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booksandladders's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
See this review and more on Books and Ladders!
Content Warning: death of a loved one (mentioned, happened off screen), violence, gore, blood, isolation, betrayal, parental alienation
I remember participating in the polls for this on twitter and I am so glad I finally read this! A good mixture of fantastical elements, interesting lore, and good character development. This was definitely a good mixture of pacing with fast action-packed trials and some slow burn romances and relationship development.
I really liked Winnie and thought she was a good main character to follow. She had the right amount of want and ability to actually get things done. I appreciated the way she was trained, the way she learned on her own, and how she didn't want to give up on her dream. I am definitely interested to see how she blossoms even more in the rest of the series!
The background information and world-building is something I'm highly invested in. So many different moving pieces and the book doesn't treat us as though we can't figure out context and clues. I appreciated being dropped into the middle and learning pieces along the way. Winnie doesn't have it all figured out and neither do we, but we get to learn together.
The lingering questions about Winnie's dad, the obvious coverups throughout the community, and what's going to happen next make this a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Susan Dennard is a master of weaving different storylines together to create something really magical as a reader's experience.
This is definitely a recommendation from me! I am so glad I already had book 2 ready to go! I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to wait for book 3.
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Content Warning: death of a loved one (mentioned, happened off screen), violence, gore, blood, isolation, betrayal, parental alienation
I remember participating in the polls for this on twitter and I am so glad I finally read this! A good mixture of fantastical elements, interesting lore, and good character development. This was definitely a good mixture of pacing with fast action-packed trials and some slow burn romances and relationship development.
I really liked Winnie and thought she was a good main character to follow. She had the right amount of want and ability to actually get things done. I appreciated the way she was trained, the way she learned on her own, and how she didn't want to give up on her dream. I am definitely interested to see how she blossoms even more in the rest of the series!
The background information and world-building is something I'm highly invested in. So many different moving pieces and the book doesn't treat us as though we can't figure out context and clues. I appreciated being dropped into the middle and learning pieces along the way. Winnie doesn't have it all figured out and neither do we, but we get to learn together.
The lingering questions about Winnie's dad, the obvious coverups throughout the community, and what's going to happen next make this a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Susan Dennard is a master of weaving different storylines together to create something really magical as a reader's experience.
This is definitely a recommendation from me! I am so glad I already had book 2 ready to go! I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to wait for book 3.
Like my reviews? Buy me a Ko-Fi!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Bullying
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
sydn3ycx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The POV is often confusing and the pacing is ridiculously slow in the beginning. I know it’s a series, but there are no plot-related developments aside from the romantic subplot and the decision of the main character’s trials. The mysteries at the introduction of the book are left for the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, and Emotional abuse
lucky_19's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Vomit
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
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
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
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