I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I didn't finish Adrienne Young's Spells for Forgetting and I was worried I wouldn't like this one either.

Whatever worries I had were blown completely out of the water by this story. WOW. I absolutely loved this book and was sucked in from start to finish. It is so emotional and touched with many elements of magical realism that hooked me easily.

I will say the book had a slow start not to say it wasn’t important but it did make me question if this was the right book for me, so if you’re in the same position I was, after ten percent its like a switch flipped and your right with June with so many unanswered questions and so much tension I quite literally had a sick feeling in my stomach due to the uneasiness with all the mysteries and the number of questions that continue to add up the further I read the book.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is one of those books that the less you know about it, the more you will enjoy it. I had only read the synopses and I thought I knew how the story would go, but boy was I wrong I could never have imagined the way the author decided to tell this story you truly don’t know where the story is going and yet I couldn’t stop myself from trying to figure it out, I was so close to cleaning out a wall in my room to try to plot and connect the dots and figure out how everything would play out, and honestly it would be for nothing because I wasn’t even close to figuring out all the mysteries. I remember three times I had to put the book down and walk around my house trying to process the twist and surprise reveals.

The mystery surrounding the Farrow women was both complicated and intriguing given that the book is under 300 pages the author does a great job of not overwhelming or confusing the reader. The planning/ plotting all deserve a round of applause with how well it all worked out, with so many mysteries and unanswered questions it could have easily made a mess of the way the story unfolded but the author found a way to make everything work so perfectly together in a way that they story flows in perfect harmony.

So why isn’t it a five-star read? The ending while we did get all the questions answered I thought it was a little rushed I think I wanted more of a show me don’t tell me and wanted more of the romance flushed out.

Regardless it’s an amazing read and I recommend to anyone that wants to read a good mystery with some family drama, unconventional second chance romance, magic/curse, and strong female characters.



Solid 4.5



Thank you to NetGally and Random House Publishing for and an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Ballantine for an e-ARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow!

I was SO excited to get an ARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow because I absolutely loved Young's last book, Spells for Forgetting. Unfortunately, I am a bit torn about how I feel about this book. I thought the concept was very unique, but hard to follow at times which made it hard for me to get interested in the book. I thought the pacing was slow but the characters developed bonds and attachments so quickly. So much emotional attachment was expected to have happened in such a short frame of time. The character development just wasn't there for how quickly these characters became important to each other. On the other end of the spectrum, June gave up on a few of her friends and family very quickly.

Overall, I thought the book should have been much longer. There were so many missed opportunities to elaborate on certain relationships and characters with such an interesting concept. This story felt rushed and left me wanting a lot more.

While not my favorite from Adrienne Young (books that feature motherhood as a prominent theme are just not for me), I did end up enjoying it.

This book is a wonderfully weird story of time travel, of choices and what makes a life worth living. Part mystery, part romance, part urban legend, with The Unmaking of June Farrow Adrienne Young delivers a delightful, contemporary fantasy amidst the rolling mountains of western North Carolina - riveting, atmospheric, with enigmatic characters - spellbinding.
A small-town legend complete with a mystery, curse, and a line of witchy flower growing women disappearing down the ages. It’s a lovely read, one built for cozy winter nights and lazy summer afternoons. Beautifully written and full of emotion, this book makes you question everything you know to be true about the world. There are so many twists, so many mysteries and you really need to stay on task and present reading to grasp the twisted timeline. There are multiple astounding relationships and love stories, including timeless love.

This was a beautiful magical time traveling mystery romance. I could not put it down and was fully invested at the beginning. If I could give it more stars I would. I can not stop recommending this.

4 Stars

This book is as atmospheric and magical and lyrical as any of Adrienne’s other books. It’s so unique from her other stories in that you can tell she has matured as an author and truly poured her heart into this tale.

I normally don’t do well with time travel stories because my brain can’t make sense of *the science* of it all, and I will admit that the rules around time travel in this story had me confused MANY TIMES (maybe we can get a drawn out map of the frayed strings like June drew???), but I will say that despite that, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the story of womanhood, and mothering, and sacrifice for love.

