I truly got lost in this book. The characters are wonderfully written. Winnie especially spoke to me, very relatable and real. The plot and world building are very well done. I am so excited for a sequel.

It’s giving unfiltered, apocalyptic weirdness. A heartwarming story focusing on situational impacts to relationships. This is a very fun read and gives the reader space to take a critical look at the society we live in, without inflicting existential dread. It’s definitely a fun take on doomsdayers and goes a long way in humanizing a group often depicted as an unwell oddity. The book was slow in places, and the plot lacked direction at times, leaving a lot of questions unanswered.

The Luminaries had promising bones, but I found the characters and relationships equally bland. Winnie is a standard-issue female YA protagonist. Jay is a standard-issue sad boy with a heart of gold. Everyone else barely gets enough 'screen time' to register as a character. The romance is dry and chemistry-less. The Luminaries has a cool magic school/monster hunter thing going on, but it spends so much time outside of its own lore and completely focused on Winnie feeling like an outsider that all of the fun and unique qualities this book could have had don't make the cut.

The Luminaries is a fun and unique YA read that had me feeling like it was a cross of the Hunger-Games-magical-dome experience combined with the tv show Stranger Things! Right from the start you can’t help but root for the quirky and loveable Wednesday Winona Wednesday (her legal name lol!) and want her to ‘win’ and regain her family’s reputation after they were outcasted years previous. The teenage characters are all loveable in their own way touching on the popular and the not popular. I also got a big kick out of the Wednesday’s clan character being a bear and the line “You’re a bear Winnie” - we love Winnie the Pooh bear in my house!

I found the world building right off the hop intriguing, and while we do get details and a bit of a story, I wanted much more world building and to really gain an understanding of the spirits and nightmares. The third person writing style was sometimes hard to focus on and annoyed me at times as well. I also felt in general most of the plot was actually written into the book synopsis on the back. I saw the one ‘reveal’ at the end coming from the beginning of the book and have an inkling of what’s to come in book 2.

I wasn’t sure how many starts I wanted to rate The Luminaries but I decided to go on the high side of rating, as ultimately, while I had a couple of thoughts that brought down the rating, it was a really fun read, and I’m excited to continue reading the series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Tor Teen, and Susan Dennard for the ARC copy to read and review. Receiving an ARC did not impact the rating and content of my review. 3.5 stars rounded up!

The Luminaries is book 1 of a YA sci-fi fantasy series. It gives pre-2010 vibes and stays true to the synopsis blurb. I could tell that the author is a fan of video games in the way the plot was structed, as well as the variety of creatures we are introduced to. The world building was dark and fun. The last half of this book had me on the edge of my seat! I stayed up all night to finish it. I just couldn’t put it down!!

Dennard does an excellent job building Winnie’s character. She is a believable and relatable MC. Winnie carries the weight of what her father did on her shoulders and feels it is her responsibility to redeem her family’s integrity in Luminary society. Her pain came through on every page and I really felt sympathy for her.

The way in which the townspeople treat her and her family when they have outcast status is really sad. But what is even more unsettling is how quickly their attitude could change. Understandably, Winnie struggles a great deal with this.

Winnie has anxious habits - clicking her teeth and adjusting her glasses constantly. These things make her come across as more human, but in the text, they were annoyingly repetitive.

The slow burn romance is sweet, but I was hoping for a little more communication and confrontation between Winnie and Jay. It’s clearly one of those long-drawn-out situations where feelings are still unrealized and nothing is communicated. It’s the kind that will infuriate the slow burn romance lovers in the best way. It felt like a romance that’s on the younger side of the YA genre (at this point).

I struggled with the world building a little bit at the beginning of the book. It didn’t make sense to me that this society would remain a secret in the modern-day world with the way people leak things on the internet. Especially when you have 16-year-olds with cell phones, hunting myth-like creatures. The Luminaries still have access to the internet and can even leave to go live their life on the outside (like to attend college). The book mentions that there are people responsible for policing this, but I wasn’t sold on it. I was hoping for more of an explanation. But once I decided to look past that, it was all good. I do hope we get some more details in the next book.

The last half of this book really had me hooked and was well done. With that said, I felt that it ended just when it was getting really good! We are left with so many loose ends and cliffhangers. I understand it’s a series, but I feel it could have been a few chapters longer.

