THE HUNTING MOON By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE HUNTING MOON By Susan DennardThe Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #2
Published by Tor Teen on 11/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 292
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.

The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.

Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that's killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.

On top of that, following her dad's convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.

Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.

As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary—and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the last book Winnie Wednesday is basically a local celebrity in Hemlock Falls. She’s known as the girl who jumped or the girl who got bitten. But Winnie doesn’t have time to think about that because the whisperer is still out there killing hunters, but everyone thinks it’s the werewolf and Winnie knows they’re wrong. She’s also dealing with the fact that her dad left her clues about what happened to him and things about the Dianas. Winnie is dealing with a lot but she doesn’t really have anyone she can trust except for Jay, even then she’s wondering if everything she did to become a luminary was worth it.

We’re back in Hemlock Falls and we follow Winnie try to adjust to everything happening around her. Winnie tries to put it past her that everyone seems to want to talk to her now because she has bigger issues to deal with. One of the lead hunters was recently killed and the people in Hemlock seem to think the werewolf did it but Winnie knows there’s something more dangerous out in the forest. Winnie also starts to find things her dad left behind and she needs someone she can trust so she confides in Jay. In this book we get a bit more history about Hemlock Falls and what it actually means to be a Luminary. I did like that we got to learn more about the Dianas but of course I wanted more I feel like we just got to the surface layer and there’s way more at stake than what we saw. The relationships in this book are great. We don’t see much of Winnie’s mom or Darian because they’re trying to make sure that they can keep from being outcasts again. Winnie’s friendships with Fatima, Bretta, and Emma really shine in this book, they’re there for Winnie and are like her support system. We also have Jay who is a romantic interest and he’s also a big support system. I love Jay, he’s making up for not being around the past four years but you can tell he’ll do anything to keep Winnie safe. The ending leaves you wanting more, because there’s more questions that have to be answered. We see Winnie discover that another character has ties to the Dianas and I’m ready to find out what they know.

The Hunting Moon, was a good sequel. This book had more investigating and I feel like because of Winnie’s new status she was able to do the investigating that she needed to do. I’m just looking forward to the next book to see what will happen next and to have more questions answered!

THE LUMINARIES By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE LUMINARIES By Susan DennardThe Luminaries by Susan Dennard
Series: The Luminaries #1
Published by Tor Teen on 11/1/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 291
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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 enlists 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.

Short and Sweet Review

Winnie Wednesday lives in Hemlock Falls, an interesting town you won’t find on the maps and where the forest surrounding the town is filled with nightmares. After Winnie’s dad was found doing spells and associating with witches, Winnie, her brother Darian, and her mom have been exiled by the town. Now that Winnie is 16 she’s allowed to partake in the hunter trials and she’s hoping that this will be the first step in restoring her family’s status. Unfortunately, Winnie learns pretty fast that the forest is filled with a new kind of nightmare that no one is prepared for.

Winnie Wednesday has been exiled for the past four years, and now she has the chance to make up for her father’s mistakes by entering the hunter trials which consists of three different tasks. Winnie goes to the first trial and she ends up seeing a new kind of nightmare in the forest that most of the other hunters don’t know about. They end up calling this nightmare the whisperer and it has the ability to kill other nightmares in its vicinity, on that first trial it ends up killing a banshee and Winnie gets the credit for it. Winnie knows she should come clean but she just rolls with it and she also knows that if the whisperer is what she’s going to be dealing with she needs some serious help. Winnie asks Jay Friday her ex to help tutor her in everything she needs to know about killing nightmares and staying alive in the forest.

This is a fun world. I like that we follow Winnie through each of her trials and she’s an unlikely hero. Winnie isn’t someone who should be traversing the forest but she is. She’s also one of the few people who knows about the whisperer and is trying to make the other hunters aware which is harder said than done. I like how close knit Winnie and her brother and mom are, we also get an insight on how hard it was for all of them to be exiled. I liked learning about the forest and that the nightmares only come out when the sun goes down and are gone are sunrise. The atmosphere is creepy and it’s just strange that they all live in this town surrounded by this forest and they seem fine with it. Anyway I wanted to learn more about Winnie’s dad and his affiliation with the Dianas which are the witches. I feel like more things will be answered in the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting more. I loved the short chapters and the pacing of the book. Winnie is a heroine who knows her strengths and she also knows that she shouldn’t be hunting nightmares but she’ll do it to keep people safe. I’m excited to see what will happen in the sequel!

STRANGE AND EVER AFTER By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

STRANGE AND EVER AFTER By Susan DennardStrange and Ever After by Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly #3
Published by HarperTeen on 7/22/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 405
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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It has been a tumultuous time for Eleanor Fitt since life as she knew it in Philadelphia came abruptly to an end. Although the Spirit-Hunters—Joseph, Jie, and Daniel—have helped her survive, Eleanor has lost just about everything.

And now, Jie is missing—taken by the evil necromancer Marcus. Eleanor is determined not only to get her back but to finally end this nightmare. To do so, she must navigate the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt amid the rising Dead, her unresolved feelings for Daniel, and her volatile relationships with Joseph and Oliver, her demon. And it won't be easy. Because Allison, her friend from Philadelphia, has tagged along, becoming strangely entangled in Eleanor's mission.

