I was lucky enough to be able to read an advance copy of this book.

It had all of the elements I love in a book and kept me interested from the first page. Mystery, sci-fi, and romance.

The way you have to keep reading, because you can’t wait to figure out what’s happening and how it happened.

This book is a perfect fall book to snuggle down with if you’re looking for a great read!

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t even fully read the synopsis before starting this book. I had really enjoyed Spells For Forgetting last year and was excited to jump into Young’s 2nd adult book. Because I went in completely blind, the plot really shocked me (in a good way!) This book WENT THERE with the impossible and I really encourage others to go in blind as well.

I don’t want to say too much and give anything away, but I really like how this played out. It was a little messy and confusing but so so fun. There’s a mystery, some romance, and memories play their part as well.

At first, I was feeling a little bit the same about this book as I did about Spells For Forgetting - that it felt YA and I had a hard time believing the character was as old as they are stated to be. But once the big shift in the story happens, those feelings vanished and I was able to sink into the story.

A great, unique, entry into this in-between genre of light fantasy in a real world setting, mystery, and romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel. This was the first book by this author that I read and I absolutely loved it. Young's writing is very evocative. Every time an author makes me feel like I am inside the book (smelling, seeing and touching the same things the characters are), it is a mark of an incredible writer. Young is such an author. I was also amazed by the level of detail that she uses in describing the life on a farm in the 1950s - from farming techniques to the daily life of a family. It was fascinating. I also really liked the main character. Oftentimes, when a novel is written from the point of view of one character, I get frustrated with the decisions they make (or their indecision), and this was not the case for me with June Farrow - she was very relatable, and I could understand her choices in every single instance.

In terms of the overall plot, this is part historical fiction, part fantasy, part murder mystery and part romance. So I think it will appeal to a lot of readers. We follow June Farrow who lives on a flower farm in North Carolina. Everyone in town knows that there is something not quite right about Farrow women. First of all, each woman always has just one daughter, and all the Farrow women eventually succumb to some sort of "madness" or mental illness where they see and hear things that are not there. Now, I do want to give a trigger warming, if someone in your family suffers from a mental illness such as dementia, schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, in the beginning of the book, it very much looks like this is what is going on. However, the plot quickly makes a turn into the fantastical and we realize that it is not a mental illness that we are dealing with.

Without giving any spoilers, I thought the plot was great, I also liked how the book ended. It is a bit mind-bending at times. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to reading more from Adrienne Young.

I loved this book which surprised me. But every now and then, a book is written with a little bit of magic that defies what we know and makes us question the possibilities. This is that book. All the Farrow women are a little bit different than others given to "hysterics" and spells that is how it is described during their time periods. June Farrow has vowed never to marry or have children. She wants to stop the curse that she and others feel the Farrow women are born with. Raised by her grandmother in a very small town, she was deserted by her mother as an infant who has become a mystery for her and she just wanted to know why.. But as she tries to unravel that mystery, she discovers a greater mystery about herself. June has never confided in anyone that the "illness" has already taken ahold of her for as long as a year before her grandmother died and that she was having episodes of seeing that which wasn't there. Her mother had this, her grandmother too. However, her grandmother had stated that she wasn't crazy only that she lived in two worlds. June soon discovers exactly what her Grandmother meant, after being giving a note following her grandmother's passing, as she decides to go through the red door. June must make a difficult choice, what do you give up for happiness for yourself and those you love? Well written, I loved the puzzle and putting all the pieces together. This would generate a great discussion for book clubs. many thanks to #netgalley, #theunmakingofjunefarrow #adrienneyoung for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Adrienne Young has crafted a novel that completely transports the reader and holds you on the edge of your seat gripping the book tighter as you try to puzzle your way through the clues and circumstance with June Farrow. A family curse, dark secrets, mysterious disappearances, and enduring love stories. Touching on grief and the lengths people will go to protect those they love this novel draws you in from the very first chapter and twists it's way around your heart.

Small Town, Forced Proximity, Found Family, Protective MMC, Time Travel

I was very excited to read this book because I loved Spells for Forgetting and was excited to see what kind of book Adrienne Young would write next! This is another great example of magical realism and this book is all about a family of women who can travel through a door that appears to them to them three times in their lifetime. The author does a good job with the conundrum of time travel which can sometimes be convoluted and confusing. I would definitely recommend giving this one a read especially if you’re a fan of magical realism and authors such as Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen.

I love all things Adrienne Young and this book did not disappoint. It was raw and emotional, coaxing me along through the twists and turns of the book. I felt like I was June Farrow.

