An interesting concept, I enjoyed this book, I didn’t love it,
I may be considerably outside the YA bracket these days, but when it’s well written I think YA is for everybody, this book didn’t really excite me or grip me unfortunately which is a shame because the premise is interesting, the town and its inhabitants have huge potential and the tasks sounded interesting.

I’m not sure I’ll be reading any more of the series, but the basis for a great story is in this book somewhere.

A fun, fast paced, supernatural interesting book. Found it difficult to put down3! There was monsters and romance and short chapters. I would definitely recommend

Oh, The Luminaries was a wild ride! Lurking beneath that gorgeous cover is a whole host of deliciously deadly supernatural goodness. Think Chilling Adventures of Sabrina with a hint of Hunger Games - protagonist Winnie Wednesday faces danger on every page.

Susan Dennard has crafted a dark yet alluring world, full of intrigue. Action packed and thrillingly exciting, there's never a dull moment in Hemlock Falls. With it's nightmarish creatures, ancient order of monster hunters and complicated family dynamics, there's a lot to learn and a lot to unpick amongst all that monster slaying!

With a vast cast of characters, it was interesting to see which role each played within The Luminaries, I enjoyed learning about the different clans. As usual, the highest order members were utterly frustrating. But Winnie quickly has you on side, outcast yet badass, you can't help but root for her!

The reletionship between Winnie and Jay brings a little light to the book's overall darkness, like most YA couples, they're cute but I must admit I'm far more intrigued by the whole "thing" with Winnie's Father... I have a feeling that Dennard has a LOT more in store for The Luminaries and I, for one, am here for it!! 🌙✨

LOVED LOVED LOVED this! Learning about all the different groups, the nightmares, I loved everything about this book. Possibly one of my favourite of the year and Susan Dannards writing as always is amazing and effortless. I can't wait to see this world expand further and to explore all the plot points not resolved in the first book!

Winnie Wednesday is living the life of an outcast, ever since her father was proclaimed a traitor four years earlier. Now, she's sick and tired of being ignored and bullied by the others in her town, and watching her mother struggle - and decides to enter the Hunter Trials to claim back the respect her family deserve. But when Winnie enters the forest, where every night, Nightmare creatures appear to threaten humans and are killed by Winnie's townspeople called The Luminaries - she finds out that while hunting is in her blood, it's also a terrifying thing to do and maybe she's not as good as he thought.

This was a fun YA urban fantasy and once you can get past every character being named after a day of the week, I quite enjoyed the story that had a nice mystery/threat running through it as well as lots of action scenes and horrific moments with the Nightmares. I think this one falls into the YA category a lot more than Susan Dennard's The Witchland books (which I think straddle that line between YA and adult) but I still enjoyed it even though I was thinking of all the characters as something straight out of Riverdale, haha.

The pacing of the story was good, and I felt swept up in the story, especially the last half or so and I appreciated Winnie's growing friendship with Fatima and the twins, while her crush on Jay grew even bigger. I do think some things are really obvious in the story and was surprised they weren't revealed but I'm looking forward to book two to see where this all goes.

The best part of The Luminaries is the whimsey that goes along with this story. From alliterated names (“Winnie Wednesday”) to exciting costuming to fascinating descriptions of monsters, Winnie’s town seems like exactly where I do to want to live, but I’m incredibly glad I got to read about her life there. This was a very fun version of a YA competition story in a mystical world that examines culture, community, and belonging in an incredibly compelling way.

The Luminaries left me with such a book hangover! It was so great that for days after I finished, I kept going to pick it back up before remembering that I'd already got to the end. I am SO looking forward to book two.

Winnie Wednesday's life dream is to join the Luminaries and spend her nights destroying nightmarish monsters. But Winnie and her family have been shunned as traitors ever since her father betrayed Hemlock Falls, which means no training, no support, and no easy access to the hunter trials. If she's going to pass the trials and become a Luminary, she'll have to contend with more than monsters - an even bigger challenge than she expects given the new monster stalking the forest that only she has seen. Can she fulfil her dream, redeem her family and convince everyone that she's not making up the most deadly monster Hemlock Falls has ever seen, all while fighting for her life?

I've been a long-time subscriber to Dennard's newsletter for her brilliant writing advice, but this is actually the first novel of hers that I've read (a few of the others have been waiting very patiently in the tbr pile on my kindle...) I'm absolutely going to have to rectify that this year because I loved The Luminaries so much! It was packed full of brilliant world building, non-stop action, tension and really high stakes. It also had brilliant characters who were flawed and made mistakes, with plenty of secrets still left to uncover in the next book.

