Thank you Black Crow for inducting me as a member of the Saturday clan!

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard is your next book addiction! Fans of fantasy books rejoice! The Luminaries is a dark, mysterious fantasy, very much like a rated R Twilight mixed with Brothers Grimm!

I hadn’t come across Susan in my time reviewing and didn’t quite understand the magic that she had created with this story. It turns out that the foundations of this novel were laid during lockdown on twitter with follower participation! The threads are incredible to read and it’s such a unique way to build a world. It was fantastic.

The Luminaries is an absolute triumph of a novel packed full of intriguing characters, coming of age adventures and deliciously violent fights. The main character, Winnie, is an impressively deep and interesting character who will burrow into your heart and proceed to live there throughout your read through. You will feel her emotions, bleed with her, cry with her and celebrate with her! The supporting cast will continue to bring depth throughout the novel and each has as much of a place in the novel as the others.

I really enjoyed the references to the hunters guide in the book which details the monsters, their traits, appearance and much more. I would love to see this as a supporting book. Susan has put so much thought into it that I would quite happily read it independently, there is that much detail!

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard is the birth of a new potential series that will be talked about in fantasy book circles for years to come! Jump on board now, don’t miss out!

I’m a big “character girl”, if I don’t enjoy the characters I probably won’t enjoy the book as a whole, and I think this happened with the luminaries. I DNF this book at 78 % but I’ve tried for too long to finish it that I couldn’t fight the last bit.

I came in with high hopes but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I didn’t enjoy the characters, they didn’t feel new and exciting and I just couldn’t feel any connection to them. Small detail, but their Weekday names was annoying me haha. Didn’t feel magical. Another small detail that threw me out of the “illusion of the book”, the constant repeating of words such as “Click, click, click. Click, click, click”. That is an quote.

However, I think this is a book that a lot of people will enjoy, a fast paced fantasy with monsters and mystery. This was more a “me thing” with not feeling it. I think I will try to read it again at some other point.

Thank you Netgalley and Daphne Press for the eARC!!

This fantasy/Supernatural mystery YA novel is fast paced and exceptionally readable. I flew through this in one sitting.
An intriguing premise with great atmosphere and a likeable main character, I found this more enjoyable than I expected. I enjoyed the trial storyline and the folklore of the nightmares. This definitely gave me Buffy vibes! I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fun book.

A brilliant YA novel - I can't wait for the next instalment. I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. The premise and world building were so interesting. It made me feel nostalgic for older TV shows like Buffy and Vampire Diaries.

I loved everything about The Luminaries and was so involved in this world that as soon as it ended, I wanted more and knew I would miss Winnie (and yay, there is more – a trilogy with the sequel The Hunting Moon coming out November!).

Something I wanted to mention straight off the bat, although Winnie is 16 I think everyone will be able to identify with her experiences (some of which happen no matter how old you are!). Don’t let her age put you off.

It can be difficult for me to feel a connection with characters in a 3rd person narrative but it works really well in this story.

Winnie is a fab character. Her experiences from being shunned to being in the limelight makes her question things she wouldn’t have thought of before. Even though she wanted to belong to her clan again, this quick shift shows her how false people are. Instead of following blindly, she’s developing her own ways of thinking. I loved her idiosyncrasies! Her lack of confidence is endearing and her strength in the forest is inspiring.

The action is heart pounding! The first trial left me wanting more (but of course fits into the story perfectly), the second ramps it up but OMG, the third! I felt fearful and scared for Winnie but most of all, I felt alive from bursts of adrenaline. These trials were so visual for me – I was fascinated with the nightmares and monsters.

It’s clear from being in the forest that not all is how it should be. And with no one taking any notice of what Winnie is trying to tell them (apart from Marco and Lizzie), the council are definitely hiding something …

There are a couple more interesting threads in the story (it’s not all fighting monsters).

Romance. The spark of emotion between Winnie and Jay is at first subtle. One scene at the party was quite electric (even though it was innocent). I’m looking forward to seeing where this romance goes.

