I was so excited for this book because I loved The Unmaking of June Farrow, and I was captivated once again by Adrienne Young’s storytelling in this mystery/thriller (with a hint of magical realism).

James returns to her hometown of Six Rivers after her twin brother Johnny dies to help tie up some of his loose ends.
She’d left at 18 and hasn’t been back for twenty years and is now faced with ghosts of her past, including the love she left behind, Micah.

James and Johnny have always had one of those magical twin connections where she could feel his emotions and see flashes through his point of view. Their connection lingers even after he’s dead and his presence in her life guides her search for the truth behind his “accidental” death. While digging for the truth, she uncovers far more than she wanted to about Johnny and about her own past in Six Rivers.


The writing was beautiful and emotional, and the story kept me captivated all the way until the climactic end.
The characters had so much depth. The tension between James and Micah was palpable. And the loss and grief that James experienced losing her twin brother was heartbreaking.
Again, a beautiful story. Definitely recommend!

Once again, an amazing addicting book everything that I’ve read by the author has been perfect and something that I actually thoroughly enjoyed the whole time. I cannot wait until this book comes out so I can recommend it to my book group and my followers on Instagram.

Overall, I think the author tried to do too much in too little time, and both the mystery and characters suffered for it.

Most of the issues I had with the story was because the mystery was placed at the forefront for the majority of the plot, but it wasn’t enough of an interesting mystery, especially because I felt a lack of connection to both James and Johnny to want it solved.

If the story had been more focused on the character, and the mystery angle dialed back, then we could have spent more time with the characters and I would have been more invested.

Characters
Honestly, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. It almost feels wrong to even make it plural, because so much of this story was just James. None of the other characters were really fleshed out - for the most part, it felt like a character would just enter a scene to say a couple lines, or only to have a very specific point in the mystery plot.

Micah was the only other character you really spent significant time with and I feel like I know next to nothing about him or his personality. I didn’t really know anything about our main character either because it was a constant repeat of inner thoughts without really getting to know her, and so much time at the beginning was wasted on trying to set up a suspense by being told there was a past incident - which after the reveal felt mostly unimportant.

Narrative
If this story was more a character dealing with her grief, with a sub-plot of learning truths about her brother and a mystery of what happened to him, then first person would have worked. However, the mystery took up so much of the story that it suffered from being stuck in just James’s head.

With how it was written, the mystery plot would have benefited from being third person narrative or dual timelines. Being stuck in only James POV in the current timeline kept taking the reader on these stream of consciousness type of tangents, even in the middle of conversations. In the first half, I feel like 95% of the story was just her thoughts, which after a while were just repetitive.

There was also a habit on projecting or assuming what others thought. After the first couple times I was annoyed, not really trusting if James knew that’s how the other person felt. Someone would say something about Johnny, and she would think I knew exactly what they were thinking because Johnny was always like this, while also admitting she didn’t really know him anymore - or that her and Sadie weren’t close back then, but she absolutely knew exactly what Sadie’s feelings were for her brother.

If there were dual timelines I think it would give an opportunity to build the suspense of the mystery, as well as actually flesh out the setting and characters, that I felt were lacking from James POV - with so much bogged down with her telling and not showing. The constant “I always had to cover for Johnny and put him first and take care of him”, and we were given at most a couple examples that weren’t even delved into.

With a dual timeline, possibly even with parts in Johnny’s POV, we could actually get to know Johnny ourselves and see these personality traits that were constantly being told to us. A lot of the time, with how James and Micah would talk about Johnny, I was actually confused with how to view him because they talked in broad terms of his personality that left me with questions. Instead of having this jumble of thoughts where James described Johnny or something that happened, we could actually see the scene play out and not just be told how to feel about it.

Posted to Goodreads and Instagram on 12/12/24.

I was excited to receive this as an ARC! It was a slow burn for me to get invested; however, this book will stay with me.

Brief summary: James comes back to Six Rivers after her twin brother dies from a stray bullet in a hunting accident... only James does not believe it was an accident.

