I had no idea where this book was going, and while it ended up having an interesting concept, there wasn’t much else that I enjoyed. It’s a magical realism story about alternate universes/parallel timelines. It did have some twists that were unexpected and the author does have an evocative way of writing— she places you right in the thick of the story and there’s a strong sense of place and setting. But, overall it was unnecessarily convoluted and had a lot of arbitrary/unexplained rules. The main character, and us as the readers, are kept in the dark about what’s going on for so long. It started out fine because there was an element of mystery, but it quickly began to feel dragged out and I was getting frustrated with the lack of information. The characters seemed intriguing at first until you come to find that that’s basically all there is to them, nothing deeper. I also hated how the arc of a specific character, Mason, was handled. So all in all, an alluring premise with lackluster execution.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Review posted on Goodreads 7/28/23
Review to be posted on YouTube 8/2/23
Review to be posted on TikTok 8/2/23

This was the most unique kind of second-chance I’ve ever read. I can’t even adequately describe the rollercoaster ride this book took me on while trying to work everything out.

June Farrow is part of a family of women with a long-standing generational curse of living in split timelines. As timelines battle in their minds, the mental state of these women deteriorate around the unraveling. As June begins uncovering the secrets of her family history that have been kept from her, she finds herself in a tangled web of time that needs unwoven.

I have to admit, I was completely confused about the way that time worked for this entire book. Even now that I’m finished, I’m still positive I didn’t fully understand it at any point while reading. While that took me out of the story at times, ultimately I was completely engrossed in figuring out the mystery right alongside June. I don’t want to say too much and spoil anything, but I had my hopes and suspicions about how things would end up. I was pleased with some outcomes and completely surprised by other revelations in a lovely way. I may have been thinking too hard while reading, but overall I really enjoyed this incredibly unique story.

I had high hopes for this book but i couldnt get into it at all. The premise sounds great but the story fell flat for me.

Farrow women have been going mad for generations, and a year before her grandma passes June Farrow has a vision that she is sure is the start to her decline to madness. But as the pieces begin to come together it’s clear that it might not be madness after all but something all together more extraordinary.

Really enjoyed (and was definitely guessing!) by this magical realism meets fantasy book.

First off thanks to netgalley for providing me an ARC!

Adrienne Young does it again! What I love about her writing/books is that she doesn't conform to 1 genre. This book, like her first, is like 3 genres in one. This book has fantasy, romance and mystery.
The Farrows are not normal women.. They've all gotten "sick" and June is trying to avoid the fact that her sickness is starting. Her grandmother had just passed and she's trying to figure out what to do. June finds an old photograph of Nathaniel Rutherford, a beloved preacher who was murdered, and what looks like her mother. June starts diving more and more into her family's past. The more she dives, the "sicker" she gets.. She's seeing things and hearing things that aren't there. Including a red door. When her grandmother's oldest friend, Birdy, finds out that its starting to happen to June. She gives June a letter with an address and tells her to go through the door.
When June walks through... she finds a whole other life waiting for her in 1951 and she will finally get the answers she's been looking for about her family.

I highly recommend this book!!

I did not want this book to end. I thought it was a great time traveling book with interesting characters.
I loved the strong female characters, but I did wish that some characters were more developed. Overall a strong book, with a lot of plot twists and I could not put it down.

June is strong willed and knows that something is wrong with her. The Farrow women are cursed with mental illness but no one will tell June how that mental illness is afflicted. She must figure it out for herself.

When she sees the red door, does she go through it to find out for herself?

wow, all i can say is wow. this book blew my mind. it was so beautiful and heartbreaking and totally messed with my mind. but in a good way bc then you’re just trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together. the story of Farrows is saddening but the love they have for each other and the fierce instinct to protect is so strong, i loved that so much. i felt so bad for June and how confused and alone she must have felt with ppl that were supposed to be family hut couldn’t tell her everything. the scenes that the author writes were stunning and i loved how she describes how everything feels and tastes.
i loved Eamon and how passionate he felt about june and i just knew what she would end up choosing even though i secretly hoped it would be the opposite. the family ties and how everything fit together made me cry, honestly. i wish Mason was a little more fleshed out but since we only see him for a short time i understand why he wasn’t. the ending 😩 the ending just ripped my heart out. i was so so happy for june bc i knew that’s where she belonged but i still felt and unending sadness for her bc of the choice she had to make.
i have loved every book by Adrienne Young. this book was perfection. 5/5

thank you NetGalley and Random House for this digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Chef's kiss for "The Unmaking of June Farrow." I honestly had no clue what was going on during most of the book in the best way possible. Adrienne weaves this intricate story together and gives the reader just enough information for the larger picture to start forming without giving anything away too soon. I am so impressed by her ability to create this intricate story as I'm not usually a fan of "time travel" tropes (mainly because most authors leave to many holes and non-answers in time travel). However, Adrienne masterfully describes the concept of the red door, the rules associated with passing through, and the fraying rope of two intertwined timelines. And the best thing about it all for me was that I never once guess the twist at the end that makes this story come full circle. "The Unmaking of June Farrow" is one of my new favorite books!

