Wow! I loved this story. Adrienne Young weaves together mystery, suspense, love, family and magical realism with beautiful prose and believable characters. We follow the protagonist, June as she recovers from the death of her grandmother, attempts to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, and contends with a family “curse” that will rob her of her sanity. If that sounds like a lot, it is. And that’s in the first chapter.

In the hands of a lessor writer, this story would be a mess. Instead, Young’s attention to the smallest detail and focus on the relationships between the Farrow women through the decades really holds this story together. I would highly recommend reading this when you have nothing else to do because you won’t be able to put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House – Ballatine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will say it now, this book is one of my favorite reads this year and will probably be in my top five. Adrienne Young’s ability to tell a story is what makes me love her books. Her world building/set up is seamless and really kept me interested in every thing that was going on. The uniqueness of this story is what initially drew me to it and it did not disappoint. There were so many twists and turns, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. The Farrow women are complex and their “curse” is even more so. I love when a book keeps me guessing and wanting more, I kept finding my eyes moving faster than my brain could catch up jumping to the next line or paragraph. I was greedy and needed more and more throughout the whole book I could not put it down. It’s magic like no other and while complex it felt cozy and itched a scratch of mystery/fantasy that I so desperately needed.
June is creative and smart and strong. She was the FMC I didn’t know I needed. Her story is one of triumph and overcoming adversity. She is hellbent on being the last Farrow woman and ending the curse that has plagued her family for generations. Following the death of her grandma, June’s life sets sail on a journey she never imagined herself taking and through lives she never imagined experiencing. It’s magical, complex, and mysterious. I truly and wholeheartedly loved every second of it.
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine, Delacorte press for the digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I am still thinking about this book days later! It has it all. Love, mystery, and an end goal. I think any group of people would enjoy this book, I know I did!

June Farrow has spent her life waiting for the moment her family's curse would come for her. In the small town of Jasper, North Carolina, the Farrow women are known for two things: their flower farm and for slowly losing their minds. June has heard rumors about this strange plague leading to her mother's disappearance, has watched as it has taken her grandmother, and now, it seems to have come for her.

For the past year, June has heard and seen things that aren't there. A voice whispering her name, the sound of wind chimes, and always a red door. After finding an old photograph and clues regarding her mother's disappearance, June takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of what happened and stop this curse once and for all. June decides that the next time she sees that red door, she will walk through it, but nothing could've prepared her for what she would find.

Let's start with my favorite part about this: the writing. I've read a few of Young's previous books, so I knew that I was in for an atmospheric read, and she more than delivered. It was so enchanting. I loved the small-town setting and the magical realism elements. Despite the slower pacing, I was gripped the entire time. I like June as a character and wanted to learn more about her and her family. My issue with this book stemmed from the plot itself. I never understood how or why June and her family had this time-traveling ability. I found myself confused by all the different details and had a difficult time keeping the timelines straight in my head. The romance was also lacking for me. Despite all that, I still enjoyed it and will continue to pick up whatever Young comes out with next.

Wow! This book is truly incredible. Adrienne Young has managed to create an engaging and riveting story full of mystery, suspense, and magical realism. The novel follows June Farrow, who is intent on putting an end to the generations-long curse that causes madness in the women born into her family. June does everything she can to unravel the decades-old mystery of her mother’s disappearance, while trying to stave off the impending decline of her mental health all in the wake of her grandmother’s passing. She has been experiencing hallucinations for the past year, but they are now increasing in frequency. When she realizes that one of her repeated visions, a mysterious red door that appears in the middle of nowhere, is actually real, she is given the opportunity to seek answers to her questions on the other side of the door in a quest that will change everything she thought she knew.

Young’s beautiful storytelling and impeccable character development made it so hard to put this book down. I loved the focus of familial relationships between the women throughout the book as well as the perfect encapsulation of small-town life. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for small town mysteries, time travel, second chance romance, magical realism, and robust family history.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Oh my gosh, I don’t have words. This book was simply amazing! I had no idea what I was in store for but wow! I was a tad skeptical because timeline books can be ehhh but this was worked so well. The author put so much thought into everything, that is all fit perfectly. I couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know, and the ending like WHAT?!?!