This book tugged on my heart strings because I have a brother who I am close to! Having the twin connection added a unique and almost supernatural element to the book. Watching all the family secrets unfold was riveting. The twists in this book kept coming until the final few pages. I did predict the ending; however, it was so satisfying!

I enjoyed this one! The atmosphere was lovely, the prose as always with an Adrienne Young book was spectacular, the connection between twins was fascinating, and I really loved how there were multiple plausible suspects for the murder mystery element; I could see each one of them having done it, and it was very fun trying to figure out which one really did it.

I wanted to love it, but ultimately, the pace was very slow, and I struggled with the romance and ending. Still a huge fan of this author and her creativity and prose, so hopefully others will love it more!

Very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

We all have secrets. This is the story of a twin trying to discover the secrets her brother was keeping, which may have led to his unexpected and untimely death. But all she has is what was left behind, and it tells a broken story.

Johnny was an odd duck - dark and mysterious, even to his twin sister, James. Between them was some kind of supernatural connection twins tend to have. But James felt something even more than that in times of great distress. Like she was in both bodies at once, somehow. It is how she explains the crystal clear sensation she got of the bullet that killed him hitting her own chest. And she still has that preternatural feeling. It won't go away, even though he's gone, and James is certain he's trying to tell her something from beyond the grave.

As a mystery, this works really well. There's a clear objective, there are lots of compelling clues, and a cast that supports the story well. I was hooked. But the little *sparkle* I love about every Adrienne Young book I've read so far are her complicated romance plotlines, and this one did not disappoint.

Now, in no way is this a romance novel - this is firmly mystery territory. But there's this guy, right? And despite their messy history, he's there and ready to help her figure out what the hell happened to Johnny.

It's a simple story really, but the writing is skillful and compelling. Another mark of an Adrienne Young story is some kind of magical realism element. With June Farrow it was a foundation of the story and integral to the plotline the whole way through, with Spells for Forgetting it was a little more understated, but still foundational, but with Unspoken, it's in the little details. The twin feeling. Their pet Smoke. Maybe even the forest itself.

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm honored I was chosen by the publisher and netgalley to receive a free download of the story in exchange for a fair and honest review. I'm sure this isn't the only time I'll be visiting this one!

3 ⭐️

I had such high hopes for this book after giving The Unmaking of June Farrow infinity stars! 😭
I mean don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate the book, but it was definitely not my favorite.
The first half of the book reeled me in, but the last half was so boring to me. :(

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, but I feel like what really affected the rating for me, was the lack of connection to the characters. I felt like I really didn’t fully get to know James to the point where I actually felt something for her, and also the writing was just so slow 😭

I did really enjoy the audio though!! I feel like if I didn’t listen to the audio the rating probably would have been lower.

Thank you to the publisher and PRH Audio for the ALC!!🩷

As you find with Adrienne Young, the novel is atmospheric. I felt like I could see the forest and different locations that James saw, with the weight that the places have in her memory. Thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the arc!

I didn’t know what I was expecting going into this book. This is my first Adrienne Young book and…. wow. I did not see the twist coming. The story paced a tiny bit slower than I would’ve liked, but it made the story that much sweeter and to see how the events unfolded. I did not see the plot twist within the plot twist coming and I love that I had no idea where this was going. SO great. I need to read more Adrienne Young.

I don’t know how Adrienne Young speaks to the yearning in my soul but she delivers every single time.

I am absolutely obsessed with Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow so knew this would be a slam dunk for me - but didn’t think that it would consume me the way it did. I was soaring through the book while reading, and any moment I wasn’t reading I was thinking about it.

Young’s heroines are always a beautiful mix of strong and emotional, and James is no exception. It felt like a giant unraveling of the miscommunication trope which I wholeheartedly loved. I don’t think there was a single part of this book that I disliked. It felt made for me.

Overall, a wonderful read that I will be thinking about for minimum the rest of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Ballantine Books / Delacort Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Adrienne Young is the queen of atmospheric writing, and she has done it again here.

This book felt a little different than her previous two adult fiction, in that this one felt a little more mystery-forward and the romance took a smaller back seat (which wasn’t a problem). There’s a hint of magical realism in how James still feels connected to her brother Johnny, and I really enjoyed how mystical and almost kind of eerie (at times) it felt. As for the romance, I’m a sucker for a friends to lovers/second chance situation, and I loved how it was done and how it balanced well with the sadder overall story.