Also, can we just take a moment to enjoy the descriptive writing techniques that Adrienne uses in all of her books? I can easily create her worlds and stories in my head due to Adrienne's strength in descriptive details.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Adrienne Young for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of an AMAZING book!

You need to go into this book without any preconceived ideas!
I thought I had the twist pegged and was prepared to be disappointed but I couldn’t not read it when I’ve loved all of Adrienne Young’s other works. And I was pleasantly surprised and annoyed with myself for ever doubting the way she can spin a story and make it a beautiful journey!
The Unmaking of June Farrow follows the title character as she begins to unearth the cause of her family curse. All the Farrow women die due to a “sickness” that has plagued their family for generations. When June’s grandmother finally succumbs after a years long battle, June starts to receive cryptic messages and photos from her family’s past. The typical symptoms of this elusive sickness began a year before the story starts and June is desperate to find answers before she can no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
I admit the beginning was a little slow but as soon as the intrigue ramped up, I could not put this book down until I found out what was going on! Young is amazing at creating an atmosphere and setting. I felt immersed in small town Jasper, North Carolina, surrounded by mountains, farms, and a central rolling river. June’s journey tugged at my heart and I felt the panic she was feeling that she might never figure out what was happening before it was too late. Her relationships with the other characters grew as the book went on, a natural progression for June and the reader as well.
Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars and I will be recommending it to any reader who’s a fan of magical realism and atmospheric writing! Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for sending this book for review consideration, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Already have this on preorder at my library! 😊

This was my very first Adrienne Young read, and I was NOT disappointed. Young does an amazing job pulling the reader into the story and keeps them guessing what will happen next. This book is the best mix of suspense, fantasy, and history rolled into one.

I don't know how to write this without giving any way too much! So, here is my best attempt:

June Farrow is well aware of the curse plaguing the women of her family. It's the very reason her Gran raised her and why her mother disappeared. Farrow women are just. . .different. It's been a year since June has started hallucinating -- hearing and seeing things that aren't there, but after the death of her Gran, she uncovers cryptic clues that have her questioning more about her mother's disappearance. Once she steps through a red door, she is dropped into 1951 with a life she doesn't remember. Her quest for answers helps fuel her need to break the curse.

I could not put this one down, and was surprised by several twists I did not expect. I recommend reading this if you like fantasy, thrillers, and a some suspense!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, and Delacorte Press for this eARC! I will be adding this to my bookshelf once it's released in October!!

Oh I’m just such a fan of Adrienne Young and this book was no different. June Farrow knows the Farrow women are different, but as she buries her grandmother the vision’s becomes worse. As her world splits in two she goes searching for answers about her mother who abandoned her as a baby and she ends up going through a door, and on the other side she’s in 1951 in a life she doesn’t remember. Now desperately searching for answers she continues to try to find a way home realizing she will have to make a decision when the door reappears to stay or go. I read this in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Amazingly written and exciting I loved every minute of it. 5⭐️

Adrienne Young is always on my auto-buy list for her lyrical prose and her ability to immerse one’s self into the story. Unsurprisingly, she has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this piece.

This book has similar vibes to Spells for Forgetting so if you liked that, you’ll love this.

The Unmaking of June Farrow has:
• Mystery / thriller
• Family curses
• Generational women / family stories
• Small town

June’s story is so beautiful and I think I cried 12 times while I was reading it because, dammit, she knows how to make you feel alllllll the feels. Adrienne’s writing is cinematic and I felt like I was there right beside of June making every heart-wrenching decision. I loved the familial ties and how everything is tied together in a complex web.

If you love a dash of fantasy with your mystery and romance — PICK THIS UP.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion!

I was beyond excited when I received this advanced copy. I absolutely love Adrienne Young! “Spells for Forgetting” is one of my favorite books of 2023 and I adore The Fable duology. This one was so different than what I anticipated, but absolutely incredible nonetheless. It has the perfect combination of time traveling magic, complicated relationships, and the enthralling writing style she’s perfected at this point. I always love her strong-willed female protagonists and June Farrow is no different. I will say, the one thing I didn’t love, was that it is a bit confusing keeping track of who is who, when and where with all the overlap of timelines, but I also think that’s partly user error by reading on my kindle and not an actual physical copy. Overall, another wonderful book by Adrienne Young, definitely throw this one on your pre-order list!

I wish I could give this book 10 stars and so much more. I cried, I smiled, and I am now left wondering how I am ever going to move on from this book. A piece of me will always belong with June Farrow.