The choices June had to make were impossible but wow is her story amazing. This is definitely a must read for all!

Adrienne Young is such a masterful storyteller. Namesake and Fable I adored, but the rest of the series weren’t quite as hooking for me. However, The Unmaking of June Farrow has solidified Adrienne Young’s talent. Such suspenseful writing and creative stories coming out of this author!

This book was pretty confusing for me. I liked it, I gave it 4 stars, clearly I liked it. That being said, it was also a flawed book. I think Adrienne Young is a talented writer, I have enjoyed her previous works and I felt that this book was beautifully atmospheric and engaging. Which is why I was able to enjoy this novel in spite of where it goes wrong.

The first problem I encountered is that it wasn’t YA something I didn’t figure out till I was a ways into the book and only then it was because the author blatantly stated that the protagonist was 34 years old. Perhaps I’m a flawed reader for not being able to put my finger on exactly what makes a book come across as adult fiction vs. YA but I can’t. At least not with this book I couldn’t and yet there was something. If the author hadn’t expressly said the main character’s age I would have gone through the entire book still thinking it was YA. For me personally that isn’t an issue since I enjoy reading YA as much as adult fiction but I’m just throwing the knowledge out there because I can only assume there are some readers who don’t feel the same way.

Now here comes the difficult part where I try to explain certain issues I have with the book without giving any spoilers. Which is an ongoing problem with me and all my reviews. Basically the entire book centers around the idea that the protagonist and all the female members of her family both preceding her and presumably any who follow her suffer from a “curse”. Curse being the author’s specific and many times used choice of words. Nothing in this book actually qualifies as a curse. Like, I literally googled the definition of ‘curse’ to be certain I hadn’t learned the incorrect meaning somewhere along the way. I had not. My point is if the author wanted the protagonist to be cursed then she should have given some explanation as to why things go down the way they do. Plus there’s rules to this non-curse but no explanation as to why or how.

I think the main problem with this book is that there needed to be more of it. The characters and the plot just needed to be fleshed out a bit more. The plot itself was just too complicated to fit into the number of pages provided.

Overall I did enjoy this book and I know it probably doesn’t sound like it but I do recommend it. It’s a solidly good novel, just not a perfect one.

The Unmaking of June Farrow
By Adrienne Young
Publication date: October 17, 2023
5/5⭐️

-magical realism
-mystery
-love story
-family curse
-generational family stories
-small town

“I had only one ambition in my simply built life, and that was to be sure the Farrow curse would end with me.”

“I’m not sick, honey. I’m just in two places at once.”

“Time is like a rope, made of many fibers, and when they’re bound up together, they make one strong timeline.”

Synopsis:
“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. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was 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.”

My thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book! It was unique and complex but such a captivating story. It was mysterious, spooky, and magical. I loved June’s character and the sacrifices she was willing to make. I really think Adrienne Young hit it out of the park with this one!

There is a little bit of romance, mystery, who killed who, and magic. It had me hooked from the first page. I loved seeing how the women came together in times of need and how much a mother would sacrifice for their child. This story is heartbreaking but beautiful seeing what one will do to protect their family.

This is the perfect book for Fall! Don’t miss this one, out October 17th!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Time Travel, romance, and a mystery - all set in a small town in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina - what's not to love? June Farrow has just laid her grandmother to rest when she realizes she is having some of the same symptoms that her grandmother was struggling with before she died. Is she hallucinating? Losing her mind? When she receives an envelope from her grandmother after her funeral she finds a photo of a minister that died in 1950 - with a woman that looks like Susana, June's mother. She starts digging into her mysterious past, and discovers her the women in her family are cursed with a time travel gene - where a red door appears and the chance at another life in another time happens. I think that is all I will say - it's best to go into this book without a clue. A perfect fall read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

June Farrow has been slowly losing her mind for the past year. It isn’t surprising though, it happens to all the Farrow woman. This is why June decided a long time ago that she won’t have a family, she wants to end the family curse with herself. When her grandmother dies June is left with questions about their family and the more she uncovers the less things make sense. Eventually June will have to decide between the life she’s always lived and the life she’s always pretended she didn’t want.

