3.5 ⭐️

The deeply secluded forest town was beautifully executed and was the star of this book for me. It shapes every cause and every outcome from start to finish. The atmosphere created by this forest town is small town mystery perfection. Without this piece, I’m not sure I would have finished reading the book.

I view this story as a mystery/semi-thriller (maybe) with an MC who has a strong intuition connecting her to her twin brother. It has a slower pace throughout the story. The twists and turns are decent enough, but they wrap up so quickly that I wasn’t left satisfied. I have major questions on how the prime incident happened based on the last reveal, but we don’t get any more information to have closure.

Overall, I love this book for its atmospheric presence. I dislike this book for its pacing and rushed conclusion. I do think if you like books that read like a leisurely stroll in a dark overgrown forest where you get to connect dots on your own, this book could be amazing for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Adrienne Young, and Random House Publishing for this eARC.

This books was so atmospheric. Adrienne Young has a way of storytelling that makes you feel like you are in the middle of the story right beside the characters. A Sea of Unspoken Things leans more towards mystery than Young's usual magical realism. This novel was a slow build up to resolving the mystery, and it paid off in the end.

This was an exploration of grief and what it means to really know someone, but it was also a study on sibling dynamics. What do we really know about those we love? The way James had to pick through her brother's life after his death was both heartbreaking and true to life.

I truly enjoyed my time in Six Rivers. It felt like that moody forest was alive around me. If you enjoy a small town mystery with a slow build up, pick up A Sea of Unspoken Things when it comes out.

After reading Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow, A Sea of Unspoken Things was at the top of my most anticipated upcoming releases.

Adrienne Young does an amazing job of creating a captivating setting that transforms your surroundings. It almost feels like the town of Six Rivers,CA is just as alive and important as the main characters. At first I thought the mystery was being predictable, but the twists kept coming.

I really loved this one and wish there was even more background on the main characters. Thankful that I was able to read this in the fall (especially with the mystery) but will definitely be rereading once it is released in January!

This is the first time reading Adrienne Young and it’s definitely not going to be my last. A Sea of Unspoken Things is an atmospheric and twisty novel about what we do for those we love.

I was utterly captivated by this slow burn mystery. The touches of fantasy and magical realism are so beautifully written that they almost seem possible. I loved this book and these characters!

On to my next Adrienne Young novel!

Every book I have read by this author has not disappointed! I could barely put it down!

I was left with one unanswered question by the end of the book (I won't mention it here since it's a little bit of a spoiler), but everything wrapped up nicely and I was satisfied with the ending!

I'm sobbing writing this having just finished this book. To sum A Sea of Unspoken Things up in a word? Stunning. Possibly one of my top favorite reads this year. Ever? I don't know. My perception of reality is warped after finishing this. Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to feel emotionally obliterated.

I have read Adrienne Young in the past and loved her writing. This book was no exception. From the very first chapter (the first page really) I knew I was in for a treat. The story starts off a little slow, but I'm captivated by what's going on and I'm tuned in because I feel invested in finding out more. I am not a person who can typically visualize books I'm reading, but Adrienne has such a beautiful way with words it literally feels like a movie scene playing out in my brain??? There's no filler. Every single word feels deliberate and as this story unravels you see just how intentional Adrienne is.

This book had me constantly needing to pause and having chills. The way Adrienne writes the supernatural is just SO good? It's not outlandish and campy. She makes it feel like this could legitimately happen. Like there might be a little bit of inexplicable magic in this world.

The tension in this book? S tier. And it's not even romantic tension. You do not know who to trust. You don't know who to root for. Up is down. The cats are dogs. NOTHING is as it seems as the FMC is trying to get to the bottom of her twin brother's death.

Lastly I really appreciated these characters being in their late 30's.

I loved this atmospheric and unsettling novel. A mystical twin connection? A haunting and isolated small town? An accident that maybe… wasn’t? Say less.

