This author is an auto-read for me and this book was one of my recent favorites! Nothing compares to Young's atmospheric settings and sensory details. I loved the twin relationship between the main character and her brother as well as the speculative elements related to their connection. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, racing to the conclusion of the mystery. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who needs an escape!

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young is moody, atmospheric, and had me hooked from the very start! It has the perfect amount of tension and kept me guessing about how the mystery would play out until the very end. The setting is so vivid -- it gave big movie vibes to me!

If you loved The Unmaking of June Farrow (which, by the way, I did!), this book is for you! Adrienne Young knows how to weave an intriguing mystery with just the right amount of emotional punch. Loved it!

The Unmaking of June Farrow was one of my top reads of 2024, for my expectations for Adrienne Young's next novel were sky high, and this did not disappoint. A Sea of Unspoken Things is a gorgeous, atmospheric, read that will have you enraptured from the start with the rich and lyrical writing. The story was lush, immersive, and dripping with suspense.

I was blown away by how magical realism came into play with this story. An absolute must read.

Tropes to expect:
- Small-town vibes
- Grief Representation
- Rekindled/ Second-chance romance
- Little bit of MAGIC

A Sea of Unspoken Things will go down as one of my top reads of the year. Adrienne Young knows how to write a book. The character building was done so well. I enjoyed that the characters were older (my age for once lol). This book made me stay up until early morning hours because I had to know what happened to Johnny! I appreciate that it was a stand alone and really enjoyed the ending. I cried many tears through this story. Can’t wait for the next Adrienne Young book!

3.5 stars rounded up!

This is a hauntingly beautiful tale that weaves together grief, love, and mysteries of the unseen. While I was captivated by her rich and immersive writing style, the story’s slow pacing and brevity left me wanting more - especially when it came to the romance.

The story follows James Golden as she navigates the loss of her twin brother, Johnny, whose tragic death brings her back to their shared, ominous past. Through a delicate touch of magical realism, this book explores the unbreakable bond between twins. The spiritual tie between James and Johnny was beautifully written, slightly ghostly, and incredibly moving.

While the atmosphere of this novel was enchanting and the prose was undeniably stunning, I found myself wishing for a deeper exploration of the romance between James and Micah. Their connection felt promising, but with such a slow build-up, the story could have benefited from a few more pages to let their relationship be fully explored.

If you love atmospheric reads with hints of magical realism and enjoy slow-burn mysteries, this book might be for you. While it didn’t fully hit the mark for me, I’m intrigued enough to explore more of Adrienne Young’s works in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an arc of this read in exchange for my honest review!

This is my third title by Adrienne Young and at this point she is an auto buy author for me. This story, while not exactly falling into the normal genre we’ve gotten used to from Young, is beautifully tragic and written so well. We meet James Golden as she is traveling back to her small mountain hometown following the sudden death of her twin brother, Johnny. James and Johnny have (yes, even in death they still have) an almost telepathic twin bond. Johnnys death being ruled an accident doesn’t sit well with James and she is determined to uncover what really happened the day he died.

I loved getting to know these characters and seeing how time had changed them, or not in some cases. This story shows how your past never really leaves you and history always repeats itself. Four 1/2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Adrienne Young's writing is always so incredibly atmospheric. I always feel transported by her writing. This one didn't miss.

2.5⭐️
Adrienne’s slower, magical realism books just aren’t for me. There’s not enough plot speed that keeps my attention. This reminded me too much of The Unmaking of June Farrow.

Growing up, James Golden spent her life covering her twin brother Johnny’s mistakes with the help of his best friend and her high school boyfriend, Micah. After a tragic event that the trio swore to secrecy, she left small logging community Six Rivers for a life in San Francisco, leaving both Johnny and Micah behind. Now, twenty years later, Johnny has been found dead and she’s been pulled back to a place and history she thought was behind her, including hers with Micah. Is Johnny’s death an accident as she’s being told?

