Well hello Adrienne Young! This was the first book of hers that I've read, and I was captivated!!! Her writing is exceptional. It is exquisitely detailed, resulting in a fully immersive and atmospheric experience for the reader. She also seamlessly blends different genres, giving a little bit of something for everyone. I am excited to read more of her books because it seems like these are common traits of her stories.

The first half of this story passes at a slower pace, which some may not like. However, it's during this first half that the tension, suspense, and doubt start to build. The slow pace feels intentional because of that. This story is like an onion- it has layers that you have to work your way through, and the beginning layers take a little longer to get past.

The second half of this book packs a punch, and the pace picks up. I love how the writing leaves the reader suspecting several people. While I guessed one of the ending twists, I was surprised by another! I enjoyed the ending and was pleased with how it all pulled together.

A woman returns to her hometown to find out what happened when her twin brother dies mysteriously in the remote woods of Northern California. She also deals with her own issues and prior relationships after leaving town abruptly twenty years ago for art school. There is also a bit of magical realism/paranormal activity but not as much as her other books. Beautifully written, but I found the pacing slow in the beginning. Also, felt like there were a lot of red herrings rather than developing suspects and building suspense.

Thank you to Delacorte Press, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
288 pages
Releasing: January 7th, 2025

Johnny and James, a set of twins, only have each other in life. When Johnny dies in a tragic accident, James takes it upon herself to handle his affairs. She is forced to rehash their ominous past & see the only other person who shares that past with her- Micah- who also happens to be the only man she has ever loved. As she begins to uncover secrets that her brother was trying to hide and that is death may not have been an accident.

Adrienne Young is a new to me author. She is an author local to me in NC & I have had several of her books on my TBR forever. I am so thankful to have gotten an eARC of this book. The descriptions, the prose, the writing style. I just love this book! This book was very well written- you have to peel back the layers to get to the meat of the book & see the final punch of the book. This book also encompasses multiple genres- romance, suspense, general fiction, and magical realism. Not many authors can do that but Adrienne Young sure can! Although I’ve never read her other books, I’ve heard this is different from the rest & I recommend you check it out!

Read if you like:
✨Atmospheric/moody vibes
✨Slow burn mystery
✨Small town vibes
✨Paranormal/romantic elements

Thank you @netgalley @delacortepress & @adrienneyoungbooks for this eARC!

#adrienneyoung #delacortepress #smalltownmystery #moody #paranormal #romantic

Adrienne Young does it again! Adrienne never ceases to amaze with her uncanny ability to blend multiple genres together - small town romance, thriller, as well as some magical elements.

This time around we follow James as she (yes she) heads back to her small town to pick up the pieces post the demise of her brother. Except…her twin-tuition is ringing that something nefarious is at play.

In classic Adrienne fashion, we see James run into members of the community she grew up with and rekindling old memories. I LOVED the flashbacks and building together the pieces of James’ life this way. It took some time for the plot to truly build, but I think it was needed for the second half to run!

If you’ve come to love Adrienne’s moody, mysterious writing as much as I have, then A Sea of Unspoken Things will not do you wrong!

Anticipated release: 1/07/25

Thank you to Adrienne Young, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy for my honest review.

I am slightly disappointed by my own review because I absolutely love Adrienne Young.

I had really high hopes for this book but it just didn’t stick or grab me like I hoped. It took me weeks to read this book. I had to force myself to pick it back up just to finish.

There’s a huge amount of foreshadowing for something that happened in the past. We, as the readers, know that it’s a big secret. It was almost too repetitive building that climax when we learned the secret…

I think Miss Young’s writing is great, the story line and plot has potential but it fell flat. It was a case of who done it but with 100 extra pages.

There were a lot of characters throughout the book. I really did like them all. It definitely provides the small town life, everyone is in your business persona.

SPOILERS:
- So it takes her getting stoned to admit she has a twin connection…
- I knew that Sadie was involved from the damn beginning!!!

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Happy I read it. Adrienne Young does an amazing job at setting the scenes and drawing in the reader. I think the plot dragged on for a bit too long and the climax of the end felt very sudden and too fast paced.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to be an ARC reader!

An atmospheric murder mystery set in the California logging forests. A slow build up of gripping tension and suspense as James returns home after a 20 year absence,upon learning of her twin brother Johnny's death., As she delves deeper into the supposed hunting accident, the spiritual connection with her brother guides her into new realizations both of Johnny's past life and his death.

The twins special connection gave a spiritual insight to the story. And the second chance romance between Micah and James was a bittersweet reunion. I loved Micah!

