Enchanting, dreamy, and filled with intrigue! Another fantastic novel from Adrienne Young!

“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.”

This book is a perfect autumnal read. I liked the main character June Farrow and her plight to break her family’s curse. I do think that the plot meandered at times, but not in a way that too was off-putting as a reader. Overall, I definitely recommend this book if you’ve liked her other novels!

LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK!

I was drawn in right from the start. Girl going insane, but isn't actually insane? Genius. It was creepy, unsettling, but weirdly inspiring despite those feelings. I felt for the character as she explored what was going on. I couldn't put this book down and brought my kindle with me everywhere just to keep reading.

The romance was also great, though the random mentions of the guy back in her time seemed like a loose end. MMC was swoon-worthy.

My only complaint was that I didn't love the setting, though I know it is central to the story. Just not my cup of tea I think.

Thank you to the publisher and author for giving this book in exchange for a review.

Time travel books can be tricky to do but this one?
I like how this one did it.
June Farrow knows she will succumb to the same mysterious curse her mom that made her mother disappear leaving June to be raised by her grandmother. When her grandmother dies unexplained visions and memories come to June. She is determined to end this curse no matter the cost.
I really enjoyed the plot of this and as always the atmospheric writing by Young was top notch.

I read the audio and then got an eARC from NetGalley so thanks NetGalley and Random House!

So magical.

Me after reading this book:
Alexa play Enchanted by Goddess Taylor Swift
*dances*
*sobs*

This is the most gorgeous, atmospheric love story I’ve ever read. It reminded me of Rachel Griffin in all the best ways. I recommend this to all my fellow witches out there. (Note: this isn’t a book about witches.) Five stars.

I didn't think I could love one of her books more than Spells for Forgetting, but I absolutely LOVED this book! It absolutely wrecked me in such a good, emotional way that I can't stop thinking about it.

Some potential spoilers.

Well…
I am going to be in the minority again, but here goes.
3 stars to Adrienne Young who writes so beautifully and sets a stage that is lush and mesmerizing.
But, I just didn’t get it. I was so confused, and left with so many questions, that all the enjoyment that I felt reading the beautiful prose, just couldn’t make this a book for me.
I don’t understand so many aspects of the multiverse/time travel/curse...completely flabbergasted. Everything unanswered and so unsatisfying for me.
Why?
How?
Why?
Why don’t you remember that time you went through 5 years ago?
WHO went through? Are there more than 2 timelines?
If you fixed things, and made it safe for ??? how did ??? end up in your life in your original timeline.
Soooooooooo much that made no sense to me. Even the “mystery” fell flat in the face of all of my uncertainty.
I hope I meet someone at a cocktail party soon who has read this and can explain. Because it is going to take up space in my brain. I hate not understanding things.
People adore this book, and kudos to those who grasped it fully. I really believe that had I remotely understood the most important aspects of it, I might have too.

My feelings are all over the place for this one. I seem to struggle with her recent books. I guess I’m missing all the fun and adventurous young adult fantasy worlds. It’s a case of, “it’s not you. It’s me.”

June grew up on a flower farm in Jasper, NC with constant whispers about the madness that runs in her family and the mysterious disappearance of her mother. When June starts to see and hear strange things herself she is led through a literal doorway into the past. There she will learn about the curse that besets Farrow women and she’ll try to solve the murder of the local preacher. Ultimately she’ll have to decide which life (and love) she’s willing to give up.

I thought this was a very well-written, compelling story. I’ll admit the timelines got a little confusing at times but by the end I think I got it figured out (that may be because I listened to it on audio, print might have made that easier because the chapters tell you which year it is). Ultimately this is a story about the love mothers have for their children and the sacrifices they’re willing to make to change the future for them. This didn’t have too much language but there was one open door scene. A great read if you like magical realism or mysteries set in the south.

Adrienne Young is hands down one of my favorite authors. She has this incredible way of creating a fantasy world that you can’t help falling in love with.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is no exception. This unique novel is unlike any story I have ever read. It’s magical, well written, captivating, and simply amazing. It features a multi timeline story about how the past affects the future. A generation of Farrow women who are different, and the choices they have to make to protect themselves and their family. An unpredictable novel that will have you second guessing everything and desperate for answers.