The location really felt like its own character here. The way the forest and small town were described, paired with the somewhat dark plot, made for a truly interesting combination.

The mystery was definitely a slower burn, but that just gave me plenty of time to wonder about where the story was going. Each time I thought I knew what was coming, things shifted and went in a totally different direction. This one kept me on my toes right up until the end.

A Sea of Unspoken Things follows James Golden as she heads to her hometown to uncover the mystery of her twin brothers death.
Adrienne Young has such a fluid way of telling stories. With her seamless prose she transports you into James’ story from the very first page.
James’ supernatural connection with her twin brother doesn’t feel like a huge stretch of the imagination. Although this could be categorized as magical realism, it’s more just playing off of the sometimes inexplicable connection that some twins have. I do wish that we would have gotten more from this supernatural connection, it felt almost surface level instead of really leaning into the supernatural aspect that she touched on.
The town was seemingly slightly supernatural? I would’ve loved to get more about their dog Smoke’s background and Johnny’s connection to the owls.
All in all it felt like the magical aspect of the book was just thrown together with no real depth or explanations.
The mystery itself was interesting but the reveals ended up being unrealistic to the point that it takes away from the story. The execution of the reveals felt confusing and messy and ultimately, we were left with many plot holes.

A Sea of Unspoken Things has many tried and true tropes and themes that many readers enjoy
-Big city woman returns to her small hometown
-Murder mystery
-Magical realism
-Second chance romance
-Atmospheric setting

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars ⭐️

A haunting story focused on grief and the past. This was my first by Adrienne Young. I enjoyed her beautiful, intriguing writing style. A small town mystery with a hint of paranormal. This one had a very slow start for me, but the mystery drew me in and had a very satisfying ending.

Thanks to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

➵ 4.5 ⭐️

“Micah waited for me to nod before he opened the urn, and we didn't speak any special words or try to mark the moment with wisdom or nostalgia. What could we possibly say? I couldn't even pretend to know how you could take a whole life, a whole person, and put it into words. Goodbye is a lost language. A silent one.”


I can't help but compare this to her other Adult books and imo A Sea of Unspoken Things is not as good as Spells for Forgetting or The Unmaking of June Farrow but it's still an emotional journey filled with complex characters, layered relationships, romance and a good murder mystery hence the rounded up rating.

Alexa, play ▷▷ Release by Saleka ◁◁

“That was the way of grief, I was realizing. It was a barrage of pain that was so unbearable that it made you numb. And then out of nowhere, something made you feel the again and the cycle started over from beginning.”


There's something haunting about the way Adrienne blends small town mysteries with magical realism and romance. ASoUT is more paranormal than magical but plotwise it's closer to SfF so if you loved Spells for Forgetting definitely check this one out.

“And I'd learned the hard way that wishing things were different only drove deeper how unfair it was that they weren't.”


The setting was atmospheric and the writing was as always superb. I loved James and her connection to her twin brother Johnny and I loved the way all of the MCs were connected to the town they grew up in. You could feel the tragedies that happened there, the suffocating air that surrounded James at one point. It's all so beautifully tragic—this book brought me tears so many times.

One of my fav things was the romance and I only wish we'd gotten more glimpses of the MCs teenage years. It seemed there was a lot of drama and angst and forbidden romance and complicated relationships and I was yearning to know more of their past.

“The smile on his face made the clock rewind ten years. Twelve. Fifteen. Until the man standing in that rectangle of light was the first boy who loved me. The first and only one I ever loved back.”


The reason I said I don't think A Sea of Unspoken Things is as good as Adrienne's previous adult novels is because this one was kind of... simpler? (I guess you could say) in terms of the plot twists. Compared to her previous books, which left me guessing up until the last second, here I was able to figure out some things in advance and some reveals weren't as shocking as they could've been.
Still, I was captivated the whole time with the eerie mood of the small town and wanting to unravel everyone's secrets.