Not giving too much away, this book really spoke to my heart in terms of what mothering can be and how generations of women take turns mothering each other, protecting and caring for each other regardless of birth order or age or station in life. The sacrifices we make for those we love and care for can define the trajectory of our lives and give us purpose, and that, mixed in with a healthy dose of Appalachian atmosphere and nostalgic romanticism, is The Unmaking of June Farrow. I can’t wait to see what Adrienne writes next.

This book was so amazing! The setting and atmosphere of this story was perfect! Set in a small town of North Carolina, the Farrow women have secrets - more than they even realize. A story of family, genealogy, and generations.

'Unmaking of June Farrow' is on another level of amazingness! It's complex, unique, tempting, unpredictable, surprising, jaw-dropping, and exhausting to your brain cells, dragging you into an unusual story of the Farrow women and their complex family history; it's as intricate as Netflix's German original series 'Dark.' It has a mind-bending time travel story that keeps you guessing how the entire execution will unfold, cooking up conspiracy theories about the murder mystery, but it also includes a heartbreaking, intense love story, even though we've been introduced to the heartbroken hero a little later! It is also one of the most powerful feminist stories about the collaboration of women who help each other to survive and the sacrifices the mothers make to protect their children. I give it 4.5!

I went into this book knowing only that it was Adrienne Young's second adult novel and being pretty sure it was the book she did all that flower farm research for, and that was about it. If you want to know more, you can find the official summary on the Goodreads page here!

Recommendation: I've already been a little vocal about this with some, but I absolutely loved this book. I will be recommending it to basically everyone, and I'll likely not stop anytime soon. This is, in my opinion, the best book Adrienne Young has written [so far]. It's an interesting blend of mystery, including a murder mystery and missing person mystery, small-town drama, and romance while also keeping family as an important core element. That said, it's a story where not every answer to every question is given, so if that's something that would bother you, this book may not be perfect for you. I would still recommend it, but I would make sure that much is understood. In short, if you're looking for a mystery with magical realism, this may be the book for you!

June Farrow is a wonderfully complex-yet-simple woman. She has lived with her grandmother slowly losing her mind, like all the Farrow women before her. Her grandmother describes it as feeling like you're living in two different times, causing "episodes" where things that aren't real seem to be for an amount of time. We get an early glimpse as to what "haunts" June in particular, but, for all the Farrow women, there's also a red door. One of the times the door appears, June approaches it, realizes she can not only touch the door, but she can open, and the story begins in earnest. we watch June struggle to put all the pieces together to multiple mysteries, including what the June that married Eamon and had Annie did with her life with them, and it was an amazingly complex, interwoven set of mysteries that was captivating and kept me hooked, leaving me always trying to find a bit more time to read more of.

This next paragraph after this one touches on light spoilers. If you don't want any spoilers at all, I would suggest stopping here! I did try my best not to spoil anything, some of the next paragraph could be argued to be spoiler-y, so feel free to stop here to prevent spoilers instead of at my usual spoiler line after this next paragraph. Just like I always mention there, feel free to come back after reading the book for the next paragraph and my spoiler thoughts after, or read the spoilers if that's your jam.

"Magical realism" isn't a term I was terribly familiar with before reading this book, though it's something I've been subconsciously aware of for years of reading, and, in case it isn't for you either, I wanted to take a moment to talk about it, and to try to see if I can explain my understanding of that term without spoilers for this book. [Disclaimer: I'm not an expert, nor am I "qualified" in any way other than having years and years and years of reading under my belt, so please keep that in mind! While this concept is something I've known about for years, this term isn't, so I wanted to try to help anyone else out who is possible confused or unsure about what it means.] From what I've gathered, "magical realism" is sort of a "magic lite" kind of story. Where magic isn't a major component of the story and/or world, but is still a fairly major contributor to the story. Without giving away too many spoilers, in this book, the major "magical realism" component is the red door, but, in keeping with the "magic lite" aspect, it's essentially the only magic present, the rest of the world of the book being realistic or otherwise "normal" in regards to the real world. While that is over simplifying things [in the name of preventing spoilers], that's essentially the "magical realism" of this story in a nutshell. While a chunk of this book is dedicated to the mystery of the curse and the red door they all see, there is still chunks of it dedicated to the romance and the murder mystery, which isn't magical in-and-of itself. I hope this helps!

