this book; secrets & questions about society, her father, her ex-friends, her mother & the monsters.
Also, a shoutout to her mom, that called out those who shunned them after a mistake that wasn't their fault. They are a bunch of asshats!


Highly recommend it, can't wait for book 2!

Susan Dennard wonderfully wrote a story that was tense, a story that dealt with feelings of all sorts and a story in which let one know that home can certainly be where the heart is. There's no need to spend time reminiscing on what could have been, instead look at what you have now, what you could have.