Young is the QUEEN of atmospheric fall reads - after loving Spells last year, this one was highly anticipated for me. And it totally lived up! This was both unputdownable and deliciously slow-build - I loved it. Adrienne Young is officially an auto-buy author for me!

This was my first book by Adrienne Young, but it won't be my last. I went into this one blind and I think that is the best way to read it. I was so pleasantly surprised by the story, writing, and mix of genres. Young did an amazing job brining all of the characters to life and I felt like I was right beside them as everything unfolded on the pages. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, but I was so invested once I got past the first few chapters and had a hard time putting it down. A beautiful story about difficult choices, second chances, and family.

In true Adrienne Young fashion, this was an achingly beautiful book.

The story has a purposeful, slow-build mystery with a subtle but strong romance. June's family curse played out very differently than I thought it would, and I can't say that I'm mad about the journey this story takes the reader on.

If you are planning on reading this one, I hope no other reviewer spoils the narrative elements that make this story so unique.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc for early review. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery with Magical Realism
Age Level: Adult
Content: some violence, 1 vague open-door

I had to sit and gather my thoughts for a bit after finishing this. The story is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and follows June, who sets out to make sense of the curse that has haunted the females in her family for a century. I loved this book. It had a suspenseful, dark and witchy vibe but also involves a second chance romance. There were several parts in which I had to sit and let my brain grasp what was going on. I really fell in love with some of the characters, especially Eamon and I found myself rooting for him throughout.

Thank you for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I could not get into this book. I am not sure if it was the writing style or what but I got to about a quarter through and felt apathetic. I didn't care about the storyline.

DO NOT let my apathy deter you though. Please give it a try yourself.

This book was beautifully written. My favorite parts were the different setting. I wanted to visit Jasper!!! But overall, this book wasn’t for me. I’m not a big fan of parallel timelines or time traveling apparently. And the supporting characters kept major secrets from June which seemed to make no sense. It would have been more helpful to her journey if she actually knew what was going on. This was the first book I’ve read by this author, and again, the story was beautiful, just not a genre I particularly enjoy.

If you liked Divine Rivals, you’ll love this story. Chapter one will grab your emotions, chapter two will tangle your brain with the mystery. The rest unravels in a way that tangles your soul into it. I felt the same when I was done with divine rivals. It’s not a book that you can say why it’s good. It just feels like it has become a part of you during the journey. This is the story of a woman that is cursed to time travel and she must find a way to break that curse. She intends to be the last.

The perfect October read with mystery, magical realism, romance and time travel. June Farrow is leading an unfulfilled life with fear that her family curse will befall her. She becomes trapped between two worlds and has to make a choice on what is the most important way to save her family and herself.
The story unfolds itself perfectly and I could not put it down. I especially liked her link to family and motherhood and her search to discover the truth about her origins.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is confusing but beautiful. I like the whole idea of the Farrow ‘curse’ and the door. The whole cyclicty of the book is both amazing and difficult to grasp but I loved it just the same.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

What would you give to know your grandmother as a young woman?

June Farrow knows the illness that has claimed all of the women in her family is coming for her. June’s mother was lost to the illness when June herself was just a baby, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother. Hearing strange voices, seeing shadows of people that aren’t there, feeling like she’s in two places at once; these are the symptoms that tell June it’s time for her decline to begin. Losing her grandmother, the woman that raised her from a baby, doesn’t seem to have helped detain the onslaught.

When her grandmother passes and visions and voices begin appearing, June knows it’s time to depend upon the only two people she has left in her life, her best friend Mason and her grandmother’s best friend, Birdie. But just as June begins to believe she is really succumbing to mental illness, a letter from her departed grandmother turns up with a picture of June’s mother. From over a hundred years early. Thus begins June’s journey through time to solve a mystery that goes back generations.

💜💜💜
I’m not sure how to express how poignant this book was. A story that shows what it means to trust in yourself and those who know and love you best. June’s relationship with Margaret is so beautiful. To see them connected not only in the present, but in the past. I adored that Adrienne Young places the focus of this story on how June must trust in the women that come before and after her in order to solve the puzzle of their family. Well written, and leaving me wanting more. I finished the book with so many questions and craving more stories of the Farrow women. I hope that someday we may see more.

8 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/10/15/the-unmaking-of-june-farrow-by-adrienne-young-review/

The second adult novel from Adrienne Young, the Unmaking of June Farrow begins like a North Carolina faerie tale. A small-town legend complete with a mystery, curse, and a line of women disappearing down the ages. I adored Spells for Forgetting—Young’s debut adult novel from last year—and was incredibly excited to be granted a copy of this second standalone. And while I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it, Unmaking is not the masterpiece the Spells was.

