What an atmospheric and moody small town mystery! I loved the arc our main character went on, loved the forest and the town. The plot was compelling and everyone was a suspect in my mind at any one time, it really was tricky to figure out! Adriene Young is absolutely incredible at these kinds of stores.

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This is my favorite Adrienne Young book to date. Seriously, I got swept away in this beautifully written story that explored grief, nostalgia, and the unknown.

I love when an author uses setting powerfully, and this book did just that. Six Rivers was alive and an integral part of this story. It pulled me in and the forest held me there the entire time.

The writing was beautiful. The plot was well thought out and moved at the perfect pace. The characters were unforgettable. This book was the complete package; a perfect book to pick up when you want something cozy, slow, and full of reflection.

This book has solidified Adrienne Young as an autobuy author for me! I absolutely loved this. Her ability to weave mystery and supernatural elements together is unlike ajyrjing else I’ve read.

I really enjoyed following James as she unraveled the mystery of her brothers life. The strong bond she has with her brother persists even as she begins to uncover more than she knew to be true.

Those who love small town mysteries with romance and a hint of paranormal are sure to enjoy this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been a long time fan of Adrienne Young. Being able to weave mystery along with magical realism into her novels keeps me on my toes. When I heard of her newest novel, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, sadly this one missed the mark for me. The overall premise definitely caught my attention, but the characters themselves didn’t develop, the story lagged, and just didn’t have the magic of her usual work.

This is my second ARC from Adrienne Young and it did not disappoint!

James (a woman) is back in her small, hunting hometown following the accidental death of her twin brother. When she gets to her childhood cabin, she can still feel his presence. Something magical is in the air, but something mysterious is, too. James has a dark past involving her brother and their high school friends. Circumstances around her brother's death are suspicious. A potential son, a high school mentee, and a town that's wary of her - James has to navigate it all to get to the bottom of his death.

Young always incorporates such whimsy into her tales, despite the heaviness of their themes. This was a wonderful winter read. 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this E-ARC.

I am unsure of how I feel about this book. It was okay. Nothing crazy. I do feel like she really managed to get in a sea of unspoken things into it. Do I really care about the unspoken things? Not sure.

It was a book about twins James and Johnny. Johnny is a wild heart. James has always protected him. Until she leaves. Mysteries happen.
I do enjoy the way things unfolded. Like when the questions were asked, they were very quickly answered. I do, however, feel like I could’ve had this book be 50 pages and it would’ve been fine. There was a lot of unnecessary things in the middle. It wasn’t bad. I will still read other books by this author.

we should all be asking ourselves: is a book really that good if it doesn't pick up until the last quarter?

painstakingly slow plot, with a flat, unlikable lead, and none of the promised magical realism

this is painful, as I adored Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow. the audiobook narrator is amazing, so I wish I had waited until this book was published to listen to the audiobook.

thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Delacorte Press for an ebook arc in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars

This is one review that hurts to write. I absolutely adore this author, but this book was not at all what I was expecting or am used to from her. It was extremely slow to the point of absolute boredom, and it was just so gloomy and disconsolate. The ending was just ho hum for me, and I’m just so sad about it all. Awaiting her next and hoping I will love it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A well-crafted, atmospheric mystery. The magical realism is more subdued compared to Young’s other works, yet it works as the mystery develops. The story transports me into the setting of a small logging town and the characters come to life where I can feel their emotions, all the love, grief and nostalgia.

Pub Date: Jan 07 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #ASeaOfUnspokenThings #AdrienneYoung

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and PRH Audio for an e-ARC/audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

James Golden returns to the small rural town of Hawthorne, California after receiving the devastating call that her brother, Johnny, has died in a tragic accident. Although James and Johnny had become estranged in recent years, James remained strongly tethered to her twin, to the point that she physically felt as though she had been shot when the incident killing her brother occurred. While reacquainting herself with the town she left behind 20 years ago, she quickly begins to realize that Johnny’s death may not have been an accident after all. With the help of her former flame, Micah, she begins to dig deep into Johnny’s last days and who he surrounded himself with. As she gets closer to finding out the real truth, she is faced with the reality that the townspeople that she grew up with may not exactly be who they seem anymore.

🌠Young seems to have departed from the magical realism she has used in previous books. I loved Adrienne Young’s last book “The Unmaking of June Farrow” but this lacked a bit of punch compared to her previous work.
🌠 I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator, Christine Lakin. She was great at giving a distinct perspective to each character. Fun fact, I thought I recognized her name at the end and, when I Googled her, I realized she was Al from “Step by Step” (for all my elder millennials out there!😂) Loved that show!
🌠Read this if you like a small town mystery with a slow burn and dark, moody vibes. Just when I thought I had the ending figured out, it kept me guessing!

The Queen of Mystical Realism strikes again! This is a story of tragedy, loss and love; but also magic. A Sea of Unspoken Things pulls you into a world that is so close to our own, that you feel right at home and have you compulsively turning pages until the very end.

Small towns have a habit of protecting their own, and have their fare share of secrets. Sometimes it is these unspoken things that are the most important and the key to long held mysteries. Maybe even the people that haunt us.