After my first experience with Adrienne Young’s writing in The Unmaking of June Farrow, I was an instant fan of her beautiful prose, immersive setting, and the threads of magical realism and sci-fi/fantasy, which were fully present here as well. It’s just a small touch in this one regarding the heightened sense of each other that some twins seem to share and how James is seeing glimpses of Johnny and hearing his voice even after he's gone. It was cool to read in the author’s note that Adrienne Young has a twin brother herself!

The story is told from James’ POV, and she’s processing a lot of questions and confusion about Johnny and her past, so you're in her head for the whole book. That's not a bad thing. It was refreshing to see a character struggle to understand their sibling and not just blindly defend them. Those questions added excellent tension to the story, as I dreaded what she might discover!

The romance is there but it’s secondary to the slow-burn mystery of Johnny's death. It’s also a character drama as James reckons with the town and people she left behind, who were fascinating characters in their own right. She has to honestly confront why she left and what life she wants for her future. I should also mention she has a cool wolf-like dog named Smoke. 🐺

Besides Johnny's death, there are two more compelling mysteries in the story and while I liked them all, I would say the reveals could’ve been just a little more dynamic and not so quick and easy after all that tension and waiting for the reveals. A small complaint overall as the writing was just so good.

This was another wonderful story which solidified why Adrienne Young will remain an auto request author for me. She’s such a gifted storyteller!

This book is hard to rate because there were times that I loved it and times I was bored. The writing and the PNW vibes were great. I thought the characters were pretty fully realized. But there are sections where the plot drags and some of the twists and turns didn’t really do it for me. The end felt rushed.

I’m not a big thriller/mystery reader, but I’m becoming a fan of Adrienne and want to read more of her past and future stuff.

* free ARC from NetGalley and Delacourte Press *

Eh this was an ok thriller it was kinda slow but not bad overall. The pace was slow but for the most part it had a good plot.

A Sea of Unspoken Things told the story of Johnny’s tragic and sudden death. His twin James, goes to any and all lengths to figure out what happened in her estranged twins final days.

4 25 ⭐️s
I was beyond excited to receive an eArc since Adrienne Young has been an auto-buy author for me, for a few years now. Her writing is atmospheric and empathetic.
A Sea of Unspoken Things is no exception. The small town vibes were vibing. I was easily able to settle into James' mind and emotions. The twin factor was interesting and I really enjoyed the supernatural element to it. The supporting characters felt very realistic and most were likable.
Overall, a very bingeable thriller (?!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for the eARC!

A Sea of Unspoken Things delivered a captivating story with plenty of deep rooted mystery, intrigue, and an almost supernatural connection between siblings. I believe this is my first Adrienne Young book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Young's writing is so effortless in that the sentences flow and your pages keep turning.

James has returned to her hometown due to her twin brothers death and to get closure. While she's back old memories and feelings come to the surface. James intuition leads her to uncover pieces to the puzzle of her brothers mysterious death, and that maybe she didn't know her brother like she thought she did. With the help of a childhood friend and lover, James faces feelings and a life she tried to leave behind. (You will adore her dog, too.)

This is an easy to fall into read. If you like Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett, and Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, you'll like A Sea of Unspoken Things.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy for review.

The Good:
Once the story finally got started, the mystery was pretty solid.

The Not-So-Good:
Pacing is off. It was really tough to get through the first 50ish pages, there's little backstory and it made it hard for me to care about James or Johnny.
Book description gives off "supernatural" vibes. This is not the case. It's hard to describe without giving too much detail, but this is NOT a ghost story.
Unlikable characters. There isn't a single character in this book that I felt bad for or connect with. A lot of character development is very surface level and one dimensional.
The book was way too long. I think there was a lot of unnecessary/irrelevant scenes that added nothing to the plot.

I didn't hate this book, but it was just ok for me. I don't think it will be a re-read. While I think there are people who will enjoy it, it will probably end up being a forgettable read among the books released this year.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley in return for my honest review.

There has never been an Adrienne Young book that I didn’t enjoy. This one started out slow but I was curious to see where it was going. I do wish that I had more insight into the characters. I felt like the romance wasn’t fleshed out well and I never really saw them reconnect. The actual thriller or mystery plot was interesting to me though and I always love the touch of magic each book brings.

