While I really enjoyed the first two books in The Luminaries trilogy, I just wasn't captured by The Whispering Night the way I was with the rest of the series. Even though the plot twists and character arcs accelerated, I still feel like this book lost momentum. I think it's because I enjoyed the simplicity of the early plot of this series, when it was more about monsters and less about Dianas. I'd definitely still recommend this series to people, I just enjoyed the first book the most.

I was lucky enough to meet both the author and the narrator this summer!! They are just as amazing as the stories they tell! I loved the first two books and this one was no different. This series is fun with a mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance!!! I highly recommend!! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!!

Excellent ending to this trilogy! The pacing was excellent, all of the plot threads were tied up, and I appreciated the focus on the friendship between Winnie, Erica, and Jay (the WTF triangle). The stakes were high, the plot twists were great, and there was a good balance between fast-paced action and quieter character moments. Caitlin Davies' narration is also fantastic - she's the perfect voice for Winnie.

Now that this trilogy is complete I can confidently say that this trilogy is perfect for YA readers looking for a quick and fun contemporary fantasy series to binge read (particularly in the fall).

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: November 19, 2024

5 stars
I just loved this YA trilogy and it wrapped up so well! There is fantasy, tension, mystery, and character growth and reflection. I have recommended it a bunch of folks and plan on reading whatever Dennard puts out next (and reading her back-list).

The narrator was also excellent through the trilogy. She was able to bring a lot of emotion and tension when needed and I get excited to see her as a narrator knowing it will be a great performance.

The Whispering Night, the thrilling conclusion to Susan Dennard’s Luminaries trilogy, is a masterclass in building tension, emotion, and heart-stopping stakes. With this final installment, Dennard delivers everything readers could hope for—twists, romance, danger, and an intense exploration of family and loyalty. Fans of the series will be on the edge of their seats as Winnie Wednesday faces impossible choices that threaten not only her future but the safety of everyone she holds dear.

The novel picks up with Winnie in a somewhat precarious yet hopeful position. After everything she’s endured, Hemlock Falls is no longer chasing her werewolf blood, and her relationships—with Erica Thursday and Jay Friday—are evolving. Just when things seem like they might finally settle into some semblance of normalcy, Dennard pulls the rug out from under us, introducing a masked Diana and an impossible mission that raises the stakes even higher than before.

Winnie’s journey in The Whispering Night is one of both physical and emotional growth. As she faces new enemies, the web of mystery surrounding her missing father, hidden witches, and her family’s long-standing war with the Dianas deepens. Dennard does a remarkable job of intertwining the personal and the larger, more dangerous stakes in this book. The tension between family loyalty and the realization that those she’s trusted most may not be what they seem creates a poignant, often heartbreaking conflict. The character growth here is spectacular, especially as Winnie navigates the complexities of what it means to belong—and to fight for those she loves.

The romance between Winnie and Jay Friday, which has been simmering through the series, reaches an emotional, swoon-worthy crescendo in this book. Their chemistry has always been palpable, but in The Whispering Night, it becomes a central part of Winnie’s motivation and growth. Dennard doesn’t shy away from making their relationship complicated, testing their trust in each other and forcing them to confront their fears and desires. It’s a beautiful, tender aspect of the novel, balancing the darker, more perilous elements of the plot.

What makes this conclusion truly exceptional is Dennard’s ability to craft such a rich, immersive world. The magic, the mystery, and the fantastical creatures are fully realized, but it’s the emotional depth of the story that really stands out. The exploration of what loyalty and family mean when the lines between friend and foe blur is a theme that resonates deeply, especially as Winnie grapples with the painful truth that not everything is as it seems.

The pacing is impeccable, with Dennard masterfully weaving suspenseful action sequences with quieter, more introspective moments. There’s no shortage of surprises, and the climax is as thrilling as it is satisfying. While the stakes are higher than ever, the payoff is worth every twist and turn along the way.

The Whispering Night is an unforgettable conclusion to a series that has captivated readers with its compelling characters, intricate plotting, and emotional depth. Susan Dennard has crafted a stunning finale that is equal parts heart-wrenching and exhilarating, leaving readers with a sense of both closure and longing for more. For fans of the series, it’s a perfect, bittersweet send-off. For those new to the world of Luminaries, The Whispering Night offers an irresistible invitation to dive into a world filled with magic, mystery, and heart.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the #gifted copy of this audiobook.

“That’s why we’re called the Luminaries, Winnie: we are lanterns the forest can never snuff out.”

Summary: As this is the third and final book in the series to avoid spoilers, we're just sharing promotional description: The forest is more dangerous than ever as secrets are revealed in this highly-anticipated, pulse-pounding, and swoon-worthy conclusion to the bestselling Luminaries trilogy.

