This series has been so much fun! The Whispering Night is the final book in The Luminaries trilogy. We follow Winnie Wednesday who lives in Hemlock Falls.

Set in an urban fantasy, Hemlock Falls is surrounded by woods that at nightfall is shrouded in a mist that bring life to nightmares. Ranging from werewolves to willow-wisp, to sirens, etc. on the 16th birthday, the teens of Hemlock Falls can enter into what is known as the Hunter’s Trials. A set of three deadly trials where teens are sent into the forest to fight these nightmares and their way through the night until the mist disappears and so do the nightmares.

4 years prior to Winnie’s 16th birthday, her dad was found to be a Diana. A witch that goes against the Luninaries belief system. Leaving his family and leaving them to deal with the shame and pain in his wake. Desperate to free her family of such judgement, Winnie enters herself into the Hunter’s Trials. While she makes her way through the trials, she uncovers more and more secrets of the community in which she belongs to.

I have fully enjoyed this series so much! I thought it was a lot of fun, and had some very ya horror elements. This series has made me intrigued by Susan’s other series and her upcoming series!

For those that need star rating, I’d give it a 4 🌟. I’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler free as I can.

The third and final book in The Luminaries trilogy is out (published on Nov. 19th) and of course I have already read it. I loved as much as I did the other too. This was the finale that I was hoping for. All my questions were answered and I was very satisfied with the ending.

In this book we learn more about the world and its lore and we get answers to questions that we had from the beginning. It is also more fast paced and action packed than the previous one. I loved our main characters even more and we see how they have grown as characters.

The Whispering Night is a captivating read for fans of young adult fantasy, particularly those who enjoy stories about loyalty, and the complexities of family relationships, as well as the thrill of magic, secret societies, and forbidden love.

The final book in The Illuminaries trilogy rounded this fantastic series off perfectly. This is that rare trilogy with no tricky middle book or disappointing ending, every book was a solid 5 stars for me.

I absolutely love the world of Hemlock Falls. This tight-knit community with the various clans and their differing skills and styles really had me gripped.

Winnie has been through a lot in a really short space of time, and the third book picks up immediately following the events of the second. Winnie is deep into the mystery now and there’s no way out but through as she works to figure out what happened to her father, and protect her family and friends.

We get a bit more romance in this book (ugh, Jay) and it is really lovely, but also not Winnie’s main driver, which I love.

Without giving anything away, this book wrapped up the plot beautifully. It was a very satisfying ending.

Susan Dennard has mentioned that she leaves herself little elements that could potentially become spin-off’s and I am holding onto the hope that there is some sort of spin-off to this series because I would love to see more of the world of The Illuminaries!

Forced to juggle a near-impossible search for Jenna Thursday's source in-between the mystery of her father's disappearance and keeping the Luminary eyes off her back, Winnie Wednesday is thrust into more and more perilous situations when secrets are revealed, hearts are betrayed and the people she loves are put in danger. This is a thrilling conclusion to the trilogy (even though it does leave some questions hanging...) that will leave fans satisfied.

The final book, and we see wedn on finding all the answers she's been seeking.
This final book was everything it needed to be. A satisfying ending!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a way to end what has been such an enjoyable series! I am sad to see it finish but I have adored every second of it. Watching Winnie on her journey of self discovery has been such a joy. She's such a fun character and watching her bloom has been an enjoyable experience. She stays true to herself, even when the people around her haven't which is a trait that I really appreciated. It has been a pleasure seeing her learn and grow throughout the trilogy.

The worldbuilding is one of my favourite parts of this series and each book has built on the last in an incredible way. I especially appreciated how realistic the nightmares came across from just their descriptions.

This book kept my attention from beginning to end, even parts that were slower in pace still left me wondering where the story was going to go. I really liked how this book tied everything up whilst also being full of intrigue to the very last page.

I've enjoyed all of the books in this YA urban fantasy trilogy - they are quick and easy reads with great spooky autumn vibes and slow burn romance. If the TV shows Teen Wolf and Grimm had a baby, it would be this.

