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 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!
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