My thoughts: I have absolutely loved the twists and turns of this series and watching Winne grow along the way. She was bold from the start, but truly started to feel comfortable in her confidence in this book. The tension from the new and old foes drove this last book of the trilogy, and I struggled to put this one down. The conspiracies continue to grow, the action doesn't slow down, and the end truly brings a wonderful wrap-up to this series.

Per usual, Caitlin Davies did an incredible job bringing this story to life. As she is the narrator for the first two books, I highly recommend the audiobook version of this series.

Read if you like:
🐺 Magical Creatures
🌃 Urban Fantasy
🔎Conspiracies
🥰Best Friends Reunited

This was such a great conclusion to the trilogy. Normal I feel let down about certain things when a series comes to a conclusion, but Dennard delivered a fun, satisfying conclusion.

This one just didn't live up to the rest of the series, unfortunately. I ended up enjoying it still, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as the rest. I'm still so glad that I got the chance to read it and I'm definitely looking forward to more from Susan Dennard. I feel there was a lot that was just too convenient and didn't make sense to me.

More secrets and more lies and she tries to track down the truth as to what happens to her father. I’ve enjoyed this entire series, and the narrators did a great job with this book

This was a great ending to a solid series that I enjoyed very much! The Whispering Night is absolutely action packed and the narration was excellent and kept up that high energy, high stakes feel. The romance is there but it doesn't overshadow the plot, which is nice. I love that we get to see Winnie grow into her own and that we finally get answers for questions that were roaming around my brain since book 1! Highly suggest this series and would've gobbled it up as a teen!

CW: Death, grief, gore.

A big thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this entire series. The performance was perfect in this one, as always. I love the setting, the protagonist, and the story. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I got to listen to this one!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received a eARC audio for my honest opinion.

I was scared that this book wouldn’t live up to the first two but wow I was wrong. I loved it so much, the world of the Luminaries in this book will not leave you wondering and having questions that were not answered. It has a lot of action-packed scenes, romance, character growth and so much more to it. I loved that we got to see an end to the dangerous Diana’s but I feel like the author left it off in a good place so if she wanted to she could write more books with new and old characters in it.

This book picks up right where book two left off and it doesn’t slow down. I loved the action that happens in this book, the fast-paced, easy to read and understand but it’s the characters that really shine in this world. I loved getting to see Winnie at her best and even her worst, because I knew that she could come out of it even better and stronger. I loved seeing her character’s growth come to new heights and really become herself. Getting to see Winnie’s and Jay’s relationship take off and see their sweet moments together was swoon worthy. I loved getting to understand Erica's side more and seeing that she is not just some heartless character but she had her own reasons why she did what she did and I can understand them. I enjoyed the new characters that shined through this book as well, and getting to know the whole story behind Jenna, Grayson and Winnie’s dad.

I loved seeing the community come together at the end of the book, even with the differences that they all had. The fact that they were willing to understand that some nightmares are needed and not all are deadly was great. I still have questions about Diana's but I think I always will, unless we get more books… Spin off series maybe.

I received the audio for this book and I found the narrator did a great job with bringing the characters to life and I could picture everything that was happening in this book so clearly with the help of the narrator.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan for for the opportunity to review this book.

Although it won’t go down as one of my all-time favourite series, The Luminaries was a great choice for the Halloween season. It was short, easy to read, and compelling, and I really liked the creepy deadly-forest atmosphere.

❤️ Intriguing worldbuilding
❤️ Dark, creepy atmosphere++
❤️ Short, easy, and entertaining reads
❤️ Inclusion of monster trivia
❤️ Engaging action sequences
❌ Inconsistent pace
❌ Abusive use of onomatopoeias
❌ Too many repetitions and internal ramblings
❌ Obvious clues and predictable plot twists

Series trigger warnings: blood and gore, violence, injury detail, death and grief, abandonment, bullying, emotional abuse, murder, panic attacks, toxic friendship, classism, sexism, fire and fire injury, etc.

The Whispering Dark – 3.5⭐ round up to far (I rated the first two books 3.75⭐)
I have mixed feelings about this final book. The first 70% were sooo slow, and then *everything* happened all at once. Anyways, I loved the non-linear narrative and the inclusion of structure breaks (schedules, text messages, flashbacks, new POVs) and, of course, all the monster trivia. I also loved seeing all the intricate threads coming together for the resolution—although I have to admit I understood only half of it. I loved how the stakes weren’t centered on the FMC anymore, and the things-are-not-what-they-seem and wolf-in-sheep-clothing tropes. I also think the voice actor delivered a solid performance. However, the abusive use of internal monologues, arc phrases, repetitions, and onomatopoeias drove me totally nuts.

Tropes and themes to expect: badass bookworm FMC, guilt and trauma, looming threat, impossible task, second chances, things are not what they seem.

I enjoyed reading this series, but I think it would have worked better as a longer standalone novel (cutting out the repetitions and some plotlines that seemed unnecessary or that ended up unfinished).