My Netgalley file was corrupted and kept skipping pages but I was so invested in what I had read that I went and bought the ebook so that I could keep reading.

Although I liked the overall ideas in this, with fantastical and dangerous competitions in a town steeped in ancient family feuds, I found the world building a bit lacking for me. It's all just a bit insubstantial, with a million different types of mythical beings thrown into one large forest and confusingly I'm still not sure why. The characters are all a bit generic too, with a heroine who 'isn't like other girls' and a whiny, broody love interest. And no top of all that nothing really happens plot wise beyond what you already know after reading the synopsis. There's no surprises, no suspense and therefore I had no real interest.

Lacking in substance, this really needed some attention to detail and character development to make it stand out more in the saturated YA fantasy market.

Part of me wishes to say this book was one of the best I've read, but I just can't. It's sad, because I did love the premise, the whole hunting nightmares, the lore - which, besides a few creatures, is mostly Celtic creatures - but it was just too. Effing. Slow.
Not only slow, it was repetitive at times, many times, especially when it came to Winnie's time as an outcast and how she felt over the same topic. Rather than a YA, The Luminaries felt more like an introspective read, one of growth, which makes sense, only if paired with a solid and actually moving-forward plot.
Winnie was delightful, a bit on the angsty side, yet totally understandable. She did in fact grow by the end of the book, a change that one can witness throughout the book but still mostly happens toward the end, where the story finally picks up - I did say that growth is usually paired with the way the plot moves along. She's your usual awkward teenager, not quite the usual YA heroine, since she's more like a damsel in distress at times and is the first one to recognize it. That's another aspect I liked about her, besides her love and loyalty toward her family.
As for other characters, the only other other character that's mentioned in the blurb is Jay. Now, you get little to nothing about Jay, and I dare say the blurb is a bit misleading, but I'll let y'all get your own idea. There's actually nothing much to say about him… yet. He's there, doesn't do much, but I expect a twist about him.
About the twists… I guess that, while they're so obvious (although not yet confirmed but again, extremely obvious) they are what got me in the end. They're what make me curious about the sequel and make me crave answers. I really just hope the next book's pace will pick up, I don't know whether I'd be able to bear such slowness again.

A really unique world, with the fascinating concept of different places on the globe becoming populated with a wide variety of unique monsters. I liked that the focus wasn't on the romantic elements, overall a fab book.

“All around the world, the Luminaries live near fourteen sleeping spirits. Each night, when the spirits dream, their nightmares come to life. And each night, the Luminary hunters guard the world against those nightmares, one clan for every day of the week.”

My thanks to Daphne Press for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Luminaries’ by Susan Dennard.

Hemlock Falls is different to other towns. It isn’t found on any map and there’s no phone signal. Worse though is that at night the forest outside town might just kill you….Creepy!

The protagonist of this novel is Winifred (Winnie) Wednesday, who is approaching her 16th birthday. She wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, an ancient order that protects Hemlock Falls from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night. There are groups of Luminaries throughout the world protecting humanity.

However, four years ago Winnie’s father was exposed as a witch and a spy for the Dianas, the Luminaries’ ancient enemy. He ran off but Winnie and her family were left behind and have been shunned ever since. In order to prove herself loyal and restore her family’s good name, Winnie is planning to take the deadly Luminary hunter trials starting on her 16th birthday.

She enlists the aid of the town’s resident bad boy and her former best friend, Jay Friday, to help her train. Together they discover a different kind of danger lurking in the woods, one that no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I was drawn initially by the striking cover of this YA paranormal fantasy and its premise sounded quite promising. However, I did feel that it read quite young. Perfect for teens in the age range of Winnie and her friends though less appealing to readers who have left sighing wistfully over whether a cute boy will ever notice them long in the past.

I found the story itself engaging with some intriguing aspects. I was eager for more information about these pockets of nightmare creatures and how the Dianas came to be considered the enemy. Perhaps the latter is because I tend to be more on the side of the witches. However, as ‘The Luminaries’ is the first in a series it could be that the author will reveal more in due course.

Aside from that stunning cover by Micaela Alcaino, the book has a few illustrations by Kirby Rosanes depicting creatures from the Luminary compendium.

