June Farrow discovers that she has inherited the “illness” that has been passed down generation upon generation. In her attempt to fix it and undo the curse, she discovers more than what she thought she’d ever know.

This book started off slow for me. I’m not a huge fan of setting description, as I’m a bit of an impatient reader that gets highly distracted. However the book picks up toward the end and becomes a real page-turner!

It was the perfect blend between literary fiction, a bit of fantasy/magical realism (if that’s a thing), and romance. Such a heartwarming story that I never really expected to come across! And the twists were just too good.

The family aspect was so cozy and it was the perfect fall read in my opinion. I loved how everything interlaced, especially summarizing at the end. June’s love story was just so sweet and definitely not what I was expecting.

To put it simple, this was just a really great read.

There are not enough words.
My ability to relay the amount of feelings I have for this novel is entirely inadequate.

Young has always captured atmospheric but this one adds another level; a layer of raw emotion and grief which is almost palpable. And when the time came for the MC to make her cataclysmic choice, I honestly didn't know where the story would go.

This was original and made me feel in ways a book has not evoked in years.
By far the best read of this year and it has quickly earned a spot on the mantle as one of my all time favorites.

A mashup of Addie LaRue meets Time Traveler's Wife that'll leave you reaching for tissues. 🐦

Thank you Random House Ballantine for the review copy and apologies for a slow to post review, I read this in mid October but ... life.
I LOVED this sweetly engaging story, a kind of magical realism romance with small town charm, family secrets, and a enduring sense of longing, wanting, and hope. The Unmaking of June Farrow is a warm fall blanket, cider in a cup, and a cozy weekend vibe.
Recommended!

I’m so sad to say this, but this one wasn’t up my alley! I LOVE Adrienne Young and Sky in the Deep is one of my favorite books, but I couldn’t get through this one. I feel like I would love the audiobook though, so I’m anticipating my review to be higher in stars once I’ve listened to it. But for now, I’ll rate this 3 stars and DNF’d… for now.

This was my first book by Adrienne Young and I thought it was an excellent balance of magical realism, thought-provoking plot, and relatability.

In The Unmaking of June Farrow, title character June is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm and the madness that plagues their family. It has been a year since June has started seeing and hearing things that aren’t there and she is determined to end the family curse for good.

I don't read a lot of magical realism or time travel and what I have read in the past was not something I found myself seeking out more of, so I was pleasantly surprised by this plot that was heavy on time travel and magical realism. Time travel can get complicated and there were times in this book where I was a little confused about the timeline issues being discussed. It reminded me a lot of the Disney+ series Loki in terms of the timeline. It all came together at the end, though!

I wish more about June's relationship with Mason had been covered. He was a fairly prominent character in the beginning but then was only mentioned here and there and then brought up once in a memory June had and I would have loved to explore that more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced digital copy. My review is honest and voluntary,

Thanks so much to @delacortepress for my eARC. I was also able to get a physical copy from @bookofthemonth because I absolutely LOVE @adrienneyoungbooks books and needed a copy!!
It came out on Tuesday (October 17) so it’s available now!

💫Read you like:
-magical realism
-the power of motherhood
-atmospheric reads
-time travel
-timeless love

It’s hard to summarize this book without giving away too much, but here I go: June is a Farrow, a line of women who own a successful flower farm but also eventually lose their minds. After her grandmother dies, June uncovers mysterious clues regarding her mother’s disappearance and death years before. When June starts to have visions of herself in another life, she must choose to which path to follow.

Get this on your fall TBRs!

