“The Luminaries”, by Susan Dennard - Book Review
“The Forest is Dangerous for a Luminary Untrained...”
The Road so Far...
Summer is coming to an end, mornings get chillier, white girls have adopted their signature “beanie + pumpkin spice latte” look… in short, it will soon be time for spooky-season. Yes, the moment that first hint of autumn hits the air you can be sure that I’ll have started dusting off the Halloween decoration.
And, for those that know me (which is pretty much everyone reading this blog - Hi, Dad!), you’ll know that the turning of the weather signifies the start of an important Alex tradition - the annual Supernatural TV series marathon!
As I’ve started watching the adventures of Sam and Dean again, I was suddenly reminded that it’s been about a week since I’ve put out an article and continued my series of reviews on all the books I’ve read in 2025.
So I rushed to my trusted handwritten list of titles I’ve gone through (because I can’t be bothered with Goodreads), and lo and behold, it seems like the starts had aligned. Because the next book I’m going to write my half-baked thoughts about is one that feels taken straight out of a Supernatural episode!
But before we go uncover the mysteries of The Luminaries, in true Winchester fashion, let’s first take a look at The Road So Far… (cue in Carry on My Wayward Son).
Our adventures so far have prepared us for hunting monsters in the night. We’ve started our epic quest battling gods and mythical figures in ancient Ithaca. We’ve uncovered a sinister conspiracy about goblins, tobacco products, and non-alcoholic cocktails. We’ve escaped toxic relationships, survived the Devil’s visit to Moscow in the 1930s, apprenticed to Death himself, and even discovered the secrets of slug-based hyperdrive technology, which was humanity’s last hope.
But this will be one of our thoughest battles yet, because we will go where monsters walk the earth, and the only hope humanity has left is… a 16 year old girl. Are you kidding me? Again? Seriously, has this become like a staple of fiction in the last 10 years? Bloody hell, and my intro was going so nicely… anyway, excitement’s over, let’s get into this…
The Luminaries Book Review
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard follows the story of a 16 year old girl (duh…) called Winnie Wednesday, and before we go continue with the review, let’s take a moment to ponder what kind of parent would name their child “Winnie Wednesday” of their own accord.
Even if you don’t know anything more about the story than the fact that she is 16 and her name is Winnie Wednesday, you already know she’s going to be an outcast bullied by the entire community, school, and even random passers-by. But if anything else fails, with a name like that she can always try making it big in the music scene. I can already see the concert headings: “Winnie Wednesday & Tinie Tempah present the Jumbo Jenga!”
But let’s get back to Winnie.
Actually, let’s not for a second. Let’s play a little game I like to call “How many overused elements can we spot?” Even better, let’s make it a drinking game. So before I continue this review, I will take a shot of tequila any time one of the following comes up:
The protagonist is a 16 year old girl
But she isn’t a normal girl, she’s a special girl
She comes from a family with a big secret
She joins a society of elite warriors who’ve been training for years/decades yet within weeks she is the best of them
The love interest is a slightly older teenager, who is somehow the creme-de-la-creme of the elite warrior society
He is tall, dark, and brooding
Our hero faces the deadliest trials imaginable, but nobody believes her, because she’s just a girl
Only she sees the truth and can save her community/school/humanity
Righto, bck tho da reveiiiw… I may needst to be sit dwn fr a whle…
Okay, okay, I’m being a bit of a twat, I’ll confess… but you have to admit, the above elements have been so overused ever since Sarah J Maas released ACOTAR, that I feel like every third book that came out in the last 10 years is just following the same copy-paste formula.
But apart from my own issues with certain elements, the story of The Luminaries has quite a bit of potential. So, let me clean the slate (metaphorically, I’ve spent the last 30 minutes sitting on the toilet and writing the above, I ain’t gonna waste all that effort, obviously) and START THE REVIEW FROM HERE:
The story takes place in the fictional town of Hemlock Falls, which may seem like an utterly charming little American town, but it holds a dark secret. You see, the town was built on the fringes of a massive forest and is the last bastion protecting the rest of unsuspecting humanity from the evils that lurk within.
Because, you see, we all believe that nightmares are simply bad dreams, but the people of Hemlock Falls know better. Across the world, there are several ancient sleeping spirits, whose morbid dreams produce physical manifestations of their angst. known only as nightmares.
An ancient order, called the Luminaries, evolved long ago to contain these creatures to isolated areas, in order to protect the rest of humanity from their rampage. When a spirit was discovered many years ago in America, the order sent its members to establish the town of Hemlock Falls and safeguard the sleeping spirit and surrounding area.
7 prominent families make up the local branch of the order, each named after a different day of the week, and each holding a concrete responsibility within the order.
