The Hunting Moon

• Author: Susan Dennard
• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Publication Date: November 7, 2023
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Series: The Luminaries #2

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The highly anticipated sequel to The Luminaries by New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard.

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.

I did a quick audiobook refresher of The Luminaries before I started this one, because I remembered there being a lot going on in the story. And I’m glad I did, because I was right. So the reread helped me understand all of the background, and get in the right mindset for this story. It also helped me remember one of my favorite things—the way it brought back such strong ‘90s fantasy vibes, and an atmospheric story.

To start with, I enjoyed the narration in this story. Caitlin Davies was fantastic with the variety of voices, although I couldn’t help but get irritated when she voiced Erica’s character. Perhaps that was done on purpose, since Erica isn’t exactly a sympathetic character in the story.

Speaking of sympathetic characters, I adored Winnie in this book. She really grew a lot and came into her own. Starting with identifying how she was feeling instead of pushing it down, she moved into speaking up for herself. The natural progression was for her to have to decide where that Wednesday loyalty stops—at where the Luminaries tell her to, or where her own morals say? 

The whole Luminary society felt strange to me, although it didn’t seem to bother anyone in it except Winnie. After being outcast from the society for four years, all it took was Winnie passing her trials for the family to be welcomed back with open arms, and for her family to forgive four years of being outcast and deprivation. Yet Winnie is struggling with being expected to just go back to being friends with the people who turned their backs on her for years. More than that, she’s having difficulty reconciling her feelings about Jay, who she sees less and less. And on top of all of that, she’s still trying to figure out what’s going on with the Whisperer and the werewolf and navigating her newfound fame. So she’s got her plate full. 

But there’s more, of course. Because she’s stumbled onto what seems like a plot by the Dianas that seems to back up her father’s story that he was framed. But she can’t just outright investigate, especially after her family has recently been returned to a status in society. I did enjoy learning to get to know more about the Dianas and how they operate. 

This book adds depth and complexity to the story by expanding on some of the existing elements, and demonstrating a lot of change in Winnie’s character that I loved to see. I rated this book higher than the last one because it showed a lot of growth and delved a lot more deeply into the background, lore, and characters than the previous book did, as I’d expect from a second book. However, I’m hoping that there’s a third book coming soon, because the ending left me with questions!