4.75 🌟

Unputdownable.

When I saw Adrienne Young had another book out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it but wondered if it would be as good as her others. I'm here to tell you that it was. The twists were so good in this book!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

𝒜 𝒮𝑒𝒶 𝒪𝒻 𝒰𝓃𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓃 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈
𝒷𝓎: Adrienne Young

𝐵𝓁𝓊𝓇𝒷: James and Johnny Golden were once inseparable. For as long as she can remember, James shared an almost supernatural connection with her twin brother, Johnny, that went beyond intuition—she could feel what he was feeling. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she’s alone—truly alone—for the first time in her life.

𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒: “He was there the first time my heart beat, the first time air entered my lungs, the first time the sun touched my face. But now, he'd gone back to the dark without me.”- James Golden

𝐹𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇: James for sure! I love the way she thinks and how she would do anything to protect her brother. She follows her intuition and is incredibly loyal.

𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝐿𝒾𝓀𝑒𝒹: I’m such a huge mystery/thriller person and not a huge romance person… but I’m talking like strictly a book about a romance. I do enjoy romance/love stories mixed in with my fantasy, horror, mystery/thrillers, and this one had such a good one! This was the perfect amount of mystery mixed with a childhood friendship turned lovers! Some found family mixed in! I loved all the aspects of this book, it was honestly nothing like I was expecting it to be.

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇𝓎: I enjoyed this one a lot. If you like mystery with some romance and even a little supernatural element mixed in!! I think you should pick this up!

𝑅𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒: January 7th, 2025

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝒴𝑜𝓊: NetGalley, Adrienne Young and RandomHouse publishing for this ARC copy.

Review posted to Instagram, link attached

This book completely blew me away! From the very first page, I was pulled into James’s world and couldn’t put it down. Adrienne Young’s writing is so vivid and emotional—I felt everything James was going through like it was my own. Her grief, her love for her brother Johnny, and her complicated feelings for Micah were so raw and real, it stayed with me even after I finished reading.

The bond between James and Johnny was so beautifully written. Even with Johnny gone, you could feel the depth of their connection in every chapter. It was heartwarming, otherworldly, and devastating all at once. And then there’s Micah—ugh, I loved him! Their history is messy and full of pain, but the chemistry and connection they shared made every interaction between them so gripping.

What really stuck out to me was the setting. The small-town vibe of Hawthorne and the nature of Six Rivers felt so alive, like another character in the story. There’s this mix of beauty and danger that mirrors James’s journey perfectly. And the magical realism was so subtle and stunning—it made me question if it was real or just James’s way of holding onto Johnny.

This story had me feeling everything: the heartbreak, the tension, the moments of hope. The twists and secrets Johnny left behind kept me glued to the pages, and I loved how each character felt fully fleshed out, like I’d known them forever.

If you’re looking for a book that’s equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful, with a touch of magic and mystery, you need to read this. It’s one of those stories that will stay with you long after the last page. I already can’t wait to read more from Adrienne Young!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely love the way Adrienne Young tells a story, and this newest book did not disappoint. From the start, you are transported into the setting of this small mountain town, making you feel like you’re a part of the story. The author just has a way of building the mood and tone of her stories. While I read other reviews about the slow pacing of this book, I felt that it was just right. I enjoyed slowly taking in all the details that brought this story to life. I cared deeply for each of the main characters and loved watching their story unfold. Thank you so much to Net Galley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book! I can’t wait to order my copy when the book is released!

This may be Adrienne Young’s best book! I truly have loved all her books. They are so special and unique! This one did not disappoint. I love the plots and the characters!

*4.5
i’m not going to post quotes because of spoilers but are you kidddddiiiiing so so beautiful…i loved jamesmicah so much but 100% the best part of this book were james and johnny and honestly as much as the book was focused on johnny i wish there was more because i still didn’t know him by the end but also he was unknowable soooo idk. anyway. so good and one of the best books i’ve read all year

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

It didn't take long for me to become glued to the pages of this one. The mystery surrounding Johnny's death was so good! I enjoyed the connection and relationship between James and her twin. The storyline has a good pacing as more and more secrets of the past are revealed. There were a few jaw dropping twists that I didn't see coming. A 5 star read for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adrienne Young has such a way with creating these beautiful lyrical magical realism concepts and this did not disappoint.

Wow! This book was so good! I couldn’t put it down!
I thought it was a well written story. It had lots of suspense and some twists I didn’t see coming.
Definitely recommend! It’s another five star book from this author

"What could we possibly say? I couldn't even pretend to know how you could take a whole life, a whole person, and put it into words. Goodbye is a lost language. A silent one."
James felt it, the minute her twin brother died. She returns home to the wild woods and small town that she grew up in to chase a feeling. A feeling that is haunting her, or maybe it's her brother that's haunting her, the feeling that his death wasn't an accident. James must confront her past in order to face a future without her brother.
A Sea of Unspoken Things is atmospheric and pulls you into a world where the past is still very much alive. I loved the subtle otherworldliness of this book and the exploration of the connection twins feel for one another continuing on after death.

Maaaybe? Probably? 4.5!! I do love me some Adrienne Young!!🙂‍↕️ when I saw this on PRHAudio this morning I quite literally <i>immediately</i> downloaded + started it…and finished it ~6 hours later😳 whooops!!

This was perfectly atmospheric! Her prose is 10/10! It’s mainly a small town mystery but also has magical realism and romance elements🤌 I was ENGAGED from the start!

I loved the setting, I loved the characters, I loved the twists and of course the writing! I never really knew where it was going even when I thought I did👏

The pacing was a smidge off but the audio narration was fantastic and I’m sure that helped! It is less ✨magical✨ than her other books but I was okay with that!! I highly recommend!