A good conclusion of a wonderful series! Most of the big questions are answered in a satisfying way, and, above all, the story arch feels really complete which Is what I'm always looking for at the end of the series--it still leaves a bit of room open though if Dennard really wanted to continue on! The narration was just excellent!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for the advanced audiobook!
Narrator: Caitlin Davies
The Whispering Night is a great conclusion to the Luminaries trilogy.
It does, however, start off a bit slow (and Winnie is everso whiny, in my opinion), but the pace picks up about a third of the way through. You're quickly welcomed back into the Luminary and High School spectacle that is Winnie's life. As before, I really enjoyed the Nightmares and all of the lore that Winnie recounts to us. I'm happy to report that answers to previous mysteries/quandries are resolved here!
Caitlin Davies does a fantastic job of convincing the listener that Winnie is indeed a teenager. And because of her performance, TWN was a breeze to read.
Overall a great series for upper middle grade and high school, particularly if they love a creature feature!

The Whispering Night is the 3rd book in the Luminaries series, and as such you really need to read the previous books before jumping into this one, but for those that have been reading the series all along, this one definitely delivers. Picking up on Winnie Wednesday tale not too long after the events of the previous book (The Hunting Moon), Dennard takes everything we enjoyed about this fantastic world she’s created and turns it up to eleven. No spoilers, but the mysteries that have been plaguing us since the start finally get answers. Once again Caitlin Davies returns as narrator (love when a series keeps a consistent narrator the whole way through) and as always she does an excellent job. The only question I am left with is…when is this going to be made into a movie or streaming series? I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an advanced audio copy of The Whisper Night.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R10KZDB3VT4Z00/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Though this was my first dive into the world of the Luminaries, this will not be where I end my adventures. i do plan to go back and read books #1 and #2 in the series since this one captured me from the outset.

For those who have read the others in this series, I think you will be happy with how the story plays out. Winnie, Erica, and Jay are back at it and trying untangle the mystery with the Whisper, the Dianas and the Luminaries. The question of which side is the true enemy comes into question and everyone is a possible Diana working against the Luminaries.

There's romance, strained friendships, back-stabbing, and a bit of betrayal. Winnie uncovers clues about her missing father and wonders if anyone is who she thought they were.

As someone who accidently walked into this book without reading the first two, I can say I still understood most of what was going on. I got enough backstory to feel as though I knew what lead to these events but I will be reading the others to get the full picture. It as my fault for not realizing but I still enjoyed the characters, the conflict, and the way the the story plays out.

I'm sorry, but did this day conclusion? Uh, no. Unacceptable. Because we need a spin off series please and thanks.
I've loved this world and all the work Susan Dennard has put into it. I think it was a flawless conclusion, I honestly do. I also think this world hasn't finished with us and I look forward to what may come next.
I think the characters grew beautifully into their and really appreciated how they faced their own issues head on.
I would also like to say I figured out the crow early on but it was still such a delight to read how and why. I don't think I could've asked for a better nightmare world and the story that came from it.

This was a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy. The world is so unique, and I've truly enjoyed discovering more about it across all three books.

I loved seeing the characters continue to evolve, especially Winnie and her friendships. Her character arc is one of the highlights of the series—she’s deeply flawed, but that makes her journey all the more relatable and real. I really connected with her, as well as with her family dynamics which felt authentic.

The audiobook experience for The Whispering Night was perfect. I’ve listened to the first two books in audio format as well, and all three have been an enjoyable experience. The narrator is clear, expressive, and easy to listen to, bringing the story to life in a way that enhances the overall experience.

All in all, this series has been a real treat. The ending left a bit of a loose thread, which makes me hopeful for more books set in this world—there’s still so much to explore. It feels like we’ve only scratched the surface, and I’m excited to see where the story goes next!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sharing this audioARC with me for review.

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Overall I really loved this series, and this is a fitting conclusion to Winnie Wednesday's story. This installment was my least favorite of the three in the trilogy. I felt like the story was a bit scattered and the plot jumped around alot. Certain lines are repeated over and over again as Winnie tries to figure out what is going on in Hemlock Falls and save her loved ones. The pacing was inconsistent, and there were parts where I was super interested when things were action packed and fast paced and parts where my interest waned as the plot dragged.

As I listened to this on audio, I found this hard to follow at times when Winnie was reciting countdowns or timestamps different situations, that probably made more sense in print and didn't translate well to audio. The narrator was great and did a great job otherwise.

Again this is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy and I feel it wrapped things up nicely. This is a great series or YA readers as things don't get to graphic or gory when it comes to the fighting or the romance. This is a great mix of fantasy, romance, and mystery. There are great discussions about self-discovery, vulnerability, fitting in, friendship, and family. There is plenty of action to keep the reader interested and now that the series is finished you can read all three books with out waiting to find out what happens next.