I love Adrienne Young’s writing! The way she sets the scene really pulls you into the story and captivates you. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The small town vibes, the murder mystery, the second chance romance/it’s always been you, dash of paranormal activity, and finally it all coming together in the end was so satisfying Perfect book to snuggle up with by the fire in winter which is exactly what I did!

I liked this book, but I did not LOVE it. I couldn't quite get into the rhythm of it, because I couldn't tell if there was something mystical about it or if this twin connection thing is just something that all twins feel. So it was unclear what the designated emotional impact should be.

Adrienne Brody is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In her new book, A Sea of Unspoken Things, there is a mysterious death, a homecoming, an old flame, and the speculative fiction that only Young can do so well. This book is more thriller with a side of romance. It’s set it Northern California. The way Young writes these places makes you feel as if you’re actually there. It was beautiful and ominous. I can’t wait to read what she writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mystery/thriller with romance as a second plot- imo there wasn’t much fantasy to the plot unless I just missed it.
Listened on audio- narration was great! And I still love how atmospheric Adrienne’s writing is!

I still thought it was good, but my favorite is still June Farrow.

“There was something that was almost romantic about the idea—producing work just for the sake of creating it. Not for show or display or even the world’s consideration. Away from opinions or opportunities. It was just … free.”

Love this quote as an artist myself.

This book didn't grab me as much as I wanted it to. It was a mystery, James came back to her hometown to figure out why her twin brother was shot. She didn't think it was an accident as they say. It has the typical come back to hometown storyline where she falls for her childhood love again, etc. Young tried to make it very mysterious but it didn't intrigue me. It wasn't an ending I predicted but overall the book was just slow. Thank you Netgalley for letting me get an early read of the book.

I love Adrienne Young’s writing and had to read this one immediately.

Her writing is beautiful, the atmosphere is top tier, and her settings are immaculate. I always feel as if I’m part of the story.

I was a bit underwhelmed with the actual story. I wanted more magic, more romance. I also could’ve used at least 100 more pages with these characters- to sink even deeper with them!

This wasn’t my favorite by her, but I still very much enjoyed!

Each chapter in this book made me want more and I had to keep reading. I finished this book in 2 days. The mystery in this story kept me guessing the whole time who it could have been and what happened to her twin brother Johnny; as well and the other character Autumn that developed along the way. I was also rooting for her and Micha throughout the story so I was happy with their ending too.

One thing I really like about Adrienne Youngs writing is that she can create these beautiful atmospheric worlds without falling prey to the all vibes and no plot curse.
I always enjoy her moody small town mysteries with a dash of fantasy, but I will say this one has been my least favorite.
It just fell a little flat when it came to the characters.
I still really enjoyed it but compared to her other recent work it just didn't quite stack up.

This is a thriller/ murder mystery that will keep you on your toes guessing. This book takes you on a journey about loss, grief and the path to healing. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

A Sea of Unspoken Things follows James as she returns to her hometown following the mysterious death of her brother Johnny. She rekindles old friendships and realizes her twin may have been keeping more from her than she realized.

This was my first novel by Adrienne and her writing is just so impeccably beautiful. The way she is able to capture scenes with words is amazing. With that being said, I really wanted to give this one five stars but am giving it 3.5 when all is said and done (rounded up to 4). It took me a little longer than I had hoped to get really connected to the story and the characters and felt like the story built a lot before it finally hooked my attention. I did appreciate the twists and turns towards the end. I wasn’t expecting that! Definitely give this a try, it just wasn’t my favorite cup of tea.

I got this as an ARC months ago, and read the first couple chapters, but fell into a reading slump that got away with me, and thus I didn't pick up the book and finish it until recently. I wish I would have read it sooner, but I'm glad I finally did because A Sea of Unspoken Things was amazing. It's more of a thriller in my opinion, and less fantasy or historical than her past books, which surprised me a little. But Adrienne navigates solving a possible murder in a small town, while weaving in themes of family, love, and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. Adrienne combined romance, family, identity, along with deadly secrets, lies, and death in a way that's quietly elegant and clever. She has a way of masterfully writing works with so much soul and feeling. And even if the story starts slow, and isn't the flashiest, which I'd describe A Sea of Unspoken Things to be, Adrienne ALWAYS finds a way to grip you and make you feel. Her stories have a soul and make you feel. something This book was dark, and beautiful, and gripping and powerful to me. I loved the parallels between the setting and the characters, which wove into the overall theme. The blurred lines between forest, wilderness, animals, and humans. How maybe we're all one in the same.
I loved James as a main character, and how she navigated finding out what happened to her brother. The relationship between them was complicated and compelling, and honestly the relationships between all of the characters felt similar. Bound and separated by secrets and history.
Definitely recommend. This book kind of snuck up on me, and now I'll be thinking about it for a while.

