DISCLAIMER: May or may not contain spoilers.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The description of this book is what caught my attention. I had never read this author before, however, Spells for Forgetting is on my TBR.

This book starts by creating a lot of questions very quickly for the reader. My initial thoughts that the Farrow women could time travel turned out to be semi-true. For the first half of the book, I was intrigued by questions, answers, and more questions. I was eager to keep reading. Time travel is always something that is tricky to follow because there is no true set of rules for it. Every person who writes a story of time travel has a different way for it to work. Following it was sometimes a bit confusing and I found myself rereading certain paragraphs and even pausing sometimes to straighten out the timelines in my head. With that being said, it was still fairly simple to get back on track with where we were and what was going on.

Around the halfway point I felt like the book slowed down a bit. I didn't find myself with the same anticipation for what was to come as I did in the first half, but I was still interested in the story, the outcome, and the few lingering questions to be answered.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. While I loved how everything came together, I wish I would have felt more emotion. This was a good story, but I never felt a strong connection to the characters. The romance aspect of the book was not very present in my opinion and the idea of finding one's place in the world was there, but again, not strong enough to pull out the feelings I was hoping for.

I don't regret this read. I do wish I connected with it more, but it was still an overall good story.

everything she writes is amazing! my 5th by young and I’m NEVER disappointed. her writing is captivating and characters relateable even with their fantasy quirks! the story pulls you in and never lets up. 5 stars+

Firstly, it's important to say how much I love Adrienne Young's writing. She has a way of setting the atmosphere that is impossible to shy away from or put down. Her books, therefore, are fun and easy to read, and I absolutely tore through this one in a few hours. In general, I liked the story and the time travel aspects, though in this case, I do wish we spent more time in the future timeline, especially with someone like Mason, to make the sacrifice feel more hard hitting. As it was, it felt like June didn't have much to go back to, in order to make this feel like the kind of sacrifice that it should've. Mostly it just felt like the obvious choice, which was a consistent issue I had with the book. Things felt too obvious for me, and while I appreciate a book that does point in the direction of where it should be going, and doesn't toy unnecessarily, I called some of the big points almost immediately.

The Unmaking of June Farrow is a fun read, that absolutely made me cry, but I do wish it was allowed to do a little more. Whether that would be with length, or more fleshed out characters like Mason, I think I left it feeling a little cheated.

Another hit by Adrienne Young. What a unique and beautifully descriptive story. I loved the merging of the different time periods and how it all came together. Would absolutely recommend.

This book broke my mind (and my heart) in the best way possible. I've read and seen time travel stories before, but this one?? Oh my god?? The level of detail and complexity and the time loops and the unravelling of what happened in all the timelines? I'm saying this again, this book broke my mind and put it back together in the best way possible. I feel like taking a whiteboard and drawing up all the timelines and writing down the multiple chronological sequences. Ahhhhh.

If you're someone who loves time travel-y stuff, or if you'd like your brain to be tested and tested (and it's a nice test, because everything is explained at the end, and there are no logical fallacies!), read this book!!

(Also, can Adrienne Young explain how Captain America went back to live with Peggy and still ended up in the same timeline? I think she can fix the plothole XD)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

It has been some time since a book has brought out the emotions and feelings in me that I experienced when reading 'The Unmaking of June Farrow'. When I started reading I felt that this story was going to be huge and it didn't disappoint. I am in awe of the Adrienne Young's writing talent. She has perfectly created a complex world with overlapping timelines and deep characters without causing any sense of confusion for the reader. It is difficult to describe how stunning I found this story to be. I rarely become emotional when reading books or watching movies but the last quarter of this book had me laughing and crying. I grew to care deeply for June, Eamon, and Annie. Now that the story is over I feel a longing to return to Jasper and visit with the characters I grew to love.