Ahhh sadly, I didn't love this. It's a slow burn, yes...but I was so bored with the characters and so tired of hearing about Johnny. I just didn't care about anything. I wanted to DNF, but reviews said something finally happens past the 60% mark. It picked up, yes, but by that point I was skimming sentences to finish the book . I LOVED June Farrow, but not this one. So sorry.

As a big fan of Adrienne Young I was elated to receive an aRC

Johnny and James Golden are twins and seem to have a sort of supernatural connection bonding them together. Because of this connection, James actually feels her brother being shot and killed before she is even called by the police. She decides almost immediately to return home to investigate what actually happened to her brother and, along the way, has to confront her own past.

★★★☆ 3.5 stars
Pub Date : Jan 7, 2025

⟡ 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 :
-wildlife + nature
-twin connections
-photography/art
-close knit small-towns
-unsolved mysteries
-s l o w burn

⟡ 𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 :
I absolutely adored The Unmaking of June Farrow, so naturally I was thrilled to get my hands on this ARC. Unfortunately, it fell a little short for me.

My favorite part of this book was the setting. The atmosphere was beautiful with a hauntingly eerie vibe (think Forks from twilight - tall trees, dark greens, misty forest) but it lacked the immersive, page turning quality I was looking for.

I found it hard to connect with the characters & the magical realism aspect just wasn’t as believable as it was in June Farrow. The “twin connection” sort of read like James was just loosing her grip on reality rather than adding “magic” to the story.

I was intrigued by the mystery & wanted to know what happened, but I think my biggest problem with this one was the pacing. It was an incredibly slow burn. Most of the story was setting the scene, with a lot of repetitive “something is off” type scenarios. It didn't pick up until about 70%, the action finally started happening but then it was over so quickly.

I guess this is my verdict - to me, A Sea of Unspoken Things was a whole lot of build up for too small a payoff. But if you love Adrienne Young’s writing style or atmospheric reads with slow burn mysteries then I recommend trying it! June Farrow is still my favorite, but I look forward to reading Spells for Forgetting.

thanks to NetGalley + Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc ◡̈

Aptly named, A Sea Of Unspoken Things delivers all the things we’ve come to know and love from Adrienne Young. Moody, atmospheric, haunting, and engrossing, this story will captivate you from the start. I actually finished this quite a while ago but I still think of James, Micah, and Johnny’s story regularly.

There is a much stronger mystery element in this story than previous AY works, and she executes it brilliantly. If you loved Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow, this will not disappoint!

You shouldn’t have to wait too long, anticipated Release Date is just over a month away, 01/07/25, and it looks like another gorgeous shelf sitter to join Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow!

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced digital copy. This is one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and I am so thrilled to have already had the opportunity to read it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“What could we possibly say? I couldn’t even pretend to know how you could take a whole life, a whole person, and put it into words. Goodbye is a lost language. A silent one.”

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to express how profoundly this passage impacted me and how grateful I am to Adrienne Young for writing these beautiful words. I received a NetGalley arc of this book and happened to be reading it over the course of my Dad’s passing. It was the distraction I sought and the engrossing storyline I needed. I came across this passage and it was exactly what I needed at a time I needed it the most.

What more can I say? Adrienne’s writing is phenomenal. I still haven’t read The Unmaking of June Farrow but A Sea of Unspoken Things lives up to the expectations Spells for Forgetting set. Mystery Thriller is not my usual genre at all but Adrienne’s lyrical prose and ability to speak words to such raw human emotions, paired with the environmental and magical realism notes create truly incredible works of art.

Adrienne Young has yet again written an absolutely beautiful book.

Johnny and James are twins who grew up in a small town with big dreams. Their parents abandoned them and they have been the only family they have, except for Micah. Micah is Johnny’s best friend and the love of James’ life. At the end of high school the trajectory of their lives changes when another boy their age dies.
James left after the accident to attend art school, and twenty years later she is startled when she feels like she has been shot in the chest. She knows immediately that something is wrong with Johnny. She is called by the local sheriff and given the news that Johnny is dead. Needing to make sense of this, James heads back to the town she grew up in to investigate how her twin has died and launches head first into all unspoken secrets of her past and her bond with her twin.

This book is haunting and wonderful. I love the story and all of the twists and turns.
My only criticism would be that it took over 60% of the book for the “big secret” that was hinted at over and over to be revealed, and by then it didn’t feel big anymore.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC!

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young is a beautifully written and emotionally charged story that explores love, loss, and the power of unspoken truths. Young's lyrical prose vividly captures the setting, immersing readers in a world brimming with raw emotion and tender moments. The characters are deeply flawed yet relatable, and their journeys of healing and self-discovery are both heartbreaking and inspiring. While the pacing occasionally lags, and some conflicts resolve a bit too neatly, the story's emotional depth and poignant themes make it a memorable read. A heartfelt tale perfect for fans of character-driven contemporary fiction.

Another amazing stand alone from Adrienne Young! After the accidental death of her twin brother, James returns to her hometown to settle his affairs when she starts to realize things aren't as they seem. I'll be honest, I predicted the ending, but I really enjoyed reading the story and seeing everything unfold.

Eerie. Haunting. Deeply thought evoking.

The way Adrienne writes emotion is unmatched. She brought me through every emotion so well I even caught myself looking over my shoulder along with James. I really thought I had the mystery figured out but it kept surprising me.

I loved the question she posed: are people really who we think they are or have we conjured up a version of them that best serves our narrative?

It took me a few chapters to really get into the story, Adrienne sets the scene beautifully, almost poetically, but I’m a meat and potatoes girlie. I need plot more than scene setting so it took me a second. Once I was hooked, though, I finished the book in one night.

My favorite parts were any time James thought about her connection to her twin. The writing took me through those emotions so thoroughly.