For years, June Farrow has waited for her family’s curse to catch up to her. Living in a small mountain town in North Carolina, it was no secret to anyone that her mother had gone mad and then disappeared, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother. June has just laid her grandmother to rest after watching her suffer through similar symptoms. But what she hasn’t told even her closest friends is that she’s been seeing and hearing things that aren’t there as well.

Soon, June discovers a series of cryptic clues that leave her with only more questions, including a letter that says simply “Trust me.” One of her recurring hallucinations is a red door, and the next time it appears she decides to walk through. Anything she does after this point will change both the past and the future. She’ll also find herself thrust into someone else’s love story, family, and a likely murder.

The time-bending initially threw me for a loop and I’ll admit I was confused at times. However, as you near the end, you realize just how cleverly multiple stories have been woven together. This is one that I would love to see come to the big screen one day.

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Penguins Random House for the advanced copy!

i picked this up for a few reasons.

the first is it's set in north carolina, where i'm from. the second is that the plot summary promised witchy mystery. mystery i got, the witchiness a lot less so.

the farrow family is cursed. slowly but surely, each woman in the farrow family ultimately goes mad. june hopes the curse is a myth until she starts hearing her name being called, starts seeing things, and ultimately stumbles upon a mysterious door in the woods. she then realizes that her mom didn't just skip town, there's more to the mystery of her mother's disappearance that remains to be seen.

once her beloved grandmother dies, june is told this: if you see the door, walk through. when she does, june finds herself amongst strangers decades before, but the strangers seem to know her...

it's hard to review this one without giving too much away. there's a curse, yes, and there's time travel also. love is at the core of this story, but familial/generational love, as well as a sweeping romance too.

if you picked this up expecting witchiness and practical magic vibes, put it back down because you won't get that here. however, the story itself is really beautiful and explores deep family history, generational traumas, small town dynamics, and a second-chance romance that you'll adore.

not what i expected, but a perfectly unexpected surprise.

This is a lovely tale of magic, madness, heaven, sin (😏) and ultimately the power of love, all told in the gorgeously atmospheric style Adrienne Young used in Spells for Forgetting

The story centers around June Farrow, the last woman of her family line who are all cursed with inevitable madness. We follow her as she learns the stories of several generations, spanning over 100 years.

I won't be giving much detail, which could get spoilery pretty quickly. This book was slow going at first, as it is told from June's POV, and a lot of it takes place in her mind as she deals with, and tries to figure out, how the family curse is affecting her sanity. Also, the author really takes her time describing the settings in detail, which does a fantastic job of transporting the reader completely in the story.

I found June to be exasperating at times, as she herself kept secrets while at the same time being upset her family kept them too. This actually does become integral to the story, but the whole "using secrets that, if told would end the drama" is one of my least favorite plot devices.

Around the 30% mark, the story really picked up and I finished in one day, staying up till 1 am. The twists were a little mind-bending, and this is the type of story that will have you thinking about it long after the last page is turned.

Have you ever seen a meteor shower? Well one is coming because Adrienne Young has delicately crafted another book that immediately had me giving it 5 stars. Sorry, 5 meteors. It feels wrong to love another one of her books so much. (I’m just going to look like a suck up at this point.) I didn’t need to find more room and space to take up in my heart than I had before. Some how here we are, adding an extension that is fully filled with June Farrow.

This story. Let me say it slower. This. Story. She weaves a whole entire life in these pages. When you close this book, when you finish it, you’re forever encapsulating the Farrow women’s history in your mind. One of the most memorable books I will ever read. And Eamon, you owe me some tissues. “My life ended when you left.”✨🌾🚪

This one was thought for me to rate.
I enjoyed the premise and the setting. It had great fall vibes with a bit of Magic and mystery. I thought the plot was really unique and intricately developed.
Unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. I felt that they were all very surface level with little depth or development. I also thought that certain plot elements got really complicated and confusing. I found myself rereading and flipping back to chapters to try to wrap my head around what was happening.
I love this author and really appreciate that this book was something different. But the development of the characters and plot didn’t work for me.