Adrienne Young's lyrical writing has the ability to transport the reader straight into the setting, blending mystery, romance, and magical realism.

This one swept me away!

Publishing Jan 7,2025

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ear in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC of A Sea of Unspoken Things! Adrienne continues to be an auto buy author for me! The way she tells a story and brings life to not only the characters but the settings is amazing. The mystery left me wondering as I had suspicions of many characters throughout the book. Adrienne wrote it in a way that let you really immerse yourself in the story while wanting to keep turning the page to see what came next. I also really enjoyed the love story part of the book and how it was woven in with the larger mystery. I need Adrienne to keep writing books because she can do no wrong! Thank you again for the ARC!

A fantastic read by Adrienne Young ! I'd never read anything by her before, but wow, her writing is just gorgeous. It completely pulled me into the story of James, who goes back to her small town after losing her twin brother, Johnny. But here's the thing: Johnny doesn't seem to be totally gone. Their twin connection is still there and James starts to wonder if something more is going on. The story has all the elements that keep you hooked: small towns, beautiful prose, and a touch of magical realism. The pacing was just right with mysterious twists that kept me guessing and the characters were wonderfully developed. Plus, there’s a hint of romance that spices things up.

Honestly, I couldn't put this book down. If you're looking for a captivating read with beautiful writing and a touch of mystery, you need to check this out!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young starts off slow and takes a while to get interesting. The writing is good, and the idea behind the story is interesting, but it isn’t really a mystery like I expected. Instead, the book feels more like it’s about life in a small town and the relationships between people. However, the ending is satisfying and ties everything together nicely. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy!

4.25/5
Beautiful story about grief, closure, and acceptance. James's point of view and struggle within herself to face her small home town and being a "new woman" is complex and touching. I absolutely love that Adrienne Young used older woman as her driving force. The inner monologue is the driving force or this story and it can be dark. The magical realism is subtle and can show the love that siblings have for one another. This is a wonderfully written story absolutely recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion.

Th author wove a spellbinding tale in A Sea of Unspoken Things, blending the raw ache of grief with a chilling sense of mystery. From the first page, I was drawn into James Golden’s emotional turmoil as she returned to Six Rivers, a town as enigmatic as the secrets it held.
The connection between James and her twin brother Johnny was beautifully depicted—a bond so deep it felt otherworldly. The moment she felt his loss was gut-wrenching and set the tone for a story steeped in heartbreak, longing, and unanswered questions. The narrative unfolded like a foggy dream, with the atmospheric writing bringing the coastal town of Six Rivers to life, its shadows and whispers mirroring James’s inner struggle.
Micah added another layer of complexity—a mix of unresolved love and shared trauma. Their dynamic was fraught with tension, and I appreciated how their history unraveled slowly, leaving room for both hurt and healing. As James delved into Johnny’s life, her discoveries about him—and herself—were both surprising and poignant, keeping me hooked until the end.
The novel’s pacing, however, occasionally felt uneven, with moments of intense revelation followed by stretches that meandered. While this added to the story’s dreamlike quality, it sometimes detracted from its momentum.
Overall, A Sea of Unspoken Things was a beautifully written, deeply atmospheric exploration of grief, love, and the secrets we keep from ourselves and those we hold dear. It lingered with me long after I closed the book, leaving me both satisfied and haunted. Fans of this author's previous work will not be disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A Sea of Unspoken Things is moody, atmospheric, emotional, and heartwarming all within this story of James trying to retrace her brother's life leading up to the moment he was killed. His twin James could feel that something was going on with Johnny long before he was killed, and even after the tether holding them together just seemed to grow stronger as James returned to her hometown. You could feel their connection through the pages, and how emotional James felt throughout the story.
I loved the atmosphere of the small logging town, I enjoyed James as our narrator, and her relationship with Micah. The mystery of what happened to Johnny kept me on the edge of my seat, there were plenty of twists and turns that I didn't see coming as James went through her brother's life, and realized maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

A lot is going on within the story between the mystery and the relationship James' has with the residents of her hometown and I loved every minute. I can't wait catch up on what I've missed of Adrienne Youngs backlist and see what she's going to come out with next.

This book was a miss for me. While I am a big fan of author Adrienne Young, this story felt foreign to what I’ve come to expect from her. I rated her previous books, “Spells for Forgetting” and “The Unmaking of June Farrow” both as 5-star reads. While this may be an unpopular opinion, I gave “A Sea of Unspoken Things” 3-stars primarily because it has Ms. Young’s name written on the cover. She gave me high hopes of a good read and I felt let down when it was over and the story still had so many rough edges.

*I received an arc of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

5/5 stars. Adrienne Young does it again. This book is full of twists and turns. The way you are transported to the little town of Six Rivers is uniquely Young’s voice drawing you in. The romance in this book is swoon worthy and fits so perfectly with the characters. I highly enjoyed every minute of this book.

I was late in the game requesting this ARC so I was pleasantly surprised to have been approved. It had come at a time when I had surpassed my reading goal for the year, and of course, hit a slump. I was craving something atmospheric and this book definitely hit the mark. It sucks you in immediately! I absolutely loved June Farrow so I had high expectations for Adrienne Young's writing. I am quite happy to say that those expectations were met. Young has a lyrical quality to her writing that I really like. I appreciate the balance this book had with it's subplot not being too much. I think Young really helps readers understand the unusual bond twins have. I also happen to have a brother and really empathized with the MC's automatic defense of him. Even without being a twin myself, I can understand that drive to fix his mistakes and cover for him and the need to build this world in your head in which they are ok enough that you can have your own life. My best friend is a twin so I'll be recommending this to her. It's just a well written, twisty and intriguing book. I felt like I had the answer to the mystery pegged multiple times, so that's a major win in my opinion. I think Adrienne Young is a great writer and she's one of my auto read authors, for sure. I'd recommend her books to anyone. I give this one 3.75 stars. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!! This review will be posted the week before pub day and will stay in my highlights on Instagram for easy access from then on.

This was a very moody read. The environmental vibes of a small logging town that’s blanketed in overcast, weather and secrets, was the perfect cozy mystery I needed for January.

I’ve always been curious whether twins really do have that connection of something more. Can they really hear and think the same? Can they feel the exact moment the other half dies, the earth splitting and the heart fading away?

That’s this set of twins. One dies under suspicious circumstances. And the other returns to the town she fled from to retrace her brother’s steps to answer what really happened. But she ends up digging up more than she had hoped and doesn’t want to face that maybe she didn’t know her own brother all that well.

• Anticipated Pub Day: January 7th, 2025

Thank you to @RandomHouse, @DelacortePress, and @NetGalley for sending an Advance Reader’s Copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with fan ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3.75 stars/5
I was very excited to read this story after loving, The Unmaking of June Farrow. This story is different and does not have the magical realism that, that one did - this one leans more thriller/suspense. I did find the book to be slower-paced in the beginning, but as a I kept reading the story, I became hooked, constantly trying to figure out what the answer was to Johnny's death.

There is a lot that I feel as though the reader is missing, because a majority of the story is James reliving her past and her introspective thoughts - there wasn't much depth to her, but I then realized that it was probably done intentionally because James does recognize that most of her life was spent around protecting her brother and running away from her hometown and the guilt she's felt around that decision. There was a point in reading the story that I felt very connected to and it's that no matter how much you love a family member and think you know them, there will always be layers to them that you don't know.

I loved her and Michah's love story, and I do wish we could have gotten more, but overall it was a beautiful story and I was drawn in instantly.

Gripping, suspenseful, and captivating. Adrienne Young never misses! Her ability to weave together a story that held me in its grasp for its entirety is something I have come to expect from this author.

4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to a 5.

The newest release from Adrienne Young follows James Golden, whose twin brother Johnny was just found dead in the woods following a presumed hunting accident. However, James and Johnny shared a bond so deep she could feel he was gone before her phone even rang. When James returns to her hometown to handle his affairs, she must come to terms with their shared history, and learn just who her brother was and what he held dear.

Adrienne Young writes the best mysteries with minor speculative elements intertwined with romance. This book was very atmospheric, and really brought the small town to life. Additionally, the speculative piece of James “feeling” Johnny’s memories and experiences was a fun aspect that made James’ grief even more palpable and real. Adrienne Young is an auto-buy author for me and I have my final copy pre-ordered and on its way to me already. If you have enjoyed her previous adult works, I highly recommend picking up this novel on its publication date next week!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine / Delacorte Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Adrienne Young is definitely becoming an auto-buy author for me. I love the magical elements of her stories. This was not my favorite book I have read from her but I did really enjoy it. he suspense and mystery kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between James (FMC) and Micah. I felt like the only thing missing was why James and Micah had such a protective instinct over Johnny. I understand they were close but it seemed like he didn't have enough good behavior to justify all the bad behavior.

That being said I was interested throughout the book and I will definitely keep reading whatever Adrienne writes. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest review.