After devouring The Luminaries in a few hours and knew I needed to sink my teeth into The Hunting Moon because oh my God Susan Dennard has given us an immersive series, and a world that is both intriguing to be a part of along with a Hell no, thank you I'll pass on what Winnie Wednesday has endured.

There's a smooth transition back into the series that makes it feel like you've never been away from everything happening to the residents of Hemlock Falls.

I couldn't put this book down either and knew that I'd soon be anxiously waiting to see just what monster or nightmare would come Winnie's way because she has been put through the wringer far too many times. Winnie's life may well be partially how she had desperately hoped it to be when we'd first encountered her in The Luminaries but you just know there's going to be a cost..

With familiar faces, and a knowledge that all is far from how it should be for not only Wednesday but many in The Luminaries, trust has to be placed in those she may not have before and things are delectably tense which adds to the unsettling feeling both Wednesday and the reader feel as the story unfolds.

The monsters are unique and complex, which is also refreshing and even some that may well be familiar are so well done by Dennard that they have the ability to escape the page and evolve in your imagination. I certainly wouldn't want to encounter the unsettling Whisperer on a spooky night that's for certain so I can only imagine how its presence unnerves Wednesday given she's still somewhat isolated in town...

Dennard has given us a fantastic middle child in this series, it holds its own and gives us both answers that you've been eager for but also sets us up for more trouble in the upcoming book which cannot come soon enough.

Following on from book 1 the illuminaries. We do get a few more answers but so many more questions.
Its a easy read and has magic, mystery, danger, drama all wrapped up in the story.
Its interesting that there is many factions with different skill sets/roles/talents. And having them named each day of the week is interesting.
Looking forward to book 3, and possible side books showing the rest of the world.

Sorry i forgot to review this until now.

This sequel was what I needed, the storyline picks up right where the Luminaries left off. The narrator was very pleasant and nice to listen to and i enjoyed the authors work combined with this.

This was a pretty good sequel, even though I wish I’d read it closer to the first book - I probably would’ve enjoyed it even more back then.
I’d forgotten quit a bit of plot from the previous book so I occasionally felt a little lost while reading, but luckily most things were rather self explanatory in The Hunting Moon.

Love the first book and this one was great too! Lots of action again and some nice relationship development between characters.

📖 ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 📖 ★★★★☆
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: The Hunting Moon, Susan Dennard
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Fantasy
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Audiobooks

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
🗡️ will they won’t they
🌳hunger games / one dark window
🗡️ <300 pages / book

Felt like a mesh between the hunger games and one dark window? All the gothic vibes with the forest mist and nightmares but the blood sweat and tears from the trials of the Hunger Games/bonesmith. I read this immediately after the first. Is it winning literature prizes, probably not but it’s a lovely coming of age YA Fantasy with all the good vibes

Continued with great narration for the second book in the Luminaries series - can’t wait to listen to more Susan Dennard.

A similar rating to The Luminaries, but really I felt a little let down by this one.

Maybe I wasn't in the right place to read this, but it felt liked it dragged whereas I speedily read the Luminaries like a guilty pleasure. Not much happened for a long time, given the abrupt cliffhanger in the first book, I thought that would be the focus for the second, but instead the book meandered into plot points and anxieties I thought that the first had already covered. It felt repetitive and only picked up again towards the end.

I think whether or not I read the third will depend on the size of my tbr when it's released, I want to know what happens, but I'm not super excited about it, unfortunately.

The audiobook was read really well though, I liked the choice of narrator, I think, in hindsight, because of the slower plot, though, I would have engaged with the book more in written form for me personally.

The Hunting Moon: 2 (The Luminaries) by Susan Dennard takes readers back to the captivating world of Hemlock Falls. In this heart-racing and jaw-dropping sequel to the bestselling The Luminaries, we join Winnie in her courageous battle against the terrifying nightmares that haunt the town.

The story is highly enjoyable, and the characters are absolutely adorable. The pace is fast and thrilling, and the twists and turns throughout the book are truly satisfying.

Reuniting with Winnie and Jay was a delight, although it's worth mentioning that this trilogy is primarily intended for a Teen/YA readership and reads on the younger side. While the romantic themes didn't personally resonate with me, I didn't find them overwhelmingly saccharine.

Overall, 'The Hunting Moon' is an engaging second volume that skillfully progresses the overarching plot and character development. I appreciated Susan Dennard's efforts in providing more background on the unique society of Hemlock Falls, the Dianas, and the nature of the Nightmares. I eagerly anticipate diving into Book 3 when the time comes.


