A stunning, vivid tale of family, destiny, mystery, and magic.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a beautifully woven tale that hooked me from the first chapter. In typical Adrienne Young fashion, I was transported to another time, another life, and enjoyed it in all of its vibrant glory. My heart ached, and I couldn't keep the tears at bay by the end. The Farrow women's stories stuck me in ways I never could have imagined and they'll stay with me across timelines.

There's mystery, romance, drama, and intense emotions in every page. And while I think you could enjoy this book at any time of year, it's a perfect one for a chilly night by the fire. Or to be read by lantern light in the graveyard.

**Thank you NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Delacorte for a copy of this book and the opportunity to leave an honest, voluntary review!**

The Unmaking of June Farrow is Adrienne Young's second adult stand-alone novel. With it, Ms. Young becomes an author whose books I will automatically buy and read. Her young adult books are great, but her adult books are truly spectacular.

The Unmaking of June Farrow follows June Farrow as she buries her grandmother and deals with the family curse. The sense of loss June feels at the death of her last-known family member is palpable. As are her feelings of fear at her impending madness due to the curse. Ms. Young excels at making you feel the same emotions as her characters, and The Unmaking of June Farrow is her masterpiece in that regard.

The heart of The Unmaking of June Farrow is the exploration of the depths to which we are willing to go to save our loved ones. Set in a time-bending story that could easily be mind-bending and difficult to understand, Ms. Young makes it easy. Her explanations are logical. They make June's decisions easy to understand and poignant. While there is a bit of a "choose your own adventure" element within the story, as there are two potential timelines, June's choices have a lasting impact on her family and her.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a lovely story where family and belonging are the most important things in the world. But it is not without its sadness, too, at the things you give up to achieve that belonging or to obtain a family. June's loneliness is an ache that permeates the story, as is her love. It's a powerful story about love and loss and one of Ms. Young's best novels yet.

I don't know what kind of addictive magical substance Adrienne Young puts in her books to make them SO GOOD in such a short page count. Like Spells for Forgetting, The Unmaking of June Farrow blends multiple genres: magical realism, mystery, and a pinch of star-crossed romance. I hesitate to touch on the plot for fear of accidental spoilers, so I'll just say that the cursed Farrow women were a joy to read about. Young employs the same masterful pacing and tension that will keep readers turning page after page, chapter after chapter, with a frenzy.

In a small mountain town, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for the mysterious curse that has tormented their family. June is determined to end the family curse, no matter what it takes.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is definitely one of my favorite books of 2023. It was phenomenal through and through. There is something about magical realism that just tickles my fancy. And the writing skill of Adrienne Young, just really drives this home for me. Adrienne Young really knows how to get you wrapped up in her stories, transporting you into the pages, and really creating a magical reading experience. I loved everything about this book, and I really found some comfort in it, as in I might have a new emotional support book. I'd really hate to ruin any magic that you can take away from this, so I am trying to steer clear of spoilers. June's story gave me all the feels and in all the right ways... dare I say this is my new Roman Empire? (my cousin would appreciate this)

A million stars for The Unmaking of June Farrow!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, and Delacorte Press for this ARC and the chance to read and review it honestly.

Happy reading!

The best generationally love story of all time!
It’s hard to write a review for a book that made you feel so much, but I’m going to do my best here.
June was made to believe her whole life that the women of her family eventually fell victim to mental illness.
After watching her grandmother, who raised her as her own, she started to experience episodes of what she thought was that curse that took every Farrow women.
After the guidance of her now gone grandmother and Birdie, her grandmothers best friend and also 2nd mother to her, she uncovers a crazy truth to her past, present, and future.
Through this book she fights to unveil the truth, secrets, and lies of her family.
This book was truly a testament of how familial love can transcend time.
I 100% can say this was a favorite read of 2023 and highly recommend it to everyone.

A wonderful book. It has a little bit of magical realism, great characters, and an incredibly interesting plot. It reminded me a little of Sarah Addison Allen and yet completely unique. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this book! The curse was incredibly harsh on June she felt like she had no choice but to give up and let the curse die within her until….she went back and time and discovered so much about her true love and her family….she even discovered and long lost brother and in the end you will never believe what they all got away with… I told recommend this if you love a good adult modern fantasy the ending was very good!

I was hooked after seeing the cover, and the writing lived up to my expectations. I tore through the book the same way I did with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - desperate to see how the female protagonist handles the unprecedented, otherworldly hand she'd been dealt.

It's a skill to write clearly about a topic that is inherently confusing, such as time travel, and Young managed to illustrate the characters, plot, and conflicts with ease. While I did need to reread some passages to fully comprehend the rules and regulations of the Farrow women's curse, it was not a daunting task.

This is far from Farrow's first novel and hopefully not her last - I'm looking forward to digging into her other works and seeing how they stack up to June Farrow.

First and foremost I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC! Thank you!

I loved this novel that was set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A mystery or a curse? That’s what June is trying to find out when it comes to the stories of women in her life.

When her grandmother dies, she’s left with family secrets and the threads of time seem to unwind and transport her back into the 1950’s where the murder of the minister has the small town of Jasper up in arms.

June is the main suspect of the murder but has no memory of how and why she would do such a thing, for all she knows; her body has also been stuck in 2023.

I loved the concept of this novel. The time traveling and mystery made me not want to put this novel down

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This is the first title I have read by Adrienne Young, and it will not be the last. The Unmaking of June Farrow is a beautiful story that slowly unravels backwards to bring you full circle. The answer to the mystery was easily solved, but the way this story is weaved together makes for an amazing journey that you will want to make along with June.