**AND HERE IS THE OFFICIAL SPOILER LINE, SO SPOILERS START IN EARNEST AFTER THIS! IF YOU WISH TO AVOID THEM, STOP READING HERE, AND COME BACK AFTER YOU FINISH READING THE BOOK YOURSELF! IF YOU DON'T MIND SPOILERS, FEEL FREE TO READ ON, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

While this book is by no means perfect, I really enjoyed this book, and I plan to read it again in the future! I'm really curious to see if multiple reads will actually make the tying up of the "current loose ends" clearer, or if it'll just make the timelines easier to keep track of and follow.

Before I dive into the only "negative" [if you can call it that] thought, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the romance in the book. We're lead, in the beginning, to think the romance for June was Mason. But, while there was a decent bit of foundation laid for that, I'm not sure if was enough for me to ultimately root for June to go back through time to be with him. Similar to how I felt in Outlander, once any kind of foundation was laid for Eamon, like there was for Jamie Frasier, the answer on whether she should go back was clear to me, and the answer was no. Do I think June could have had a happy and fulfilling life with Mason? Sure! But nothing in comparison to what she would [did?] have with Eamon.

The only real "snag" for me with the time-travel rules and the red door is that, technically, June has the option to cross four times, while the rest of the Farrow women only get the option three times. For June, she crosses back in time the first time [in the future, the only crossing we never see] which is when she meets Eamon and murders her father [in brutal self-defense]. For that version of June, she then crosses a second time which is when she, for lack of a better term, unmakes herself, hence the title of the book. Then, we have the June the story follows, which crosses for her first time to rejoin Eamon a year after her "unmaking". That should make it her third crossing, which should stop her from seeing more doors, and be the last crossing she's offered. But she goes on to see the door multiple times [once we actually see on page, and then more in the last-chapter-recap] after that before it stops appearing, which implies she's allowed another crossing. My only guess is that her unmaking crossing didn't count since she never crossed time, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand, from the storytelling perspective, that the door appearing that first time for her once she's learned everything and has to choose between her life with Eamon and Annie and her life with Mason is suppose to be her big moment and it's supposed to be emotionally charged and everything else, and it wouldn't be as much if she just thought that it would be an ideal time for the door to appear, but it does feel a smidge convenient with the hard rules that all the other Farrow women have had to live following.

Outside of that, without having reread the story, I'm not sure there's much else I have to complain about. I guess the beginning of the curse would have been a nice thing to have explained, but I'm not sure if I just missed that explanation while focusing so much on other aspects of the story. It's part of why I want a reread. While I would like an explanation for why the curse began, there are plenty of other great books who have unanswered "source" questions, so I don't really know if I should count that against it, and I don't really, for this read through.

I loved the twist that Birdie is June's "past" daughter. I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one, as some people complain about the complexity of the time-traveling, but I loved the twist that somehow future June goes back in time and starts her relationship with Eamon, which results in Annie, and all the twists that comes with Annie's existence as Birdie in June's life. Time-travel needs rules, and, while this rules are simple and I haven't sat down to make sure it's leak-proof, the rules seem to hold water [even with the weird possible-contradiction with June having the opportunity to cross one more time than the other Farrow women got, if you consider the unmaking to not count as a crossing because time wasn't truly crossed].

All-in-all, I loved this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it again some day! If you have any thoughts or wish to discuss anything with me about this book, please feel free to comment here or send me a message on bookstagram!

As always, I hope you enjoyed the review, and be kind, stay safe, and read on!