Some of the writing in this story was especially poignant and I felt it deeply. I thought she balanced the foreshadowing/clues and twists nicely - there were some I could guess and others I didn’t see coming!

James lives in San Francisco when she gets the call that her twin brother Johnny has passed away. James still feels a connection to her brother that may not be entirely in her head… and before she knows it, she’s on her way back to her hometown of Six Rivers. Deep in the secluded mountains of California. The place she grew up… and couldn’t run fast enough away from when she was younger. Now she’s back to figure out what happened to her brother… because she has a feeling… it may not have been an accident.

This is a book. You cannot. Put. Down. Every time I got to the end of a chapter I was like… and?? What happens next??

This book takes its time, but at the same time you are on the edge of your seat trying to get a handle on the absolute mystery that is going on in this small town.

This book made me realize you need to say the things that weigh you down and lay heavy on your heart.

You can pick up the pieces of the past and build on those or start anew but the choice is there to grow and change and break cycles and be honest and vulnerable.

Life is so strange it’s so important and meaningless at the same time. You need to allow the people in that you love to help carry the burden of it all.

This book really moved me and it was so fascinating to witness a relationship between two people completely change and adapt and grow and mature all while one of them had already passed away.

This book is incredibly thought provoking. It’s sad and eerie and bizarre and just beautiful. This story is beautiful. Rich and layered. It’s downright sad. It’s empty and lonely and then filled with love and warmth and light.

I am in love with the way Adrienne writes men. Absolutely in love. There’s safety and security and confidence in the men that she writes. They are anchors in a stormy sea.

I feel like this book is necessary.

The places we hide the people we hide behind. Being scared of knowing someone completely.

Fighting off that real deep true love because it’s scary being vulnerable.

And it’s healing too. Opening up. Looking in the dark with your eyes wide open and doing the right thing no matter the outcome.

I’m moved in so many different directions by this story. It’s one of those reads that’s going to stay with me for a long time… probably forever.

It made me think deeply and shed a tear and at times I didn’t know who I was shedding the tear for… one of the characters or maybe even myself...

What an incredible. incredible. Journey. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Another eerie, dreamy work that captivates from chapter 1! This book was a little slow but the premise had me gripped!

I can’t thank the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc!

I was prepared to fall apart both during and after this book as Adrienne Young always makes me emotional. And boy was I not prepared enough. I truly cannot express how much I was personally impacted by this story and how touching it was. I hope many readers pick up this book because there is magic between the pages that leave you wanting more while also being satisfied with how it ended.

Dear Author,
 
Unfortunately, I don’t think I was the correct audience for your latest book. Intriguing, yes. Mysterious, yes. Some twists and turns that kept me guessing, of course. It was entertaining by every standard, but I wasn’t enraptured, and that’s okay. You have a wonderful way with words that kept me to the end. 
 
Yours truly,
J. D. McCoughtry
 
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press,for the chance to read this e-arc.

“A Sea of Unspoken Things” by Adrienne Young is another atmospheric and unusual mystery. The story is about the tight and mysterious sense twins have to sense each other’s feelings, when tragically the female twin gets a call that her brother has been shot & killed. After being estranged for 20 years she returns to her very small logging town in the woods of Northern California to investigate the suspicious feelings she is having around her brother’s death. There are many reasons she has not returned to her home town since leaving and as she investigates buried memories, old flames, and the ghosts of times past help surface to unravel the secrets around his death.

This author has the ability with her beautiful prose to make you feel you are right there. As with “The Unmaking of June Farrow” by this author, the story will have you thinking about it way after you read the last page. A bit of a slow burn but the twists and turns had me riveted to this unique story.

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

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of this ARC in return for an honest review.


This is the third Adrienne Young book I have read and the way she describes things still has me in a choke hold. As I read the story and the plot slowly unraveled I thought I knew who killed who and boy I was so wrong. Not only did I have to go back several times to reread the twists that smacked me hard in the gut I realized that I am always left crying towards the end. Adrienne knows how to write a story and weaves perfect threads of love, loss, mystery, and one's passion for truth that breaks my heart and mends it back together simultaneously.

