An absolute STUNNER from Adrienne Young. I am so glad this was my first book of 2025. What're the chances your first read will almost certainly be one of your top for the year too?!

Atmospheric, creepy, haunting, emotional, introspective...it delivered a cast of characters in a setting I won't soon forget. This was the best kind of genre-bender in Young's signature angsty style: part mystery, part magical realism, part thriller, part romance.

I loved The Unmaking of June Farrow, and this has a similar vibe, but where that book felt like it read slower to me, Sea of Unspoken Things kept me flipping pages and unable to set this down. I finished the book in 2 days and the pacing did not let up!

The story follows James Golden (twin to Johnny Golden), as she (James) attempts to solve what she believes to be his murder, not a hunting accident. Forced to return to the small town and its secrets she escaped 20 years before, her quest for the truth about her brother, however painful, stirs up all the secrets this small-town has been hiding. Set in the woods of Northern CA, the trees, gorges and ravines and wildlife were all but personified as they were given life in this book.

Young just has a way of pulling you right into the character's experience and I struggled right along with James as she grapples with themes of accepting those you love with their imperfections, facing your own truth, trying to find a sense of belonging, and listening to your intuition.

This review wouldn't be complete without a moment for Smoke, the never-aging wolf-dog, grim? I loved him. Cheers also to Micah, a love interest I couldn't root for more.

This book absolutely cemented Adrienne Young as an auto-buy author for me.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book.

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect. I’m a big Adrienne Young fan so that was the sole purpose of wanting to read this book. I was not expecting it to be a thriller and it 100% was and I loved it! The magical realism was just enough to keep my heart happy because we all know I love a little magic. So good and 100% recommend if you’re a thriller person.

When I got accepted for A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young eARC, I was beyond thrilled and she did not disappoint! This mystery/ thriller kept me guessing till the very end and the added magical aspects made it right up my alley! I had this book figured out and disproven so many times it’s embarrassing and that is exactly how I love it! I am so ready for this book to be released because I need to talk this story out?

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Lyrical and intriguing but with a few issues

James (our FMC) and Johnny Golden are twins with a connection that lies in the supernatural realm. She can feel and experience what he feels, so when Johnny is killed, James knows it has happened and lives through it even before the news officially reaches her.
Now, James is back in the rural town of Hawthorne, California, after twenty years to sort out her twin’s work and find out what actually happened. She soon realizes her brother is trying to communicate with her from wherever he is but it is too overwhelming. After all, James left the town after an incident that changed a few lives. Being back means she also has to deal with the past, especially her first love Micah, the man who has been with her brother’s friend all these years and might be the only one to help her connect the dots.
The story comes in James’ first-person POV.

My Thoughts:
This is my first book by the author (I was declined the last time) and I can see why her works are popular. Though there are many elements I dislike, the writing style has a haunting quality.
The atmosphere is next level. Most of the story is set in and around a dense forest, so it’s already my favorite place. However, this forest is not magical. It is dark, mossy, thick, suffocating, oppressive, and overwhelming. It closes in from all sides and traps you inside. But… it is still my favorite. For the FMC, the forest is a representation of what she has escaped but couldn’t let go. This is apparent on many pages.
Since the story is in James’ first-person (don’t worry, she tells us right in the first chapter why she has a male name), there’s a lot of suppressed information. She doesn’t want to even think of it which means we go around in circles in the first half. Still, after the slow start, the momentum picks up. Little bits of information are scattered in the monologues. Collecting it is our responsibility.
Micah is a nice guy; a bit intense but then the FMC is intenser (I know it’s not a word), and Johnny seems to be intensiest. We don’t directly meet the dead man but he is everywhere (to the point of possibly coming out of the Kindle screen as smoke).
However, don’t expect to connect with any of them. At around 10% I realized this is a book where everything has a surreal tinge. The characters are no exception. If you can connect with them, good; if not, nothing to worry about. I don’t think we are meant to.
Despite the FMC being 37, she acts like a late teen the majority of the time. That’s probably coz it was the age she left the forest town without a proper closure. When she returns, she falls into the same pattern despite thinking she should be an adult. Such a character would annoy me (did too), but it seemed to fit here.
So, why the relatively lower rating? One, because of how the story goes in circles until 60%+, and then we get reveal after reveal in quick succession. Two, the sort of love triangle wasn’t necessary since the other guy barely had any active role. Three, quite a few questions remain unanswered, which dim the enjoyment of the epilogue. Fourth, it is easy to guess the secret.

To summarize, A Sea of Unspoken Things has a great atmosphere and a few possible triggers. It was an intriguing read but not without flaws. I would be happy to read more books by the author. The prose is excellent!
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine (Delacorte Press), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This book was so good! Its about a woman who has to go back to her home town 20 years later because her twin died. The love of her past still lives there. She also feels unsettled about her twins death. I loved it he magical realism it this book. I honestly think it would be a really good movie. I couldnt put it down. I read it in one day. I loved the mystery, thrill and plot twists.

Just, WOW!! This book was riveting and I love Adrienne Young's writing so much; the eeriness of it and just all of the emotion... it's so, so good! The ride this story took me on was unexpected and exciting. Highly recommend! What a way to start off the year!