Jay’s otherworldly character is portrayed so well. I’m excited for when his purpose is revealed (and what it actually is)!

Intrigue. As well as ‘the Whisperer’ there’s intrigue with Winnie’s dad that comes quite close to the end of the story and left me wanting to know so much more. There are more clues to come for Winnie to work out, I’m sure.

Talking about clues, I felt that our attention was drawn to the same thing a couple of times that I can only think means monsters aren’t only in the forest … and this clue tells us who and what it is. I could be wrong but I have a feeling I’m right! There’s no other reason for this ‘throwaway’ observation to be in the story.

I loved the clans and the estates (each have a different purpose and their own motto) although I do agree with Winnie’s dad – humans can’t be pigeonholed so neatly. However it’s got to be said, Thursday fits me very well :))

The Luminaries is fascinating. The world building is brilliant, the pace is just right and the plot is unique. One of my top reads this year.

Highly recommended!

What isn't to love about this book? Monsters, Supernatural mystery and a little bit of romance. This one captured me from the very beginning. A young girls quest to prove herself. The ending did feel a little abrupt but that just leaves me waiting for more.

3.75 ⭐The Luminaries is an atmospheric, paranormal, YA coming of age story following Winnie as she plots to restore her family name after her father’s betrayal resulted in them being cast out.

There’s a sprinkle of slow burn romance , lots of mystery, twists and turns and I was theorising up a storm! The world was unique and interesting and I can’t wait for it to be further developed in book 2! I loved that the chapters were short and, as the story progresses and you meet various monsters, I love the inclusion of the monster manual pages. This really adds to the story, immersing you into the world and was so beautifully done😍

I was left at the end of this book immediately wanting the next one to see if my theories were correct (🐺) and to unravel the mysteries that surround Winnie (let’s be real I also need more Winnie & Jay 🖤✨)

I devoured this. I mean it’s a secret society of monster hunters, who fight nightmares in a magical and mildly terrifying forest. I adored Winnie and her strength to fight for her rightful place in her community and boldness when it comes to trying to warn them of a danger they are yet to believe exists. All this strength exists despite her self-doubt and insecurities. Throw Jay and all those stolen glances into in the mix and well, I read this in 2 sittings. With twists and turns and mysteries throughout The Luminaries is well worth a read and i’ll definitely be interested in picking up future releases in this series.

Absolutely stunner of a book!! One that kept my gripped from page one and got me out of my reading slump. I definitely can’t wait for the second book as I need answers and I need to see where the romance between Jay and Winnie will go! Thank you to Daphne Press, Black Crow PR for my finished copy to read and be a part of the blog tour!

The Luminaries is a creepily atmospheric YA read with a constant thrum of tension throughout.

I really enjoyed the mysterious and intriguing world that Susan Dennard has created in The Luminaries. The forest itself is a living, breathing entity; menacing and wondrous, creepy and liberating. It is the life-blood and pulse of Hemlock Falls, and feels like a character in itself.

I found Winnie's viewpoint unique. She is not new to the area or the Luminaries. Her and her family have been ostracised for years, so she is very much an outsider looking in, but one who used to belong. They have complicated relationships and emotions with the rest of the town, which were shown really well. How do you feel about a childhood friend who has ignored you for four years?

The Luminaries has great LGBTQ+ characters, as well as representation of disabled people and different religions, which was seamlessly interwoven.

The pace starts off more slowly as Dennard does a lot of culture and character building, laying the groundwork for what I’m sure will be a whole series. There are many mysteries left to be solved!

I'm keen to read Book 2 and see what is next for Winnie and Hemlock Falls! Luckily, it looks like I'll only have to wait until the Autumn.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Pretty forgettable book. In few days I will ask myself if I read it or not because I'm not gonna remember anything that happens in it.

The luminaries follows a 16 year old girl trying to regain access to the world she has always known, by taking the trial to become a Luminaries, after her family had been ruled as outcasts of Hemlock Falls. As the trials progress, it becomes clear the forest is not haunted by the regular nightmares anymore.