It’s a must read and my current favorite stand alone novel of the year. Don’t miss out on this one!!!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Delacorte Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The moment this story came out I immediately ordered a physical copy. (I hope that proves how amazing it truly is)

I haven't met a an Adrienne Young book I haven't liked, but this one just might be my favorite!
Look, I consider myself to be a reader that is hard to surprise! I can most times see the twist coming before it does and I keep reading to prove myself right. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE!!!! In the very best way I was shocked and awed. This is a book you will not want to put down or shove aside. Make sure its the only book you are reading (I am almost always reading 3+ books at the same time...don't do that while you read "The Unmaking of June Farrow").

A HUGE thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Delacorte Press (Random House Publishing Group) for the eARC! I WAS IMMENSLY ENTERTAINED!

It has been so long since I have been taken on a book rollercoaster ride that I was beginning to think I was immune. Yet, this has revitalized me! The Farrow women are complex and intriguing all by themselves, but they way this story unfurled itself in the form of expertly written and crafted events told through absolutely mind-blowing, time traveling geniusness!!! Just when you think you are getting a good handle on the story, just know you aren't and it is eye-gasmic bliss. There is an intense love story, murder/disappearance mystery complete with conspiracy theories and a journey to find answers that grow right up to the end.
I can't write more here because if I do I will start giving too much away. Talking about snippets from from this book is like opening a can of Pringle, "once you pop you just can't stop."
Oh, the goose bumps!!!!
Love it!!!! Buy it!!!!

NO REGRETS!!!!!

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a gorgeous story of family and identity. It's not quite fantasy, but it's a little bit more magical than fiction. It feels at once epically sweeping and gloriously quiet.

June Farrow is the last of the line of Farrow women, all of whom go crazy before they die. It's a curse that no one can explain, and one that haunts June every day, especially now that she's buried her grandmother, the last person left who truly understands. And worse, her own symptoms - hallucinations? visions? - are getting more and more frequent, indicating that she might not have much time left with a sound mind. Except, it turns out, it's not madness that haunts the Farrow women, but the ability to travel in time, just three times in their lives. June stumbles into this accidentally and backwards, and into a world that knows her but that she's never encountered, leaving her to question everything she's ever known.

The concepts driving this book - the time travel, the red door, the Farrows - all pulled me in immediately, as did June's narrative voice. We uncover the truth alongside her, learning and remembering as she does. It doesn't hurt that the book is beautifully written with rich descriptions and lovely characterizations. Every one of the Farrow women comes to life on the page, as do Eamon, Annie, and the other citizens of Jasper, North Carolina.

And yet, as entranced as I was by this book, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was missing... something. I'm not sure what. A more fleshed out romance with Eamon? A little more depth to Mason? Some other plot thread? I don't really know what more I wanted, but there were times when the story felt a little bit hollow. And given how much I loved this story overall, the lack was even more pronounced.

Still, I adored The Unmaking of June Farrow and will be thinking about it for a long time.

4.5/5

Adrienne Young is an amazing writer with incredible prose and imagery. This book was very atmospheric and had me hooked from the premise. While she did a great job at recognizing mental health, trauma, and magic-realism elements, the time travel really made my brain twist. Another thing that I struggled with in this book was the romance. Second chance romance is a fifty-fifty for me, but this was still a beautiful story. I am thankful to have gotten to read it.

All the stars for this book! I was captivated by The Unmaking of June Farrow from start to finish. Having visited the Blue Ridge mountains many times, the setting felt so real to me. I'm currently living overseas, and this book made me homesick in the best way possible. This was such a lush and creative story, with the perfect touch of magical realism. The plot was tight and moved quickly, and the characters were distinct. June felt like a real person to me. This is one of the best books I read this year, and the best book Adrienne Young has written yet. Bravo!

The Farrow women have been cursed for generations. June is determined to end the curse once and for all, and find the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. It took me a bit of time to get into this one and then I needed to know what happened next. I was able to figure out the mystery but still really enjoyed the story! The family generations and strong female relationships absolutely make this book.

