A part of me was upset to learn originally of this book's release because I'm dying to get the Witchlands finale, but after the initial shock wore off, I became very intrigued by this book. For starters, while I did not follow/ actively participate a lot in the Luminerds Twitter polls during the pandemic, I knew they existed and checked on them every once in a while. When I realized this book was partly based off of those Twitter polls, that's where my excitement truly mounted. And I read Susan's acknowledgments at the end and know she took liberties with this story ultimately with a few easter eggs, but it's so incredible to think about where this story began. Someday, I'll have to really dig deep into the Luminerds Twitter posts.

Anyway, let's get this review rolling for The Luminaries!

I loved the concept for this book. I've always loved cryptids, which this story is not about but reminds me of my nostalgia, and monster hunting stories—cue the Supernatural Carry on My Wayward Son—so it comes as no surprise that this book was meant for me. I've actually just finished reading a lot of dark adult fantasies, so I went into this book wanting something light but mysterious and was rewarded with exactly that.

The Luminaries is a contemporary fantasy about the town of Hemlock Falls where monsters run rampant through the forest and hunters known as Luminaries seek them out. The Luminaries are actually a global organization. A new sect springs up whenever a specific spirit forms and starts to create/ nurture monsters within its borders. My favorite part of this world building is that from every Luminaries sect around the world, clan families go by last names in accordance with the days of the week. There's a detail about about a transfer family with the last name Lunes, which is Monday in Spanish, and then another transfer family with Vtornik as their last name, which is Tuesday in Russian. It was these little details that made the world feel more real, and I liked it a lot.

In terms of the plot, Winnie Wednesday is our protagonist, and for the last four years, her family ( along with her mom and bro) have been outcasts from the Luminaries because Winnie's father betrayed the clan to the Dianas, which is another group of people within this monster hunting world that take advantage of the magic within these special forests. The Wednesday family is known for their loyalty above all else, so their fall is especially harsh in that they are disgraced for 10 years. And dear old dad ran away in the process. With Winnie's 16th birthday coming up, she's determined to exploit a loophole which allows her to compete in the dangerous hunter trials. But monsters even worse than those within the Compendium (Luminaries monster hunting guidebook) are lurking within Hemlock Falls, and Winnie may have much more to lose than she ever thought before starting the trials.

Winnie is by far one of the shining lights of this book. She's intelligent and blunt, realistic and compassionate, and most importantly a freaking badass. She has not officially trained with other hunters since she was around eleven years old, but for the last four years, she's created her own version of training because she wants to be a hunter that badly. She's basically willing to die to end this disgrace on her family, and while many of us would agree that's a bit extreme, the toxicity of the hunters and their culty, bureaucratic indoctrination make this reality understandable. If you aren't a hunter, then you're nothing, and Winnie refuses to let this be the case any longer. Moreover, I relate to her wholeheartedly with her experiences in losing friends. Erika, Jay, and Winnie grew up as a trio before her father's actions, but suddenly, Winnie lost them both along with her aunt and whole community. When the tide starts to change in the midst of the book due to Winnie's first trial, Winnie doesn't embrace these people's change of heart. It actually makes her bitter, more enraged, because it took her putting herself in danger for anything to become better. That part felt very realistic to my own experiences in my life with friendships. You're allowed to be angry and unforgiving because your feelings and pain are valid. Jay and Winnie's relationship really exemplifies this point because they start to grow close in the book, and Winnie cannot forgive him immediately, which causes strain in their rekindled friendship and her tumultuous feelings for Jay. And while I don't think this fully applies to Jay cause he has a lot going on, the change in people's hearts prove that this society is fake. They don't actually care about the hunters individually, and they're a hive mind more than anything else. This makes me excited for the sequel because I think toxic bureaucracy is going to play a huge role.

Now a giant surprise, in my opinion, about this book is the number of theories coursing through my brain. I was expecting this big reveal on a particular element throughout the course of the book, and to not have it happen at all blew me away. Susan is building some tension and angst with not revealing the truth, and my theories are spinning wilder and wilder. I'll be returning to this review to word vomit all about them once The Luminaries releases—notably my ones that involve Jay because he's the mysterious rocker, ex-bestie, bad boy that everyone fawns over in town. But the new, haunting creature is another big theory of mine.

Lastly, going back to my old nostalgia for monster hunters, I loved every minute Winnie was in the forest. From the terrifying chase scenes in the mist to fresh scents of trees and plants, it was a wondrous atmosphere and setting. The details in the monsters was another phenomenal element to the book's atmosphere. I'll never get over the vampira horde at around the mid-way point in the book, and I really enjoyed Susan putting her own spin on these creatures, like vampira, that have been written about for centuries. The monsters gave me goosebumps at times, and I can't wait to see Winnie trudge into there even more in the sequel, particularly with Jay as her hunting buddy—please and thanks Susan!

Now The Luminaries is not a ~drop everything this is my new favorite book~ kinda read, but it was a fun, exciting new world to dive into. I'm really interested in the sequel, but I do hope it comes after Witchlands #5 haha.

Thank you to Tor Teen for gifting me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.