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A review by fantasy_fiction_and_fae
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
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 is filled with monsters.
Winnie Wednesday isn't a typical 16-year-old. Rather than celebrating a milestone birthday to celebrate, she enters the trials to become a Luminary. It's an ancient order that protects everyone from the monsters. Her family were born hunters and became Luminaries and Winnie grew up studying the deadly creatures logged in hunters compendium. Kelpies, werewolves, banshees, vampyres, manticores, willow wisps, basilisks, and more prowl the grounds and will not hesitate to kill you.
Winnie Wednesday isn't a typical 16-year-old. Rather than celebrating a milestone birthday to celebrate, she enters the trials to become a Luminary. It's an ancient order that protects everyone from the monsters. Her family were born hunters and became Luminaries and Winnie grew up studying the deadly creatures logged in hunters compendium. Kelpies, werewolves, banshees, vampyres, manticores, willow wisps, basilisks, and more prowl the grounds and will not hesitate to kill you.
After her family is shunned by her father being exposed as a traitor, the only thing Winnie can think to do to restore her family's reputation, be accepted by the rest of the town, and prove her worth, she enters the Luminary trials now that she is of age. She will do one of two things, pass the trials and become a respected hunter like her aunt, or die trying.
Winnie lacks the necessary skills and needs training fast. She asks Jay Friday, the local bad boy that all the girls fawn over, and Winnie’s ex-best friend. He is the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, skilled and knowledgeable about the nightmares of the forest and where to go to be safe. She needs all the help she can get, so she swallows her pride and asks him to train her for the trials. He's not the same boy she grew up with. He's changed physically and mentally. No longer the hyper kid she knew, now he is steady, watchful, serious, and dangerous. She needs him to help show her how to make it through the trials in the forest and make it out alive. Winnie discovers a new danger lurking in the forest that no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for, and people won't listen to her when she makes them aware. It's up to her to learn what she can to stay alive and Jay is more than willing to help her.
Winnie lacks the necessary skills and needs training fast. She asks Jay Friday, the local bad boy that all the girls fawn over, and Winnie’s ex-best friend. He is the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, skilled and knowledgeable about the nightmares of the forest and where to go to be safe. She needs all the help she can get, so she swallows her pride and asks him to train her for the trials. He's not the same boy she grew up with. He's changed physically and mentally. No longer the hyper kid she knew, now he is steady, watchful, serious, and dangerous. She needs him to help show her how to make it through the trials in the forest and make it out alive. Winnie discovers a new danger lurking in the forest that no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for, and people won't listen to her when she makes them aware. It's up to her to learn what she can to stay alive and Jay is more than willing to help her.