The women in the Farrow family line suffer from a disturbing fate. They all eventually go mad. No one can explain what causes this infliction or when they will be impacted, they just know that each generation experiences the same curse. June Farrow's mother was taken by the madness prior to giving birth to June. She then left her baby behind to be raised by her grandmother while she disappeared for ever. Thirty-four years later, her grandmother has passed on, but she has left behind a number of mysterious clues that will lead June on a wild journey of discovery as to what really happened to her her mother and who June really is.

I am amazed by Adrienne Young's incredible story creation and whole heartedly recommend 'The Unmaking of June Farrow'.

Posted to the following Pre-Release:

Book Blog: https://heathersreadingnook.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-unmaking-of-june-farrow-adrienne.html

Goodreads; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5565408825

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2507979803

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/d3435c63-aa48-4e45-812b-42dfdaac9ff8

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Adrienne Young for an eARC of this masterpiece. This book was absolutely a magical, superb, mind blowing, mystery topped with magical realism. Spoilers ahead!

This whole premise of this story is so unique and interesting. The whole story is about June Farrow and her family. We have a family lineage of females that appear to go mad as they age. They seem delusional and also seem to hallucinate. The story starts as June has just lost her grandmother. Shortly after the funeral, she gets a letter in the mail from her grandmother with a photograph from 1912. This photograph was of her mother Susanna and Nathaniel Rutherford (a pastor). Nathaniel is deceased and died in 1950. But June is living in 2022 and is in her 30s. Her mom Susanna is missing. This photograph sets off a whole chain of events that reveals to June that her family isn’t mad but actually can time travel. What she finds out when she travels back in time will change her life forever. It’s such a good book! One of the best books I’ve read in 2023. Highly recommend. Top tier! 5 stars all the way.

this book had me on my toes the whole way through because of how twisty turny it is, and after all the anticipation, the resolution absolutely delivered. young’s storytelling skills honestly baffle me and i haven’t read something so mind-boggling yet satisfying in a while.

young also doesn’t deliver plot at the expense of character development which I almost expect with books that mess with your comprehension of spacetime. i adored getting to know each and every one of the farrow women, and even the side characters are well-written, especially in their motivations & back stories.

This book is everything I hope for when jumping head first into a fictional world. It's adventurous, magical and mysterious. It is both heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. The Unmaking of June Farrow checks all the boxes for me! It's a love story that transcends time and transports you right along with it.

This book is definitely in my top 5 for 2023 so far. And very well may be the top contender. Do yourself a favor and READ IT!

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

June Farrow is out of time. A long family curse that afflicts all the Farrow women has now come for June. As June deals with the grief of losing her grandmother she finds distraction in putting together the clues of her mothers decades long disappearance. As the curse begins to torment June she begins to question her own sanity. Can she really trust her own mind and all she is discovering and seeing; is the red door actually real and what of the voices she keeps hearing that are calling her name.

Young is officially solidified as an instant read and buy author for me! I loved Spells for Forgetting but I loved this book even more! What originally drew me to this book is my thirst for a good mystery, add in a long family curse and that’s right up my alley! Once I began reading it become apparent what the “curse” actually was, I not only was shocked but so incredibly enthralled and excited even more about finishing this book! I loved watching June learn more about her family history, who she is, and what she ultimately really wants in her life. I found it easy to picture the town and all these amazing characters, they are all written so well that they seemed to be real and genuine individuals. I definitely think going into this one blind (aside from reading the synopsis) makes the twists you discover while reading so much more exciting and really enhances the journey this book takes you on. This was such a treat reading, I happily give this book 5 stars!

For anyone who is a lover of mysteries with some fantasy/science fiction, and love stories that can span any distance and time this book is undoubtedly for you!

The Unmaking of June Farrow comes out October 17, 2023.

Thank you again NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

June Farrow has always known that her family is a little different. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm, and the mysterious curse that has plagued her entire family line.

It’s been a year since June started seeing things. It began shortly before her grandmother died. June sees a door appearing out of nowhere and hears a voice calling her name. These are all signs of what June knows is coming, but she is determined to put it to a stop.

After her grandmother dies June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mom’s decade old disappearance. When the door appears again, June walks through it, right into the past. Now she has embarked on a journey that will change the past and the future.

I was so excited to read this book. I love magical realism and Adrienne Young is one of my favorite authors to write them. This book was a little different for the magic, but I still loved every minute of it. I really enjoyed June as a character. She developed so much as the story went on. The ending was perfect, and I absolutely loved the twist that was revealed. Something about it just made my heart warm. The writing was again top notch and pulled me in, it was just so beautifully crafted. The story was woven together in a way that made me not confused, which would have been very easy to do in this one. The pacing was also wonderful as I kept wanting more and didn’t get bored or bogged down at all. This story was wonderfully unique and layered and I cannot wait to read more by Adrienne.

This is one of those books that you won’t want to miss. I highly recommend it.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine – Delacorte Press, and Netgalley, @Netgalley

Additional links will be added once posted.

Wow... I will never see a Red Door or view deja vu in the same way after reading the Unmaking of June Farrow! I devoured this story and never wanted it to end! This was an amazing story and had me hooked from the very beginning. It was a fast-paced read with a touch of time travel and magical realism... left me with so many what-if questions for our own lives! The characters were well developed and will stay with me as a reader for a long time. It had all the elements of an amazing five star read! June Farrow was hard to step away from and I finished it in less than 48 hours... I did have to go back and re-read the first few chapters after I finished the book to fully grasp all the details of the story.

I cannot wait to add this title to my High School Library collection and share it with my students and staff! Well done Adrienne Young... you are an amazingly talented writer. This story will appeal to both Young Adults, as well as, Adult Readers. Thank you for such a wonderful story spanning generations and a variety of genres!

Thank you to to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young!

Adrienne's best yet. No bookstore shelf will be labeled properly to do this story justice as it's sprinkled with elements of time travel, suspense, mystery and romance. Hold on tight, it's an amazing journey.

“You’ve been waiting for me to come back, haven’t you?"

Every family has secrets, but June Farrow knew her family’s secret was different from the rest. The Farrow women have been afflicted by a curse that drives them to madness. June always knew she would eventually succumb to the effects of the Farrow curse, but never did she realize that it would come for her sooner than she expected. It begins with hearing noises, whispers that carry her name, and seeing a red door.
Knowing that the Farrow curse is inevitable, June decides the curse will end with her, should that mean being unable to live the life she would want. Diving into the unknown of her mother’s disappearance and the history of the Farrows, June would discover more questions and the true impact of her curse and the mysteries surrounding the town of Jasper in both the past and the present.

Adrienne Young has done it again. After falling in love with the world of the Narrows from "Fable", I was incredibly excited to see how her writing would capture the beauty and the mundane seen in "June Farrow" and I was not disappointed. I genuinely find this genre of magical realism mystery to be her bread and butter. While her fantasy series are still highly enjoyable and I recommend them, I think her ability to describe the atmosphere and beauty of these small towns with hints of magic is her true element. Her writing made it feel as if I were living in Jasper, North Carolina and smelling the flowers and enjoying the breeze.

Much of the story focuses on June and her experiences. Spending much of her life trying to uncover the reality of her mother and learn about her family curse ends up contributing to who June would become. A woman who thought she would never have the chance to enjoy life may yet have the chance to change it.

While "June Farrow" may not have many intense moments or highly dramatic moments, Young’s ability to keep the pacing on track by slowly unfolding the mystery of this tale is magnificent. Never once did I feel that the story was moving slowly despite seeing a day in June’s life as there was always something adding to the atmosphere and overall theme of self-discovery, generational relationships, and sacrifice. While pacing is subjective to the reader, I encourage you to push on as the story does develop as you continue and you will know when you’ve hit that particular point.

To me, this book really captures the essence of an unfolding mystery and as you read, you slowly realize how early Young was building up the mystery shrouding Jasper and the Farrow curse. The implications of time travel in this book are intricately planned, though at times I did have to think about what was being explained after I finished a chapter. I did enjoy the ending of the book, and learning more about June and her family and the town of Jasper was an enjoyable experience.

While some points of the book did not entirely make sense, and I felt that certain character arcs ended fairly prematurely (a time where the book would have benefitted from being a little longer). It left me feeling a bit cheated despite spending a fair bit of time with these individuals in the story. I think a little more nuanced story-telling in explaining time travel and the effects of it could have been useful as I had to personally write down my own thoughts and go back to reread a few parts to confirm or deny my theories. The idea was well planned, but at times the explanation and execution fell a little flat for me. Despite these minor complaints, the story itself was well-written and I enjoyed the mystery.

Overall a fantastic and atmospheric read. I highly recommend to fans of mystery with a touch of thrill and a delightful amount of magical realism. The writing is captivating and the secrets of the Farrows will be sure to keep you wondering what will happen next.

4/5 stars

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review!

What in the world did I just read.

This was such a wonderfully unique and complex story, I’m still having a hard time wrapping my brain around what I just read. Young has such an incredible talent for writing beautiful stories full of depth, and this book really showcases that skill. This story went a completely different direction than I originally thought it would, and following along June’s journey to discover herself and what is happening to her and her family was just so fascinating to me. The twists and turns were so intense, and 99% of the time my brain was struggling to keep up. By the end everything came together so perfectly, Young just really nailed it 🤌🏻

I definitely recommend this one for anyone that loved Spells for Forgetting, but also I can’t think of a group of readers that won’t enjoy this book. Thank you so much to Random House, Adrienne Young and NetGalley for my review copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

My review is posted on my bookstagram as well as goodreads now!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvkimHBLZ5E/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

This book was unexpected and unexpectedly delightful. Idk what I expected when I started reading but it was nowhere close to what the book was. It's a beautiful, unique story about family and love and self and memory and so much more. June is a great, multi-faceted character that's easy to root for. The setting is lush and the prose paints such a vivid setting I felt like I was there. It's a bit slow, but that's kind of the point. Really really enjoyed it!

“The Unmaking of June Farrow” by Adrienne Young is a genre of novels that I don’t usually read, but the books description immediately caught my interest. This beautifully written and unusual story.Is a tale of a generational curse in a family of women that will leave you on the edge of your seat while devouring each page. I’m not going to give too much away other than to say if you enjoy the concept of time travel, interesting family dynamics, with lots of unexpected twists and a little mystery, you will love this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Adrienne Young for allowing me to review this book.

What a gem. I will never get over Adrienne Young's ability to create a world that really pulls the reader into the story. Her writing is beautiful and compelling in a way that always makes me excited to get back to reading. The Unmaking of June Farrow is no exception. I think it's best to go into this one with as little information as possible so I don't want to say too much but I do want to emphasize that I haven't had this much fun reading in a long time. I never wanted to put it down.

June's story is a complicated one that is layered in love, self discovery, and strength. It's everything from mysterious to devastating to hopeful and I loved getting to meet her. Young also created a supporting cast who's passion and charm are equal to June's and I found myself desperate to learn where all of the story's twists were going to lead them.

I highly recommend making room for this book in your fall TBR. It is a perfect not-so-spooky read for spooky season!

Extremely readable, with writing that pulls you into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I usually read more “turn up” Sci-Fi/Fantasy books (you know where you feel really messed up afterward and you don’t even know who you are anymore), but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was so scared it was going to be cheesy and cringe but it was none of that. Even though I never really connected to the main character, I still felt really invested in the story from start to finish.

I thought the pacing was immaculate- which I think is pretty hard to do with this type of story where we don’t have overtly insane events to keep us entertained. I also felt the relationships between the main characters were extremely well done. I am not a romantic at all but even I was anxiously waiting to see what would happen with certain relationships. I think it just goes to show just how talented Adrienne Young is as a writer.

Although I am personally into more of the high-stakes, heart-racing type of stories, I have to give this 5/5 for the writing and the pacing. I cannot overstate how difficult it is to pace like this and I was extremely impressed.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

*My social media review will be done on Oct 17.