This is a contemporary mystery with a touch of magical realism (in the vein of an unusually strong twin-connection). Gorgeous writing from Adrianne Young, evocative, small town mystery, secrets, art and photography.

James Golden hasn't been back to her small hometown since she left 20 years ago. But her twin brother, Johnny's passing months ago has her facing things she'd rather forget in order to get to the truth. Was he tragically killed in a random hunting accident, or did something more sinister happen? Why does she feel this ache in her chest, right where he was shot? And why did she really leave town all those years ago?

4.5 stars! this was a hauntingly beautiful story. Adrienne Young has such a captivating style of writing, is mysterious, lyrical, with a touch of whimsy. I found myself wanting to know what happened from the start. As I was reading I found myself guessing the murder mystery and when I thought I knew what was happening I didn't. This story also touched on grief in a way that felt real. James was an intriuging character and I loved watching her story play out.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the ARC

This book was very interesting. It was suspenseful, creepy, atmospheric and unexpected. A bit slower paced for me, however, it managed to hold my attention with the plot twists. It does pick up in the last third of the book and would keep you on the edge of your seat. the story is interesting enough that you should give it a read.

Atmospheric, evocative, subtly haunting and mysterious. The characters drove the plot, and kept me absorbed the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this lightly fantastical whodunit.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

QUICK GLANCE-
My format- ebook
Other formats- 📖Physical (288 pages)🎧Audio (9 hours and 16 minutes)
Spice: 🚫(implied intimacy)
Language: 🤐🤐moderate
CW: ⚠️grief, gun violence, murder, abandonment, mentions of suicide attempt
Pub. Date: January 07, 2025

MY THOUGHTS-
Adrienne Young has delivered yet another captivating, gripping small-town thriller! The pacing was a bit slower at first, and it took me some time to truly connect with the story. However, once I got into it, I couldn’t put the book down and ended up finishing it in the middle of the night.

Just a heads up for those of you who have read Adrienne Young.... this one has much less (if any at all) magical realism like Spells for Forgetting or The Unmaking of June Farrow. I was missing a bit of that so heads up to change your expectations before reading.

Small Mountian Town
Photography
Atmospheric
Slow Burn Mystery
Family Secrets

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

First of all, I have to thank NetGalley for providing me with the e-ARC of this book just in time to get it done before it comes out. This is my first ARC review!
This was a beautifully written character study thriller with a little bit of paranormal fantasy mixed in.
In this book, James is facing the grief of losing her twin brother and having to go back to their hometown which she has always avoided. But as she works on finishing her brother's project, it turns out that he might have had a lot of secrets to uncover as well. James must deal with her own sordid past while she works through the secrets her brother was keeping from her before she can let him go.
Immediately when I started it, I loved the atmospheric writing and the way Young described this town through the main character. It definitely gave me creepy vibes which is what it set out to do.
I also loved the plot twists. I was surprised by all of them and I'm usually pretty good at predicting things, so it takes a good book to surprise me.
I will say that I think the pacing might have been a little slow for me. It kind of dragged at the beginning, but the end did pick it up quickly and I couldn't put it down for the last half.
Overall it was a really good book and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers.

I am writing to express my enthusiastic response to Adrienne Young's, A Sea of Unspoken Things. As a first-time reader of her work in print, I was immediately captivated by her vivid prose. Young's ability to immerse the reader in the setting of Six Rivers is truly remarkable. The lush descriptions of the forest and the vibrant personalities of the characters brought the story to life with such immediacy that I felt transported to this enchanting world within the first 20% of the novel.

The early chapters are particularly compelling, skillfully drawing the reader into the intricate relationships and mystery surrounding Johnny Golden, James's now-deceased twin brother. While the pacing may sometimes feel deliberate, building suspense effectively, the final act delivers a satisfying resolution.

While not integral to the main plot, the romance subplot adds a layer of emotional depth and enriches the reader's connection to James and the story. It made her more human and we were able to see a different side to her other than the James who is deeply rooted in figuring out her brother's death, The character development is particularly strong, with James undergoing a significant personal journey of self-discovery as she confronts her brother's past and grapples with the complexities of their relationship.

Overall, A Sea of Unspoken Things is a captivating and well-crafted novel that showcases Adrienne Young's exceptional talent for storytelling. I will definitely be back to read Young's previous works.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on release day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Adrienne Young for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Sea of Unspoken Things coming out January 7, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

First of all, Adrienne Young is one of my favorite authors! I’ve read all her books and I was so excited to get this one. I love that she has a lot of sea related books. I do miss her historical books, but I definitely enjoyed this book. The story was really interesting with a lot of mystery. I enjoy the supernatural elements she adds to her stories.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books with a little bit of everything!