This book was a classic YA novel. Overall I enjoyed it, but it is clear that it is meant to be part of a series. A lot of plot points were brought up, but none were resolved to make this story stand on its own. I really appreciated the small community the author depicts, and the overall feeling of the forest.

A superb new YA fantasy, also suitable for older middle grade readers with a love of vampires, werewolves and fanatsy world building. The town of Hemlock Falls is situated alongside a dark forest where shadows and fear inducing creatures reside. Winnie wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, who protect the town each night from these creatures and shadows, but her family are outcast after her father's shameful public downfall. Winnie decides to take action herself and comes face to face with the horrors of a banshee and the threatening chase of a werewolf. The detail is all in the world building and the slow build of romantic tension between Winnie and Jay. This is the first book in the series, so I look forward to lots of action and resolution in the next book. The character of Winnie is one that is flawed, yet brave. She is filled with anxiety, and the constant clicking of her teeth emphasize a stimming or repetitive tic. Her nervous energy is channelled into determination to fight the forest shadows and win back her family's reputation. A well narrated and enjoyable audiobook. #theluminaries #susandennard #netgalley #yafantasy

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc.

This book was a pleasant read for the holidays, however I was confused about the end- it sort of got me wanting to read the next book but it kind of didnt either. It was not a massive cliffhanger that got me gasping, but more of a soft slow burn. I enjoyed the plot of the book, however I think there were still some plotholes around the book. Overall, it was a 3.5 star read, perhaps I'll read the next book when it comes to the time.

I loved this from the start! Thrown into the action early on, you meet Winnie and Jay, the scene is set and the journey begins. Hemlock Falls is full of nightmares and monsters, there are nightly walks to defend the town and it's villagers, do they really know who, or what from? Something is there as they find bodies, or more exact, bits of them... is Winnie ready for the trial?

This book had a very Hunger Games vibe but with monsters not against people. Loved how gripped I was with this book! Definitely could be a series! Loved Jay's personality and his part in the story with Winnie.

This book was provades to me by NetGalley as and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The luminaries by Susan Dennard was a very enjoyable read. I really liked the world building and characters, especially the main character with how determined she was. I also loved the there wasn’t any typica mean girl behaviour between the female characters and instead they showed such positivity in some parts. I would probably read it again but there were still some things that bothers me with the ending.
I felt like the ending could have been a bit longer and with more details because it felt very rushed and left us with many loose ends that I hope gets tied up in the sequel.
Overall I liked the book and would recommend it to everyone who loved deadly magic and mysteries with a dash of romance.

I have been a Susan Dennard fan for years, so holding an early proof of The Luminaries feels like an absolute dream. I have been following the journey of this novel from it's 2019 creation as a single Twitter poll to the 'Sooz your own Adventure' it became, which transformed (through many edits & changes) into the novel released as The Luminaries. Susan Dennard kept the LumiNerds updated through regular newsletters and continues to include us in the incredible process of this story.
I knew I would love this book, simply from knowing that I already adored the characters and the world that the author had created all those years ago. But the plot itself kept me hooked from beginning to end and I'm already desperate for the sequel! I loved the fascinating families and their surnames that are based on the days of the week. Through reading The Luminaries I was able to delve deeper into this incredible world and learn about the deadly creatures lurking in the forest. I was on the edge of my seat as Winnie desperately faced the hunter trials to salvage her family's reputation. This is a brilliant new addition to the YA fantasy worlds.

I am slowly getting myself back into YA Fantasy and Fantasy in general, and reading The Luminaries displayed why I want to go back into reading more fantasy. This book for me was really enjoyable. I loved the setting of Hemlock Falls, enjoyed the history and explanations about each clan and its nightmares, and I liked the characters, too. Yes, this book felt a bit slow at times and there wasn’t a lot of action, but it presented a perfect foundation for the series and storylines to be expanded over the next instalments. I also really enjoyed the cliffhanger at the end of this book, which made me feel super excited for the second instalment.