Caitlin Davies is again serving as the audiobook narrator and once again did a fantastic job!

4.7 stars

For full review, please see @nice_to_read_ya

Book: The Hunting Moon
Author: Susan Dennard

The Hunting Moon is the second book in the Luminaries series by Susan Dennard. I found the first book to be not what I was expecting, but I liked it. I liked the concept. Unfortunately I felt like The Hunting Moon wasn't up to the same standard. If I'm being honest, not much happens in The Hunting Moon and it gets really repetitive. There are some lines and sayings that are repeated word for word 5 or more times. That being said, despite being at a slow pace, I do think this series is building up to what I hope is an epic finish so I will continue on to read on with the series and read book 3 (The Whispering Night) when it comes out in October to get the answers I am looking for. The set up is promising so fingers crossed! And don't let me deter you, this may just be your favourite read of 2024.


*Instagram link to be added once post has gone live*

I don't listen to many audiobooks and have been trying to change that however I find listening to them quite hard especially if I have already read the first book in the series, like I have in this one, as the narrator's voice doesn't match the one I give them in my head (obviously)

So, although the narrator's voice was pleasant and engaging I just couldn't get into the book, I will buy the book though and read it as I do want to know what happens and what the mysterious presence in the forest is!

WoW The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard and narrated by Caitlin Davies was a wonderful audiobook especially as it is the second book in the The Luminaries series and I loved every minute of it. This was a book that took my breath away.....it was just beautifully written just like the first book.

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.

I do recommend you read or listen to the first book but they were both an enjoyable read or listen. This book is for young adults who love urban fantasy books

Big thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for the ARC.

I got this audio book to listen with the ebook I received on netgalley and was disappointed when I downloaded and few days came back to continue listening and it was disappeared so I ended buying the audio book myself.

I enjoyed the way the narrator told the story, she was really good of making it more interesting and capturing so you don't want to leave it unfinished.

I follow Winnies life as she passes her hunting trial and trying to figure out what she is as a Wednesday and where her loyalties lay. I liked the tension between her and Jay and I think author had massively improved the world building and character development.

This was such a good sequel, i love this series! The characters are so loveable and will be definitely be picking up future works from this author!

When will I learn to check that books are a one off or the second in a series? I mean, it was a couple of chapters in before I realised something was off, but I have to admit that I quickly filled in the gaps, and it didn’t spoil my listening pleasure. I really enjoyed this.

The world of Hemlock Falls is an interesting one - shut off from the non-magical, they look down on them somewhat, but still feel compelled to keep them (and themselves) safe from the nightmares in the forest separating the two peoples.

We join Winnie Wednesday after she has passed the hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries after being cast aside by them for some reason (in book 1, I believe!), and Winnie is now a local celebrity. Not that she’s enjoying it very much. She’s worried that everyone is passing her attacker off as a werewolf, and she’s pretty certain that it’s another creature called a Whisperer. And the Whisperer is still killing hunters every night.

There’s a bit of romance as well - Jay Friday, who seems to have his own problems that he doesn’t want anyone to know about, is making advances to Winnie, and she doesn’t mind one bit. He’s a nice boy (I sound like a mum here, I cannot deny I am one).

I listened to this on Bolinda Audio through NetGalley, and the narrator, Caitlin Davies reads the story so well. There’s nothing quite like a good narrator, adding value to a story and bringing a world to life. The feelings of the characters were conveyed so effectively that I felt fully involved.

I think this opens up a whole argument as to whether books should be sectioned off into age groups. I mean, this is YA, so aimed at 12-18, and I can’t for the life of me understand why? Perhaps I’m a simple soul. OK, there’s no sex, but I’ll be honest - I don’t want to read about sex all the time. It can get a bit boring (controversial, perhaps, but there’s my opinion!). And YA seems to do fantasy and science fiction SO WELL!!

So I’m off to read The Luminaries and fill in some gaps, because I loved this second in what I assume will be a trilogy.

“That’s why we’re called the Luminaries. We are lanterns the forest can never snuff out.”

This book starts where the first ends and as soon as I started listening I was hooked. I spent hours listening and managed to finish the audiobook within a couple days.
I really love the narrator and she captures Winnie’s voice and keeps us invested in the story.