“A Sea of Unspoken Things” by Adrienne Young is book #4 of the year.

This one gets 🌟🌟🌟 and a half stars from me! I love her novels and this one was no different BUT it is a slowwwwwwwwwwwwwww burn. If you like waiting for action until the last 25% of a book, then this is the book for you. Unfortunately I’m impatient. 🤣

Also I can’t think of a better title, the things left unspoken in this book drove me slowly insane.

A Sea of Unspoken Things, by author Adrienne Young, is the story of a woman who investigates her twin brother's mysterious death while confronting the ghosts of her own haunted past. James and Johnny Golden were once inseparable. For as long as she can remember, James (a 37 year old female) 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. After 20 years away, James Golden returns to Hawthorne, a remote town nestled within Six Rivers National Forest, to settle the affairs of her twin brother, Johnny. His death has been labeled a hunting accident—a stray bullet—but the story doesn’t sit right.

Johnny’s camera and notebooks, essential to his work documenting rare owls in the forest, are missing. When James arrives in the secluded town of Six Rivers, California, to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to revisit the ominous events of their shared past and finally face Micah, the only other person who knows their secrets—and the only man she has ever loved. But as James delves deeper into Johnny’s world, she realizes that their unique connection hasn’t completely vanished.

The more she immerses herself in his life, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was hiding something, and he was not the only one. The deeper she digs, the more she is compelled to unravel the truth behind the days leading up to Johnny’s death. Ultimately, James must decide which truths should come to light, and which are better left buried forever. As she asks uncomfortable questions around town and follows Johnny’s trail through the forest, she starts to suspect his death is tied to that long-buried tragedy.

And yet, the closer she gets to the truth, the more she becomes part of the same story, unsure of whom she can trust. Even Johnny’s ghost seems to be nudging her toward answers she’s not certain she wants to find. James has always balanced Johnny’s darkness. Was Johnny involved in something that got him killed? Whenever Johnny created chaos, James was always there to clean up the mess and take the blame. This has been their dynamic since a tragic event drove James to leave town to pursue her artistic talents, never looking back. Was Johnny involved in something that got him killed, or was he killed to hide yet another secret that the town doesn't want to be uncovered?

Overall, this book requires a bit of patience. It takes time to move forward, and once it does, you begin to ask questions as to who is trustworthy and who is likely a murderer. Also, there are actually two mysteries in this book that you need to pay attention to. I will say that I think the ending was fitting after all that James and Micah go through in this book.

Adrienne Young at her absolute best! In the vein of June Farrow and Spells for Forgetting, A Sea of Unspoken Things follows fascinating characters in an atmospheric setting, complete with a dark mystery and a small community where everyone knows everyone (and they all have grudges they carry). I loved (as always) the second chance romance, and the way the story is told in alternating timelines. The magical realism part comes from the twin connection that James and Johnny share even beyond death. The mystery is solved only in the last few pages and keeps you guessing and re-guessing until the very end.
Absolutely recommended!

I love Adrienne Young’s writing, her prose are beautifully composed. That is still the case with this one! Her atmospheric writing is top tier. There were points of reflection that resonated so well. Interactions between Micah and James that had me on the edge of my seat but everything else fell flat.

The pacing on this was so so slow!! I thought the foreshadowing was done well but there was a complete lack of action. The mystery aspect was well thought out but was dragged out unnecessarily. I could only motivate myself to read 5-15 pages at a time and would lose interest quickly.
I felt like there was so much potential but all of the action took place in the last 20% of the book. I loved how she explored the connection between James and Johnny (twins) given a slightly different interpretation but I felt like it was a bit unresolved.

I think this is a great read for those looking for a low stakes mystery with atmospheric descriptions of the pacific north west with touches of magical realism. Adrienne Young wrote a touching story of navigating the loss of a loved one and the difficulties of returning to a hometown you "ran" from.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley.