I did enjoy the premise of this book however it was a bit slow for me. I’ll be honest, I am a mood reader so I do think I’ll reread this in the future. I would still recommend it. I think the character arcs are were well done.

After Spells for Forgetting, I really expected to love this, but it never fully grabbed me and I found myself getting confused with the timelines. I usually love alternate timelines/time travel/parallel dimension kind of stories so I was bummed this one was a bit too messy for me.

I'll say that I think the bare bones of this story had good stuff - time-crossed lovers, a family curse (if you want to call it that), strong family bonds, a murder. It also posed the interesting question of whether you should protect time as it is (i.e. prevent the grandfather paradox) or if you should accept the time jumping as part of your life and live it how you would choose. The idea that these Farrow women had 3 jumps before permanence made for a thought-provoking ultimatum.

This one wasn't a total miss for me, but I am disappointed that I didn't love it as much as Spells for Forgetting. She really has some interesting ideas though so I know I'll continue to pick up Adrienne Young to see what she comes up with next.

Young's The Unmaking of June Farrow is fantastic. If you like Practical Magic, this one is for you. It deals with familial curses, romance, mystery. It's very different from a lot of what is coming out right now and I found that aspect of it to be quite compelling. I also want to call out the beautiful writing of the setting--I was fully absorbed in that and it was a major factor in my enjoyment of the book.

I thought this was very sweet and interesting. I would recommended this to anyone who enjoys light science fiction and romance.

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young is a beautiful story about a girl who is part of a cursed family. The Farrow women have been known to have issues as they get older, and now June has started seeing and hearing things that aren't there. But what is really going on here? Can June solve the mystery of what happened to her grandmother and mother? This story is so beautifully written and very unique. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Adrienne Young's "The Unmaking of June Farrow" is a spellbinding tale of mystery, romance, and the supernatural set in the picturesque town of Jasper, North Carolina. The story follows June Farrow as she confronts her family's ancient curse, searches for her missing mother, and embarks on a journey filled with cryptic clues and unexpected revelations. Young's narrative seamlessly weaves together elements of romance and the paranormal, creating a captivating and unforgettable reading experience.

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young is a small-town murder mystery with a time-traveling twist. The book follows June Farrow as she uncovers the mystery behind the curse that befalls the women in her family and how it affects her decision to be the last of the Farrow women.

Plot

The Magical Realism of this book really drew me in. I knew going in that it was going to have the small-town mystery feel of Young’s previous book, The Spells For Forgetting, but I didn’t know just how much more the plot of this book would nestle into my heart. I don’t want to give too much away but if you love books that have plots of small-town murder, romance, curses, and fantastical elements then I highly suggest picking up this book.

Characters

The Matriarchal storyline brought the feelings out for me in this book. I connected to June and I enjoyed reading about a character who is around the same age as me and is having some of the same thoughts and ideas for what she thought she would want in her life and that inner dilemma when what she thought she wanted changes with new experiences. I feel like a broken record in these reviews but connecting with a character in the smallest way is important to me and how much I enjoy a book and with June I got that connection.

Setting

The setting! I think one of my favorite things about the magical realism genre is that it brings magic into the real world and I believe that there is magic in our world you just have to find it. The beautiful setting of rolling hills, mountains, and farmland of North Carolina with the small mystical elements was the perfect juxtaposition for this story.

In Conclusion

The Unmaking of June Farrow was a five-star read for me! For those who enjoy Adrienne Young's writing and her style of storytelling, you do not want to miss this small-town magical mystery. For those of you new to Young give this one a whirl, I hope you enjoy it.

Kimberly

*Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow*

This book ruined me in the best way. It's beautiful and haunting. The mystery unfolds beautifully throughout the narrative and the author does an incredible job making you care about the characters and understand all of their motivations. Absolutely phenomenal, her best book yet.

This book has it all, magic, mystery, romance. I loved this story and the easy to love characters. It’s a magical story that felt very real.

I'm actually heartbroken that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Her first adult novel Spells For Forgetting is one of my favorite books of all time so I was beyond excited to read this book. Sadly this book took me 3 months to finally finish and it was a mediocre story for me. The amount of times I got confused and lost in this book was sad and I wasn't connecting to anything in this story like I did her first book. I did enjoy the creativity behind it and of course the writing was absolutely gorgeous but I just couldn't immerse myself enough to actually enjoy it. Most of my questions and confusion was addressed at the end and I did enjoy the ending but a lot of this story I'm sad to say I skimmed through.

SO GOOD. Adrienne Young has such a beautiful and magical way of writing. I always feel instantly enveloped in any world she creates. I didn’t like this *quite* as much as I loved Spells, but I really enjoyed June’s POV and the mystery and romance aspects!

Absolutely stunning. I finished this book in one day and it exceeded my expectations. I’m such a fan of this author after this novel and she is now on my automatic tbr list.

I will read anything & everything by Adrienne Young. She creates these magical & atmospheric worlds and the storytelling is amazing. I’m mostly upset I waited so long to read this one.

Adrienne Young really knows how to write a story that makes you feel like you are a living part of it. I loved her last book, Spells for Forgetting, so I took my time with this book, allowing myself to fully immerse into June's world. The Unmaking of June Farrow is a little of everything - fantasy, mystery, time travel, romance - all told from June's POV. I felt intrigue and fear, joy and pain, and by the end of the book I was fully in love with June's life and I felt at home, settled and at peace. All of the characters are wise and complicated and so very hard not to fall in love with, and I did not want this book to end. I'm giving this book 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was not what I was expecting it to be, and I loved it. I love that the Appalachian community and small town life were so well represented, as well as the mental health and generational trauma lines were handled with such care. This book told a beautiful story of self-discovery and breaking the cycle, but I won't say anymore out of fear of ruining it for others.

I adored every word of this. Magical realism is my jam and this is my favorite by this author. I enjoyed the time travel aspect as well as the overlapping timelines.

Adrienne Young writes beautifully and this book is not an exception to that. While some of the twists are predictable, others keep you guessing and even if you know where it's going it's a good ride.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely fantastic and I highly enjoyed June’s family’s story. The mystery of the story pulled me in and left me guessing what would be coming up. The romance made me giggle and swoon and I couldn’t put it down. A fantastic read!

I love a book that plays with time and somehow I didn't realize that would be a part of The Unmaking of June Farrow. I was captivated pretty quickly by June's story and her desire to stop the "curse" that's part of the legacy for the women in her family. She isn't told much as she's growing up and we learn right alongside of her what's actually going on. I loved that the mystery slowly unravelled. I haven't read anything else by Adrienne Young but definitely would after reading June Farrow's story. I liked the character of June, but the Grandma was my favorite and there were aspects of the ending that were a bittersweet surprise. Fabulous read.

This was not what I expected. I enjoyed the time travel element of the plot (it felt very Outlander-esque) but it was difficult at times to keep track of the space time continuum issues that drove the plot. I also feel like the characters weren’t fully developed enough or were randomly thrown into the story. I had higher expectations and was slightly disappointed.