Short and Sweet Review

Eleanor and the remaining spirit hunters (Joseph and Daniel), and her demon are on their way to Egypt to follow Marcus who has also kidnapped Jie. Also joining this little group is Allison who came all the way from Philadelphia to find Eleanor. Anyway Eleanor is determined to stop Marcus once and for all.

I’m going to be honest, nothing in this book redeemed Eleanor for me. I thought after the second book that she was insufferable and that maybe just maybe she would be better in this final book, but I was wrong. Her dialogue was just awful she comes off as mean, selfish, and someone who won’t even listen to those around her. Eleanor did whatever she wanted to do and didn’t think about how her decisions would effect those around her. I don’t really know what happened during most of this book, it was boring and I would read and then not really care about what was happening because I just wanted it to be over.

Out of the trilogy this is the worst book. The ending wasn’t that good but I guess if you’ve read the first two books you might as well this book like I did just so you can have closure. Maybe this would have done better as a duology I feel like things could have been wrapped up nicely in two books.

A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY By Susan DennardA Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly #2
Published by HarperTeen on 7/23/13
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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With her brother dead and her mother insane, Eleanor Fitt is alone. Even the Spirit-Hunters—Joseph, Jie, and the handsome Daniel—have fled to Paris. So when Eleanor hears the vicious barking of hounds and sees haunting yellow eyes, she fears that the Dead, and the necromancer Marcus, are after her.

To escape, Eleanor boards a steamer bound for France. There she meets Oliver, a young man who claims to have known her brother. But Oliver harbors a dangerous secret involving necromancy and black magic that entices Eleanor beyond words. If she can resist him, she'll be fine. But when she arrives in Paris, she finds that the Dead have taken over, and there's a whole new evil lurking. And she is forced to make a deadly decision that will go against everything the Spirit-Hunters stand for.

In Paris, there's a price for this darkness strange and lovely, and it may have Eleanor paying with her life.

Short and Sweet Review

After her brother’s death and having to put her mother in a mental facility, Eleanor has nothing left for her in Philadelphia so she decides to leave for Paris and find the Spirit-hunters. On her way to Paris, Eleanor meets Oliver who claims to have known Elijah and he’ll begin teaching Eleanor necromancy and things that go against what the spirit hunters stand for.

This is my second time reading this book and I never made it to the third and final book, and after reading this book for the second time I know why. I found Eleanor to be insufferable. She meets Oliver which was Elijah’s demon and he soon becomes Eleanors because she needed help escaping hell hounds. Eleanor promises Oliver to practice her magic and necromancy so that she can free him but Eleanor is basically using him and it seems cruel because she can command him to do things that he doesn’t want to. Obviously Eleanor knows that the Spirit hunters would have a problem working with a demon so she tries to keep that hidden which doesn’t work out so well, eventually she feels alone because everyone feels betrayed by her. I didn’t feel bad for Eleanor she brought everything that happened in this book upon herself. Joseph tries to help Eleanor control her magic but she ignores him because she thinks she knows everything and she throws a lot of tantrums. I feel like Eleanors character development decreased in this book, she made it hard to read and hard to root for her. In Paris the spirit hunters are looking for someone who is able to control the dead and also they have Marcus in the back of their minds because he’s still around somewhere. I thought this book was just okay. The arguments Eleanor had with everyone made me roll my eyes and her whole attitude and approach in this book was trash for a lack of better words. I do plan on finishing this series but I will say this book was a let down compared to the first.

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY By Susan DennardSomething Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1
Published by HarperTeen on 7/24/12
Genres: Historical, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved.

So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Short and Sweet Review

Eleanor’s life is kind of falling apart, her family is running out of money, her brother is missing, and the dead are rising in Philadelphia. Eleanor goes to the Spirit-hunters, they were hired by the city to help stop the rising dead. Eleanor feels that they can help her find her brother because she feels that he’s in a certain kind of trouble only the spirit hunters can help with.

Well Eleanor is just trying to stay afloat, because her brother has been gone for a while and isn’t really helping with the family finances, Eleanors mother is trying to have her meet a wealthy suitor to marry. Which is where Clarence comes in, his family is pretty high in society and him and Eleanor go on a few outings but something is off with him and he knows somethings about Eleanor’s brother. After Eleanor’s brother doesn’t come home she goes to the spirit hunters which consists of Joseph, Jie, and Daniel. This trio is pretty busy but they do admit something weird is going on with Elijah’s disappearance. We learn about the trios past and we see them struggle to gain the support of the city. Eleanor decides to start helping the spirit hunters so that she can get the answers she wants at a faster rate.

This book was fast paced and there was a lot going on. I liked that Eleanor was determined and she wasn’t afraid to do things that would make her look bad in society. The spirit hunters are great I like that they each had their own specialty, Joseph with his knowledge about the dead, Jie is great at defense, and Daniel is their inventor. I will say the ending wasn’t the best mainly because we see a character who was mentioned but wasn’t really in the story until the end. Overall this is a fast read and an interesting take on zombies and I like that it takes place in the 1800s.