The Luminaries by Susan Dennard (The Luminaries book 1)

“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. - taken from Goodreads.

This was a surprisingly great read that I had a hard time putting down. The families/protectors of Hemlock Falls are sorted/named after the days of the week. Winnie Wednesday still dreams of becoming a hunter even after her father’s betrayal and her family’s shunning by the community. When she enters the hunter trials to everyone’s dismay, they are shocked to see she made a kill. Winnie didn’t but she didn’t correct anyone’s assumption, especially when her family was accepted back into the Luminaries. Back into the fold, Winnie gets help from Jay Friday, a former friend. The deeper Winnie gets back into her training, the more secrets and strange happenings that occur.

Book two is expected to be published in 2023. 

Visit Susan Dennard’s website.

The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey (The Girl at Midnight book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, The Girl at Midnight and The Shadow Hour, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite stories for you.

“The sides have been chosen and the battle lines drawn.”

Echo awakened the Firebird. Now she is the only one with the power to face the darkness she unwittingly unleashed . . . right into the waiting hands of Tanith, the new Dragon Prince. Tanith has one goal in mind: destroy her enemies, raze their lands, and reign supreme in a new era where the Drakharin are almighty and the Avicen are nothing but a memory.

The war that has been brewing for centuries is finally imminent. But the scales are tipped. Echo might hold the power to face the darkness within the Dragon Prince, but she has far to go to master its overwhelming force. And now she’s plagued by uncertainty. With Caius no longer by her side, she doesn’t know if she can do it alone. Is she strong enough to save her home and the people she loves?

Whether Echo is ready to face this evil is not the question. The war has begun, and there is no looking back. There are only two outcomes possible: triumph or death.“ - taken from Goodreads.com

Readers will be unable to put down this epic conclusion to what I see as an underrated series. The ultimate battle has begun between, good and evil, dark and light, Avicen and Drakharin. Echo is determined to stop Tanith’s power play once and for all. Guided by her love for her friends, the final showdown between the two is not only satisfying but heart-breaking as well  A definite recommendation for fantasy lovers everywhere.

Visit Melissa Grey’s website.

The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey (The Girl at Midnight book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Girl at Midnight, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“A battle has been won. But the war has only just begun.”

“Everything in Echo’s life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.

The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.

Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she’s already overcome.

She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.

Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature—or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what’s left of her world to the ground?

Welcome to the shadow hour.” taken from Goodreads.com

This book picks up immediately after the first. Echo is now the firebird and she must decide what that will mean for her life. With her new and old friends, they try and determine how they will save not only themselves but the world from the new Dragon Prince. The action and reveals build slowly but readers will race to the end to see what happens. The last two pages slayed me but excited for book three. A definite read for fantasy lovers.

The final book in the trilogy is The Savage Dawn, due out July 11, 2017.

Visit Melissa Grey’s website.

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey (The Girl at Midnight book 1)

“Magic lives in our darkest corners.”

“Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants…and how to take it.

But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I don’t know why I didn’t read this book sooner, but in a way, I’m glad since I won’t have to wait years for the series ending. Even though some readers may see some obvious clichés and overused tropes, the writing in this book is phenomenal I actually listened to the audio version and the narrator was spot on in her delivery! I cannot wait to see what book two brings Echo in her new adventure.

The next book in the trilogy is The Shadow Hour.

Visit Melissa Grey’s website.

The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

Vespa Nyx is joking around with a stuffy patron when the paralytic field suspending a sphinx in New London’s Museum of Unnatural History is suddenly disabled. She later claims to her father, the head of the museum, that she was pushed from behind. This time the field was much stronger than the one she took down at Miss Marmalade’s Seminary for Young Ladies of Quality that led to her expulsion a year earlier. Working for her father at the Museum ever since, Vespa prefers the life of a Scientist. She secretly desires to be the first female Pedant in several generations rather than to become a wife and mother as is expected of her. When she is aided by the unfamiliar Pedant Lumin, she is shocked to discover her father dislikes him even more than she does.


Not wanting to leave Vespa alone after her incident, she goes with her father and his creepy assistant, Charles Waddingly. Nicknamed The Wad by Vespa, she feels hurt that her father has replaced her. When she awakens during the carriage ride and doesn’t remember the trip, her father brushes off her concerns. Soon the carriage is stopped by a small gang of highwaymen who demand all of their valuables and ask for the strongbox. Vespa steps forward, trying to put on a brave face, and tells them that they will be sorry if they take it. A voice calls out saying that she is right and a small clan of Tinkers emerges from the other side of the road. The highwaymen scurry off and the Tinkers come forward. Stating that they know what is in the trunk and that they can have all the Waste if they really want it, the Tinkers demand payment for their rescue. When a Tinker, Syrus, spies the jade frog that Vespa carries in her purse to remind her of her mother, he takes it and leaves the money behind. Vespa vows to get her frog back and to find out what exactly is in the chest.

When some unnaturals escape in the laboratory, The Wad stays behind while Vespa goes off in search of a containment unit. Struggling to get it to a lift, Vespa runs into Pedant Lumin. He offers to take the unit upstairs while Vespa goes off to get her father. Vespa is told by the receptionist that her father is not to be disturbed. She forces her way into his office and stumbles upon several Pedants and museum directors in protective gear with the strongbox open. It is full of the Waste from the forest and Vespa slowly backs her way out to keep from contaminating anything else.

Vespa makes her way back to the laboratory and finds Pedant Lumin with only one sylphid, who he has trained, where there should have been a roomful; of them. Confused, Vespa studies Lumin and her thoughts turn to whether or not he is going to kiss her and if that is what she wants. What she doesn’t expect is for him to reveal that he is an Architect of Athena (a warlock) and that he believes Vespa is a witch!

Elsewhere, the Empress’ guards come to the abandoned rail yard to Cull Tinkers to work in the refinery. Syrus is the only member of the reed clan to escape. He goes to visit the Manticore deep in the forest. He laments that he wishes the Manticor4e could do something to protect the Tinkers who protect her. She says that she always thought there was nothing she could do but realizes that she was mistaken. The Manticore tells Syrus to bring her the witch and they will be able to free his family.

Is Vespa Nyx a witch and what does this mean for her future? Just who is pedant Lumin and is he truly a warlock? What secret does Charles Waddingly hide? Why is Vespa’s father experimenting with the Waste? Will Syrus be able to help the Manticore and save the forest and the clan families? And will Vespa be able to rise about it all when the situation calls for it?

A book with tons of action and adventure set in a steam punk, fantasy realm with a splash of romance, readers will be clamoring for more of Vespa Nyx. Ms. Trent is currently working on book two.

Visit Tiffany Trent's website.