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laurenmiller100's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
- Characters: 6
- Atmosphere/Setting: 7
- Writing Style: 4
- Plot: 4
- Intrigue: 6
- Logic/Relationships: 4
- Enjoyment: 4
A bit disappointed in this one. It’s fine, but lots of room for improvement. I feel like this book really wasted a lot of time in the middle that would have been better spent furthering the intrigue into Winnie’s father or all the strange things around
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
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.
Like my reviews? Buy me a Ko-Fi!
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
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
bookish_paws's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, and Death
Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
hylian_narwhal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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: Violence, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
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
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