•
•
•

Okay, so for starters Adrienne Young is a queen! This is my second book by her (Spells was my first, which is an all time favorite!) and she has that magical touch that makes me forget I’m reading. I fell head first into this story and felt like I became June while reading. The story was unique and emotional. I honestly loved everything about it. I can’t wait for pub day (OCTOBER 17th! - mark your calendars!!) so I can put a physical copy on shelf. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Thank you to @netgalley, @randomhouse and @adrienneyoungbooks for the opportunity to read this ahead of release!


Read if you like:
👩‍👧‍👧Family drama
🔎Mystery/suspense
🏘Small town
🪄Magical realism

Adrienne Young is such a lyrical writer whose books have so much ambience and emotions, and The Unmaking of June Farrow is no exception. Beautiful descriptions, engaging characters and a compelling plot make this story so memorable and gorgeous!

This is my first time reading Adrienne Young and I really loved this book. I did struggle to understand the timelines in the book but I think it’s because in reality it would be very confusing. This book has so much heart, love, and mystery. Five stars for this one and I will definitely check out more by Young.

I REALLY really enjoyed this book. Very vibey, very mysterious and full of heart. If you’re looking for a twisty, small town, generational mystery type of book this is definitely for you. Only reason it’s not 5 stars was because there were a few things I think could have been wrapped up a bit more, but I couldn’t put this book down and can’t wait for more of this type of book from Adrienne Young after loving Spells for Forgetting too.

Loved this book! At times it was frustrating trying to keep the timelines straight. It was a perfectly crafted story that I couldn't stop thinking about so I had to keep reading to find out how it ended. Would recommend.

I am completely blown away. It is hard to put a review into words for this book because I don’t want to spoil anything. You just need to experience it.

The Unmaking of June Farrow (in my mind) is like if The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Time Traveler’s Wife had a baby. The story was breathtaking.

If you are a person who reads for the atmosphere and vibes - this is it. Adrienne Young’s writing is beautiful. There is a soul crushing once in a lifetime romance, heart pounding mystery, magical realism, and a storyline so deeply emotional that I was bawling.

This is a perfect fall read in my opinion and one of the best stories I’ve read in 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

I was kind of scared to read this one since her last one Spells for Forgetting I ended up not enjoying at all. But where that one I thought was just boring this one was amazing to start. But the ending made me feel meh. It was very predictable and you could really see that Young was just trying to tie up all the loose strings she had. Overall, if you can guess how things are going to happen in books then this one might not be for you.

A stunning and eerily atmospheric novel full of romance, mystery, and magical realism!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Adrienne Young. While it did feel a bit slow and meandering initially, the pace actually matched the tone of the novel quite well. This was a 4.5 star read for me!

I was really excited for this book after love Adrienne's last book, Spells For Forgetting. It was hard for me to get into this one for some reason, I didn't really ever know where it was going, I pushed through and I'm not sure if I was fully satisfied, I wanted more reasoning behind the plot and I wanted to like the characters more. It was still just ok, im curious to see what others think!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoy Adrienne Young's writing so much - it's lyrical and atmospheric and she does small town stories so incredibly well. As much as I love her writing, what I find I struggle with are her characters. Unfortunately, I did not get attached to June or Eamon or any of the secondary characters -- maybe it was because I was too busy trying to figure out what exactly was going on in terms of the time travel? I found the story hard to follow at times although I do think Young did a great job at explaining / recapping what was going on multiple times throughout the story. Overall, I think this story is going to be a fall favourite of many because of Young's poetic writing and original storytelling.