🌲 YA spooky fantasy
🍁 Monster hunting teenagers
🍂 M/F romance
🍄 last in a trilogy

The series follows Winnie Wednesday who is a monster hunting teenager (aka Luminary) as she tries to protect her town of Hemlock Falls.

I liked Winnie's character development over the course of the book and her slow burn friends to lovers romance with Jay, her old best friend, was really good too. And when I say slow burn, I mean slow burn. Jay was one of the best bits of the book for me!

Blurb
The story follows Winnie Wednesday, a girl who lives in a town with a forest haunted by monsters. As a result they are all trained at a young age to fight and kill these monsters as hunters. The people who live in this town are called Luminaries and are divided into seven "families", each with a different purpose and with a surname for a different day of the week.
Winnie's father was a witch (called Dianas), the mortal enemy of the Luminaries, and when he was exposed four years ago, he fled and Winnie, her brother, and her mother were left behind and ostracised from Luminary society. Winnie is determined to change this by becoming a hunter so her family can be accepted again.
But with a deadly monsters, a werewolf walking amongst them, and Dianas on the loose, things are not as simple as they seem.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this conclusion to the series. Unfortunately, the pacing was a bit dragging at the start, and because of that, I was not hooked to the pages as I was for the other books in the series.
If you liked this series, you would really appreciate this conclusion.

It had been a while since I read the previous two books so I devoured all three in just a few days!

The concept of these books was gripping and unique, with action, intrigue, and a slow-burn romance that teased us throughout. I adored Winnie's determination to discover what had happened to her father, even when nearly everyone around her had judged him guilty. This last book is a massive journey of discovery and development for her.

The only thing I struggled with was the 3rd person, present-tense method of storytelling, and some of the other points of view. I did at times find myself drifting away during certain parts which didn't feel entirely necessary for the story. This is just a pet peeve of mine, however, and in no way ruined the overall quality of the book.

Equal parts young adult, paranormal and fantasy, this book was an adrenaline-filled adventure and a great conclusion to the series.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

What a satisfying conclusion (but I wouldn't mind returning to this world). Susan Dennard managed to tie up all the loose endings we gathered up through the 3 books, and still give us some interesting plot twists! I just wish we had a recap of previous books and/or character list to make it easier to rembember all the happenings in ths previous books.

4.5 stars

To summarise my feelings on The Whispering Night, it didn’t quite live up to the fun of book one, but it was nowhere near as bad as book two. TWN had a cohesive plot and the stakes were elevated back to their original heights. The writing and characterisation of teenagers remained mail-bitingly cringe at times, and one of the main characters was practically written out, but I enjoyed that other character bonds/relationships were prioritised.
Overall, this is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and all of the questions sprinkled throughout were answered. I’m glad I finished the trilogy, but I’m equally as glad it’s over.

Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.

Susan Dennard has done it again with the third instalment of her Luminaries series. I can't get enough of Winnie's story and find this dark YA series compelling and well-crafted, with twist upon twist woven in that you don't see coming, plenty of danger, and at the heart of it a clever, brave, and determined teenage girl. It can be hard to forget that Winnie is in her teens as she faces off against witches, luminaries, and monsters, all while unravelling the dangerous secrets of her town and the forest of mist and monsters. She's independent and bold, but we do see her relying more on others in this story and finding help in unexpected places. The details of this series are intricate and I fell in love with the story Dennard is weaving after the very first book but it's a story that keeps on bringing more to the table and I can't recommend it enough!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

The Whispering Night is a pulse-pounding and satisfying ending. As ever the illustrations of monsters and creatures is a feature I absolutely love the inclusion of and the end made me smile so so much. In terms of the actual plot, this moves along nicely with new peril, magic, creatures of the night and mystery. How the whole trilogy is relevant and linked shows great writing skills. The writing also creates a unique atmosphere - these books just have their own feel to them - kind of cozy yet terrifying. Highly recommend this series especially for YA readers as I know this would have been my Twilight as a young reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

*Actual rating is 4.5*

I love this series and The Whispering Night gave it a satisfying ending. It has been such a wonderful thing to follow Winnie’s journey from a timid outcast to a badass and loyal Wednesday bear. In this book there were times where I wanted to applaud her actions, because I was so proud of her. But apart from Winnie being a great character, as well as there being a wonderfully diverse cast of supporting characters, the dark atmosphere and the nightmares kept the story going and the pages turning. There was danger, romance and so many twists. While the pacing dragged a bit at places for me, it was overall a really enjoyable read and one I will return to re-read in the future.

