The Luminaries

By: Susan Dennard

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

"Narrator Caitlin Davies brings her talents to this NEW YORK TIMES bestseller. Davies captures the magic of Dennard's exciting world and illuminates each character. While this audiobook is intended for a YA audience, it will keep listeners of all ages enthralled and spooked."- AudioFile

From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy, about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest, and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

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 might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

"You'll want to get lost in the world of The Luminaries again and again.”—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2022 Susan Dennard (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2022, NYPL Books for the Teen Age, Long-listed

2022, Chapters Indigo Best of the Year, Long-listed

“Will draw you in and leave you begging for more. Rich with tension, atmosphere, and finesse, you'll want to get lost in the world of The Luminaries again and again.”—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shadow & Bone and The Ninth House

“I lost myself from page one in Hemlock Falls and its deadly forest, as vicious as it is inescapably alluring. Winnie Wednesday is the sort of outcast-turned-monster-hunter you can't help loving and rooting for.”—Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gilded

“In The Luminaries, bestselling author Susan Dennard kicks off a darkly magical, action-packed new series and introduces a mysterious world filled with monsters. . . . Plenty of gasp-inducing thrills, monstrous gore and empathetic soul-searching—plus a little tentative flirting—bring The Luminaries to a satisfying conclusion.”—BookPage

5 stars

Great book! Fairly fast paced so it easily kept my attention. Definitely 5 stars- I was sad to have it end!

Amazing presentation and storytelling!

I love this book so much. its very methodical in its writing and quite well written. the voice acting is very good and she can deliver the fast-paced writing with ease.

Loved it

So haunting and creepy and the main character Winnie reminded me of Veronica Mars. I loved it! Great read and listen. Can’t wait for the next one!

AWESOME!!

This is an amazing story. Has me chomping at the bit for the next one.

A beautifully Written YA Novel.

A beautifully written Ya novel of things that go bump in the night.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration:🎤🎤🎤🎤
Writing: ✒️✒️✒️✒️✒️
Details: 🖤🖤🖤
Characters:🧡🧡🧡
Spice/Romance: ♥️


In our story, we meet an unlikely hero to save her family's name. Winnie Wednesday an outcast teen will fight for her family's name after her father's deplorable actions with the Dianas........or so we think.... Winnie's life goal is to be a hunter and clear her family's name with their clan. The clans, Monday, Friday, and Wednesday are a select group of people known as the Luminaries. The Luminaries select an even smaller few known as the hunters. The hunters of each clan keep the city and all the unassuming residents safe from what goes bump in the night. Winnie is our hero of the story and is kind of a badass.

Susan nailed the creatures and the characters of this story. It's action-packed with things like Vampira, Warewolf, Banchies, and Day Walkers. Susan has created a world enveloped with Greys, Blacks, deep purples, and extreme beasts hunting the human race. The audiobook was narrated beautifully by Caitlin Daves, adding a rich experience to the Novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Ya Novels. Who has, a deep-seated fear of the woods after dark and doing what's right vs. what's expected of you? The Luminaries was beautifully done and now we get to move to book 2. I have high hopes for Book Two and finally finding out what happened to her Dad and if anything develops with Jay and Winnie.

2024 On to the Next.

Interesting, might be complex

If you can get through a great deal of repetitive teenage angst in the first half of the book,you start to see a weird and probably complicated story unfold. As intended, I think, this book left me with nothing but questions regarding what is really going on.

Amazing

Loved it! Winnie is such a captivating protagonist! The plot keeps you coming back for more. Can’t wait for the second book!!

So we just aren't getting any storylines resolved

Absolutely frustrating. Not a single mystery of any storyline at all was resolved and I feel like I wasted my time. Plus the main character has a habit of clicking her teeth at times she is anxious which is always and hearing the narrator constantly have to say "clicking" drove me a little insane.

Deus ex Machina (Ugh!)

This story has several examples of Deus ex Machina.
The lead character, is whiney or maybe it was the narrator.
In the end, the book was a part 1. Nothing was solved and a new mystery was started with 10 minutes left in the book.
"Sigh." Nothing was solved. The lead character (what's her name) didn't even learn how to drive by the end.
I guess I'll never know. I will not continue to book two.

Cant wait for the next one!

Really good book, lots of awesome mysteries. Really looking forward to character development in future books as well as all the mysteries to be explained! My only regret was reading this so early after release, as I’d really like to grab the next book.