This book was pure magic. I love Adrienne’s books so much simply because of the atmosphere and characters she develops through her writing skills. June Farrow is no exception. I really enjoyed how she went about this story. I loved June as a character as well as the side characters and their relationships with June. I highly recommend going into this one blind as there are happy plot surprises that I did not see coming.

Thank you to @netgalley and @adrienneyoungbooks for my ARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow.


This is a book where I truly agree with what everyone is saying...the less you know going in, the better it will be! This story about generational curses, second chances, and familial bonds is one that could easily be spoiled in very few words and you'd really be doing yourself, and the story, a disservice. So avoid spoilers at all costs!

I really enjoyed Spells for Forgetting but I LOVE The Unmaking of June Farrow. The setting, the plot, the characters, the mystery, all of it! I highly recommend it!

I am completely in love with this book! 110% in love! As in if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would - - I'd give it so many stars. And truly this book may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was definitely mine.

The Farrow women have been plagued by a curse for years and June is determined to not just understand it but end it. But there are things she's unaware of. Things she's forgotten or never knew. Things that change her entire perspective on what she thought she knew.

The magical realism that touches this story is gentle and paints brushstrokes across it in a way that makes you think it's barely there. Yet, it is truly at the crux of the entire plot. It is the core of it all. It's magic and love and choices. Impossible choices.

I don't want to ruin this book for anyone so I'm going to stop now and just say READ IT. It's beautiful and poignant and a little bit heartbreaking. And it's really special.....

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I had really enjoyed Young's very atmospheric, somewhat magical Spells For Forgetting last year so I went into this with very high hopes.
June Farrow definitely had all the components that made Spells for Forgetting work, small town mystery, some magic, family secrets and some romance. The audiobook (thank you @prhaudio) definitely enhanced the atmospheric writing. I was definitely pulled into the story and wanted to figure out the mystery. While I wasn't too keen on the romantic interest in the stroy, for me the biggest issue with this book was the magic itself. (Potential SPOILER) The curse in this novel has a lot to do with time travel and while some parts of it were explained, I was still left with a lot of questions on how everything worked, especially the locket. I also thought that there were a lot of missed opportunities on exploring themes like mental health issues, generational trauma.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press for the ARC

I hate that I ended up taking so long to read this book because it ended up putting me through an emotional whirlwind from about 10% until the end.

I did have trouble getting into it, which might have been the reason. The first 10% or so felt a little info dumpy so I feel like it could have been shortened a bit to get to the actual juicy stuff, which was when June got that picture of her mom.

I'm a HUGE huge fan of time travel, and I actually did not expect this book to have time travel when I first picked it up which pleasantly surprised me.

I would say that this book is like Dark (Netflix show) meets The Way Back (Hallmark TV show). It's not as messed up or involved in sci-fi as Dark is but involves family in a more homey way like The Way Back, but with twists like in Dark.

Once June went through that red door I had so much trouble trying to put this book down. I am an empath so the emotions that radiated out of his book consumed me to the point I was SO stressed out while reading it. You know it's a good book when it makes you feel this.

Adrienne Young has a way of giving you JUST a sprinkle of information and mystery to keep you hungry for more. And you devour the whole damn book until the end just so you can get that satisfaction of the reveal at the end.

I did not expect the twists and turns in this series to go the way it did so every page was a new, gasp worthy plot twist. I will need to get my hands on a physical copy of this book as soon as possible to add to my collection since this is going to be a favorite for a long time to come.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me the ability to read this early! This book is out now so don't hesitate to shop for a copy at your favorite book retailer :)

This book is perfect for the fall and spooky season!

June is the last of the Farrow women, She is determined to keep it that way because the women in her family all succumb to a curse. It's not that they see things that aren't there, but more that the things in their minds seem to reach through them and into the real world. And June has just begun to have the same visions.