4.5 ⭐️ - I loved The Unmaking of June Farrow! I hadn't read Adrienne Young's books before so was excited to read it - she is a great writer and hits the right balance of being descriptive and detailed with the settings, characters' feelings and dialogue, without bogging down the story or not being descriptive and detailed enough. The story was perfect for fall, with elements of mystery, suspense, family drama, romance, and time travel. I don't always love time travel, but loved it in this book. I feel like there's a fine line with time travel books where the focus can be too much on the time travel itself or depend too much on that to drive the story, while not integrating it in. It's obviously going to be a main part of the story, but Young integrated it so well that while I wanted to get answers as to how it worked, I was invested in the characters themselves and kept me guessing, but it wasn't distracting and facilitated what was happening to the characters, and was drawn into everything that June experienced and felt as she discovered what was happening. I will likely be purchasing a hard copy of the book in the future, and will definitely recommend it to others! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

It's hard for me to write this review as my mind is still reeling from this book, apologies if it's discombobulated! The reveals just had me gasping so loud and my jaw hitting the floor!

The Unmaking of June Farrow is Adrienne Young's second foray into the adult "fantasy" genre and it was great as usual. Young's way of writing is just so good to me, such description and flow gets me hooked every time, I will read anything she writes because I know it will be beautiful. June Farrow has a bit of mystery/thriller vibe with some time travel thrown in. I found it hooked me from the very beginning, the mystery of June's mother's disappearance and the locket was wild. Young continued to pull me in with the time travel and the relationships June has with Eamon, Annie, Margaret and Esther. As I stated before the reveals are jaw dropping and when you get to them you're like OMG THAT MAKES TOTAL SENSE! The only reason I wouldn't rate this as five stars is I need to know more. We don't really get why June's family has this ability of time travel, we don't get to see Eamon and June falling in love, and I thought it would've been really amazing for June to tell Eamon she knew/felt him before she even met him. That morning she woke up with feeling him all around her I was just so mushy over that. I realize that the author probably just didn't want to bog down the story but I'm one of those ones who loves details and information and would've really appreciated this!

I had the opportunity to read and listen to this book and I have to say the audiobook was fantastic. Brittany Pressley narrated it and her voice was really pleasing to the ear. She had such good pacing and her inflections and voice changes for different characters was spot on for what I imagine a North Carolina accent to be. I will definitely keep an eye out for other titles she narrates, she quickly solidified herself to be in my favorites.

Overall I loved it and I think Adrienne Young is just a really talented writer. I will continue to support her in any way I can and look forward to her next title. Thank you so much to RHP and Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Step into the enchanting world of 'The Unmaking of June Farrow,' where time travel, magical realism, and a touch of mystery and romance come together in a mesmerizing blend.

In the heart of the present, June Farrow grapples with the recent loss of her beloved grandmother, Margaret. For June, abandoned as an infant by her mother Susanna and raised by her grandmother, this loss is particularly devastating. Despite the support of her close-knit community, including her dear friend Birdie and childhood companion Mason, June carries a heavy burden. To make matters more perplexing, June begins experiencing hallucinations over the past year—mysterious figures, whispers, and a mysterious door. She believes this "madness" is a family curse that has afflicted the women in her lineage for generations.

But June soon discovers that her visions are more than mere delusions. A century-old photograph of her mother, along with startling revelations from Birdie, unveils a hidden truth about her mother's past. When June finally steps through the enigmatic door that keeps appearing, she finds herself in an entirely different timeline, faced with a momentous decision about her own destiny.

Dive into Young's evocative storytelling as she guides June, and you, through various time periods, painting a vivid tapestry of experiences. While I may not typically gravitate toward the fantasy genre, I found the extensive world-building and intricate rules of time travel, like setting the hands of a locket watch to the desired year and the limits on door usage, to be both fascinating and occasionally bewildering.

The narrative is presented from June's first-person perspective, which initially draws you closer to her world. However, as the story progresses, some readers might yearn for more character development and depth. The introduction of romance, though a noteworthy element, may not resonate with all readers, particularly those who don't typically explore this genre.

'The Unmaking of June Farrow' harbors immense potential within its initial premise—a canvas on which to paint themes of unheard women's voices, mental health, and the enduring impact of generational trauma. While these themes are glimpsed, some readers might wish for a more profound exploration of these powerful issues throughout the narrative."

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this cursed family book!

June is the last Farrow and has decided that the line, known for carrying mental illness, will end with her. Then her own hallucinations start, but what if what's wrong with her isn't what she always planned for? For some reason, the plot of this felt very familiar to me, but I can't place my finger on why - overall, though, I really enjoyed reading it and found it fast paced and interesting!