Ms. AYoung does it again with another poignant tale of a love that spans time and a family curse that spans generations

There is a broken beauty in this story about a family that is shrouded in a past of heartache and pain. Mystery surrounds not only June, but her past, her family's past, and a history that defies logic.

Who is she really? What are the mysteries of her past?

Intriguing, haunting, and worth the journey through all the ups and downs.

* * Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review this advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion * *

I really loved the vibe and setting of this one but ultimately I stopped reading around 38%. I was not invested in the characters and the time travel became a little confusing for me.

I loved this book. Top new favorite of the year! I love time travel in books and this was executed wonderfully. The themes of family, sisterhood, motherhood, marriage were all so good and made me cry through the whole book. And the ending? Sobbing. So beautiful and I could identify with the main character in so many ways. Will recommend this book to everyone.

What's a book that will always stay with you?

The Unmaking of June Farrow by @adrienneyoungbooks is one of those books for me. It publishes next week, so take this as a sign you need to read it, if Adrienne Young is not already an auto-buy for you 😊

This book is about a curse, and a secret, and a murder mystery- and all of these will have you turning page after page until morning (ask me how I know). But deeper than that, it's about relationships. About old friendships and new loves. About a grandmother and granddaughter whose love defies time and distance. I had such a relationship, and I know how it leaves a mark and never truly ends.
Deeper still, at its core, this book is about the choices June makes when she's 34, and when she's 38. How in between those ages, something shifted in her heart. I know how this feels, too, and I've never seen it play out in a book right before my eyes. Thank you, @adrienneyoungbooks , for shining a light on this inflexion point of life.

I've read a decent amount of time travel books recently and was wondering if this book would stand out... It did! We follow along with June as she travels through time and unravels the mystery of her life and timeline. I wish there were a bit more character development and exploration hence the 4 stars. Overall, I found it engaging and heart-warming.

I was very bored reading this book and sadly DNFed it at 40%. I absolutely adored Spells Forgetting but I could not get into this story, it’s very slow.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a stunning and beautiful story of family and love in an enchanting setting.

The Farrow women are different, at least that is what the town of Jasper, North Carolina say. June Farrow was raised by her grandmother after she was found to be abandoned by her mother, Susanna, where the town rumors are that she went a little mad. June has vowed that she will not let this madness that curses the Farrow women continue, even if it means sacrificing her happiness. But soon June starts seeing mysterious images and remembering lost memories, and June knows that it might be too late.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is definitely at the top of my favorite reads this year. The writing is beautiful and flowed seamlessly. The plot was interesting and entertaining, I read this so quickly I was immersed in the story and the characters. I felt a connection to all the characters and the setting. The only drawback for me is that at times I needed to really comprehend parts of the book and to really concentrate on what timeline we were in, that did take me slightly out of the story.

Adrienna Young never misses, and The Unmaking of June Farrow is another win for her! This book had such subtle nuances of magical realism that I was hanging on every word. I loved the way the plot unfolded, the characters, all of it! I was just so good.

I’m always a sucker for timey-wimey nonsense, so while the time travel rules here didn’t make any sense, I went along with it. The plot itself was interesting, and I liked June a bit more than Emery from Spells for Forgetting. But like in Spells, I had trouble connecting with the love interest here. I think with both of these we don’t see enough of the couple’s initial love story and are only being told how powerful it is afterward. I just needed a bit more.

This book destroyed me a little - but in a good way. There were so many layers on June but also in the Farrows as a whole. I wish we got to meet Susanna.
🚨 Spoiler 🚨
I was forreal mad at June but 2024 June. I felt awful for 2023 June. Here she was minding her own business and got thrown into a whole new world and life that she didn’t plan on. At the end, am I happy that happened? Yes. But it also felt weird because poor Eamon! Like I get that she’s technically the same person but not really! 2023 June didn’t have a choice until she was already fully committed to her family. Her memories like a parasite and she’s the host. THAT BEING SAID - all these emotions are 💯 percent the reason why this book was so good!