The Whispering Night is the final book in The Luminaries trilogy, and it was the finale I needed it to be. This book was everything I hoped for and more. It was an absolutely satisfying conclusion while still leaving the door cracked for future spin offs. I loved that Dennard managed to still keep readers on their toes while dropping mind blowing revelation after mind blowing revelation. I’m impressed by the number of twists and turns this book took while still being satisfying. The plot pacing will have you dreading having to put the book down because it’s so fast and amped up with action. The tension is palpable and will leave you on the edge of your seat hoping the characters survive. I read this via ebook and audiobook, and I can’t recommend the audio enough. Caitlin Davies was amazing in her role. You could easily feel Winnie’s emotions in Davies’s narration from her excitement to panic. It was an amazing performance worthy of this series conclusion.

Great conclusion to the trilogy! Gets fully going by 50% and does Not Stop! Satisfying wrap ups of all the important things while leaving a bit open :)

This was a really great conclusion to the trilogy. I did find each book became less interesting and more predictable as the series went on. That being said, it was still fun and interesting. I really love her writing style and how each book we get more and more information and the character arcs are really complex.

With The Whispering Night, it’s hard to look at it as a separate book, because the entire focus builds from events and revelations from the prior books. It moves at a blistering pace, dropping readers in head first, and refreshing yourself on the prior books before you start isn’t a bad idea because there’s a lot going on!

The Whispering Night also picks up after some heavy revelations from book two, and it’s hard to feel optimistic about the future for Winnie, Jay, and the others we’ve come to know from Hemlock Falls. It’s clear that there are so many ways things could go horribly wrong. In fact, there are actually so many known and potential threats present, it’s enough to make you short circuit. And that seems to be happening to Winnie at times, because she has things coming at her from all sides, and it starts to feel like no place is safe. I was stressed out for her.

Now, the final book in a trilogy or series always presents challenges for authors. Many strive to tie up all the loose ends left from prior books to give the readers resolution. And there’s a lot of pressure to meet reader expectations based on their reception to the prior books in the series. I want to avoid spoilers, so I’ll just make a few notes.

There were some things I suspected. There were some things I wondered about. And there were some things I hoped to see resolved. The ending verified some suspicions, answered some lingering questions, and resolved some issues from the prior books.

However, Dennard was brave enough to leave some questions unanswered. Now, some may not like that, and that’s fair. Others may love it. What I noted was that Dennard left a teaser there, about the potential for more in the Luminaries universe, potentially in other parts of the world. Perhaps it will amount to nothing more than a way to invite readers to imagine what could happen, or perhaps that’s a solid hint that there’s more to come from Luminaries outside Hemlock Falls. I hope that’s the case, because I don’t feel ready to let go of this world.

There were a few plot points where I had to suspend disbelief, but I really only have one complaint about The Whispering Night. In the prior books, the forest was really a character. It was a commanding presence that affected the tone and tension within the stories. In The Whispering Night, circumstances keep us out of the forest for much of the book, and although we eventually get there, I did miss it in the first half. Still, this was entertaining and a satisfying resolution to a series I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. 4.25 stars.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This 3rd installment was just as exciting if not more exciting than the first two books. Dennard writes so vividly that I felt like I was right beside Winnie racing through the forest and battling the Nightmares with her. I enjoyed the rekindling of friendships and seeing the new friendships develop. Lots of questions are answered, BUT the last few lines makes me wonder could there be more??? We will be purchasing this book for our high school library.

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: secret societies, monster hunters, urban fantasy, paranormal

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Instagram as of 10/6 and will be posted to my review blog on 10/8.

This one picks up shortly after The Hunting Moon. Winnie and her family are officially Luminaries again (though her mom isn't allowed to hunt yet) and all the Luminary doors are open to Winnie and Darian. Despite this success, Winnie is pretty focused on figuring out what the Whisperer is and how to stop it. Thus far, only a handful of people really believe her, including Erica and Jay, who focus much more prominently in this book than in the previous ones. With their secrets shared between them, Winnie, Jay, and Erica work hard to figure out what is going on in Hemlock Falls and put a stop to it before the Whisperer destroys everything.

There are a lot of pieces to the big mystery that's been building since book 1. The basic questions being: What is the Whisperer and how is it stopped? And, where did Winnie's dad go and is her really a witch? If he isn't, who was the Diana four years ago? I actually really enjoyed how these puzzles played out in the book and how interconnected seemingly unrelated things turned out to be. The plot was particularly strong when it came to these things and I liked the twists and turns that happened.