3.75 rounded up ⭐️ I truly love Adrienne Young’s writing! While I read this book in almost one sitting, and I was on the edge of my seat, I will say that this is probably the least ‘fantasy’ of her books that I’ve read. I went in thinking it would be like The Unmaking of June Farrow and Spells for Forgetting which combined fantasy, romance, and a thriller, but this book is primarily a thriller. There is a super super sub romance, but the ‘magic’ was very light. It was so light that sometimes you wondered if it was only in the head of the FMC.

I loved the twin connection. I am also a twin and I do believe that at times I can sense what my brother is thinking/feeling. Also the whodunit of it all was really great.

If you like thrillers/mystery, then this book is for you. If you’re a fantasy-forward reader, this may not be your cup of tea. But it was definitely binge-worthy!

*ARC REVIEW*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Adrienne Young has been one of my top must read authors and I’m so happy to have FINALLY got to read some of her work! This book was gripping in all the right ways.

🌊We follow our FMC, James, who is not quite convinced that the death of her twin brother, Johnny, was an accident. So, she returns to her hometown after many years spent trying to get away from the tainted memories that once occurred there.

💫After she arrives in town, she once again crosses paths with Micah, one of her closest friends (and more) back in the day. While the main plot of the story may not be romance, their chemistry definitely made for a fantastic and sweet subplot!

🌊This read was truly something! I was so invested in this story and couldn’t wait to see how everything ended up. There were times I was confused, shocked, all while an eerie feeling travels throughout the book.
With deep secrets being unearthed, a twin bond that stands the test of time and an elegant touch of magical realism… this story was one for the books!

💫thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review! Opinions are my own.

🌊 Book Review: A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young 🌊

✨ Out Today: January 7th!

I could not put this book down. Adrienne Young has once again woven a tale full of mystery, atmosphere, and slow-burning intrigue, reminiscent of Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow.

At its heart is the unbreakable bond between siblings James and Johnny—a relationship so authentic and raw, it leaps off the page. Their connection is the emotional anchor of the story, pulling you deeper into the dark, damp forest and the secrets it holds.

Set in a small town where trust is scarce, A Sea of Unspoken Things delivers layers of suspense and magic. While it touches on magical realism, it’s subtler here than in Young’s previous novels. And yes, there’s a touch of romance, but it takes a backseat to the spellbinding mystery that will keep you hooked.

I want to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC of this stunning novel. I loved it so much that I also picked it as my BOTM choice—I just knew I needed a copy for my shelf! Adrienne Young has proven, yet again, why she’s a master of atmospheric storytelling.

💌 Have you read Adrienne Young’s books before? Let me know if you’re as excited for this one as I was!

Lately I'm reading without looking at synopses to go in completely blind and so I go in with zero expectations. And that's how this story worked for me and left me with a very nice feeling upon finishing it.
The story takes place in a small town, where spouting a rumor without proof of it can trigger actions that will destroy the lives of several people.
It all starts with James, our protagonist who upon learning of her brother's death returns to the town she left one day without turning back. Her return and wanting to know what exactly happened to her brother will lead her to discover that it seems she didn't know him as much as she thought she did, at least in recent years.
The atmosphere of the book is very thriller and mystery, but there are also supernatural touches that are like little clues directing James where to go, as long as she knows how to decipher them.
I wasn’t expecting romance because it's not categorized as such, but there is one or two scenes that pull a little bit to that side and I liked it.
I got caught up in the story from beginning to end, so much so that it lasted me less than two days, but I confess that I really like this author, especially her last published books that go very much in this style of the one here.
So this is my first recommendation of the year ;)

Thank you so much to the publisher Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an ARC on exchange of honest review.

A Sea of Unspoken Things is a contemporary mystery about a woman who returns to her childhood home to investigate the death of her twin brother.

James Golden left her small Northern California logging town twenty years ago for art school and a new life in San Francisco. But that meant leaving behind her complicated twin brother, Johnny, and her first love, Micah. When Johnny is killed in a hunting accident, James feels compelled to come home to uncover exactly what happened—and what secrets her brother was keeping.

Like her previous novels, A Sea of Unspoken Things is a dark and atmospheric tale of bad deeds, small-town life, and lost love. I enjoyed the mystery and paranormal elements of James’s investigation into her brother’s life and death, as well as their complicated relationship. Adrienne Young’s writing is beautiful and lyrical and her characters have depth and nuance.