Adrienne Young's The Unmaking of June Farrow is the story about a woman who 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 going back to Esther Farrow.

The whole town of Jasper remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance in 1989, leaving her daughter, June, to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors. It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that aren't there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—signs of what June has always known is 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 disappearance, except these only lead to more questions, including a picture from 1911 of her own mother married to a man named Nathaniel Rutherford. A man who was found dead in 1950. Could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears as she is driving, June realizes she can touch it and walk through 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. Here she finds a man, Eamon Stone, who is June's husband. Here she finds a little girl named Annie who is June's daughter. Here she finds a Sheriff named Caleb Rutherford, son of Nathaniel, looking answers to why his father was murder, and why June disappeared for a year while the investigation was still under way. Here she finds Esther Farrow as well as a teenaged Margaret Farrow who in 2023, is her grandmother.

*Thoughts* June is a curious character, and for the most part, an unreliable narrator. She's basically seeing things that most people can not which makes her an oddity. Just like her mother. Just like her Grandmother. Even Annie aka Birdie has secrets. June has been living in fear of the future, dreading what it has in store. The fear has been with June for as long as she can remember, shaping her life choices such as her decision never to have children so that the curse would die with her. And yet, despite all her preparations, the onset of the first symptoms still managed to catch her off guard.

Following June’s venture through the strange door, she finds herself transported to 1951, which at least provides some possible theories on why her mother would be in a photo dated back to the turn of the century. In this past timeline, June realizes she’s lived another life, one that she doesn’t remember because she hasn’t lived it yet. One that she learns she is basically fraying the ends of two timelines. The journey she embarks on is a roller-coaster ride that will challenge her every belief and force her to confront the deepest parts of herself. The novel weaves together elements of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and romance.

Thank you so much for this opportunity. Adrienne young does it again! This was a great, cozy and magical read for fall. I loved the magical realism and time traveling element. Extremely well written! The twists and turns and sci fi element was great! I’d love to see more of this from the author!

So, for the good part. I do think Adrienne Young's prose is really good: she was able to set the scene vividly and invite the reader to the city of Jasper. However, I did have three major problems reading the book though that made me think it was only an ok read.

The book is written in first person from the point of view of June Farrow. And she is just a bland and passive character throughout. She was just there and things were happening to her and around her but she didn't move the story or the relationships forward. So, it was a struggle to continue reading through her point of view.

All of the misteries are kept from the reader and from June because the other characters refuse to tell her eveything that is going on just because. I hate this kind of mechanism of withholding information from the reader and from the main character just because is necessary for the book to exist. If the characters had a sincere talk, the book in the beginning would be 5 pages long. And they decide to reveal everyhting to her (and to us) just because. Oh and the muder mistery is pretty obvious early on.

The relationships just didn't engage me. Due to a plot point, all the relationships are told to us instead of shown. We never really see her and the main love interest fall in love, we are told they were. We never see their relationship grow. For a certain reason (too spoilery to say), the relationship just forms and it plays a huge impact on the story and I just didn't buy the love. There is another relationship, between her and Annie, that I wanted to see developed but it just fell under the same trap.

I liked the reveal regarding Birdie though, it was interesting even if a little sad.

By the end, maybe the book just wasn't for me since a lot of people enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

4.5/5 stars.

Following a woman who has sworn to end her family’s curse along with trying to discover just what happened to her mother, June is full of uncertainty but determined to not continue the trauma her family has experience, especially after losing her grandmother. The touch of magic in this story reminded just how much I really enjoy magical realism especially when it’s dealing with traveling between times. Through it all June is set in a path that she herself has set even if she doesn’t know it yet. With doors opening and memories of a different time returning, June is on a short timeline to discover the truth about herself, her mother, and just how deep her family secrets go.

