“That’s why we’re called the Luminaries, Winnie: we are lanterns the forest can never snuff out”

The world that Dennard has built in Hemlock Falls feels dangerous and cozy all at the same time, like Gilmore Girls meets Hunger Games, kind of.
At first I'll admit I was a little bit confused by the clans, but as the book progresses Dennard gives us details of each clan, of each estate, and some backstory to it all. The detail in these descriptions honestly made me feel like I was there, walking amongst these grand estates and campuses. I don't know if it's because I read this book in late Autumn, but I could feel the chill in the air as I read these chapters, and could feel the change in atmosphere each time our heroine entered the forest.
As someone who also feels at home in the forest, (although not a deadly one) it felt somewhat comforting for so much of the story to centre around the forest.

My main criticism of this book is how many times we are told what Jay smells like! I'm not wholly against romance, I just find I get bored when it develops in a book I wasn't expecting it to, and that is the case here. I would have preferred for Winnie to be a badass independent woman without the heartthrob bad boy to distract her. Also some big 'mysteries' that aren't really mysteries here, I think you'd have to be blind to not know who Jay & Erica/Erica's family are going to turn out to be.
Having said that, this is a YA and it may not be so obvious to younger readers. I'm just saying I won't be mega surprised when I read The Hunting Moon and discover who is a werewolf and who is a Diana......