I received this arc from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group. I really enjoyed this book. This is a mystery with a bit of fantasy mixed in. James and Johnny are twins who grew up in a very small town. These two characters have always shared a supernatural connection and were inseparable until James moved away for art school after they graduated. After she moved, she and Johnny slowly drifted apart, but that connection between them never went away. And when Johnny suddenly dies in a tragic accident, James feels all of his pain and knows before she even receives a phone call that he is gone. But something about his death just doesn’t sit right with James, so she returns to their hometown to uncover the truth about her brother’s death and to rediscover who her brother was. Along the way she also reconnects with her high school sweetheart Micah, who grew up right alongside herself and Johnny. This book had me guessing until the very end which I love! Adrienne Young is also an incredibly descriptive writer. In every scene it was so easy to imagine being right there next the characters in this little mountain town. If you love a good mystery that will keep you guessing, then you should definitely check out this book when it is released on January 7th!

Adrienne gives us the mystery and often crazy family dynamics and truthfully this was no different. I had no idea what to expect and I’m not going to lie she kept me on my toes. I tend to find I slow down while reading anything of hers which is a feat in and of itself. There’s so many layers to each book and I kind love the confusion. She always wraps it up in the end and boy did she. I tend to leave and think about her books for a bit after reading.

Things I Enjoyed…
🦉Small Town Mystery
🌊 A Tiny Dose of Magic (but truly unique)
🦉 Wolf Dogs
🌊 Second Chance Romance
🦉Reads Slower
🌊 Intertwined Stories

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Delcorte Press for this ARC!

After the death of her twin brother, James returns to her small hometown to settle his affairs and find out the truth of her brother's death. James must face the memories of her youth while also investigating the strange and almost paranormal tie she still feels to her brother.

Young continues to be so good at creating a setting that I can vividly imagine, the town and every location felt very lived in and real. The plot was a little slow at times, but with her writing I don't mind just immersing myself in the characters and environment. The mystery kept me thinking and surprised me at certain points. It was definitely less romantic that June Farrow, but I still enjoyed the connection between James and Micah (and I have a soft spot for second chance romances anyways).

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

ARC Review
A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
Pub date: January 7

A Sea of Unspoken Things was a great, atmospheric read with magical realism aspects and a whodunnit woven throughout the pages. Much thanks to Ballantine - Delacorte Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed how quickly I was drawn into this book. I’m not typically a thriller or mystery reader, but I have to say, this one got me. More than a traditional mystery, though, I liked how Young brought the forest to life, the flashbacks to the FMC and MMC’s pasts, and their struggles to overcome them in the wake of a best friend and brother’s strange death.

I recommend this book if you like magical realism, stories about finding yourself, and a mystery thrown in.

A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS
BY: ADRIENNE YOUNG

"A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS," is the newest novel by this brand new Author to me, ADRIENNE YOUNG." I am so thrilled that I took a chance by requesting this because I almost didn't based on a few reviews that said that they liked her previous books better. I was aware of at least two previous books that I had wanted to read, and now they have become must reads as soon as possible based on this fantastic reading experience with this one. It is marketed for the Mystery/Thriller genre and I have to say that it was less thriller, but definitely a mystery that I really enjoyed enough from beginning to end to earn five stars plus from me. It was so well written with a very atmospheric setting woven into the whole novel imbued in the excellent prose like a beautiful tapestry. I really loved it because the character development as well as the plot was so well developed. I didn't realize the magic realism that this had until I finished this, and noticed it is one of the descriptions, since the story was believable and it was subtle and everything seemed plausible. Now, as I reflect back I remember where it appeared, and I wondered if the magical realism upon looking back where it appeared was something that I wondered if it could be real. Since it's obvious to me now, I thought about it after finishing it, since the phenomenon where the understated magical realism in this story existed is something that I've heard of to which it pertains is partially true. I'll tell you why. It is a known fact that twins have a deeper sense of feeling what happens to each other than mere siblings do. It's not something that's out of the ordinary, since most people are already familiar with this concept.

This definitely had some low grade eerie elements. This also was beyond the usual scope of atmospheric which sounds like a cliche, but there's no other way of describing how much that element exists in the writing in the best possible way. It begins when James who is a woman, felt in her body before she was notified that her twin brother Johnny was killed. They both were about thirty seven or thirty eight years old. James is a successful artist who lived in San Francisco, who left her home in a remote small town in an isolated, beautiful area surrounded by nature when she went to college. She is driving back to the small cabin in Six Rivers which was her childhood home to wrap up a project her twin brother Johnny was working on in the wilderness. She can feel in her body a sharp, piercing pain in her chest between her ribs as she approaches the canopy of old, tall trees that block out the sun as she approaches. That's the same spot in which her brother got shot which is a mystery of how it happened. When she arrives home her brother Johnny's best friend Micah who was also close to James since they all grew up together since childhood arrives in the driveway. He is there to drop off the twin's dog named Smoke.