Winnie's focus on the big picture and figuring it out with Jay and Erica did have her leaving her new friends--Fatima, Bretta, and Emma--a little ignored. I liked the other trio and wish we'd seen more of them in this book. As it is, Winnie spent most of her time with her 'old' friends and less time with her new ones, something she is rightly called out on. At the same time, while Winnie has some pretty big responsibilities on her shoulders, in some ways she felt much younger than in previous books, more like a middle schooler than a high schooler. It's particularly obvious when she's acting younger than her age when the rest of her peers are acting their age or older, so it definitely felt like a disconnect.

Another issue I had was that, in the first two books, Winnie wanted so badly to be a Luminary again but was also able to recognize the flaws in their society. It did create a bit of cognitive dissonance for her, and her family when they see it too, but I actually really appreciated a character in a secret society/culture recognizing the issues associated with it instead of just readily defending it at all costs. However, that awareness and critical thinking was completely missing from this book, to the point where I stopped several times throughout and wondered where that Winnie had gone. And there were definitely things in this book that should've triggered those thoughts/reactions in Winnie and her family. I wanted to see more come out of it and perhaps a bigger conversation about the Luminaries' blind spots, so it was disappointing to see those topics completely ignored.

Something I did like was getting to know more about the world of the Luminaries. In this book, something called the Nightmare Masquerade is taking place. This event brings Luminaries from across the world together for fun times and to showcase the strengths and innovations of the different families. Through this we get exposure to branches of the family from around the world. We also get a closer look at the Dianas (partly through the Masquerade and partly through Diana characters that we meet and get to know). I liked learning more about the global Luminaries, but I especially liked getting a more nuanced view of the Dianas. There are definitely Dianas who are terrible and up to no good, but we also get exposure to Dianas who quit or who genuinely believe in a more balanced view of things, which I appreciated.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I think the big mystery/puzzle was definitely a highlight of the book, but that characterization fell a little flat in some places. I will say that I did think this was a trilogy, and the summary still says it's the finale in the trilogy, but the book had an open ending that makes me feel like there will be more books, so I don't know what to make of that. If it is a trilogy, I'd have preferred something a little more closed for the ending.

This was such a fun conclusion the the Luminaries trilogy. Winnie has come a long way since the first book, and watching her grow anf flourish has been incredibly enjoyable. And telling off Jeremiah? Excellent!
Without giving anything away, the mystery of Winnie' s father, the fight with the Diana's and the conflict between Winnie and Erica are all tied up very satisfyingly.

My only frustration, was with Winnie's glasses. As a someone who has worn glasses since the age of 6, I have never experienced such frustrations as Winnie does! Are they just extremely ill fitting? Is she just that terribly klutzy (which doesn't track as she's not tripping over her own self all the time) Just... settle down about the glasses!

Thank you to Netgalley and TOR for the eARC.

I am so incredibly thankful that I have been able to read this series so early, every single book. I love it so much, especially as someone who took part in the OG choose your own adventure with Winnie and #UghJay on Twitter way back in 2019!!

This conclusion was such a ride, and there were so many points where I was cheering Winnie on! The lore was so put together and I just love this world in general.

I can’t wait to have a pretty book version to show off on my shelf, and this series will be one I recommend so much!

love this book, I love this series, it is one of my favorites and I will sing its praises. This book dropped us right back in the work of the Luminaries with Winnie and her friends. Winnie has grown so much as a character over the course of this trilogy, and I have really enjoyed it a lot, and the growth continued in this book. It’s always fantastic to see character growth, and for me it’s even more enjoyable when it is a YA character because they have so much promise and potential. Winnie certainly came into herself completely in this book. I loved how captivating and engaging this book was. I started it late one evening and reluctantly put it down only to sleep and work and picked it right back up the next day. I wish I would have been able to read it in one sitting, but I also didn’t want it to end because this is it, this is the final book. This book delivered everything that I was looking for in the course of this trilogy and wrapped things up nicely. The overarching plot lines between the books were finalized and all wrapped up nicely.

This is a trilogy you don’t want to miss. In this case I recommend reading them all in order because there is a lot of carry-over between each book and a lot of character growth you will want to witness. However, it’s three books and you really should do yourself a favor and read them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this earc

Okay, my friends. Don’t hate me for this one.
Let’s start with the fact that I really enjoyed the first two books and they really did made me believe in YA again. Like creepy forest and nightmares and hunters. All the spooky vibes I could ask for. Winnie also quickly became my favorite because of how imperfect she was. Every time she losses or breaks her glasses? Speaks to my soul lol.
But this book? Was very long. It’s a 100 pages longer than the first two and I could feel it. In the first two books I felt perfect balance of mystery, romance and friendship. In this one, 80% was mystery. And a lot of was repetition. I found myself putting the book down simply because the story wasn’t really going anywhere. The whole plot line with Jay being “part of the spirit” was kind very confusing. What did his song have anything to do with the spell? I don’t know. I feel like I still have too many weird questions I’ll never get answers to b

The ending did wrap everything up very nicely about how everyone needs to coexist in balance. But I wish we could see how the whole society got restructured overnight?