The story follows Winnie Wednesday who grew up in Hemlock Falls, a magical town surrounded by a dangerous forest, where the nightmares and the spirits that create them, live. All the different clans in town train to be hunters that hunt nightmares every night and Winnie’s biggest dream is to become one of the hunters. Though, for Winnie to become a hunter will be much harder than for others in town. She and her family are the outcasts, due to her father’s betrayal of the Wednesday clan more than four years ago. Winnie comes up with a plan on her 16th Birthday, she will attempt the hunter trial, not only to become a hunter but also to prove her loyalty and make sure that her family are no longer outcasted. However, she soon realises that there is something really dangerous lurking in the forest that might not only affect her hunter's trial but could be potentially very dangerous for everyone at Hemlock Falls.

Firstly, I loved the setting of the forest and the world-building that Dennard did in this book, especially how she weaved so many mythological and paranormal creatures together as inhabitants of one mystical forest.

Secondly, this book was so easy to read and as I was so invested in Winnies stories, I just flew through the short chapters. And I also wanted to know more about the mysterious Jay and some other characters more, hence I couldn’t put this book down.

Finally, the book finished on such a cliffhanger and some really important questions weren’t answered in this book (which hopefully will be answered in the next instalments). I still feel there is so much unknown about the Dianas, Winnie’s father and the town itself (as in why they don’t speak to the outside world about The Luminaries or the forest).

My only negative thing was that there were romantic feelings and loads of tension between the two main characters but nothing has been done to address it…I wish that romance was explored a bit more in-depth.

Overall: A very promising and exciting story, that reads very quickly with characters and a plotline that captures the reader and doesn’t want to let go. Honestly, enjoyed this book so much and can’t wait for the sequel.

Mixed feelings about this to be honest. I enjoyed the world that was created here, you can see the attention that's gone into it. And Winnie is sweet as a protagonist but I didn't end up feeling much more than that. The whole thing was an odd mix of overexplained and underexplained elements which led to jumpy pacing. That said, I do think this will find a solid audience who really love it.

4.5 Stars
The Luminaries is the utterly addictive and highly anticipated YA fantasy, which reads like the love child of Shadowhunters and The Hunger Games—complete with high octane action scenes, gorgeously rendered nightmare monsters (we get illustrations) and atmospheric prose that I thoroughly loved.

It follows sixteen year old Winnie Wednesday-a girl soo devoted to the secret, monster hunting society that made her family outcasts, she’s willing to risk everything—including her life—on a deadly trial for a chance to win back her family’s coveted reputation. And, follow in the hallowed footsteps of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother by becoming the next leader of her clan.

The world building was so incredibly lush and the attention to detail in the descriptions (particularly during all those intense action scenes) was incredible.

I absolutely fell in love with Winnie (whose full name is Wednesday Winona Wednesday btw) in all her indecisive (yet utterly adorable) awkwardness. Having been outcast as punishment for a crime her father committed, and spending years being ignored by close friends and family alike it’s not hard to understand why Winnie is so cynical and emotionally disconnected from everyone around her.

But I really liked that, despite her (super relatable) bouts of self-doubt and insecurity she didn’t let the naysayers win—and showed just how brave, capable and utterly badass she could be with only a fraction of the training or resources that everyone else had.

Given the treatment Winnie and her family experience during their time as outcasts, there’s only a handful of characters that I genuinely liked (out of solidarity with Winnie that is) but Bretta and Emma won me over pretty much instantly. Their kindness and optimism was soo infectious and it was soo heartwarming to see that Winnie had at least two people to liked and cared about her (besides her mum and brother that is) I desperately need to see more of them both in the next book.

Likewise, Winnie’s intense, slow-burn chemistry with former friend and resident bad boy Jay Friday was really interesting (if a little too slow for my liking) and I can’t wait to see how things develop between this too—I feel it’s gonna be explosively intense.

Overall, a fabulously intriguing and utterly imaginative YA Fantasy that fans of breathtakingly nail-biting action, monsters or monster hunters definitely don’t want to miss!

Also, a huge thank you to Blackcrow PR and Daphne Press for the finished copy (and for including me on the tour.)