I love Young's writing and the sense of atmosphere in her books. And The Unmaking of June Farrow was no exception. Her stories feel rich and pull you in so quickly.

This one was the perfect read for fall, and I enjoyed the fantastical element of it. I was invested in June's story, curious to see where things would go as she begins to be afflicted by hallucinations caused by the curse that has plagued women in her family.

I struggled a bit with the time travel element of this book, feeling like some scenes got bogged down by the logistics of it all. But, overall, it is a really wonderful and atmospheric read.

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did, I could put it down. There were several times when I gasped at a reveal or something else happening. I ended up lovi ng the book once all the ends were tied together. It is a sad and beautiful store that shows what people can do for the ones that they love. How sometimes, even though the truth hurts, it truly can set you free. June's character is developed so well and goes through so much. Ultimately, I supported her and the path that she took. The story in this book really made me think about how all of our choices can impact not just our path but the path of those in our life.

This was such a beautifully written story and I enjoyed every minute reading it. This is a story about how love will conquer all boundaries even time.

This was more of a miss for me. I love Young's other works, and while the premise of this was intriguing, I just couldn't not get ahold of it. Though it seems like all the major points of "the curse" are explained, I still couldn't understand what was going on in that regard. I did enjoy the characters and the writing, but the plot was just too convoluted in this one.

I fell in love with Adrienne's writing after reading Spells for Forgetting last year and June did not disappoint at all.
Wow🤯

It is just as enchanting and captivating, and the mystery of it all makes it so hard to put it down, literally. I already want to reread it bc I didn't even stop to highlight and I know I missed things along the way.

Highly recommend if you've read Spells and if you didn't read Spells; I highly recommend both.

If you've ever watched the show Dark on Netflix...think that, but it's not 'dark', it's just that entangled, while more whimsical, completely out there and amazing 🤩🚪

And now I really can't wait to finally read Fable and the others, they are waiting on my tbr cart 🤭 the whole lot!

I haven't purchased a copy yet only bc I am hoping to get the Fairyloot edition🤞, but I may still cave for the original bc it doesn't even ship til spring 😳

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC copy of Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young.

#unmakingofjunefarrow #adrienneyoung #timetravelbooks #familycurse #randomhouse #randomhouseballantine #netgalley #unputdownable #5starread #bookreview

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars
June Farrow is an flower farmer in a small North Carolina town with a huge secret...all the women in her family are plagued by a curse, which starts with hearing and seeing things that don't exist. When June's grandmother dies, June starts following clues to figure out what is happening to her and her family.

Beautifully written. Tons of twists and interesting concepts. I got lost a few times following some timelines but overall I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Curses, time travel and murder combine in this bewitching story of the extraordinary love between mothers and daughters. A beautiful book I won't soon forget.

Thanks to Ballantine for the copy to review.

Young is magic and this might be my favorite spell to date. It has a slow weaving romance, with some brain twisty moments and a murder mystery. What else could you possibly ask for? Since her debut, I have always found Young's writing so engaging, atmospheric, and transporting. This book was just so overwhelming beautiful and I will definitely be rereading for years to come. More adult novels from Adrienne please!!

“I’m not sick, honey. I’m just in two places at once.“

I picked this as a #botm pick.

The quote I selected had this book really grabbing my interest.

However, I don’t think I’m this book’s target audience and I’ve come to the conclusion magical realism / fantasy just isn’t my jam.

The timelines, years and ages just let me confused and a bit lost in the sauce so to speak. I got the overall storyline but the details were lost on me.

I never really felt drawn to any of the characters except maybe Birdie towards the end. The characters just felt flat to me.

The book itself was very atmospheric and the setting was described beautifully.

The pacing was consistent throughout but I did find my attention waning a good bit in the middle of the book. I liked the italicized flashbacks. That really added a lot to the story and was necessary for the progression of the story. I prefer books with a faster pacing.

