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erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A youth fiction adventure with a little romance? that falls into the same sort of category as Hunger Games, Divergent, and Twilight, I didn't know whether I should cringe or laugh my way through this book. When her father turns out to be a traitor to the community, Winnie Wednesday's family are ostracised from the Luminary society of Hemlock Falls, a dreary town on the edge of a haunted forest full of spirits and monsters. Seven clans (named for the days of the week) are tasked with protecting the mortal world from Nightmares that are spawned in the Forest. This Clandestine group lives in a town where the sun seldom shines, and the children of the Hunter community are trained at a school that teaches them monster lore and battle tactics.
Winnie is just turning 16, and that qualifies to enter the trials to become a Hunter. She's not as hot with a bow as Katniss, but she does hide in trees, and has a lot of luck. There are two mystery monsters in the story. As Winnie struggles to survive in a monster ridden forest she encounters a strange presence that appears to warp reality and kill monsters. She also encounters a werewolf that she seems to think wants to kill her, but that seems to the reader is trying to rescue her... (not even going to give points for anyone trying to guess who that is - if it's not the obvious candidate in this story, then this is the reddest herring that ever swam). Nobody seems to take Winnie seriously when she tries to tell people that there is an unknown Whisperer monster out there, and that it is deadly and capable of crossing the wards that should keep the monsters contained within the Forest. I find it frustrating that this leans so hard into the "adults don't listen to kids" trope.
The town is getting paranoid about this werewolf, and its existence in the town, for the first time in 17 years, has the whole community motivated to start blood testing everyone to see if they are IT. It seems that these werewolves can't turn a human by biting them... so maybe there is some other way that one gets to be a werewolf.. like.. maybe they are born that way ... ? I guess we find that out in the next book too.(oh come on! is it a coincidence that the one 17yr old character in the story is also an orphan being raised by his aunt?... that all the testing starts at the school, but that this character has a habit of being chronically truant?) .
The Houses are a trope that are pretty common to this genre; it's been done by everything from Harry Potter to Children of Blood and Bone. The stereotypes in this one are underpinned by clan animals and sayings, but the characters themselves don't seem to have much of those guiding principles to them. It is really cool that the clans are contributed to from different parts of the world. This means that the cast of characters is fairly diverse, when it comes to skin and hair at least. There is at least one gay couple, and that is normalised. I don't know that there is much actual impact that these various differences contribute to the story, but it's better than everyone being painted as cis-het-white-folk.
There are a couple of puzzles in the story, as we find out that Winnie's father has raised her playing word games and puzzles, so they have secret codes that they share. When Winnie stumbles onto things left behind by her father, 4 years after his disappearance, we have the start of clues to a mystery... but that's stuff to be covered by future books.
I guess my issue is that this is a pretty derivative story and feels paint by numbers. The bad boy is in a band, and that's a little bit of a departure from the norm.. and be plays bass.. so he's not some flashy lead guitarist or anything.. but the semi-intimate one-on-one combat training feels like Divergent all over again. I might follow it up with future reads, but I'm not feeling much drive to do so.
Winnie is just turning 16, and that qualifies to enter the trials to become a Hunter. She's not as hot with a bow as Katniss, but she does hide in trees, and has a lot of luck. There are two mystery monsters in the story. As Winnie struggles to survive in a monster ridden forest she encounters a strange presence that appears to warp reality and kill monsters. She also encounters a werewolf that she seems to think wants to kill her, but that seems to the reader is trying to rescue her... (not even going to give points for anyone trying to guess who that is - if it's not the obvious candidate in this story, then this is the reddest herring that ever swam). Nobody seems to take Winnie seriously when she tries to tell people that there is an unknown Whisperer monster out there, and that it is deadly and capable of crossing the wards that should keep the monsters contained within the Forest. I find it frustrating that this leans so hard into the "adults don't listen to kids" trope.
The town is getting paranoid about this werewolf, and its existence in the town, for the first time in 17 years, has the whole community motivated to start blood testing everyone to see if they are IT. It seems that these werewolves can't turn a human by biting them... so maybe there is some other way that one gets to be a werewolf.. like.. maybe they are born that way ... ? I guess we find that out in the next book too.
