Synopsis

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.

Review

A fun and enchanting read! We follow Winnie as she tries to become a hunter for The Luminaries, an order that protects ‘normal’ people from monsters and nightmares that live in the forest. The concept is really interesting, something new to me which is always exciting.

The plot and pacing are both solid. It reads quickly as it is not a very complicated book. There’s no crazy worldbuilding or intricate lore to learn, so you can jump right in and just crack on with the story. It develops pretty much as it says in the blurb – Winnie goes through the trials and checks the hunter boxes as she does so. I thought there would be a little more before it ended – there were definitely things left abruptly hanging open but I assume they will be addressed in further books.

The characters were just okay for me, however. I didn’t like or dislike most of them enough to form strong opinions. Winnie was a little annoying at times, though I will say that Dennard really captured what it is like to be a teenage girl, and that is probably why I felt that! I appreciate that she struggled and fought her way to get where she wanted to go.

Overall, a quick, fun read. I am interested enough to keep an eye out for the second one.

I listened to this one and thought Caitlin Davies was a perfect choice of narrator. Her voice lent itself well to the haunting nature of the story and she made each character voice very distinguishable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchance for an honest review.