June's mother abandoned her when she was a little baby, never to be heard from again, but slowly new pieces of information come to light about her mother and the mystery of her disappearance. June's search for answers leads her to cross the threshold into her hallucinations, only to find out the truth of what her family can really do.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves a chill in the air, a hot tea, or the crunch of leaves under their feet.

The Unmaking of June Farrow was much different than its predecessor, Spells for Forgetting (which was not a favorite of mine). The Unmaking of June Farrow felt more developed on the whole, even though I still take issue with some plot points that I felt could have been easily resolved or that simply didn't make sense. I enjoyed the overall "mystery" of June's family but couldn't see much personality from June herself or chemistry with her love interest(s). The plot was more interesting than I had expected and I look forward to seeing how the author grows in the genre of magical realism.

This book is absolutely incredible. It kept me on my toes the entire way through, unsure what was going to happen with June.

Adrienne Young has a way of writing that completely immerses you in the story and makes you love and root for the characters as if you know them personally. Needless to say, tears were shed. Highly, highly recommend!

about a family of women who are all fated to lose their sanity, the concept for this story drew me in instantly. however, i wish the author let the idea simmer a bit longer in her mind because the actual execution fell flat for me. the concept was so complex, yet everything was revealed through dialogue which made it difficult to put the pieces together.

Oh, how I loved this book!! A perfectly atmospheric, magical read. Some of the timeline details confused me/left me feeling like there were potential plot holes, but overall the story was beautiful and well-paced.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adrienne Young has such a way of creating an atmosphere; one you feel like you're living in while reading. I highly enjoyed this and was not disappointed.

4/5 ⭐

The book I needed right now. Falling in love with June, and the Farrow women, as she finds herself and learns where life is taking her, it’s magical. There is mystery in her story about life, death, and time travel. Where I thought the book might go it quickly morphed into a different direction. Sometimes the memories or the time line would cause me to backtrack to understand, but Young gently explains things as it unravels. There’s beauty in June’s story with one time being a simpler slower life and being able to spend time with family. I was not expecting this storyline, the wonderful characters or the time travel. Having read a few of her other books I had faith this would be great and I wasn’t wrong. Getting to read an early copy I chose to wrote my review voluntarily.

Read if you like:
✨ Magical Realism
🔎 Unraveling a Mystery
🥈 Second Chance Romances
☁️ Atmospheric Reads
⏳ Century’s Old Curses
👵🏼 Stories about Family

I was absolutely sucked into this one with the atmospheric writing that completely captivated me and had me so invested in June and her story and the unraveling of the mystery around the Farrow women who seem to detach from reality and lose their minds.

When the curse has impacted her grandmother, her mother, and now June, it’s time to start digging in and trying to unveil what is plaguing the Farrow women.

The way the mystery unfolds as June hunts for the truth was absolutely captivating and I didn’t want to stop listening as June is trying to navigate unknowns while seeking the truth and figuring out once she finds the truth, what decisions will she make for herself and the Farrow women in her family with the knowledge she unearths.

The ending truly was so satisfying as was the rest of the story of June and the other Farrow women and the second chance romance made me love this one even more, and I have to admit the ending made me shed a few tears when it all came together.

Truly a masterful magical realism story that I will likely revisit again even though rereading is rare for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC!

One of my favorite things about Adrienne Young is her gift with words. Like her previous books, she beautifully describes the setting that makes the reader feel like they’ve been transported into the pages. This slow burn, mysterious story was filled with magic, romance and family. I was instantly drawn to the characters, appreciated the strong family ties and loved the components of mystery throughout. Without saying too much, this was a truly unique story that was so interesting and engaging. While I found the premise slightly confusing at times, everything comes together in the end.

This was my favorite fall book. Beutiful time traveling story between generations showing women as a strong and indepenedent in different social lifestyle. I loved time traveling twist and a mystery in it. Partners love and grandmother, mother and daughter love. Time cannot change the true love.