Winnie Wednesday comes from the previously revered Wednesday clan, which has now fallen into disrepute with the other luminaries because of Winnie’s father’s betrayal.
Hurt, ashamed, and ostracised by the entire community, there is nothing Winnie won’t do to clear her family’s name and join the elite ranks of the Luminaries’ Hunters. To do that, she must pass a series of 3 trials on her 16th birthday and in doing so, she is convinced that she’ll find redemption.
There is only one problem, however. The trials, unfortunately for Weenie, do not involve safe and age-appropriate tasks. They involve putting yourself in life-or-death situations in the Forrest itself, surviving the nightmares roaming there every night, and coming out triumphant 3 times.
Did I say there was only one problem? I lied, sue me… There’s another problem, and it’s kind of a big one. You see, most cadets aiming to pass the Hunter trials have been training since birth in the Luminaries academy, where all clans spend nigh on a decade preparing them for the trial to come.
But, given her family’s situation, Winnie has not been permitted to train with her peers for a long, long time. And while she’s done the best she can to stay fit and on top of training, there’s only so much one can do without proper instruction.
With her 16th birthday approaching fast, Winnie takes a gamble and gets help from the only place she can - her ex-friend Jay Friday (another great name for a musician, by the way), who coincidentally happens to be the most gifted cadet the families have seen in a long, long time.
Jay manages to prepare Winnie just enough so she barely passes her first trial. But something happens, which they did not expect - for the nightmare that Winnie runs into is one that should not exist. Something new, darker, and more sinister than before is brewing in the Forrest and unless Winnie regains the trust of the other Luminaries quickly, the nightmares will roll over them like a tide of darkness.
What happens to Winnie after that first trial is something you’ll need to learn for yourself, as I risk spoiling too much if we keep on.
But as I said above, the story hold quite a bit of potential, even though there are some elements that were not particularly my cup of tea. That being said, if you read the book for what it is - a coming-of-age story about growing up as an outcast, self-discovery, and a learning to hold your believes in the face of adversity - I think the book is actually quite enjoyable.
But let’s elaborate on this in the next section.
Is the Luminaries by Susan Dennard Worth Reading?
Honestly, The Luminaries left me with some rather mixed feelings. On one hand, it has a great premise, high stakes, scary monsters that actually feel like a threat, and some promising lore and world-building elements. On the other hand, it has some very over-used elements and tropes, and quite a lot of plot/world-building inconsistencies.
I knew nothing of this book, when I picked it up. I had received it as part of an Illumicrate subscription box and decided to give it a go simply because it was the next book on my TBR (to-be-read, for anyone who doesn’t spend an abnormal amount of time on TikTok) shelf.
The premise was quite exciting, and I had big expectations for the book, which in retrospect might have been a mistake, as I had build it up in my mind to be something it isn’t. And let’s get one thing clear - that’s not me saying that the book is bad, despite what might seem like an entire article devoted to bashing it. It’s a decent read, but, for me personally, it just didn’t click.
Given the book’s ending (which I won’t spoil here) I quickly realized that the book is intended as part of a series, and a quick Google search confirmed that it’s the first in a Trilogy by Susan Dennard. Which gives me hope that what seem like plot inconsistencies or questionable world-building will be addressed in the following two books.
Again, the book might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are people that would definitely enjoy it.
Who will definitely enjoy reading The Luminaries by Susan Dennard?
Young Adult (YA) Fantasy readers
Readers that enjoy reading fantasy in a modern setting
Readers who enjoy “coming-of-age” stories about self-discovery and personal growth
Anyone trying to get back into reading, as the prose is straight-forward, and the story easy to follow
Who will probably not enjoy reading The Luminaries by Susan Dennard?
Readers that are looking for highly nuanced fantasy worlds
Readers who dislike relatively predictable plots
Those looking for a more serious paranormal story
Readers that thought this book would be like a cross-over between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural (like yours truly…)
Final Thoughts on The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
This review already went on way longer than I expected it to be, so I’ll try to keep this section as short as possible.
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard was a curious read - while it wasn’t my cup of tea, I won’t lie that even I was becoming a tad invested towards the end. I might actually check out the other two books in the series to see if it will win me over as a series.
And even though this review presents the book in a rather questionable light to potential readers, I can honestly say I’m glad I read it. It wasn’t what I hoped it would be, but it was bold, different, and it thought me much about myself as a reader.
For now, I’ll be sticking to my re-watch of Supernatural to sate my need for paranormal suspense. With that in mind…
… On the next episode of “Unhinged Reviews of Books I’ve Read This Year”, we see our dashing, young, and modest hero take a trip back to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, to the place where it all began - The Colour of Magic!