This was a great conclusion to the Luminaries trilogy. I loved being back with Winnie and co in Hemlock Falls.

Whispering Night is the final book in The Luminaries Series by Susan Dennard. Each cover of this series gets even darker and unique as we unravel what is happening in Hemlock Falls. In previous books, Winnie Wednesday's character sometimes felt younger than she was supposed to be, and her inner monologue reflected it. In this one, Winnie is confident, fearless, and a loyal Wednesday bear. One of the things readers will love most about this final book is we get answers to all the questions we had in this series. Who is the werewolf, who is the Dianas, what is their end goal, and where are these clues from her dad leading her? Whispering Night does not disappoint in the plot-twisting, epic ending, or final book category. With the Dianas, Luminaries, and monsters, this book is perfect for those who love urban fantasy.

This was such a good conclusion to the trilogy! I loved it! Winnie is absolutely one of my favorite new heroines, and I'm glad her story ended the way it did.

The Whispering Night
by Susan Dennard
Pub Date: Nov 19 2024

Winnie Wednesday’s future is looking bright. Hemlock Falls is no longer hunting the werewolf, she and Erica Thursday are tentative friends, and Winnie finally knows exactly where she stands with Jay Friday.

With everything finally on track, Winnie is looking forward to the Nightmare Masquerade, a week-long celebration of all things Luminary. But as Luminaries from across the world flock to the small town, uninvited guests also arrive. Winnie is confronted by a masked Diana and charged with an impossible task—one that threatens everything and everyone Winnie loves.

As Winnie fights to stop new enemies before time runs out, old mysteries won't stop intruding. Her missing father is somehow entangled with her search for hidden witches, and as Winnie digs deeper into the long-standing war between the Luminaries and the Dianas, she discovers rifts within her own family she never could have imagined.

What does loyalty mean when family and enemies look the same?

I am so sad as I sit here and write this review. I don’t want this series to end. I don’t want to not see these characters in different parts of their lives! I am so bummed to be saying goodbye to such a comfort series. Though, with The Luminaries series being my most reread EVER, I doubt I will ever really say goodbye to them. I mean, there could be more… (please)

This was definitely the most high intensity of the three books, with wrench after wrench thrown into the mix. With each step, Winnie is closer to uncovering the truth about the Dianas and the Luminaries, their complex history, and the casual members of society who aren’t who people think they are. There is more danger than ever before, but Winnie is done sitting on the sidelines.

Winnie is better than ever, becoming this whole self-actualized person, with incredible determination, loyalty and just sense of self. She has had such a great character arc. The friendships in this series are showcased in this book. I wondered if Winnie could ever come to terms with the betrayal she endured from friends that dropped her for years.

The ending of this book is absolutely everything!

This book was the perfect finale to this series. It has been a blast following along with Winnie Wednesdays story. Love the mystery and action along the way.

Finally!!! We get answers! I have enjoyed this whole series, but each previous book left me feeling frustrated at the lack of any sort of answers.
The Whispering Night is a whirlwind of action that I didn't want to put down. Lots of twists I didn't see coming (and a few I did).
Overall, this was a vert satisfying conclusion to the series. I don't want to give anything away, so go pick it up!!

Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy for review.

Thank you Torteen and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. An exciting conclusion! Winnie had learned who the werewolf and the Diana are. She’ll need their help to figure out whether or not her dad was really framed. She also knows there are more Diana’s in town, when she meets the Crow from the forest she’ll be blackmailed into helping her. After all they want the same thing. Winnie knows she can’t trust the Crow, so she’ll rely on her friends for help but when the two don’t trust each other can Winnie get them to work together? Can she find a way of stop the Crow but keep her friends safe? Also her search for her dad will have her exploring more about the Diana’s, can she do so without people finding out and trouble happening with her family again? An epic conclusion that you won’t want to put down! It’s fun to read about the WTF gang being back together! Secrets unfold as you read! I love Winnie’s determination and her love for her friends and family. Thrilling, witty, with plenty of cutesy moments! A strong ending to this captivating series!

It's hard to believe that the series is already at a close, overall, I've had a great time. I feel like Winnie failed to grow in this one and it seemed less lore based than the others, but it was still good.

Finally all the questions are answered and everything falls into place. Winnie Wednesday continues her fight against the Whisperer, and does everything she can to help her friends along the way. Dianas are finally revealed, and Winnie will stop at nothing to take them down.

I loved how this book wrapped everything up. It's a perfect trilogy filled with mystery, fantasy, and friendship. I'll definitely be reading it all again!