Overall, thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend!! I will be pre-ordering book 2!!! I am now officially a #Luminerd!!!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Susan Dennard for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The one thing I will warn about this book is don't read the synopsis before going into it, you will literally be spoiled for everything "big" that happens in this book. Luckily I never read the synopsis before starting a book but when I glanced it over afterwards, everything was there.

This is the first book I've read by Susan Dennard and I had pretty high hopes after hearing all the hype around her other books. This one just felt a little dull to me. I really didn't care for the main character Winnie, a lot of her actions and thoughts honestly grated my teeth (just like her teeth clicking was annoying) and how much she deceived everyone annoyed me as well.

This book also felt very poorly structured to me, I didn't feel like there was any resolution whatsoever and no cliffhangers to tempt me to read the next book. I'm honestly confused as to what the next book could even be about and I personally have no interest in continuing on with the sequel. Also, I'm the type of reader that needs some good world building to really get into the story and this book definitely lacked in that.

I was very interested in the story in the beginning, I was intrigued by the nightmares and how these young teenagers and adults are the hunters to keep this town safe. But I quickly started to lose interest with the lackluster details and overall not great visualization of the story. The only part I'm mildly interested in is finding out more about the Dad but other than that, I can't see myself picking up the sequel to this book and I'm also hesitant to read her other works if they're anything like this book was.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the copy for my review.

I really enjoyed this, was an original concept brought to life in both a fun and enriching way. The nods throughout to the original twitter thread were a delight to find.

This was so much fun and so different from what I expected! I was obsessed with the different nightmares and wish there were a compendium I could browse to better picture how each looked. The world is clearly so expansive and well crafted, as is typical of Susan Dennard, and I love her so much for that.

I was glad to see the romance backgrounded! While I’d have loved to see a Big Kiss Scene with #UghJay (which I was DYING over the frequent use of his name with Ugh before it! So clever!!!), I think it was better to get a picture of Winnie first. I loved how she developed and the way she slowly gained footing in a confusing adult world. The way she started to question things with deep roots and tried so so hard to fight for that. I saw her as autistic, especially during the second test when the compendium just keep repeating in her brain. And her unstoppable quest to get the truth out. #JusticeForTheWerewolf!! (side note: I absolutely think Jay is the werewolf but I could be persuaded otherwise—maybe Jenna? Or the dad? Darian???)

Susan is so good at establishing roots that will grow throughout a series and I loved to see them settle. Like the stories surrounding Winnie’s dad, Erica’s older sister, etc. This was such a fun, unique take on a world I already was obsessed with when Susan began posting the poll to Twitter! I think it’s similar to a lot of books I’ve read, but nothing has felt as confident in its own setting as The Luminaries. This is a world we are just passing through. It existed long before this book and will continue long after. I can’t wait to read more!!

(Also I loved the audio. The narrator had a great voice for Winnie! And she made me sit up and pay attention every time I pressed ‘play!’)

This book was... fine... I enjoyed the world. I thought it was dark and creepy and a wonderful unique world. But nothing really happened in this book. The main character goes through these trials to become a Hunter, but at the end of the book, nothing has really been accomplished. The whole last quarter of the book felt like a letdown, and if I had known that I would have to wait for a second book for the arc to take off, I probably wouldn't have taken the time to read this one.

This book was amazing. So many genres and things I loved in one book. Romance, mystery, supernatural happenings, and monsters. This was my first book from this author and I will absolutely be checking out other works from her.

This was a fun, quick start in a new series from the author of the Truthwitch series.
Winne, and her immediate family are outcasts, of the Wednesday clan, and the Lumiaries, those who keep others safe from the nightmares. As outcasts, Winnie's family is basically shunned. Her friends desert her, her mother and brother have to take low-paying demeaning jobs (because they should have known her father was a traitor). Despite this, Winnie is determined, refusing to be shut out of her birth right as a Luminary and during the month of her 16th birthday attends the three challenges in order to become a hunter for the Luminaries
There was a lot to enjoy here- a fun, slightly different setting with some traditional monsters (with a little spin) some good characters.
But there was a lot that was familiar and a bit predictable. Winnie is alone, but there is a brooding boy from her past that maybe can help her.... there is a scary new evil that no one will believe her about... clues left her her traitor father in old birthday cards....
All that aside, it was a fun read and has a lot of potential if future installments allow some of the side characters some growth. And I'd like to know more about precisely WHY the Dianas are so bad. They're a rival group of witches. Okay? So? Tell me more please!


ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This novel was about a witch in a small town who hunts fantastical creatures. I really loved the plot! It was very action-packed and suspenseful! The writing was very beautiful. It was dark, atmospheric, and creepy! I really loved the characters and thought that they were developed well! I also thought that the story was very fast-paced and was an emotional ride! I loved the cliffhanger at the end, and I wished that the sequel would be released sooner! This novel is a must-read for paranormal fans! I recommend this novel for fans of City of Bones, Slayer, and Witches of West End!

! This was wonderfully written, I loved the length, I loved the pace, I loved that this set everything up and explained everything in enough detail that I wasn't overwhelmed but understood everything and also kept me engaged and hooked! The perfect balance! I loved that it was single POV, short chapters and lowkey fantasy aka set in our current world but fantasy aspects ofc which is my FAVOURITEE! AND THE ART!! THE ART THAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK IS EXQUISITE, LIKE THE DRAWINGS OF ALL THE CREATUES AND EVERYTHING!! I am definitely hooked and already can't wait for the next book

Things I liked,
The writing was good. The characters were interesting. The forest was unique.

Things I didn’t,
The world building in this book fell flat. Someone else called this urban fantasy and I feel like that fits. There was a lot missing in this book. Why were they hunting in the forest? Why did the forest only produce nightmares at night? But why did so many people from other regions know about this forest and being a hunter? What was the real threat?

Overall I was confused and bored. The cliff hanger was bad. I feel like she could have given the answer to one question before she cut off the book.

I loved this book!

I should not be surprised since I have loved everything else that this author has written. Now the hardest part is waiting for the next book to come out. The world building could have been a little more fleshed out but I am assuming we will learn more about the other clans.

I've been reading less and less YA as the years go by but I cannot resist Susan Dennard. I adore her series, The Witchlands, so I knew I had to read this new book. Upon starting the first chapter, I was immediately intrigued by the setting and what Winnie was going to be up against. I've been getting more into horror lately so I loved that this seemed like it was going to be fantasy mixed with horror. The Luminaries are located not just in Hemlock Falls but in chapters all over the globe protecting areas against nightmares that are manifested by spirits of certain areas in the world. Almost like a Sam and Dean Winchester meeting the Men of Letters but just in one area of the country. Winnie and her family are currently outcasts of their society because of her father being revealed to be a Diana aka a witch traitor. Winnie desperately wants to be a hunter for the Luminaries so she does what she can to insert herself into the trials that every sixteen year old Luminary does... after all, there is no rule that says outcasts can't attempt the trials. I absolutely loved Winnie and definitely felt a bond with her over all of the other characters. Everything that she went through in this book was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. I am also extremely intrigued by Jay.... I feel like there is way more than meets the eye when it comes to Jay and I'm very much looking forward to book two to find out more about him. And I desperately need him and Winnie to just get over their hangups and get together! If you're a fan of Supernatural, Charmed, or anything else along those lines I highly recommend checking out this book.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this copy because the pacing was a bit slow for my taste, hopefully I will get back to this and purchase a copy!

I really enjoyed this! I loved the little references to the thread, but I also loved how different it was, and how I couldn't rely on the thread for clues as to what was happening. I have Many theories and I'm excited for the next book to come out so I can see if any of them are true!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid fantasy lover, I was intrigued by The Luminaries and its dark, very unique sounding world. Over the course of this book we follow Winnie, a sixteen year old girl who has been labeled an outcast by her people, the luminaries, and who is determined to prove herself and become a hunter of nightmares (and prove her family's loyalty to the cause along the way).

The world of The Luminaries is something I've never come across in fantasy before, and I thoroughly enjoyed Susan Dennard's world building and exposition. Winnie is an extremely lovable main character who has you rooting for her from the start, and the main conflict of the book is tense and exciting, perfect for any fantasy lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed The Luminaries and will be waiting excitedly for the next book in the series.

Intriguing premise and a cliffhanger. Lots of action…just a little too much repetition. And the one extremely annoying, constant repetition in particular is what kept this from being 4 stars.