I will read anything and everything that Adrienne Young writes because of the talent she has to build a story and world that sucks you in so thoroughly. This story was no exception! There are very few authors that can match her talent for atmosphere. Which is why I still highly enjoyed this book, despite not loing the story as much as others written by her.

This was a very slow-burn story, less action driven then story and character driven. The main reason that this book was only a 3.5 star for me was because I never felt like I truly grasped the characters and really ended up feeling more connected to Johnny than to James, the main character and POV. I liked the story, but the characters fell a little short for me.

Overall, this book had almost everything that I have come to expect from Adrienne Young. Namely the perfect amount of magical realism and melancholic atmosphere. I will always read everything this author writes and will be recommending this book to many a reader just for her writing.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of the newest title by Adrienne Young. I asbolutely loved "The unmaking of June Farrow" and after reading a second novel by Young, I am a fan for life. This novel had everything I look for in a story - a mysterious death, family secrets, lost loves, second chances and all set in a small town. If you love atmospheric novels with all of the above mentioned characteristics, then you will not be disappointed by this novel. I will recommend it to everyone! Thank you Adrienne Young, please keep writing!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young in exchange for my honest review.

I was hooked in the first half off the book. Adrienne Young did such a good job of setting up this eerie creepy hometown that made me understand why James had left and didn't come back. The were supernatural elements to the story that really drew me in and kept me engaged into this creepy wooded small town. However, that all seemed to fall apart for me during the second half of the book as the plot developed.

We had two big plot twists during the book. The first one, I felt like had so much potential. We had the set up for the first plot twist, but i feel like the plot reveal itself wasn't fully fleshed out. Both of the reveals lacked a real explanation to make the impact that it should have. They were both a bit brushed under the rug.

Overall, I liked it. I liked Adrienne Young's overall writing style, but I wish there were plot points that had been given more time to develop to truly make an impact.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc of this book.

Yet again, Adrienne Young has wowed me with another hit! We start off in this small town mystery with a hint of the paranormal with a twin sister (James) heading back to her hometown after 20 years due to the fact that her brother has passed and she is bringing his ashes back for his final rest while also helping to complete an environmental project he was involved with.

James does not believe that Johnny, her brother's death was an accident (shot during hunting season) and begins a deep dive into the life that he developed without her while also delving into another mystery in the town that Johnny seemed to have been involved in.

I love how the author ties in some paranormal and romantic elements into the story, much like her first book's draw of magical realism. The pacing of the book was evenly paced and kept me intrigued throughout. I feel like I could have finished this in a day if it weren't for the holidays. Her descriptions throughout the book were fantastic, and you feel like you're in the small town with the characters experiencing what they are.

The only thing I did not like was that the ending to the mystery was pretty predictable once you got to a certain part in the story, but there was a little bit of a twist so it helped to make up for it.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be on the lookout for the author's next release! Pick up this winter read when it is published, and you won't be disappointed!

I toyed with what to rate this because the second half of the book was great but it felt like the entire first half was just set up for the story. It was very slow moving and took that first half to get into the book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

My first Adrienne Young book and it did not disappoint! I went in blind and had such a great time. Such a great mysterious story with lots of twists and turns. There is a little romance in there but I would more so call this a mystery/thriller with a romantic subplot. I won’t give anything away but I could not put this book down and can’t wait to read more of her books!

after loving her adult debut, the unmaking of june farrow, i was over the moon to see that i received an arc of her latest release! unfortunately, it let me down just a tad, as the the pacing is much slower and atmospheric - which will definitely work for some people, but i had a tough time getting into it. i was unable to complete the book and will be dnf’ing halfway through.

i will not leave a review for this title. thank you for the arc!!

I have read several of Adrienne Young’s works now and have yet to stumble across one I did not love.

One thing you know you can always get from Young is absolutely beautiful writing and prose. Writing that just draws you in and makes you FEEL. Stunning world building, incredible characters that are multi-layered and feel so raw and real, slow burn, mystery and powerful, heartfelt meanings laced within the plot.

A Sea of Unspoken Things was no exception to this. While the plot did take a little bit to get into, I found myself loving yet another world that Adrienne Young had written. Truly such a gift.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacourte Press for the ARC!!

I was SO excited to read this because Adrienne Young is an extraordinary storyteller…loved the added magical elements!
A bit slow in the beginning but then it really takes off. The author takes us down James’ emotional path of grief, nostalgia and mystery while looking for answers. Her journey culminates with a sweet, final resolution that made the entire story memorable. The writing and plot are just incredible.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I went into this expecting a thriller with a hint of supernatural elements. What I got was a slow paced exploration of grief and life in a isolated community.

The author does a fair job of depicting the process of grief and loss. James feelings bleed through the page and I found those moments to be equal partes heartbreaking and relatable. However, the plot spends to much time hinting at a revelation from their past that was fairly obvious from page 1, and it drags because of it.

My main gripe with the novel is the ending. The story overall was fairly easy to follow and I did not expect some big twist at the end. So it came out out of nowhere when we got not 1, but 2. Without any explanation whatsoever we are just told who the murders are in like 1 scene. It let me confused as hell.

Also the romance DID NOT needed to be there at all. It was forced and not believable. Maybe if they didn’t got together in the end I would’ve not mind it. The HEA came completely out of the blue and made no sense for the main character. It literally is just there to give the readers a positive note.