Now, I’m not a huge romance fan. As in, I don’t select my stories specifically for the romance. Some is fine, so long as it’s incorporated amongst the mountains of mystery, fantasy, and adventure. The romance in Unmaking was certainly interesting. Far from a simple, cut-out story of two star-crossed lovers—or even a love-triangle—this tries its luck at both without really doing either at all. It’s certainly interesting, and doesn’t really distract from everything else that’s at stake.

And the stakes are high. June has a deadline to meet; solve the mystery or else become yet the latest casualty to her family curse—one that has already begun to plague her mind. And that desperation plays through so well, becoming central to the story in no time. But as the plot rolls right along, one mystery is replace with another, which kept me guessing right up til the end.

Now the kicker—and I can’t tell you about the issue I had with this, so tied up is it with the story and spoilers of. I can tell you that it’s not the first time I’ve objected to something such as this, and I’ve been fairly consistent throughout. I can also tell you that while the romance fulfills all its briefs, the overarching plot isn’t quite as satisfying. The conclusion doesn’t quite wrap everything up, nor does it deliver complete fulfillment.

TL;DR

Part mystery, part romance, part urban legend, the Unmaking of June Farrow delivers a delightful, contemporary fantasy amidst the rolling mountains of western North Carolina. It’s a lovely read, one built for cozy winter nights and lazy summer afternoons. One that makes you question everything you know to be true about the world, and one that made me in particular wonder if perhaps Adrienne Young and I might have similar dreams. For I too have dreamt of a red, lacquer door amongst a field of flowers, and dared to wonder might life might be like if I were to step through.

June Farrow is the last of the Farrow line - and she means to keep it that way. Upon her grandmother’s death (and with the family curse looming), June starts finding clues that link her mother to a past the town of Jasper, North Carolina can’t seem to let go of. As she embarks on a journey that will bring her the answers she is desperately searching for, June will risk everything - past, present, and future - and put the one thing on the line that she has held close for her entire life - her heart.

This story has a strong grip on my heart and my soul and I can’t see it ever letting go. Adrienne paints a beautiful picture of this small town that had this born-and-raised city dweller wanting to pack up and move to the country. Not only does the story have that magical small town feel to it, it is also filled with sweeping imagery that fully immerses the reader into the world of Jasper. It’s never made sense to me why people would choose to move to the South, but after reading this book, I can absolutely see the appeal.

Going into this story, I didn’t know much outside of the Goodreads description and I’m truly glad that’s all I had. It’s been said many times before, but this is the kind of story that you want to go into with as little information as possible. You are taken on a journey alongside June that unravels in unexpected - but magical - ways that leave you feeling breathless by the end.

June is surrounded by a full cast of characters that all worm their way into your heart, each playing a big part in her story in so many different ways. By the time June reaches a point where she has a difficult decision to make, you have become so attached that you don’t even know what decision you hope she’ll make. I desperately found myself wanting her to be able to make both sides work but, in the end, it’s more impactful because she makes the choice. But my god. My heart is aching just thinking about it.

With a deft hand and her signature magic, Adrienne Young has crafted a dazzling story that will make you believe in love and fate again. Filled to the brim with magic, romance, and a touch of the impossible, THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW has probably changed my brain chemistry and will live forever rent-free in my mind from this day on and into the next life.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

The Unmaking of June Farrow:⁣
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Thank you @prhaudio @randomhouse @delacortepress for my gifted copies.⁣
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“This changes everything”. ⁣
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If you love Shea Ernshaw or magical realism, I have the story for you. I was completely engrossed in this world. I wanted to know all about the mystery and how to stop the tethering. I’ll say I am surprised I was not confused and really understood the path we were going on. It’s really not hard to spoil this story so I’m trying to keep it short. ⁣
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The audio was breathy. I don’t feel like us southerners are as breathy as people think we are, so it took a minute to get into the audio. Now don’t get me wrong, Brittany Pressley is one of my favorites and best in the business. It was only June’s that gave me pause to get used to it. Birdie (🥹IYKYK) and Ida were perfect. ⁣
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Overall, this gave me the same feels as A History of Wild Places, The Measure, and Eudora Honeysett. It’s a big warm hug with a dash of mystery. I didn’t know where we were gonna go, but all I know is that I couldn’t stop reading. ⁣
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Out 10/17.