The Houses are a trope that are pretty common to this genre; it's been done by everything from Harry Potter to Children of Blood and Bone. The stereotypes in this one are underpinned by clan animals and sayings, but the characters themselves don't seem to have much of those guiding principles to them. It is really cool that the clans are contributed to from different parts of the world. This means that the cast of characters is fairly diverse, when it comes to skin and hair at least. There is at least one gay couple, and that is normalised. I don't know that there is much actual impact that these various differences contribute to the story, but it's better than everyone being painted as cis-het-white-folk.
There are a couple of puzzles in the story, as we find out that Winnie's father has raised her playing word games and puzzles, so they have secret codes that they share. When Winnie stumbles onto things left behind by her father, 4 years after his disappearance, we have the start of clues to a mystery... but that's stuff to be covered by future books.
I guess my issue is that this is a pretty derivative story and feels paint by numbers. The bad boy is in a band, and that's a little bit of a departure from the norm.. and be plays bass.. so he's not some flashy lead guitarist or anything.. but the semi-intimate one-on-one combat training feels like Divergent all over again. I might follow it up with future reads, but I'm not feeling much drive to do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
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
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Violence
rusereviews's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard is a YA fantasy novel with horror elements and the first book in a new series. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at a little under ten hours and is narrated by Caitlin Davies. We follow our main character with a solo third-person point-of-view.
Hemlock Falls isn't your typical rural town. The city is protected by the Luminaries, an ancient order that saves the world every night by killing the monsters that appear in the surrounding forest. Winnie Wednesday's family was shunned after her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor years before. To get her family back into their good graces, she decides to take on the sometimes-deadly Luminary hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday. But she might need a bit of help in training from her ex-best friend Jay Friday, aka the resident bad boy.
When I started reading this book, I wasn't aware it was the start of a new series, so please keep that in mind if you're like me and like to binge series. I do plan to continue with the series, as the world seems pretty cool and I have a few theories I'd like to see if I'm correct about.
I'm still a little confused on how the monsters here are formed, and on the "big bad" Dianas--a group of witches who appear to be the mortal enemies of the Luminaries. I'm guessing we'll get more information about those things in later installments of the series.
The pacing goes at a good clip, so if you're looking for some YA to scratch a thriller itch, this could satisfy that craving for you. There's also a wee bit of romance to curb that want as well.
If you dislike repetitious sounds, I want to briefly mention that several characters--including our main character--seem to have a habit of them. Our main character clicks her teeth together, which makes me worry for her dental bills, and another character consistently blows bubbles with bubble gum. I'm guessing these were supposed to be quirks for the characters, or maybe signs of OCD/stims? That's unclear, though.
Tropes in this book include: supernatural creatures, nerdy FMC, FMC with glasses, outsider
CW: body horror, death, murder, gaslighting, abandonment, anxiety, panic attacks
The publisher provided a audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Hemlock Falls isn't your typical rural town. The city is protected by the Luminaries, an ancient order that saves the world every night by killing the monsters that appear in the surrounding forest. Winnie Wednesday's family was shunned after her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor years before. To get her family back into their good graces, she decides to take on the sometimes-deadly Luminary hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday. But she might need a bit of help in training from her ex-best friend Jay Friday, aka the resident bad boy.
When I started reading this book, I wasn't aware it was the start of a new series, so please keep that in mind if you're like me and like to binge series. I do plan to continue with the series, as the world seems pretty cool and I have a few theories I'd like to see if I'm correct about.
I'm still a little confused on how the monsters here are formed, and on the "big bad" Dianas--a group of witches who appear to be the mortal enemies of the Luminaries. I'm guessing we'll get more information about those things in later installments of the series.
The pacing goes at a good clip, so if you're looking for some YA to scratch a thriller itch, this could satisfy that craving for you. There's also a wee bit of romance to curb that want as well.
If you dislike repetitious sounds, I want to briefly mention that several characters--including our main character--seem to have a habit of them. Our main character clicks her teeth together, which makes me worry for her dental bills, and another character consistently blows bubbles with bubble gum. I'm guessing these were supposed to be quirks for the characters, or maybe signs of OCD/stims? That's unclear, though.
Tropes in this book include: supernatural creatures, nerdy FMC, FMC with glasses, outsider
CW: body horror, death, murder, gaslighting, abandonment, anxiety, panic attacks
The publisher provided a audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Body horror, Death, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
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
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