I just enjoy Adrienne Young's style of writing and creative imagination. Her books are always so interesting with a touch of a magic swirling through each story. The Unmaking of June Farrow was fascinating and enjoyable from start to finish.

This story is about June, a woman who is from a family of cursed women. Throughout her family history, each woman knows that a time will come when they will lose their mind-- seeing and hearing things that aren't really there, getting confused and feeling lost in the world they live in. When these things start happening to June, she sets out on a quest to find answers and embarks on a journey that will change not just her present but her past and her future as well.

I always love a story that plays around with the concept of time, and that is a huge plot point in this story. It can make your brain hurt to try to figure out the timeline, but I also just found it to be so interesting. As with all time travel type of stories, it does require you to suspend your disbelief because if you really try to make sense of all the time jumps, it just doesn't work. In this book, some of the rules of how the "time travel" works seem contrived to fit the purpose of the plot. But whatever, I was more than happy to just go along for the ride with this one!

I have seen several people recommend this as a good fall read, and it does have a cozy, mysterious, magical vibe while not being scary or creepy at all. A good book to curl up with on a chilly day with a hot drink and a blanket! I would also recommend Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young-- a book with a totally different plot but a similar vibe.

Part magical realism, part mystery, part second chance romance, part Outlander knockoff…
The Unmaking of June Farrow is a beautifully written one day read that delivered a lot, but not all. While it had momentum and lovely language, there were parts that dragged, characters that were frustrating, and questions that linger. (Seriously, the poor two male protagonists!) I liked it, but didn’t love it. There are a lot of small details to keep track of, and the tension outweighed the warm fuzzies.
3.5 rounded up.

This book made me so happy in my bookworm pants! It gave me yummy cottagecore vibes, magical realism, speculative fiction, swoony romance, a creepy mystery, the coziest of vibes, and all of the feels. I haven’t felt so spoiled by a book in a long while. I may have taken a few breaks during the day because I kept getting pulled away by other stuff, but I still devoured this book in less than five hours. I just couldn’t read it fast enough. I was truly and utterly transfixed.

The blurb doesn’t uncover enough of the plot for me to go over a lot of stuff because SPOILERS. That puts me in a bind because the one tiny bone I have to pick with this book would be under said spoiler banner. But that’s okay. We’ll go somewhere else.

Cottagecore: I usually prefer dark cottagecore because regular cottagecore can get old or overdone quickly, but Young really nailed the vibe and didn’t let it get out of control in this book. June’s family owns a large (some would say it’s almost magical) flower farm, so we’ve got all of those lovely flowers, coveralls, and soil-covered clothes. They live next to the Adeline River so there’s plenty of riparian river valley habitat: trees, bushes, fruits, vegetables, and tall grasses. It’s all very Appalachia, very verdant, and very cozy.

Magical Realism: Are the Farrow women witches or are they just extremely good with plants and pass this ability down the line by passing on the knowledge? Could be both. Could be either. People are literally drawn to have their weddings in the small town of Jasper specifically so they can use the Farrow Flower Farm flowers as fresh as possible. They grow flowers prettier and larger than the best flower markets in New York. This is tied to those cozy cottagecore vibes and lead into my next point…

Speculative Fiction: Okay, so I confess, magical realism and speculative fiction are my top two genres. Pairing them together is like hitting my literary g-spot. The curse that affects the Farrow women (spoilers) is fascinating, and I’ve come to think it must be the cost for their spectacular green thumbs. Everything comes with a price. Telling you more than that is ruining the fun.

I can’t tell you about the swoony romance because it involves spoilers. I can’t tell you about the creepy mystery (which gives me the yucks), but I can tell you I cried several times while reading this book. Not great, big, sobbing tears; but the gentle tears. The kind of tears that track down your face one at a time that you can wipe away before they reach your pillow. The tears of someone who was emotionally moved but not broken-hearted.

It’s a magical read and I can’t recommend it enough.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Magical Realism/Romantasy/Mystery/Speculative Fiction/Suspense Mystery/Women’s Fiction

4.5 rounding up to 5 stars!

I loved this story by Young! It was atmospheric, and I enjoyed the time travel element to the 1950’s. The mystery kept me wanting to know more. When one of the plot twists came toward the end, it shocked me only because I had this question but couldn’t figure out who it was, and when it was revealed, it hit me hard! I love when stories make you feel what the character feels. Young wrote a beautiful story! It is a perfect cozy mystery read with magical realism.

For lovers of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, Age of Adeline, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, and a hint of Where the Crawdads Sing, this is for you!

My interest started with the murder mystery plot and piqued with the confusion of overlaps of timelines, but really solidified with the concept of a love that crosses through all possible timelines. So heartwarming to read a book where love truly has no barriers and always finds a way.

I just knew from the premise of this book I would absolutely love it, but what I found was a deep admiration for Adrienne Young's beautiful writing. This was my first of her books but it will absolutely not be my last!

I haven’t read a book that, after I finished it, made me stare into the deep abyss of my brain for an hour totally and completely confused, and content.

Adrienne Young as an author is someone who takes a simple story line and twists it in every way the reader would never even dream of. The story of the Farrow women is a bleak one, and I started reading the book feeling absolutely terrible for June. The simple knowledge that you are slowly, or not so slowly, losing your mind is something I’d never wish on anyone.

With each page I turned, I think my jaw dropped just a little bit further. When I finished it, I put it down in my lap and simply stared.

To say I loved it would be an understatement. Did I think it was perfect? No. But the feelings I’ve felt three days after reading it stands to reason that this book will be one of the best ones of 2023.

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.”✨🌾🚪