So, for the good part. I do think Adrienne Young's prose is really good: she was able to set the scene vividly and invite the reader to the city of Jasper. However, I did have three major problems reading the book though that made me think it was only an ok read.

The book is written in first person from the point of view of June Farrow. And she is just a bland and passive character throughout. She was just there and things were happening to her and around her but she didn't move the story or the relationships forward. So, it was a struggle to continue reading through her point of view.

All of the misteries are kept from the reader and from June because the other characters refuse to tell her eveything that is going on just because. I hate this kind of mechanism of withholding information from the reader and from the main character just because is necessary for the book to exist. If the characters had a sincere talk, the book in the beginning would be 5 pages long. And they decide to reveal everyhting to her (and to us) just because. Oh and the muder mistery is pretty obvious early on.

The relationships just didn't engage me. Due to a plot point, all the relationships are told to us instead of shown. We never really see her and the main love interest fall in love, we are told they were. We never see their relationship grow. For a certain reason (too spoilery to say), the relationship just forms and it plays a huge impact on the story and I just didn't buy the love. There is another relationship, between her and Annie, that I wanted to see developed but it just fell under the same trap.

I liked the reveal regarding Birdie though, it was interesting even if a little sad.

By the end, maybe the book just wasn't for me since a lot of people enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

4.5/5 stars.

Following a woman who has sworn to end her family’s curse along with trying to discover just what happened to her mother, June is full of uncertainty but determined to not continue the trauma her family has experience, especially after losing her grandmother. The touch of magic in this story reminded just how much I really enjoy magical realism especially when it’s dealing with traveling between times. Through it all June is set in a path that she herself has set even if she doesn’t know it yet. With doors opening and memories of a different time returning, June is on a short timeline to discover the truth about herself, her mother, and just how deep her family secrets go.

I’ll admit, going into this book I was already in a slump, and the slow start made it difficult to get into. There were several starts and stops that spanned several weeks, but when I tell you it finally hooks you, I mean I stayed up all night ON A SCHOOL NIGHT to finish it!
June is living her life under the impression that she can never live it to its fullest potential because she is destined to succumb to a hereditary mental illness. When this illness claims yet another one of her family members, she sets out on what she believes is a mission to figure out what happened to her mother when she disappeared just after June was born.
What June doesn’t realize is that their family secrets run so much deeper than she could have imagined and quite literally withstand the test of time.
Ultimately June learns how far she is willing to go to find happiness and protect the ones she loves.
Like I mentioned, there was a slow start here, and I found some of the story to be a little hard to follow, but overall I loved it and am so glad I stuck with it. It was truly unique and unlike anything I’ve read in a long time!

This book gave me such a cozy feel. It had mystery, twists, and turns that was I not expected. It kept me wanting to read more and more until I finished.

There hasn't been a book by Adrienne Young that I have disliked. I have loved every book. Her writing style flows beautifully and the story line keeps you entertained and wanting more.

I went into this book intrigued but not sure if I would like it. Turns out, I loved it! The Farrow women have been cursed with time travel. June, Margaret, Eamon, these characters just come to life in this book. The story telling is so good. 5 stars for me!

<b> June struggles with the complicated implications of her family's curse of hallucinations and mental illness...until she realizes that the red door and visions of the past are real memories from her own time-travel experiences.</b>

<b> <blockquote>I wasn't the first Farrow, but I would be the last. </b> </blockquote>
June Farrow is biding her time on her family's flower farm in the small town of Jasper, North Carolina.
But she's been seeing and hearing visions for a year now, and she believes they're linked to the curse that the community believes has its hold on the Farrow women.

June would love to end the curse, the fraying of the Farrow women's minds, once and for all--by never having a child and allowing the mental illness to die with her.

But when she realizes she can walk through a magical red door, she finds unexpected circumstances--and realizes that she may be able to reinvent her path forward--and possibly also shift the events of the past.
Young builds a story of traveling through time and of shimmers of other realities that might have been--or possibly did occur; whether they happened or not is not always clear.

<i>The Unmaking of June Farrow</i> involves some maddening determination on certain characters' parts to keep the time-travel element wholly secret from those who would ultimately be faced with it. (If even the bare bones of this crucial information were shared on a need-to-know basis, a character's possibility of showing up as herself in a dangerous point in time--for example, a time in which she may have been accused of a grave crime--could help secure her own safety and preserve her existence through various timelines and her implications on others.) It was tough not to feel frustrated at characters' reluctance to even allude to the giant elephant in the room, once the situation was laid bare for the reader.