I feel like I am watching a movie when I read Adrienne Young! This book started slow in the beginning, but I was anxiously waiting to see how the small town mystery would unravel.

Since Adrienne’s books are a mix of just about every genre, it’s hard to pinpoint some of the negatives of this book. The romance plot felt underdeveloped, but if we’re classifying it as a Lit Fic, then that doesn’t really matter. I enjoyed reading it and the ending was well worth the wait. I will continue to read her catalog of books, but this one just might not be my top fav.

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In A Sea of Unspoken Things, James returns to her small hometown after the death of her twin brother, Johnny. There’s a mystery surrounding Johnny’s death, and a large part of the plot is James’s attempt to uncover the truth about her brother and his death, while the reader learns more about her own past.
What I liked -
Johnny’s character was the definition of “haunting the narrative,” a trope I tend to really enjoy and that I think this book did really well. I also really liked the natural and enchanting vibes of the book’s setting - I loved the role of the woods and the commentary on nature. I also thought that Adrienne Young’s writing was strong, and I enjoyed her writing style.
What I didn’t like -
I was left underwhelmed in terms of my connection to characters and interest in the plot. I honestly just didn’t really care about the mystery or events of the book. I wasn’t completely bored because I enjoyed the writing enough, but nothing in the plot really encaptured or interested me. This is definitely a quieter kind of mystery, with the characters the driving force rather than the plot. And I think this could have really worked for me, if I only felt stronger about the characters, but I was unable to strongly connect with any of them. Overall, I enjoyed aspects of this book like the setting and the writing, but it unfortunately fell short for me in terms of plot and characters.

A little bit dark, definitely atmospheric, intricately plotted with a smidge of magical realism, this one was a slow burn for me. I struggled right off the bat with the main female character's name, James. Although the reasoning for her name was explained, I still think it made reading the book unnecessarily complicated. Some of the characters were not as well-developed as I would have liked. That being said, the setting was perfectly described, and I felt like I was right there with James as she uncovered each clue to the mystery. I enjoyed the story and the unraveling of all the secrets, including a last-minute reveal that I feel like I should have seen coming, but didn't.

This is a very generous 3 stars.

I had high expectations and hopes for this book. I love Adrienne Young. It’s one of the first things all my bookish friends know about me and I was expecting a beautiful setting, gorgeous prose, and eerie (but not too scary) magical realism and this book just never delivered.

First of all this book was so incredibly slow. I need someone to explain why things didn’t pick up until the SEVENTY PERCENT MARK??!! To me that’s crazy and if this wasn’t an arc written by Adrienne Young I would have dnf’d ages ago.

I like the chemistry between James and Micah, but the ghost of Johnny choked the story. It felt like absolutely nothing was happening for so long and yet all we heard about was Johnny this and Johnny that.

Also, I was promised magical realism and that sort of didn’t happen. There’s a touch of it, but Young never really does anything useful with these seeds that she plants.

This just felt like a poorly paced mystery and sadly a waste of my time. I’m going to go cry about how badly I was disappointed by this book now.

Thank you to Ballentine and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A woman who left her past behind in her hometown, finds herself back after her twin brother was killed in what seems to have been an accident. The more she uncovers events leading up to his death, the more she is concerned that he might have been murdered.

This was one I didn’t want to put down and really wanted to find out what was happening!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a haunting and bittersweet tale of a sister returning to a childhood home to find out more about her brother's death. You had a bit of supernatural with James being able to feel and see her brother with their special twin connection but the rest was realistic though the atmosphere was nicely creepy with the trees and gorge and area where it mostly takes place. It did a good job of playing on my emotions because not only is it Johnny's death but also coming back to old friends, former loves, and the tragedy that caused James to flee all those years ago. So, it did get a bit twisty and kept me reading to find out the truth. The truth about Johnny and his death, but also who he really was and what he kept from his sister and vice versa.

This was a good, emotional read, and easy to keep going till you get to the end. Definitely some surprises and a good ending (though a bit sad).

Adrienne Young seems to be a hit or miss author for me but I always put her new releases on my TBR because she’s a master at setting a dark atmosphere.

A Sea of Unspoken Things left a little to be desired for me with its slow starting pace and lack of depth for the main character, but it had excellent atmosphere like I expected so I did finish it despite not being the most engaging plot for me.

Atmospheric and engaging. The defining incident that was not fully explained until maybe two thirds into the book was perphaps mentioned a few times too many in the beginning and slowed it down a little. But the story still pulled me in. I am a visual reader who paints the scenes as I read and Adrienne Young's writing made doing so so easy. The setting, the location, and the actions are vivid and flowed. Would be recommending the book to others.