While this book wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped, overall it was ok. I think it would make a really cool movie.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I really liked this book- its a time traveling story with a bit of mystery and romance thrown in - ala time travelers wife. I did find myself a bit lost at times with the timelines and explanations of what was happening, but I just rolled with it and found I still could enjoy the story. The romance fell a bit flat as it seemed June was reacting to ghost memories rather than actual feelings and falling in love. The mystery was a good one- not a huge surprise but a logical conclusion.
Spoliers below
.
.
Margaret died and lost her mind from time traveling- but when and where did she go? Or with the healing of the timeline- she didn’t go back in time so maybe she kept her facilities? Im confused

I can see why people like this! June's story is part time travel, part murder mystery, and part magical realism.

The atmosphere of the book was definitely the best part, as June's memories all come together.

However, I'm not sure I really *got* it or understood everything that happened. Recommended if you are okay with some ambiguous plot elements and sci fi logic. If you get annoyed by time travel paradoxes, maybe skip.

This was a heartachingly beautiful story about love, and family, and figuring out which path is the one we're supposed to be on.

I had no idea what to expect going into this story. I read somewhere that it would be a better experience not to look up many details about it, and so I didn't. I didn't know if it was going to be fantasy, or speculative, or any of that. I loved how when June first starts seeing and hearing things, you don't know if she's imagining it or if there is really something to it. I thought for a little while this would be a story about mental illness. But it was so much more. As the mother to young children, I found this story especially moving. I don't want to spoil anything by giving too much away, just know that you should READ THIS BOOK.

Thank you the publisher and netgalley! I loved Adrienne Young’s previous book which I felt was a cozy magical story. This one felt the same. Set in a small town with a family secret and a mystery wrapped into one!

I am absolutely in love with The Unmaking of June Farrow and it has quickly become one of my favorite reads of 2023. This book was addicting from start to finish and was a twisty, wild ride.

It follows June Farrow who has been raised by her grandmother after her mother’s mysterious disappearance, which was believed to be caused by the madness that has cursed all the women of their family for generations. When her grandma dies and June starts experiencing the first bouts of the inevitable madness herself, she discovers some clues to her mother’s disappearance which lead to the chance to end this curse once and for all.

Adrienne Young does it again with this book. Her storytelling is always spectacular, but I think this one is next level. It was atmospheric, engaging, suspenseful, and romantic. Time travel can be such a difficult concept to write well, but she manages to do it beautifully while grasping the full complexity of it and still making it understandable. All of the details were so smartly crafted to tie everything together and made the twists in the plot, of which there were many, that much better. I adored the characters and watching their relationships develop and change throughout the story and how they navigated these complicated situations. This story had so many layers and I could not put it down. These characters haunted me long after reading and left me with quite the book hangover.

I am so close to turning my 4 stars into 5 but I am just not sure as magical realism is a tough genre for me to get 100% swept away. But this author never fails and though this book was different from Fable, it wasn't bad different. It is wonderful when the author can do that.

This was the perfect fall read. There were times it was a bit confusing but it all made sense in the end. To me it was part mystery part fantasy. What a unique story that had me captivated from the start.

Time travel books are usually not my jam, but I really enjoyed this book. I absolutely loved the character development. It was so well done and gave me all the feels. I did find parts of the book a little confusing, so some editing would have been helpful to flesh out some of these details, but all in all, a solid read. Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

I really loved this book! I went in without reading too much of the synopsis which was a smart move.
This was beautifully told and gently suspenseful. I think this is a crowd pleaser and would make a great gift.

I adored Spells for Forgetting and went into The Unmaking of June Farrow blind because of it. I enjoyed the setting of the Blue Ridge mountains in Jasper very atmospheric and I felt like I was there. June was a great character and I enjoyed the story the plot was good I did feel a bit lost at times but I figured it out. All this to say if you told you more I’d be spoiling the book. I feel the ending was a bit rushed or maybe that was the point? Overall I enjoyed the concept and will continue to read other works by Adrienne Young as she creates magic.

This book was truly incredible! I loved the atmospheric setting and was instantly drawn into the characters. I especially loved the sensory details which immediately immersed me into the world. I also loved all the twists and mysteries revealed in this setting. I typically shy away from books about time travel, but I didn't have any difficulty following the logistics of the multiple timelines in this story. I devoured it as quickly as possible!