Thank you author Adrienne Young, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

This story centers around our female lead James Golden, who has been tasked with returning to her hometown (the place she has run away from for 20 years) after the death of her twin brother Johnny, to sort out the circumstances of his life ….and death. While investigating Johnny’s death, James must also face the ghosts of her past including the people she left behind.

The author wrote likeable and delightfully damaged characters in James, Johnny, and Micah. The relationship between the twins was sometimes otherworldly and other times heartwarming. Even through the eyes of only one twin, the reader can feel the connection between them. I could feel the devastation, the anger, the disappointment and the fear that James was feeling throughout the novel.

Another connection that kept me feigning for more was the connection between James and Micah. With little hints at their past and the present tension and need, it was an instant attachment to the characters for me.

The investigation into Johnny’s death was riddled with twists and turns, and the pieces given bit by bit before the finale were well paced throughout the novel.

The paranormal and romantic elements mixed with the small town mystery make this book hard to put down. The spooky, unsettling scenes were well written and paced, while the emotional scenes hit the heart strings wonderfully. I was enthralled with the setting and the characters, and the scene description was so well written I could picture the places, like the forest scenes and the diner scenes, as well as the characters and their emotions, vividly in my mind while I read.

This is my first read by Adrienne Young. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and look forward to reading more!

I loved going into this book blind. Hooked me from the start (thank goodness for first person pov). I was so intrigued by everything and couldn’t wait to solve the mystery. The first half was a slowww build up then around 60% I could not stop reading until I had answers to all the questions James was asking 🏃‍♀️ I really enjoyed reading this. Adrienne Young gives the best magical and mysterious small town vibes ✨

Young has a way with words and describing the beauty of nature. This is clear across all of her books. I didn’t find myself loving this story as much as her others but enjoyed the few surprises at the end and the ending itself.

It took a bit for the pace to pick up, but once it did, the suspense and twists kept shocking me! I loved Micah. He seemed like a genuine man. I loved the twin connection between Johnny and James. I loved how she was determined to figure out what happened yo her brother and had Micah helping along the way. A good book with good twists to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I received this ARC from NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Delacorte Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Thank you for the ARC! To start off, I love Adrienne Young. I love the way she tells stories and the cover for this is beautiful! But this particular book was very lacking. The plot and pacing were very weak and lack luster. The mystery element was there, but it was just so surface level. Until 80% in, I wasn’t sure what the actual *point* of this book was. The pacing didn’t pick up until around 90%, and everything was hurriedly thrown together. I was left feeling like there was too much added to this book, but at the same time, a lot was missing. I’m so glad to have received an early copy, but I am very sad that this just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Adrienne Young has become one of my favorite authors. Of the three books I've read this one wasn't my favorite but I still enjoyed it. The end wrapped up wonderfully. I like the hazy atmosphere of this book.

Thanks to Delacorte Press for the gifted copy!

I’m not a newbie to Adrienne’s works, and JUNE FARROW is one of my all-time favorite books, so I knew I was picking this up as soon as it arrived in the mail.

James returns to her hometown after the death of her brother, determined to prove that his death was not an accident. She can feel it in her bones that something just isn’t right about the night he died. In the process, she also reconnects with her childhood love, Micah, who helps her investigate the circumstances surrounding Johnny’s death.

A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS showcases Adrienne’s ability to write the most atmospheric prose, this time in the form of a slow burn mystery with magical realism. The book takes place in a small town in the forest and I really felt like I was there while I was reading - Adrienne’s words just completely absorbed me. Along with mystery, there’s an underlying romance storyline that’s messy and beautiful and a unique connection between James and Johnny as siblings. While this is in the dark side and suspenseful, I do love the way the book ended with a ray of sunshine.