Adrienne Young has such a way with words and her story came to life in a way that I was not expecting. I didn’t know I would fall in love with the characters the way I did. I didn’t know I would be crying with the bittersweet ending.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Anyone who picks this book up will not be disappointed.

I am obsessed with Adrienne Young. I couldn’t put this book down! There were a few parts of the time travel that really didn’t seem all that important and could be confusing at times. Loved being able to see June discover what was really important to her!

3.5 stars rounded up.

This definitely felt like it was inspired by Alice Hoffman. And pairs well with Invisible Hour.

Time travel is always tough, and this isn't any exception. It's actually pretty well done, in fact. One reveal I completely didn't see coming. It's a multi layered story, although a few parts confused me. Mostly that she was insistent on having a choice, but she didn't really when you look at the thing in its entirety (this will make sense when you read it).

I can't say too much without being spoilery! Anyway, it was a quick read and unfolded nicely.

Adrienne Young delivers a captivating and addicting tale of a family curse with this upcoming novel.

June Farrow has had to live with the looming fate that all Farrow women experience: the slow and sure descend into madness. She's lived her life, thus far, denying herself of romance and family, unwilling to pass the curse on to her children. Even so, she's had a good life. June lives with her grandmother Margaret, and Margaret's best friend, Birdie. She has good and honest work tending to her family's flower farm, and she has her own best friend, Mason, who she knows will be there for her through anything. This is the life she's made in 2023, and she's happy here, except for the ongoing mystery of her mother's disappearance.

The story starts with the death of June's grandmother, the woman who raised June in place of her mother, Susanna. Days after her grandmother's funeral, June receives a package in the mail containing an old picture of her mother that sparks even more questions. This ignites, in June, a relentless determination to piece together the puzzle of her family's history, before she's gripped with the inevitable Farrow curse. It has been a year since June's own madness started creeping in on her: seeing and hearing things that aren't there, including a red door.

This is only the surface level of this mind-bending story. It's a beautiful and devastating tale of love and family, and doing whatever it takes to protect that. The flashbacks of June's memories and her episodes were perfectly timed within the narrative, and introduced more questions than answers every time. I was guessing at the truth the entirety of the book, and even if I thought I had one answer, there were still several more mysteries that needed solving.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes second chance romance, small town mysteries and magical realism.

What a page turner! I have a soft spot for portal fantasies. Add in some time travel? Well, that is a book I'm bound to enjoy!

We follow the life, or really lives, of June Farrow. Like the other women in her family, she is cursed with the ability to travel back in time. This ultimately ties into the lives of her other family members, specifically her mother's relationship with the town's minister. While there is the element of murder, this book is really about family and doing whatever is necessary to protect those you love.

I was captivated by the way Adrienne Young wrote the flashbacks of memories and the various moments of June's "episodes." I'm willing to bet if I did a re-read I would pick up on more hints about what is really going on. The reader and June are both in the dark, just trying to figure out how things connect.

All that being said, I wish there was more depth to the characters, especially June's relationship with her daughter.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC!

June is a woman torn between 2 times-2023 and 1951. She's a Farrow, descended from a long line of women who could disappear, then reappear into the present, past, and future. June is unaware of this until she starts having visions of another life, another life she may or may not have lived. These visions include a red door that keeps appearing, beckoning her to enter.

Abandoned as a baby by her mother, she was raised by her grandmother and manages the family's flower farm in Jasper, WY. She's built a comfortable life there but has always been plagued by the questions around her mothers' abandonment. Upon her grandmother's death, she finds a journal with cryptic clues about her mothers' disappearance and madness. Determined to find out what happened, she decides to go through the red door and is deposited into Jasper in 1951. Not too much has changed except her grandmother is alive, she has a husband and daughter, and she's the prime suspect in the local preacher's murder!

As June peels back the layers of her family history and learns more about her mothers' actions, she begins to fall in love again, and wonders why she left the life she once had.

This book reminded me quite a bit of the 'Time Traveler's Wife'. You are rooting for June to find happiness and break the family curse of madness and confusion. Along with her husband, she is determined to clear her name and find some semblance of a future for her newly acquired family. The author infuses the atmosphere with the struggles of life on the farm, tending to the crops, and coming home weary at the end of the day. It's a hard life, made easier with love. What will June decide? You'll have to read this and find out!

This is my first Adrienne Young book and I promise it won't be my last.

I adored how Young wrote. The writing was as beautiful as the flower filled setting we opened up to.
​ This is a complicated topic, time travel. I picked up this book blind and had no idea that would be, partially, the main focus of this book. I feel the author did a wonderful job balancing the complications of time travel, without taking away from the overarching story. I really enjoyed the characters.
The author stayed true to the characters whether they were young or old.
My only 'complaint' (and reason for deduction of a star) was although the writing was beautiful, it slowly started to get repetitive. It started to feel as if the author was adding more 'fluff' than pretty writing.
This was a great intro to Adrienne Young and I am excited to read more of her books.