It's been twenty years since Jame's has last come home and seen Micah since she left for Art school. She and Micah seem distant considering their history. He has stocked the cabin with some groceries for her, and he leaves soon after. Jame's and Johnny had infrequent phone calls to which she has always felt a tether to him even though he was mysterious about his personal life. Now in the cabin where they raised themselves she can feel Johnny's presence everywhere and he doesn't feel deceased even though she is keenly aware that he is. James feels responsible for a lot of things that happened in their past, particularly for helping him get him the job that he was shot while doing it. She gets right to work by combing through the work that he was doing when he was in the woods on a Gorge where all three of them grew up spending time there. There's no WiFi at the cabin and she does some work in a diner in town that is now owned by Sadie who Johnny had an off and on relationship where Johnny strung Sadie along.

She has met with the officer that is Amanda who gives James back Johnny's jacket that has a hole in the chest with the blood stains, and Amanda tells Jame's she's not going to stop looking what happened to her brother. Jame's often Johnny's phone and computer to the diner to see what information she can find herself since she can sense on a deep level that her brother getting shot wasn't an accident. It's a mystery what he was doing that day out on the Gorge since he didn't have his camera or safety gear. Jame's feels a roll of film in the pocket of the blue jacket her brother was wearing the day he was shot. As she goes through everything she finds breadcrumbs of information that leads her to different people to track down that she starts to investigate on her own. I as the reader was totally immersed in Jame's search for what happened to her brother. I felt so pulled into this complex, but it was easy to understand the mysterious process as it proceeded. There were straightforward elements in regards to Jame's investigation, but there were things that were hinted at that had to do with Jame's, Johnny's and Micah's past that I was deeply interested in learning more about since those were slowly revealed. All the while James could feel Johnny's presence and I as the reader could also feel it as if he was there with her. The writing was deeply descriptive and so palpable that I was able to feel what Jame's did as if somehow I was a silent witness alongside her. As step by step, she uncovered new people to contact through the negatives she developed into photographs which in some she would discover hints. From his work and emails from his computer, to contacts and unnamed phone numbers that she realized that although she was still strongly tethered to her brother, she learns that she didn't know a lot about him. At the same time, she knew him on a very intimate level. And then there's Micah.

You will realize while reading this if you do, which I highly, highly recommend this for it's a multilayered mystery that I felt I was on my own odyssey as this was a wonderful page turner. It's intelligently written that was so realistic and universal that as I said above I didn't realize the magical realism until I saw it was one of the tags here on Good Reads. Then the parts that I questioned the pieces of my musing after finishing it snapped together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I've decided that I prefer that undetected magical realism to the novels where it's more obvious. That makes this mystery novel so unique, since it's a brand new realization that I never knew about myself since I do enjoy it. I really hated to end this novel, and already I can tell that it's one that I'll never forget. It was said in some reviews that I read from fans of her previous work, that they were disappointed that this had less magical realism than her others as if they were disappointed. It's always so fun and delightful to discover new authors whose previous work you can't wait to get the chance to read after having such an excellent reading experience. This book believe it or not is a lot about human nature and is beautifully written. It might seem premature to say this so early in the year, but this is going to be a top favorite read. I think it deserves to reach as wide of an audience as possible, and there's a lot more to this than I have written in this review to discover. I LOVED IT!

Publication Date: January 7, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Adrienne Young, and Random House Publishing Group--Ballantine/Delacorte Press for generously providing me with my fantastic ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#ASeaofUnspokenThings #AdrienneYoung #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineDelacortePress #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the heart of the forest that lies in the center of their hometown, James's twin brother tragically loses his life in a suspected hunting accident. After James arrives back in the rural roan of Hawthorne, California to settler her brother's affairs and is forced to confront the ominous past she and Johnny shared, she begins to feel that maybe her brothers death wasn't an accident after all. With themes surrounding grief, forgiveness, love and sacrifice - once you're in, you won't want to put this one down.

This was my first Adrienne Young novel & I was not disappointed. Her writing has a way of really bringing the reader into the atmosphere of her books and once I was hooked, I couldn't stop reading. However, I did struggle in the beginning to want to keep reading. I had to let the plot develop further in order for me to care to continue as the early chapters felt slow - but I also couldn't tell if it was because there was this big mystery that I just couldn't wait to figure out.

I will also admit that I didn't have as deep of a connection with the characters as I had hoped, which lends a hand to my 4-star rating. With the topic of this book being so emotional, I really expected to feel something towards johnny and James. The writing didn't emotionally develop enough for me in this case and I really wish we had gotten more from their connection in a positive light so we could really see the good side of their relationship as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to finally read The Unmaking of June Farrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a ARC of this book!
WOW! Things started off slow, but once things picked up I could not put this book down. James (an interesting name for a female character- this is explained in the characters backstory) returns to her hometown after the death of her twin brother. Her story takes many twists and turns until she is able to piece together the mystery surrounding her brother’s death. My first 4 star read of the year, will definitely be recommending to others :)