Review – The Hunting Moon (Luminaries, Book 2) by Susan Dennard (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Dark Fantasy
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: November 7, 2023
ISBN-13: 978-1250194145
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Luminaries series
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.
The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.
Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer that’s killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.
On top of that, following her dad’s convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.
Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.
As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminary―and also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Luminaries series. I borrowed a copy of this on ebook from my library.
Thoughts: This started out pretty slow and then really picked up pace in the second half of this book. The story starts off shortly where the last one ended. Winnie passed the deadly hunter trials and her family is about to be reinstated with the Luminaries. Everything should be going great, unfortunately no one believes Winnie about the new nightmare that she calls the Whisperer, instead they are blaming a werewolf for the recent bouts of attacks and deaths.
The beginning of this felt very transitional. We spend a lot of time with Winnie in her head as she complains about how light everyone is taking the events she went through and how they are all able to move on. We get a lot of Winnie reviewing facts about nightmares in her head as well. It really doesn’t feel like much happens at all, that is until Winnie starts putting together some of the clues her dad left her and these clues lead her deep into the woods.
I had some trouble engaging with the characters this time around; they just all seem so inactive and dull. This does improve a bit towards the end of the book. I also struggled with the pacing; way too much time was taken on Winnie’s internal thoughts at the beginning of the book..again this got better towards the end. However, the end was almost too jam packed with action and things happening…it was overwhelming compared to the beginning.
I did love that Winnie is discovering more and more about the nightmares; especially that things regarding the nightmares aren’t as black and white as the Luminaries make them out to be. I also enjoyed how things progressed between Jay and Winnie. The mystery around Winnie’s dad is intriguing but unraveling very slowly.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but didn’t love it as much as the first book. The beginning of the book was too slow with the reader being forced to watch Winnie rehash things over and over in her head. I did enjoy some of the new nightmares and the secrets about them that we learn. I plan on reading the third book in the series, but hope it is better paced than this one.