Overall, I quite enjoyed ‘The Luminaries’ and was amused to read in the Acknowledgements that Susan Dennard had drawn on the hive mind of her fans (LumiNerds) using Twitter polls to determine aspects of the plot. It’s certainly an unusual technique.

The novel ended fairly abruptly, though this paves the way for Book 2, ‘The Hunting Moon’, due to be published in November. I plan to read it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I jumped at the chance to read this book, but it did take a lot to get into at first and I have lots of questions now I have finished! Will there be a sequel? Loved the romantic elements, and the style of writing did drew me in once I got going. Will definitely read more from this author

I had so much fun reading this YA paranormal Fantasy! It is the first book in a new series, and while it felt mostly like a foundation for the future installments (the ending left me with more questions than answers) it had a lot of fun elements and was overall an enjoyable read!

Paranormal fantasy usually isn’t my favorite, but I liked that this book serves a unique take on paranormal beings. That being said, I found it difficult to invest myself in the story or characters. My main issue was that the book doesn’t successfully portray the high stakes and the dark atmosphere of the forest surrounding Hemlock Falls.

Deaths are described as being everyday business, and losses are glossed over by Winnie and all the other characters. While I acknowledge that this is YA, I’d have found this much more successful if it had delved a little more into the fear and grief, as the indifference of the characters felt unrealistic, and made it hard for me to take the dangers seriously.

One of the elements I enjoyed most was the (very) subtle hint of romance. I highly appreciated that it wasn’t rushed at all, and I’m definitely interested in picking up the sequels to see how it develops and how the unresolved plot points are solved.

In short, this wasn’t a mind blowing read, but I’d recommend it to anyone who’s looking for something short and fun with a hint of mystery!

Being a huge Leigh Bardugo fan, when I saw her quote on the front of this book, I knew I had to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed. From the very first page, I could tell that The Luminaries was the start of what promises to be a very exciting new YA fantasy series.

The prologue made my spine tingle and the hairs on my arm stand up, and whilst the rest of the book was not as dark as this made me imagine it would be, The Luminaries was the perfect escapism from a day where my health saw me miserable, in pain and stuck in bed. Winnie’s experiences as she fights to become a Luminary hunter were a wonderful distraction from the real world. The world that Susan Dennard has created is rich with detail and I absolutely loved the pages from the Luminary compendium, complete with illustrations, that are included – a fully illustrated compendium would make a wonderful companion book to this series (hint, hint!) The inhabitants of Hemlock Falls make up a varied and well developed cast of characters, and I soon had my favourites among them. I very quickly became engrossed in their world and it was a real wrench when I had to leave it at the end of the book.

I finished The Luminaries with more questions than answers. I have a few suspicions about these though and I cannot wait until the next book so I can see if I am right about any of them.

In this book we follow Winnie on her quest to become a hunter of nightmares. Every night the forest in Hemlock Falls turns into a deadly trap. Nightmares spawn here, and the hunters of an ancient order called the Luminaries are tasked with protecting Hemlock Falls, and the rest of the world, from these terrible creatures.

All Winnie wants is to become one of them, a task easier said than done after her father was deemed a traitor and the whole family was branded as outcast because of it. But Winnie won’t give up her dream and decides to undergo the hunter trials despite what everyone else thinks of her.

So, this book has some really great parts, and some less great parts. I think the core of the story is great, and the premise and the idea here was super interesting. These nightmares in the woods and this hidden away town and the order. There were so many great things that made me interested in the story. And I think Winnie was a good character to tell this story.

The worldbuilding is good, and it’s incorporated in the story in such a way that it doesn’t feel like worldbuilding. It comes naturally and I really like that. The writing is also good and flows really well (even if I wish there’d been fewer teeth clicking). Dialogue seems natural and the characters are fairly well-developed.

I do think there’s a lot of unnecessary things going on here, though. It’s a bit slow. And the focus is always on Winnie’s feelings, and it gets a bit repetitive after a while. There are so many interesting things going on here that I’d like the focus to be on. Like the lore of this place, the history, the “magic school” and the monsters and the monster hunting. That’s the things I want to read about, not the same old thoughts and feelings that Winnie has over and over again.

But, this is a good book, and the writing is solid, and the world is well-developed and the characters too.