We learn a lot more about the nightmares and there’s more secrets that kept me wanting to listen to one more chapter.
We also learn more about the Diana’s and how they differ from the Luminaries.

I also enjoyed seeing the friendships between Winnie and the other Luminaries and how they do truly care for her even though she doesn’t always see it.

We continue to follow Winnie as she tries to fit in to a world where she thought she would belong but now doesn’t feel like she does and the struggles she goes through. There’s discussions on loneliness and losing friends and putting up walls to protect yourself but that also means you don’t let people in.

There was one plot twist that I saw coming and spent half the book screaming at Winnie to figure it out already but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book.

After that ending I am looking forward to the next book to see what will happen with Winnie and that plot twist!

I absolutely love this series. I love the way the story is told and how it keeps me enticed.
I love everything about this novel
I loved the narrator, they made it easy to follow along and enjoyable

The Hunting Moon picks up right where the Luminaries left off.

The world building is a real strength of this series and I loved diving further into it, particularly as the lore around the witches was further developed.

The mysteries first established in The Luminaries continue to gradually unfold, I did guess some of the reveals early on but it was still satisfying to finally have them confirmed. I’m looking forward to reading the final book and getting some answers to the remaining questions I have!

This series sits at the lower end of YA but it definitely appeals to the older reader as well. Not only is the world building great but It’s an easy read with well developed and realistic characters. Unlike in some other young YA books, I never felt frustrated with the teenage characters. In The Hunting Moon Winnie continues to battle all the teenage angst, including romantic feelings, finally being accepted by a community that previously ostracised her and the trauma she went through in the first book.

I’d definitely recommend this series if you’re looking for an atmospheric YA fantasy perfect for autumn.

Listening to the audiobook was the perfect way to take in this story, you really feel like you’re in Winnie’s head! The narrator does a brilliant job and was very easy to listen to.

I love this series and have really enjoyed listening to them on audiobook. The Hunting Moon picks up where The Luminaries left off and I loved Winnie Wednesday's character development. I had a sneaking suspicion about the werewolf (which turned out to be correct) and I loved the very last part with the crow! Each of these books have left me so excited for the next instalment and I can't wait to return to Hemlock Falls for more magic and mystery. Will we find out what has happened to Winnie's dad in the next book? I really hope so!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

The book is an exciting sequel to 'The Luminaries' that will keep you engaged right from the first page.

Winnie Wednesday has achieved everything she ever wanted. She passed the dangerous hunter trials, her family was welcomed back into the Luminaries, and she became a local sensation overnight. She earned the nickname "The Girl Who Jumped" and "The Girl Who Got Bitten". However, she feels uneasy about everything. She's unable to convince anyone about the existence of a new threat that she calls the Whisperer, which is killing hunters every night. Despite her certainty that the werewolf is innocent, everyone accuses it. Moreover, following her father's intricate hints about the Dianas and their magic, along with what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago, she's left with more questions than answers. Adding to her troubles, only one person can assist her: Jay Friday, a boy with his own set of problems.

The book maintains an even pace, which I really appreciate. The mysteries introduced in the first part remain and continue to unfold seamlessly throughout the narrative as Winnie journeys to discover her identity and role in Hemlock Falls. The evolution of Winnie and Jay's relationship is portrayed expertly as they deal with their challenges and ultimately reunite. Winnie's connection with the Wednesday clan her circle of friends, reveals a new side of her character and reinforces the idea that she is not alone in life. The book's portrayal of Winnie's growth is remarkable, and the concluding chapters had me on the edge of my seat. I am eagerly anticipating the future adventures in store for Winnie as the series unfolds.

"The Hunting Moon" is a masterful portrayal of complex feelings after trauma, including PTSD, disassociation, and the inability to enjoy things that we previously loved. It is a story about creating friendships, trusting others even after being let down many times, and opening up to our friends. The world-building and lore are incredible, and the descriptions are vivid and emotional. In fact, I loved this book even more than the first novel and cannot wait to read the next instalment!

I really enjoyed the audiobook narration in this novel; it was a delightful experience that brought the story to life. The narrator's dynamic performance was engaging and conveyed the emotional depth of the characters in a captivating way. Each character's distinct voice and the narrator's ability to infuse the dialogue with genuine emotion added a layer of immersion that enhanced my connection to the story. Listening to this audiobook was not just a reading experience; it was a heartfelt journey that brought the narrative to life in an unforgettable way.