I’ll admit, going into this book I was already in a slump, and the slow start made it difficult to get into. There were several starts and stops that spanned several weeks, but when I tell you it finally hooks you, I mean I stayed up all night ON A SCHOOL NIGHT to finish it!
June is living her life under the impression that she can never live it to its fullest potential because she is destined to succumb to a hereditary mental illness. When this illness claims yet another one of her family members, she sets out on what she believes is a mission to figure out what happened to her mother when she disappeared just after June was born.
What June doesn’t realize is that their family secrets run so much deeper than she could have imagined and quite literally withstand the test of time.
Ultimately June learns how far she is willing to go to find happiness and protect the ones she loves.
Like I mentioned, there was a slow start here, and I found some of the story to be a little hard to follow, but overall I loved it and am so glad I stuck with it. It was truly unique and unlike anything I’ve read in a long time!

This book gave me such a cozy feel. It had mystery, twists, and turns that was I not expected. It kept me wanting to read more and more until I finished.

There hasn't been a book by Adrienne Young that I have disliked. I have loved every book. Her writing style flows beautifully and the story line keeps you entertained and wanting more.

I went into this book intrigued but not sure if I would like it. Turns out, I loved it! The Farrow women have been cursed with time travel. June, Margaret, Eamon, these characters just come to life in this book. The story telling is so good. 5 stars for me!

<b> June struggles with the complicated implications of her family's curse of hallucinations and mental illness...until she realizes that the red door and visions of the past are real memories from her own time-travel experiences.</b>

<b> <blockquote>I wasn't the first Farrow, but I would be the last. </b> </blockquote>
June Farrow is biding her time on her family's flower farm in the small town of Jasper, North Carolina.
But she's been seeing and hearing visions for a year now, and she believes they're linked to the curse that the community believes has its hold on the Farrow women.

June would love to end the curse, the fraying of the Farrow women's minds, once and for all--by never having a child and allowing the mental illness to die with her.

But when she realizes she can walk through a magical red door, she finds unexpected circumstances--and realizes that she may be able to reinvent her path forward--and possibly also shift the events of the past.
Young builds a story of traveling through time and of shimmers of other realities that might have been--or possibly did occur; whether they happened or not is not always clear.

<i>The Unmaking of June Farrow</i> involves some maddening determination on certain characters' parts to keep the time-travel element wholly secret from those who would ultimately be faced with it. (If even the bare bones of this crucial information were shared on a need-to-know basis, a character's possibility of showing up as herself in a dangerous point in time--for example, a time in which she may have been accused of a grave crime--could help secure her own safety and preserve her existence through various timelines and her implications on others.) It was tough not to feel frustrated at characters' reluctance to even allude to the giant elephant in the room, once the situation was laid bare for the reader.

Receiving only vague advice (which initially feels faulty, to say the least) about simply walking through the vision of a red door that appears to her leads June into a dangerous situation in the past--a past from which she built deep roots at one point, then simply disappeared.

The mystery of why June left a past timeline is intriguing and keeps the story going. The story shifts between events of 1912, 1946, 1950, 1951, and 1989. Late in the book, June begins to understand the "folding of time" and intuits how timelines may have combined. It's a complicated web of cause and effect, and for much of the book I wasn't certain that the bundle of events affected by time-travel added up (which age and version of which person exists in which time, and how does the interaction between different versions affect everything else), but I was willing to roll with it.

The circumstances of the ending are largely satisfying, the emotional connections June ultimately makes are poignant, and there's a character-reveal twist that was sweet and lovely.

I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine, Delacorte Press.

Adrienne Young is also the author of <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-fable-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b>Fable,</a></i></b> its sequel <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-namesake-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b> Namesake,</a></i></b> and <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-last-legacy-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b> The Last Legacy,</a></i></b> loosely set in the worlds of <i>Fable</i> and <i>Namesake,</i> as well as <i>Spells for Forgetting.</i>

I am always so excited when I see Adrienne Young has written anything new. The way she writes magical realism is unlike anything else. I feel fully immersed in the world she creates. The Unmaking of June Farrow was a little slow to get going but I loved this beautiful story and highly recommend. You will thoroughly enjoy!