WOW what a brilliant conclusion to the series!

I'd been totally hooked following this hauntingly atmospheric series so far, and this book really brought everything together that I loved then ramped it up some more!

I was totally captivated seeing where this story was going to go. Hooked on Winnie's story as she investigated her father's disappearance, Jennas death, Diana's, Jay's curse and the nightmares in the wood.

There wasn't anything I didn't love about the conclusion in the series. Lots of extra plot twists and a brilliant wrap up that answered all the big questions of the series.

I loved the darkness and fantasy aspects of this book, the characters and the friendships of the three.

This is a brilliant read, and one I'll be thinking about for a long time yet.

I adored the other books in the series so I was ready to be blown away by this and I 100% was! It felt like a fantastic way to end and loved how everything came together at the end.

A fantastic finale to a stellar trilogy! The pace picks up dramatically in the second half, delivering plenty of action and long-awaited answers to questions about the Whisperer, Winnie’s dad, and Erica’s sister. It’s a lot to take in, but the story stays compelling throughout.

I enjoyed the focus on Winnie and Erica’s dynamic, though I did miss seeing more of her other friends. Overall, this was my favorite book in the series—immersive, thrilling, and packed with a satisfying conclusion. Perfect for fans of suburban fantasy and action-packed endings!

The Whispering Night is the third and final book in The Luminaries series. In this novel, everything seems to be going well for Winnie Wednesday. She has her friends, Erica and Jay by her side, and the Nightmare Festival to look forward to. That is until some uninvited guests change everything. Like her previous books, Dennard manages to build suspense and keep the reader on the edge of their seat in this grand finale.

I think that what I appreciated most about this book was the closure that it afforded. I’m always nervous to start a series because I know that so many of them are left open for spin-offs, get discontinued or simply don’t conclude properly. Thankfully, this book doesn’t suffer from any of these problems. As readers, we are left with many questions from the other two books in the series and I think that these mysteries are solved in a satisfying way. The stakes are also high enough that, aside from the personal dilemmas, there is enough driving the plot to its conclusion. Whilst there may have been too many moving parts to keep in mind at some points, these plot points certainly keep you reading.

Although this isn’t my favourite gothic/fantasy series, I think that it will appeal to a lot of different readers. It’s unique and dark enough to intrigue people who like dark fantasies (like me) but also fun enough that it doesn’t alienate other fantasy readers. If you like small towns with secrets, monsters and ancient orders this is definitely for you. And now that the series is completed, you can binge read it all at once!

I was excited for this book as I’ve really been enjoying the Luminaries series, but it disappointed me a little bit. I still enjoyed it enough, but it didn’t have quite the same feel as the others. There wasn’t quite enough of the humour that I loved from those books, so I didn’t fall into it in the same way.

Other than that, it was a really good conclusion. I was a little confused towards the end. It was hard to work out exactly what everything meant, though, I think it was supposed to be that way. I enjoyed how all the plot points came together to reveal the conclusion.

I also just really enjoy the lore in these books. It’s obvious that the author really sat down and thought about all the different creatures and what she wants them to be.

I would happily read more of these books even about different characters!

As someone who has just binged the previous books in the Luminaries trilogy, the final book truly didn't disappoint! In fact, I feel like each book has got better in terms of both the writing and plot, which is a real treat for someone used to a bit of a downgrade in quality with multiple books series I've read.

Winnie was a great MC to follow and as other reviewers have mentioned, the story wraps up nicely but also leaves the door open for future stories to come from this world - which is very exciting!

Thank you so much to Daphne Press and NetGalley for this e-arc.