Happy Monday y’all! I hope everyone had a great weekend- mine was full of cleaning and relaxing and handing out at the gym, so a perfect weekend for me. And of course, what perfect weekend would be complete without some reading? I read quite a few books- The Unmaking of June Farrow actually wasn’t one of the ones I read this weekend, but it was one that I read in November and have been meaning to review since then, so I figured now would be the perfect time! Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book!

The Unmaking of June Farrow 4/5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:

A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

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.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.

The Unmaking of June Farrow was such an interesting book! I had a really hard time getting into it and if you had asked me at the beginning of the book what I was going to rate it, it probably would have been a 2, but as soon as June made it into the past and we started really getting into the meat of the story, I was so hooked. I didn’t want to stop reading! That’s how a lot of Adrienne Young’s books are for me, now that I think about it- they take some time to get for me to get into them and then I’m so hooked. June’s family “curse”/downfall into madness was really interesting and then actually finding out what it was was even cooler. I loved Adrienne Young’s take on time travel- this was a version of time travel that I had never seen before. Normally in time travel, no one at all is supposed to know that you’re a traveler, but here, June’s family knew that she had traveled back. And man, what a time to travel back to. The mystery. The twists and turns. The love interest. The baby. I loved that June was 34- she’s a little older than I am, but she felt so relatable as a character. And it was a great reminder that you never stop trying to find who you are, who you’re becoming, and your people. Overall, The Unmaking of June Farrow was a really compelling read and I really hope that if you haven’t read it yet, you add it to your lists ASAP.

Adrienne Young never disappoints! Love being emersed in June's story — and the atmospheric writing. *Chef's kiss* Can't wait for the next Adrienne Young novel!

I was so sure I was going to love this book, and I just really, really did not. I know I’m well and truly in the minority with that opinion, so if you’re interested in reading this one, just know that A LOT of people loved it!

My biggest issue was 100% plot-based and so I can’t really share without it being a major spoiler, but suffice it to say that the journey our MC ends up taking is one that I disagreed with in principle so much, it just completely ruined the book for me.

I will say that I thought the writing was beautifully done, and I won’t hesitate to pick up future works by this author. This one just left me feeling angry, lol.

Thank you to Ballantine Books + NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was immediately drawn to this book and it had become one of my legitimate favorites. Reading about June’s journey with the dual mysteries, was not only intriguing but one I hadn’t encountered before. June was a compelling character and I felt myself feel all her same emotions during her story. The writing style was lyrical and beautiful, which I loved. I was new to this author and I know I am going to be seeking out her books over and over again from now on!

June Farrow knows there is no escaping her family's curse. Every woman in her family succumbs to mental illness either sooner or later and June knows she is next. She is seeing things, strange things that aren't there. She knows her time is limited before she becomes like the rest of the women in her family, or worse like her mother who disappeared without a trace. One day she sees a random red door in a field and opens it, and she time-travels back to 1951. While there, a farmer who says he is her husband, Eamon, is upset with her. She has been gone for a year and left not only him behind, but also a young daughter. The more time June spends in 1951, the more June gets flashbacks to her life with Eamon. She also realizes that this is intertwined with the disappearance of her mother as well as the murder of a minister years before. Adrienne Young's The Unmaking of June Farrow is an entertaining fantasy filled with romance, mystery, and magic.

I really enjoyed the character of June from the start of The Unmaking of June Farrow. While I didn't always understand the details surrounding this version of time travel, I did think it was extremely entertaining as time travel is one of my favorite fantasy elements to include in a novel. Just like in Spells for Forgetting, Young creates such an atmospheric world that I love to be lost in. The mountains of South Carolina felt so vivid, they practically jumped off the page. If you enjoy a well-written fantasy and one that will keep you flipping the pages, look no further. Fans of Young won't be disappointed.

Adrienne Young’s way of unfurling a tale of magical realism is absolute perfection. Her beautiful and intentional words paired with such unique tales leave you thinking about her books for a long time.