YA Weekend: The Whispering Night by Susan Dennard

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Whispering Night by Susan Dennard

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Series: Book 3 of The Luminaries

Publisher: Tor Teen (November 19, 2024)

Length: 384 pages

At last, the final book of Susan Dennard’s Luminaries trilogy is here. The Whispering Night brings things to a thrilling and emotional conclusion, and I was excited to see how everything would play out. Having followed this series from the start, I was invested in the ending which made this well worth the read, though I couldn’t help but notice some of the issues I’d had with the first two books remained unresolved.

The story picks up with Winnie Wednesday finally setting into her new life as an elite member of the Luminaries. The werewolf threat that the hunters have faced has been brought under control…at least for now. Far from being the pariah she was before all this began, Winnie’s latest escapades have made her more popular than she could ever imagine. She has rekindled her old friendship with Erica, and even started something a little more intimate and complicated with Jay Friday. On top of that, their community’s biggest celebration of the year, the Nightmare Masquerade, is just around the corner.

However, the attention becomes more than Winnie can handle when she is unexpectedly crowned queen of the Masquerade—a role that many feel she did not do enough to earn. As the revelries continue throughout the event, Winnie is forced to fend off this resentment along with other threats related to the mysterious scandal surrounding her father’s disappearance years before. Enter the Dianas, the secretive and antagonist group that stands in opposition to the Luminaries. Witches who are said to use forbidden magic, the Dianas’ exact motivations are unknown, but Winnie’s father had been mixed up in their business. Together with Jay and Eric, she must find out how and why, and also uncover the truth about the figure known as the Whisperer and find out how all of it is connected to the long-standing war that has always existed in Hemlock Falls.

As a protagonist whom I’d had mixed feelings about, Winnie Wednesday has certainly grown on me since we were introduced to her in the first book. She’s emerged as a much more interesting character when she’s not on the defensive all the time, not to mention a lot more pleasant. A Winnie who is not constantly trying to prove her worth has more time for her real personality to come through, and it’s one with a great deal of introspection and a wicked sense of humor. Friendships also appear to agree with her, and the interactions she has with her peers in Hemlock Falls have really come to the forefront in this book now that Winnie’s solitary existence is behind her. Erica shines in this book as she steps up as a loyal ally, and the romance with Jay is getting its well-deserved moments as well.

But the world-building of the Luminaries trilogy remains one of its most confusing aspects, and unfortunately, we never really get clarification on how it’s connected to the outside world. Hemlock Falls still feels strangely isolated, existing in a bubble. It’s clear now that Dennard has kept this lack of connection in place on purpose, but the gaps do leave the series overall feeling incomplete, with a sense that pieces of the puzzle are left out.

When it comes to wrapping up the story, though, The Whispering Night is satisfying with its mix of action, resolution, and emotional payoff. It’s true that some parts felt chaotic, especially during the build up to the ending, or when the supernatural elements felt rushed or glossed over, but on the whole most of the major questions were answered. That said, the conclusion leaves the door open for the potential of more stories, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the world-building issues I mentioned above are addressed in future books set in this universe.

Overall, The Whispering Night is a solid conclusion to the Luminaries trilogy. It’s not without flaws but does deliver on the elements the series’ readers have come to enjoy. I would recommend it as a fun YA paranormal adventure, and if you’ve been following Winnie’s journey from the beginning, this finale is absolutely worth picking up.

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Luminaries (Book 1)
Review of The Killing Moon (Book 2)