I do, however, feel like there were too many unresolved things in the end. It felt rushed and unfinished. When I really started to get into the book and didn’t want to put it down, I realized I was at over 90% in. At that point I realized I’d not be satisfied with the ending, and I was right. When the book started to take off, it was over, and there weren’t enough answers to all the questions and hints that had been planted. Sure, there will be a sequel, but personally, I want to feel satisfied after reading a book no matter if it’s the first in a series. I want to feel like the main threads in the book has been tied up. I don’t want to be left feeling like a massive question mark and flipping through the final pages thinking I must have missed something.

For me, this book is a solid 3.5 stars. It had the potential of a 5-star book, but ultimately fell a bit short due to pacing and lack of payoff in the end. I’ll roundup to 4 stars because I’m feeling nice today and I did enjoy reading this book for the most part.

"Hemlock Falls isn’t like other towns. You won’t find it on a map, your phone won’t work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you…"

Hemlock Falls is home to the Luminaries an ancient order who protect everyone from nightmares and monsters. On Winnie Wednesday's 16th birthday she plans to become a Luminary and restore her family's good name. She just has to survive the three trials ... easy, right?!

I found this book quite slow to start with but realised at the end that it had been laying crumbs throughout the book which sets the story up for the sequel which is equal parts annoying and clever as I thought I had guessed who the werewolf was and would find out at the end of the book but NO I will have to wait until The Hunting Moon comes out!

Looking forward to reading more of the authors books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for the ARC

Okay, so I liked the idea and the concept for the story but it fell a little flat for me. For the first 30% or so, I found it to be extremely slow and uneventful. There were no stakes and I did not care for the characters and I really wanted to DNF it.

Then around half way through it picked up and became entertaining. While still not being fully captivated by the story or connected to Winnie, I did feel like I could root for her. I also feel like this book would fall in the younger side of YA, while for some reason I had the impression it would be more mature.

That being said, I'm not sure if I will continue with the series but, if I do, it will entirely be for Jay.

ENGLISH REVIEW

I loved this book. It's a dark and gripping YA fantasy. We have enough crumbs of mystery scattered throughout this book to make you want to read the second book. All the characters also felt very authentic, built perfectly for this book. I really liked the main character Winnie, he struggled with skills and recognizes that he needs training. This story has been able to entertain me, grab me and keep me glued to the pages, now I can't wait for the second book to come out, especially after the ending of the first book! I expect great things! You absolutely must read it!

ITALIAN REVIEW
Ho adorato questo libro. È una fantasy YA oscuro e avvincente. In questo libro abbiamo abbastanza briciole di mistero sparse dappertutto per farti venire voglia di leggere il secondo libro. Tutti i personaggi inoltre sembravano davvero autentici, costruiti perfettamente per questo libro. Mi è piaciuto molto il personaggio principale Winnie, ha lottato con le abilità e riconosce di aver bisogno di allenamento. Questa storia mi ha saputo intrattenere, prendermi e tenermi incollato alle pagine, ora non vedo l’ora che esca il secondo libro, sopratutto dopo il finale del primo libro! mi aspetto grandi cose! Dovete leggerlo assolutamente!

I don't think I can lament if a YA fantasy is a YA fantasy but I read a lot of YA loving them. I found the world building fascinating even there's a lot of classic tropes like the secret society hunting the monsters, the hidden small town, the underdog who could become the Chosen.
I think I would have loved this book some years ago, when I was reading my first fantasy books. i would have loved Winnie and felt for her. Me in 2023 found this book entertaining but wasn't a huge fan of Winnie, even if my inner teenage was reminding me what it was being a teenager.
That said I had fun, loved the monsters and think there's a lot of potential in this trilogy. I'm curious about the next books and what will happen.
My main issue was the pace: it's very slow burning and a faster paced would have surely improved the storytelling.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

From the blurb:
Hemlock Falls isn’t like other towns. You won’t find it on a map, your phone won’t work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you…

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town―and the rest of humanity―from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night. Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal―and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie must enlist the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

I absolutely loved this book. It is a dark and gripping YA fantasy. The prose is written in present tense third person which at times feels distant from the characters but kept me turning page after page. I enjoyed the depictions of the nightmares throughout with the pictures of the nightmare compendium. The teenagers in this book read like teenagers and acted their age (except for the monster killing of course). There are just enough mystery breadcrumbs sprinkled throughout to make reading the second book appealing. I also enjoyed that as a main character Winnie wasn’t perfect, she struggled with the abilities and acknowledges that she needs training. Nothing comes particularly easy for her to the point she fails to recognise her own strength.