Receiving only vague advice (which initially feels faulty, to say the least) about simply walking through the vision of a red door that appears to her leads June into a dangerous situation in the past--a past from which she built deep roots at one point, then simply disappeared.

The mystery of why June left a past timeline is intriguing and keeps the story going. The story shifts between events of 1912, 1946, 1950, 1951, and 1989. Late in the book, June begins to understand the "folding of time" and intuits how timelines may have combined. It's a complicated web of cause and effect, and for much of the book I wasn't certain that the bundle of events affected by time-travel added up (which age and version of which person exists in which time, and how does the interaction between different versions affect everything else), but I was willing to roll with it.

The circumstances of the ending are largely satisfying, the emotional connections June ultimately makes are poignant, and there's a character-reveal twist that was sweet and lovely.

I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine, Delacorte Press.

Adrienne Young is also the author of <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-fable-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b>Fable,</a></i></b> its sequel <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-namesake-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b> Namesake,</a></i></b> and <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-the-last-legacy-by-adrienne-young/"><i> <b> The Last Legacy,</a></i></b> loosely set in the worlds of <i>Fable</i> and <i>Namesake,</i> as well as <i>Spells for Forgetting.</i>

I am always so excited when I see Adrienne Young has written anything new. The way she writes magical realism is unlike anything else. I feel fully immersed in the world she creates. The Unmaking of June Farrow was a little slow to get going but I loved this beautiful story and highly recommend. You will thoroughly enjoy!

June Farrow was born into a line of women who were cursed. Standing apart from their small North Carolina community, one by one, they’ve gone mad. Caring for her declining grandmother, June keeps the onset of her hallucinations to herself. Until one day she can’t any more- and suddenly, she discovers that everything she thought she knew- and everything she feared- was wrong.

This is an absolutely beautiful story. It took me a bit to really get into it, but then suddenly, I was enthralled, wishing that all those pesky life things wouldn’t force me to put this book down for any length of time. Filled with magic and love and mystery and lots to think about, I will definitely be rereading this again in the future, if only to spend more time with these wonderfully rendered characters.

Thank you Adrienne Young, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book kept me up way too late last night. What a lovely story, amidst all the twists and turns. It was beautifully told and I was absorbed in the story from the first chapter. I only wish there were more books like this!

**swoon** 😌 This book was magic. Absolutely beautifully written. Breathtaking descriptions. Great characters. I was invested from the start.

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is pure beauty. It makes my heart so happy. It’s been quite a while since these sorts of feelings have been evoked within me when reading a book.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a journey of love and hope that crosses all bounds. It shows us that where there is love there is hope and not even time can steal memories for they are etched into the very fabric of ourselves and in our DNA.

This is a time traveling novel but it is so much more than that. It’s a mystery, a beautiful romance and the story of a young woman who must cross time to find herself. Every aspect of this novel sang to my heart.

I love the way Adrienne Young writes her fantasy. Cosy yet mundane worlds with elements of magical realism sprinkled through. The small town and atmospheric settings added so much magic and cosiness to the story and June Farrow as a protagonist perfected it all.

There are not many books that give me the feel of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman but if you want anything close this is it dear readers. Prepare to have your heart and soul completely engulfed by this beautiful book and its characters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this beautiful book!

This unbelievably beautiful novel was a top five read for me this year. The story of June Farrow ripped out my heart and pieced it back together again. In such a way, I never knew my heart could feel so whole and complete. THIS BOOK UGH. I cried. It’s been years since a book made me cry.

My heart physically aches just thinking about how good this book is. How is that even possible? I don’t know but I’ll be rereading this novel until the end of time.

Junes heroic story of ending the century old curse that plagues the Farrow women, will end up being her salvation. Getting a chance at soul shattering love. Solving her mothers disappearance. Mourning and rediscovering family ties that will make you weep.

This book will open your eyes and heart and you’ll never be the same. I can’t wait to gift this book to everyone I know, because something so good should never be kept.

The writing, PERFECT. The Farrow women, PERFECT. The atmospheric town of Jasper, North Carolina, PERFECT. The love, PERFECT. The unmaking and remaking of June Farrow… just utterly PERFECT.

I will be posting my social media reviews in the next few days, I will come back to add the link. THANK YOU Delacorte Press for the advanced copy!

Adrienne can do no wrong!
I have loved all of her books and this one is no exception.
This book is perfect for anyone who was a fan of The Time Traveler's Wife.
It is so easy to get lost in this book and realize its coming to an end before you know it.
The vibes in this were perfect for fall and it was just a great read.

Wow, I do think this is @adrienneyoung ‘s best work yet. She takes us on a magical realism journey into June Farrow’s life that is just chef’s kiss perfect for a fall/October read.

Thank you to@delacourtepress for my early copy and to @prhaudio for my audio copy, the narration was so perfect for the characters!

This is a story of mothers and daughters, of love and sacrifice, of the past and the future, of tough decisions and the beauty of love. Don’t think of this as romance though, because it isn’t, even despite the love within. It is however magical realism in that it involves the folds within time, traveling between doors of the past and the present/future.

Set in a small town in North Carolina in the Appalachian mountains, I could feel the wind blowing through the fields, hear the rushing of the river waters, and Young made it feel as if I was stepping back in time with June as she worked to piece the mysterious puzzle of her life together.

The supporting characters make the novel as endearing and my love for June Farrow; from Birdie to Esther and Margaret, Eamon to Nathaniel and Susanna, such beautifully written characters!

Highly recommend it, of course! There may be a couple of triggers, so reach out if you have questions!

Wow! This book is simply stunning. It is a story of family, motherhood, and the choices we make. June's beloved grandmother recently died and she believes she's next. Her grandmother slowly loses her mind. Her mother is believed to have done so as well around the time she disappeared. And now, June is seeing and hearing things that aren't there. She believes it's an inevitable part of the curse the Farrow women carry with them. After finding a cryptic message from her grandmother, mailed just days before her death, June decides to take a chance and lean into the visions she's having. She opens a door leading to what she never could have imagined.

June's story is heart wrenching at times as she grapples with her own mother's disappearance as well as the discoveries she makes beyond that door. I loved the almost lyrical quality to Young's writing of June's story. The intergenerational relationships that are shown through June and her family were so poignant. I loved the quiet love story that June experiences. The setting is perfect and the mystery kept me turning the pages desperate to know what choices June would make.

Young has outdone herself with this novel. It is imaginative, beautiful, and entertaining all in one. I highly recommend for fans of Alice Hoffman, espeically those looking for a new fall read to immerse themselves in.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a beautifully written novel that blends magical realism, mystery, and romance. The story is both cozy and suspenseful at times, giving off major Practical Magic vibes. Young’s writing is gorgeous, as always, and will transport you to the sleepy, small town of Jasper, NC.

Read if you enjoy:
-time travel
-small town mysteries
-themes of motherhood
-found family
-generational curses
-atmospheric writing

I can't sing the praises of Adrienne Young and her writing enough. Much like Spells for Forgetting, The Unmaking of June Farrow utterly enchanted. The atmosphere, the characters, the writing style, all of it was so perfect. Try your best to avoid spoilers for this one - you'll thank yourself later for going into it blind.

I have enjoyed all of Adrienne’s books. So it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this one too. I have enjoyed many books over the years, and given many five star ratings but, this book is not just enjoyable it is absolutely special. This book is not only incredibly well written but it tugs at the fibers of my soul with every word. I could not put this book down. I went in blind and recommend it for anyone wanting to read it to go in blind because it captured a piece of me. It was like Adrienne knew some magic to weave these words and these time lines and these lives to truly matter and drag you into every single mystery. Not only did I hang on every word but the book was amazing all the way through to the very last word. This book is beautiful and so incredibly authentic feeling. I felt like I was right there. I felt like I was June and every question she had was my own. I can’t even fathom how Adrienne managed to make me feel everything but she did. If I could give more than five stars I would. This is art. A true masterpiece.

4.5

I know many people absolutely love Adrienne Young’s adventure-filled YA books, but I have to be honest in saying that I prefer the subtler slow-burn of her adult novels. Spells for Forgetting was among my favorites last year, and The Unmaking of June Farrow hit that same sweet spot for me. It had some similar vibes to it, with a small town setting, mysterious circumstances that are slowly woven together, a magical element, and characters with deep inner lives.

I thought the story was compelling, the characters were layered and authentically flawed, and the way everything connected at the end was perfection.

I wrote in my review for Spells for Forgetting that I hoped Young would continue to write adult novels with creeping dread, ominous tones, and slow-burn plots… and I’m so happy that this one fit that description beautifully!

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced copy!