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snipinfool's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Nightmares that arose from forests all over the world were kept in check by age-old defenders, called Luminaries. Within these forests, fourteen spirits lived and slept. The monsters created from their dreams were exterminated each night so the rest of the world could live in peace. In the US, Hemlock Falls was the town nearest the forest where the spirit was found. Hemlock Falls was hidden from maps, landlines did not work there, cell phone service was sketchy, and the overall feel was different from that over the normal world. Luminaries were born into a house named after a day of the week. Each house had specific duties within the society. Strict rules were in place to keep the residents safe and their purpose hidden from the rest of the world. Winnie Wednesday came from a family of hunters. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother and become one as well. Unfortunately, Winnie's father had broken a serious Luminary rule and disappeared shortly after. Winnie, along with her mother and brother, were cast out of the Luminaries for a period of ten years as punishment. They were found to be negligent of knowing about Winnie's father's activities. They could still live in Hemlock Falls, but they were no longer able to hold certain positions/jobs or attend any family activities.
At sixteen, Luminaries could participate in three successive hunter trials to become a nightmare hunter. If one failed a trial, they lost their only chance of completing the tests. Winnie planned to enter the trials in hopes of restoring her family's name by becoming a hunter. There were no rules stating an outcast could not participate. Because they had been exiled, Winnie did not have the benefit of the training the other participants had. She hoped the training she did on her own would be enough to keep from being killed by the nightly horrors. When Winnie wandered the forest looking for monsters in the first trail, she encountered a creature that she had never seen in the Nightmare Compendium, a listing and description of all known nightmarish creatures. Would anyone believe what she saw?
This was just ok. The plot was an interesting premise, but the story was dull and somewhat one note. I didn't feel connected to the characters. Most of the book focused on Winnie and her anxiety about participating in the three trials. The reader got to know a little about her mother and brother, but I wanted to know more about them. The additional characters only served to show how poorly Winnie and her family were treated and how their life was miserable. There was mention of Winnie's father and potential contact, but that goes no where in the story. Maybe that will come up in a sequel. The story seemed to glide along the surface without the details that would make one want to pick it up again once you set it down. I might not have finished it had it not been a book club selection.
At sixteen, Luminaries could participate in three successive hunter trials to become a nightmare hunter. If one failed a trial, they lost their only chance of completing the tests. Winnie planned to enter the trials in hopes of restoring her family's name by becoming a hunter. There were no rules stating an outcast could not participate. Because they had been exiled, Winnie did not have the benefit of the training the other participants had. She hoped the training she did on her own would be enough to keep from being killed by the nightly horrors. When Winnie wandered the forest looking for monsters in the first trail, she encountered a creature that she had never seen in the Nightmare Compendium, a listing and description of all known nightmarish creatures. Would anyone believe what she saw?
This was just ok. The plot was an interesting premise, but the story was dull and somewhat one note. I didn't feel connected to the characters. Most of the book focused on Winnie and her anxiety about participating in the three trials. The reader got to know a little about her mother and brother, but I wanted to know more about them. The additional characters only served to show how poorly Winnie and her family were treated and how their life was miserable. There was mention of Winnie's father and potential contact, but that goes no where in the story. Maybe that will come up in a sequel. The story seemed to glide along the surface without the details that would make one want to pick it up again once you set it down. I might not have finished it had it not been a book club selection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, and Death
Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
disnelyse's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, and Bullying
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
taryn_g's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Drug use
Minor: Medical content
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Panic attacks/disorders
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
- 1st in a duology (second book out in Nov)
- Monsters of all kinds (and amazing illustrations!)
- Deadly competition/trials
- Creepy and mysterious
- School setting
- Glimmers of a romance (Ex best friends)
- Outcast girl who suddenly becomes popular
- 'Slacker' boy that everyone crushes on but he only cares about working on his motorcycle
- Yes they ride the motorcycle
The audiobook for this was fantastic, really enjoyed the narration! This gave me a bit of Scholomance vibes, even though they are VERY different series (and Scholomance is way better imo). Just similar in terms of the youth being in this insane situation (trials/being a hunter) that they might die in and have to like save everyone (aka the adults). It's a very quick read, but I also wasn't completely in love with the story and felt like things were just starting to get good when it ended. Feels a bit like it was written as one long book that got split into a duology instead of getting a good edit and remaining one longer or standard length fantasy book.
0/5 🌶️, but I think it will get somewhere (it is YA) in book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fun, fast-paced, and authentically teen! Winnie is such a relatable protagonist, and the world is rich with lore and creepy monsters. It feels like a teen-centric TV show like Buffy or Smallville back in the day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Grief
Minor: Violence, Gore, and Drug use
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Animal death
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I feel like it isn't often these days that a book can surprise me with a world that I've never seen done before. Some of the concepts in The Luminaries harken to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter world but with completely different world building. There are a lot of ways for Dennard to expand this world in future novels as well.
I do have a couple of cons that are making this not a 5-star read for me. For one thing, I really don't love any of the characters. I like Winnie but she is also annoying, the same way I found Katniss in Hunger Games annoying. Protagonists don't have to be perfect but there's a balance between regular self doubt and near crippling doubt. But I was happy with how part of that aspect wrapped up near the end. Major spoilers if I go further so I'll just leave it there. xD I also found Winnie's teeth clicking to be very odd. I'm assuming it's a nervous tick of some sort but it wasn't really explained per se which for me made it awkward.
My last con is really just my frustration with needing to wait for the next book! So many open endings I expected to be resolved that weren't! It is however obvious also a pro that I'm so excited for the second book to be released when I'm literally reading an Advanced Copy of the first!
I enjoyed the different versions of classic monsters and how descriptive they are as well as the whole concept of the spirit and forest. The different "families" is also an interesting concept and I'd like to learn more about the history of "The Luminaries" and how the whole system (cult?) started. I appreciated that by the end of the book, Winnie had developed into a more enjoyable character than she was in the beginning as well as the mystery aspects worked into a standard fantasy tale.
If YA Fantasy is your thing, especially if you're a Cassandra Clare fan, definitely check this out. I see the series only getting better from here!
I do have a couple of cons that are making this not a 5-star read for me. For one thing, I really don't love any of the characters. I like Winnie but she is also annoying, the same way I found Katniss in Hunger Games annoying. Protagonists don't have to be perfect but there's a balance between regular self doubt and near crippling doubt. But I was happy with how part of that aspect wrapped up near the end. Major spoilers if I go further so I'll just leave it there. xD I also found Winnie's teeth clicking to be very odd. I'm assuming it's a nervous tick of some sort but it wasn't really explained per se which for me made it awkward.
My last con is really just my frustration with needing to wait for the next book! So many open endings I expected to be resolved that weren't! It is however obvious also a pro that I'm so excited for the second book to be released when I'm literally reading an Advanced Copy of the first!
I enjoyed the different versions of classic monsters and how descriptive they are as well as the whole concept of the spirit and forest. The different "families" is also an interesting concept and I'd like to learn more about the history of "The Luminaries" and how the whole system (cult?) started. I appreciated that by the end of the book, Winnie had developed into a more enjoyable character than she was in the beginning as well as the mystery aspects worked into a standard fantasy tale.
If YA Fantasy is your thing, especially if you're a Cassandra Clare fan, definitely check this out. I see the series only getting better from here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Gore, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Grief, and Drug use
laynemandros's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders