I haven't met a an Adrienne Young book I haven't liked, but this one just might be my favorite!
Look, I consider myself to be a reader that is hard to surprise! I can most times see the twist coming before it does and I keep reading to prove myself right. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE!!!! In the very best way I was shocked and awed. This is a book you will not want to put down or shove aside. Make sure its the only book you are reading (I am almost always reading 3+ books at the same time...don't do that while you read "The Unmaking of June Farrow").

A HUGE thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Delacorte Press (Random House Publishing Group) for the eARC! I WAS IMMENSLY ENTERTAINED!

It has been so long since I have been taken on a book rollercoaster ride that I was beginning to think I was immune. Yet, this has revitalized me! The Farrow women are complex and intriguing all by themselves, but they way this story unfurled itself in the form of expertly written and crafted events told through absolutely mind-blowing, time traveling geniusness!!! Just when you think you are getting a good handle on the story, just know you aren't and it is eye-gasmic bliss. There is an intense love story, murder/disappearance mystery complete with conspiracy theories and a journey to find answers that grow right up to the end.
I can't write more here because if I do I will start giving too much away. Talking about snippets from from this book is like opening a can of Pringle, "once you pop you just can't stop."
Oh, the goose bumps!!!!
Love it!!!! Buy it!!!!

NO REGRETS!!!!!

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a gorgeous story of family and identity. It's not quite fantasy, but it's a little bit more magical than fiction. It feels at once epically sweeping and gloriously quiet.

June Farrow is the last of the line of Farrow women, all of whom go crazy before they die. It's a curse that no one can explain, and one that haunts June every day, especially now that she's buried her grandmother, the last person left who truly understands. And worse, her own symptoms - hallucinations? visions? - are getting more and more frequent, indicating that she might not have much time left with a sound mind. Except, it turns out, it's not madness that haunts the Farrow women, but the ability to travel in time, just three times in their lives. June stumbles into this accidentally and backwards, and into a world that knows her but that she's never encountered, leaving her to question everything she's ever known.

The concepts driving this book - the time travel, the red door, the Farrows - all pulled me in immediately, as did June's narrative voice. We uncover the truth alongside her, learning and remembering as she does. It doesn't hurt that the book is beautifully written with rich descriptions and lovely characterizations. Every one of the Farrow women comes to life on the page, as do Eamon, Annie, and the other citizens of Jasper, North Carolina.

And yet, as entranced as I was by this book, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was missing... something. I'm not sure what. A more fleshed out romance with Eamon? A little more depth to Mason? Some other plot thread? I don't really know what more I wanted, but there were times when the story felt a little bit hollow. And given how much I loved this story overall, the lack was even more pronounced.

Still, I adored The Unmaking of June Farrow and will be thinking about it for a long time.

4.5/5

Adrienne Young is an amazing writer with incredible prose and imagery. This book was very atmospheric and had me hooked from the premise. While she did a great job at recognizing mental health, trauma, and magic-realism elements, the time travel really made my brain twist. Another thing that I struggled with in this book was the romance. Second chance romance is a fifty-fifty for me, but this was still a beautiful story. I am thankful to have gotten to read it.

All the stars for this book! I was captivated by The Unmaking of June Farrow from start to finish. Having visited the Blue Ridge mountains many times, the setting felt so real to me. I'm currently living overseas, and this book made me homesick in the best way possible. This was such a lush and creative story, with the perfect touch of magical realism. The plot was tight and moved quickly, and the characters were distinct. June felt like a real person to me. This is one of the best books I read this year, and the best book Adrienne Young has written yet. Bravo!

The Farrow women have been cursed for generations. June is determined to end the curse once and for all, and find the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. It took me a bit of time to get into this one and then I needed to know what happened next. I was able to figure out the mystery but still really enjoyed the story! The family generations and strong female relationships absolutely make this book.

Happy Monday y’all! I hope everyone had a great weekend- mine was full of cleaning and relaxing and handing out at the gym, so a perfect weekend for me. And of course, what perfect weekend would be complete without some reading? I read quite a few books- The Unmaking of June Farrow actually wasn’t one of the ones I read this weekend, but it was one that I read in November and have been meaning to review since then, so I figured now would be the perfect time! Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book!

The Unmaking of June Farrow 4/5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:

A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.

The Unmaking of June Farrow was such an interesting book! I had a really hard time getting into it and if you had asked me at the beginning of the book what I was going to rate it, it probably would have been a 2, but as soon as June made it into the past and we started really getting into the meat of the story, I was so hooked. I didn’t want to stop reading! That’s how a lot of Adrienne Young’s books are for me, now that I think about it- they take some time to get for me to get into them and then I’m so hooked. June’s family “curse”/downfall into madness was really interesting and then actually finding out what it was was even cooler. I loved Adrienne Young’s take on time travel- this was a version of time travel that I had never seen before. Normally in time travel, no one at all is supposed to know that you’re a traveler, but here, June’s family knew that she had traveled back. And man, what a time to travel back to. The mystery. The twists and turns. The love interest. The baby. I loved that June was 34- she’s a little older than I am, but she felt so relatable as a character. And it was a great reminder that you never stop trying to find who you are, who you’re becoming, and your people. Overall, The Unmaking of June Farrow was a really compelling read and I really hope that if you haven’t read it yet, you add it to your lists ASAP.

Adrienne Young never disappoints! Love being emersed in June's story — and the atmospheric writing. *Chef's kiss* Can't wait for the next Adrienne Young novel!

I was so sure I was going to love this book, and I just really, really did not. I know I’m well and truly in the minority with that opinion, so if you’re interested in reading this one, just know that A LOT of people loved it!

My biggest issue was 100% plot-based and so I can’t really share without it being a major spoiler, but suffice it to say that the journey our MC ends up taking is one that I disagreed with in principle so much, it just completely ruined the book for me.

I will say that I thought the writing was beautifully done, and I won’t hesitate to pick up future works by this author. This one just left me feeling angry, lol.

Thank you to Ballantine Books + NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was immediately drawn to this book and it had become one of my legitimate favorites. Reading about June’s journey with the dual mysteries, was not only intriguing but one I hadn’t encountered before. June was a compelling character and I felt myself feel all her same emotions during her story. The writing style was lyrical and beautiful, which I loved. I was new to this author and I know I am going to be seeking out her books over and over again from now on!

June Farrow knows there is no escaping her family's curse. Every woman in her family succumbs to mental illness either sooner or later and June knows she is next. She is seeing things, strange things that aren't there. She knows her time is limited before she becomes like the rest of the women in her family, or worse like her mother who disappeared without a trace. One day she sees a random red door in a field and opens it, and she time-travels back to 1951. While there, a farmer who says he is her husband, Eamon, is upset with her. She has been gone for a year and left not only him behind, but also a young daughter. The more time June spends in 1951, the more June gets flashbacks to her life with Eamon. She also realizes that this is intertwined with the disappearance of her mother as well as the murder of a minister years before. Adrienne Young's The Unmaking of June Farrow is an entertaining fantasy filled with romance, mystery, and magic.

I really enjoyed the character of June from the start of The Unmaking of June Farrow. While I didn't always understand the details surrounding this version of time travel, I did think it was extremely entertaining as time travel is one of my favorite fantasy elements to include in a novel. Just like in Spells for Forgetting, Young creates such an atmospheric world that I love to be lost in. The mountains of South Carolina felt so vivid, they practically jumped off the page. If you enjoy a well-written fantasy and one that will keep you flipping the pages, look no further. Fans of Young won't be disappointed.

Adrienne Young’s way of unfurling a tale of magical realism is absolute perfection. Her beautiful and intentional words paired with such unique tales leave you thinking about her books for a long time.

This is one of those that I will be thinking about for a long time. I literally could not sleep about after I finished this book because my head was spinning and my heart was breaking. It is amazing the emotional punch this story packs in the relatively short amount of time you spend with the characters. It is atmospheric, twisty, and beautifully devastating. I am already looking forward to re-reading this one. Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Delacorte Press for the advanced copy.

I actually read and recommended (and LOVED) this book about a month ago and it’s now one of my favs of the year!

*4.5 stars rounded up*

June Farrow is determined that her family line (& curse) ends with her - but what if she can manage to fix things without dying?

June was taken in by her grandmother after her mother mysteriously disappeared when she was an infant - nobody in the small town of Jasper thought much of it since the Farrow women have always gone mad at some point or another in their lives. Thirty-plus years later, June is an adult essentially treading water as she waits for her own “madness” to descend - she has a few special people in her life, but besides working for the family flower farm & caring for her aging Gran, she’s decided not to do much else: & to definitely not break anyone’s heart by falling in love. However new clues come to light in the wake of her grandmother’s passing, & it may take diving deep into what she thought were hallucinations to find the truth…

I loved the setting of this book, the Adeline River was a gorgeous & treacherous backdrop to June’s story, & her family’s gift with flowers was also a fun detail. This is the first time I’ve read anything from this author, & her way of portraying the intensity & complexity of motherhood was both genuine & heartfelt. While reading this book I was frustrated anytime something pulled me away - I NEEDED answers, that’s how much June’s saga drew me in. An epic combination of genres with the vibes of Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January, this is the kind of story people will want to fall into again & again.

Thank you to NetGalley & Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

June Farrow just buried her beloved grandmother. She is now the last Farrow left alive and she intends to keep it that way to stop the curse that has led all the women in her family to lose their minds right before death. As she slowly starts to see things that aren't there and hear things that no one else can, she gets a letter from her grandmother that opens up a complex mystery that might just hold the key to helping her. But can June open herself up to the unknown in order to take the steps she needs?

This was one of those books that I wasn't sure about when it first started. There are more questions than answers, starting with June at a very low point. I honestly considered stopping to come back to it when I was in the mood for drama because it had the feel of being a major downer. However, it picks up and pulls you in with a story about connections, decisions, and sacrifice. It does have a hefty dose of drama, but it's worth it for how wonderfully Young tells the story.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the touching read!

I'm a huge fan of Adrienne and she has yet to disappoint me. I know, it's like I'm asking for trouble but this was such an amazing book.

There are so many things going on in this book and Young can weave the story so beautifully. June is from a long line of "cursed" women. Her grandmother has just died and left some cryptic clues for her. She starts to unravel the past and the journey she's taken on is wild. As she's learning about her past, she's starting to realize things are not at all what she's been told/knows. I found the murder mystery was woven into the story in such a natural way too. The atmosphere that Young created made you feel like you were living it.

I loved June and her story. I don't want to get into the plot too much because there's a lot of things I don't want to spoil. Just trust me that it is never boring and the writing keeps you so immersed that you don't want to stop. This did take me a while to read but because you have to take your time with it. It's not a bad thing, just know you need to read at a slower pace. There are a little for everyone with a love story, murder mystery, and some magical realism throughout the story.

Overall, this was a great book. I think this is a story that I'm going to remember for a long time. It's such a beautifully written book with details that will stay with you. It's one of Young's strongest books to date. I cannot wait to see what she does next!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an e-galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was ok. I had a hard time getting into/staying into it. The timeline aspect was a little confusing.

THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW is easily one of my top books for the year. I didn’t know what to expect of this one going in, other than a small town and perhaps some magical realism. What I got instead was a beautiful story of love that crosses space and time. Young really excels at writing small town stories that absorb you and make you feel as if you’re a part of them. Throughout this story, I felt the heat right alongside Eamon as he burned the fields, I felt that hot country air as I drove down through the empty roads right alongside June, and I felt the oddness and the strangeness of feeling as if I’ve seen it all before, without knowing how.

The characters in this story were really the highlight for me. This was packed with so much emotion, you could really feel it on such a visceral level. Eamon’s love for his June, June’s love for a child she barely knows, the heartbreak (and subsequent joy) when the big picture is slowly revealed. This is a story of joy and hope and love at its core, but it breaks your heart several times over in the process of getting to that joy and hope and love.

The overall plot of this one was absolutely spectacular. I had no idea what to expect other than a curse upon the Farrow women. Curses are fantastic enough, but this particular curse just blew me away. Curse sounds so simple, and this was anything but. I would caution against reading any in-depth reviews because this is a story best left to unfold without many details. This one is a bit of a slow-starter, but I promise you it’s worth it. 5 glorious stars.


*Digital arc received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

Absolutely adored this book. A bit of romance, mystery, sci fi even and so much heart. I love Adrienne 's writing style and the magical realism in her stories. Always so beautiful and mesmerizing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing me with an eARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow in exchange for my honest review!

This is my first time reading any of Adrienne Young's work, and I must say that I had a riveting experience here. The time-travel trope is always something that will hook me just a bit more deeply into a story, so that helps. But it's the touching narrative of this book itself that fully pulls me in, getting me invested in June, her family, and the time-bending mystery surrounding them. Now, there are some beats that do leave me somewhat puzzled in regard to the time-travel logic, but they don't overwhelm the rest of the tale. Its main priority isn't tightly told time travel that's full of twists and turns; it's the people at the core of this story and the relationships they all share. In addition, I admire how this offers up thematic coverage for misogyny, religious bigotry, and the ease with which the public can dismiss mentally struggling women.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Unmaking of June Farrow 3.75 out of 5 stars, which I'll round up to 4 stars. I'll be interested in reading more of Young's work.