The Unmaking of June Farrow took me a number of chapters to get into, but once the plot started moving, I was absolutely hooked in a there-goes-two-perfectly-good-nights-of-sleep kind of way. Young’s novel is an appealing blend of relationship fiction (I’m trying to move away from the cringey term “women’s fiction”), speculative fiction, romance and mystery. It tells the story of a line of Farrow women who have always been considered odd by their small town in the blue mountains and treated as outsiders.

I don’t want to risk plot spoilers by saying much more; however, The Unmaking of June Farrow packs an extremely compelling premise and a satisfying plot. I would have loved for it to be longer so that there was space for more character development, but I would still recommend this as a really enjoyable read. This book is neither overtly witchy nor autumnal, but it felt perfect for October.

Thank you to Ballantine, Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

The women in June's family all have an unexplained illness that makes them quickly or slowly lose their minds. June's symptoms started a year ago, but she's hiding it from everyone as her Gran is slowly dying. But after her Gran dies, a mailed photograph starts of a chain of events that may give June the answers to questions she's had since a child about her mother and about the illness that seems to plague every Farrow woman.

I didn't know what to expect when going into this book, as the last Adrienne Younge book I read was Namesake, a high fantasy set on the seas. This is more in the vein of Alice Hoffman, where the magic is more magical realism and families of women are the main focus. In fact, this book reminded me a lot of Hoffman's latest, the Vanishing Hour.
As with any time travel fiction, if you think about the plot holes too much, it'll make your brain hurt. The rules are you can only travel in time 3 times, but by my calculation, June would have to travel at least 5 times, if not more, to do everything she does or implied to have done.
But June's story is compelling, and while you may not like her 100% of the time, you can't help but root for her and the other doomed women in her family. You want to visit their flower farm, and their shop in town to buy boquets of the flowers they grow.

This is an auto grab author for me. I was not disappointed. The cover is gorgeous. I am a fan of a time travel book. I loved the mystery of the Farrow curse. The story was so good. I did not want to put the book down. I was guessing the whole time I was reading. I loved June and her family. I loved this book. I highly recommend it. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. The second book I have read from Adrienne Young. I really enjoy her writing and enjoy this book. I look forward to reading more from her.

This genre mashup knocked my socks off. I don't love many of the genres listed, but what Young did here is a true work of art. I also don't love time travel, but somehow Young made me not be able to look away. I don't love love stories, but make it star crossed and apparently I'm in love with it. Highly recommend this one!

This book is amazing! I found myself unable to put it down and thinking about what I read long past putting the book down each day. It is beautifully written and the story hooks you from beginning to end, I even found myself re-reading some parts to try to make sure I understood, because my mind was screaming what????? No Way????
It is written in a way that feels like magical threads are woven in to keep you guessing and wanting more.
I don't want to say anything about the story as I don't want to spoil anything, but so much unfolds and such a wonderful ending!!! I finished last night and I have thought about it all day! Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Adrienne Young does atmospheric detail so well. With each of her magical realism books I’ve had the pleasure of reading, she manages to transport me and really give me an almost surreal and tangible feeling of place.

This one centers around June Farrow (34), who works at her family’s flower farm in a small NC town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Farrow women have been cursed through the generations with madness before their deaths, hence she has made the difficult decision to neither marry nor have children. As she learns more about their strange family history, she discovers a secret that is both wonderful and cataclysmic at the same time, and she tries to circumvent fate for future Farrow women. I don’t want to share spoilers about the curse, but it’s a doozy and seemingly insurmountable and inevitable.

I felt like I knew June and her fellow cast of characters…their hopes, their fears, their heartaches, their joy. The circumstances of the curse were a bit complicated, so I really had to stay on my toes, but the denouement was oh so satisfying. There was a poignancy and essence to this book that really moved me.

This is my fourth book to read from Young, and they have each been uniquely beautiful as well as earning 5⭐️ ratings from me. Another wonderful story from a very talented author.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Dell for providing the free early arc of The Unmaking of June Farrow for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This is easily one of my favorite books of the year.

I've always been a fan of Adrienne's but with each book she keeps leveling up and I am constantly astounded by what she creates. Particularly in the adult space she has now ventured into, it is such a pleasure to get to read her work and immerse myself in her worlds and I cannot rave enough about the latest installment to her oeuvre, The Unmaking of June Farrow.

Adrienne builds these amazing worlds with a dash of magic and tons of atmosphere that make me feel like I'm there, smelling the flowers in the field and eating the blueberry pie along with the characters. I loved Adrienne's previous adult book, Spells for Forgetting but I think she's topped herself with June Farrow. It is so tightly plotted but so character driven...it's so masterful what she has created. June is a Farrow which means she will one day get the Farrow curse that caused the death of the women in her family and the disappearance of her mother. The death of June's grandmother triggers a quest for her as she tries to unravel a decades-old mystery while also trying to understand the exact nature of the curse that plagues her family.

The mysteries kept me turning the pages (and there are some moments that made me gasp out loud), but the humanity Adrienne brings to these characters, the soft romance, the fantasy of these worlds based on our own. Ugh...I could rave about it for days. I couldn't put this down and I can't wait to read it again and again and I know I will get more and more out of it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley and Adrienne! for these words and letting me have an opportunity to experience it all early with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mysteries of the past come back to haunt the present in this addicting new story that will have your mind twisting and turning with theories and endless possibilities.