“Maybe we were made in the dark, like Johnny said, but we'd found a way to create our own kind of light.”


Can't wait for AY's next adult novel, she doesn't miss.

eternal gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC
all quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication

I have been a self-proclaimed Adrienne Young stan ever since I read Fable and that has not changed - reading A Sea of Unspoken Things was everything I adore about her writing.

It’s a difficult thing to describe, but when it comes to Adrienne it’s almost more about the experience than it is the actual story, the atmosphere her words pull you into make it such an immersive experience you forget you’re even reading.

Mystery isn’t a genre I generally gravitate toward but honestly, she could publish a phone book and I would probably read it. The characters and slow unraveling of the mystery keeps you wanting more and more throughout the entire book and it was everything I could have wanted.

Sometimes the scariest thing you can admit about someone you love is that you've always seen them for who you want them to be and not for who they really are. Their flaws, their darkness, are minimized, painted in a better light, until you're forced to look at the shadows.

I found this to be a very compelling read. It's an unhurried character study of a girl who, while processing her grief over the (somewhat suspicious) death of her twin brother, has to come to terms with the fact that she might not have known him as well as she thought. When she comes back to their hometown to take care of his affairs, she starts seeing feel his presence, get glimpses of his memories, even see him. But she's not sure what he wants...is he trying to tell her the truth about his death? Bring someone to justice? Or is he trying to confess? Because this small town is full of sinister secrets.

I loved the emotional beats of this story. The introspection is given the time it deserves, allowing you to sit in the somber revelations rather than rush past them for the sake of thrills. The romantic subplot is an added bonus, it was well fleshed out and even swoony at times without ever overtaking the narrative.

Honestly, at this point, anything Adrienne Young reads automatically goes on my TBR!

This is my second Adrienne Young book that I have read, with the first one being The Unmaking of June Farrow, which was one of my favorite books in 2023. I was happy to see that Young, with this one, dips into atmospheric mystery. While her writing continues to be beautiful and draws you in, I felt that character development was lacking, the pacing for the first third of the book, slow, and the end of wrapping up of the 'who done it' was messy and unbelievable. Even though this one was not for me, I think others might enjoy, and I will definitely try Young again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC!

James returns to her northern California rural hometown for the first time in 18 years when her twin brother dies in an accident, only to unravel several mysteries left behind by her brother - and to reunite with Micah, her brother's best friend and her first love.
I was a huge fan of Adrienne Young's previous adult novels (The Unmaking of June Farrow being my favorite book last year), and was so excited to receive an e-ARC of her newest! A staple of Adrienne Young's books is a sense of place, and the vibes are always immaculate. I was instantly transported to the woods of northern California in the heart of winter. This book is definitely best enjoyed in the winter, read by a cozy fire. Another tenant of Young's books is magical realism, and James experiences hauntings from her brother that felt real, and I could picture them clearly. Maybe I should have guessed the reveals and twists in this book, but they took me by surprise! Check this out if you liked Spells for Forgetting!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Like her other novels, A Sea of Unspoken Things was moody and beautifully written. Personally, I felt that the pace was painfully slow. Things don’t really pick up until 70% or so and by that time I was so frustrated I almost didn’t care about the ending. I also thought the twin bond would be more important than it was. I kept waiting for it to develop into a huge plot point but it kind of just fizzled out. I LOVE Adrienne Young’s other books and will continue to read her work but this one wasn’t for me. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

How do you confront a past that you’ve successfully escaped from for 20 years? Our main character, James, finds herself asking this question after the sudden and mysterious death of her twin brother, Johnny. Now she’s found herself back in the small secluded town she grew up in trying to find answers. But will she like what she finds? How well did she really know her twin?

The story started out a bit slow for me. It took about the 50-60% mark for me to finally feel invested and goodness did it pull me in. I needed answers! And I did not correctly predict a single twist even though I had tons of theories. The ending also made me so happy. Definitely a book I finished with a smile on my face.

Adrienne Young truly has such a way with spinning such mesmerizing stories with so much, magic, mystery, and nostalgia in them. She has definitely become an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait to dive into more of her worlds.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.