From strange disappearances to unexplained occurrences and bits of madness, a centuries-old curse follows the women of the Farrow family passed from generation to generation. To free herself from this unfortunate curse, June follows cryptic clues left by her late grandmother, hinting at a bigger entanglement of lies and deception than she ever expected.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat—eagerly awaiting the next surprising unveil or unprecedented twist. I LOVE how Young weaves nature into her books, and how they add an extra element to the overall mystery and allure. The small town, rural setting elevated the atmosphere of suspense and kept me second-guessing everything up until the end.

I admired the strong sense of family in this story and how June came to accept herself through that bond and see that she always deserved the love she thought she never would encounter. All those thoughts, themes, and feelings left me so emotional and tearing up by the end.

If you loved the atmospheric vibes from Spells for Forgetting and want a mystery that truly leaves you in suspense, definitely keep this new read in mind.

4.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

🌾 What an absolute joy of a book this was to read. It’s whimsical, creative, thoughtful and just absolutely wonderful!

🌾 This is one of those books that’s hard to review without giving anyway so I’ll just let you know you can expect…
- some magical realism
- a love story
- a journey of self-discovery
- a powerful female MC who fights for her family
- outcast family in a small town

🌾 But bottom line, just trust me and add it to your fall TBR, mmmk?

Adrienne Young’s writing is always so beautiful and magical, and it is so easy to lose yourself in the worlds that she creates.

This was a slower start for me, but once I got into it, I was thoroughly hooked. For the last third of the book I was basically at the edge of my seat and stressed about what was going to happen. Loved June and the town of Jasper. Another fantastic read from Adrienne Young.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my review!

I've been a fan of Adrienne's writing for years, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this one, but it swept me up in a really unexpected way. I would definitely encourage you to go into this book blind and just let the story take you. It's full of twists and turns, beautiful magical realism, and small town charm. The second chance romance aspect was super unconventional, and I really enjoyed it.

I think my favorite part of the story was the focus on familial love. It was really touching and gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies while I was entrapped with the mystery and magic.

If you're looking for a twisty read, this one is for you!

5/5 stars

Another run out and buy it!

I loooved this book so much. If you enjoyed Spells for Forgetting, definitely pick this up. It had the same biiig atmospheric setting, this time in the North Carolina mountains. Adrienne Young always has this way of making me feel like I’m THERE and this book was no different!

June Farrow comes from a line of cursed women. Many have died young and all have eventually lost their minds. Their stories are shrouded in mystery and June is desperate to know everything.

This book was wonderful. Just like in Spells For Forgetting, the plot is propelled by a mysterious death. Answers are revealed throughout and I thought that the pacing was excellent.

My only criticism is that I wish I was in the blue ridge mountains right now. Loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was an adult fantasy that was magical with all the feels.
Every once in a while you get one of the books that just stick with you and this was that for me.
I would suggest to go in blind as I did, so I do not want to give too much away. It is emotional and just beautifully written. I requested it because of the cover and I am so glad I did not read much before I started because it was exceptional. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this e-arc. 5 star

I’m disappointed to say this was not my favorite. This author does atmospheric, fall vibes writing so, so well. The setting was so vivid. But I just could not connect with June. And really lost interest around 50%. I think it’s a me problem, and not the book.

This was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed June’s journey through time and conditions to find where she was meant to be. Such a heartwarming and magical book.

When June’s grandmother passed away, June finds strange clues surrounding her mother’s disappearance. Her mother, Susannah, has been gone without a trace for years, rumored to have slowly lost her mind. When she starts hearing and seeing things that aren’t really there, she wonders if she is succumbing to the illness everyone claims her mother had. When a mysterious red door starts appearing, she finally decides to take a chance and step through the threshold. What she finds is shocking, but she must tread lightly so as not to alter the past or future.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 & 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a time-bending tale of the love between generations of women. What would you be willing to do to protect the ones you love?

I have a soft spot for time-travel type love stories (Seven Year Slip is another fun one), so this was exactly what I needed.

It is nonlinear, with flashes of memories from many different versions of herself. It's easier than some other nonlinear stories since the memories are all in italics, so you know right away you are in a different time.

I really enjoyed this book -- although parts of it definitely made my brain hurt trying to figure out the logistics, but I tried to let go of that and just enjoy it.

June's birth has always been a bit of a mystery and she was raised by her Grandmother. When her Grandmother dies, June receives some confusing information which sends her on an adventure -- and to say more would be spoiling it.

I am glad that I went in to this not knowing much about the book, because I enjoyed finding everything out along with June. I really loved all the characters -- I loved the generations of strong women, and I loved Annie and Eamon.

All of Adrienne Young's descriptions are so lovely -- she has a beautiful way with words and I could picture all of it so vividly.

This is my first book by the author and I will definitely be reading more -- and I recommend this to anyone who wants some family dynamics with lovely writing and some magical realism.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

4/5

There are so many things to love about this book.
A small town setting following the story of a cursed family of women. Time is not linear to them, but no one but them can understand it.

This type of story isn’t something I normally gravitate towards (fantasy) but the mixture of who-done-it/romance/fantasy/fiction is just wonderful and captured my attention from the start. I was engaged the entire time, wanting to read more and find out Junes fate.

Atmospheric and lush voice, The Unmaking of June Farrow is another amazing story by Adrienne Young. The characters, the generational themes...I would highly recommend this book to other readers!