A Sea of Unspoken Things follows James whose twin brother Johnny was accidentally killed by a hunter while working with owls. She returns to her hometown to finish his work and tie up loose ends. James meets up with Micah who is her brother's best friend and her first love. She slowly uncovers her brother's secrets and the truth about his death.

Adrienne Young really has a great way of immersing readers in her stories and the surrounding environment. She writes so beautifully they you want to read and digest every word. I didn't know what to expect with this novel but I could not put it down. It was drama, small town life, romance, and suspense all rolled into one. I loved it!

Thank you to Random House Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read before release date. I enjoyed the book but felt like it was drawn out a bit, I lost interest a couple times. However, This book is a shorter read and would be a good pallet cleanser. Enjoy and happy reading!

I have posted my review on Goodreads my user name is Erica casimir

Yet another incredible atmospheric mystery thriller with a touch of the supernatural. Adrienne Young became one of my favorite authors after reading The UnMaking of June Farrow last year. While not quite to that height, A Sea of Unspoken Things grabbed me from the very first page and did not let go. When Jame's Twin Johney is shot and killed in what seems to be a hunting accident, James must return to the hometown she ran from and deal with secrets from both the past and the present. I loved how the supernatural connection that exists between James and her brother is understated but present throughout the story. Enough to add intrigue and questions, but without any sense of certainty or interference on the part of the ghost. The story had me guessing all the way through and pulled me into the dynamic of the small town characters. There is some romance and certainly more than one mystery to be solved, but what drives the story is the characters and Young never fails to weave a rich tapestry of connections and complicated motivations into their humanity. I loved this! 4.5 stars rounded up.

Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me.
This book tried to be a thriller but it was just way too slow of a burn to build up any suspense. I found the plot very boring up until about 70% where things finally got a little interesting. There was also very little character development of James or Micah so I felt unconnected from both of them. The author spent so much time trying to get the reader to understand Johnny, that the development of the other characters suffered. I also usually like Young’s atmospheric writing but in this story, it just felt long and drawn out. Overall, I did not enjoy this one.

SYNOPSIS
- A grieving twin sister returns to her gloomy hometown to settle her late brother’s affairs. As she navigates her loss, she begins to uncover long-buried secrets about her brother, herself, and their past.

MY THOUGHTS
- While the premise had promise, the execution didn’t quite deliver. The book read more like a YA novel, which made it feel less impactful than I had hoped.
- The gloomy setting was atmospheric and fitting for the mystery, but the slow pacing often bogged down the narrative.
- I would categorize this book as a mystery with some magical realism sprinkled in.
- Character development was one of the book’s weakest points. I never felt like I got to know anyone, and I was never invested in any of the characters.
- The ending was particularly disappointing. After all the buildup, the resolution felt anticlimactic and unsatisfying, leaving me wishing for more depth and closure.
- While the setting and hints of magical realism were intriguing, the lack of character development and the slow pacing made this a less-than-memorable read. If you’re looking for a light mystery with a somber tone, this might be worth a try, but it’s unlikely to leave a lasting impression.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐⭐️ A promising premise with an atmospheric setting, A Sea of Unspoken Things ultimately falls flat due to slow pacing, underdeveloped characters, and an unsatisfying, anticlimactic ending.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on January 7, 2025.

If there is one word that sums up all of Adrienne Young’s adult books so far, that word would be “atmospheric.” Whether it’s a remote island village, a mountainous farming area, or a small town in the middle of the California redwood forests; you feel as if you are there with the characters in an incredibly visceral way.

I don’t tend to gravitate toward thrillers because I solve them quickly and then tend to be bored if there isn’t enough character depth and development to hold my interest. The ones I enjoy flow like this one, where the suspense builds slowly and the story is built upon the character layers and development in such a way that it’s tied to the mystery. I had my suspicions early on, but the mood, the characters, the setting, and the hints of magical realism kept me entranced even after I was pretty sure about what happened and why.

The pacing is deliciously slow because we are unpacking so much history and emotional content between the main character and the town she left behind twenty years prior. We are on her journey to figure out what caused the death of her brother, but we also see her journey toward combining who she was in the past and who she is now to figure out what she wants for her future.

For me, this was another hit novel by Young, and I’ll be sticking around to see what she comes up with next! Thank you so much for the advanced copy of the book, Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine!

3.5 - her prose is absolutely captivating and so beautiful. I was immediately drawn into the story and could feel and picture everything. It made me want to read every other book by this author.

The pacing for me was my biggest issue. It felt a bit slow until 60% and then I couldn’t put it down, because everything started moving at rapid speed.

This is an atmospheric and moody mystery meets general fiction, with a little romance and magical realism. I think if you’re a fan of this type of read and don’t mind a slowwww burn, you’ll enjoy it.

Hauntingly Beautiful. It’s hard to find words for this one. Small town, magical realism, slow burn mystery, atmospheric suspense, a suspicious death. Each chapter left you wanting more. The main character James Golden returns to the small town she grew up in to investigate her twin brother Johnny’s death. (Yes, her name is James) She ran from this town and the people there at the age of 18 but now needs to settle Johnny’s affairs. What she was told was an accidental hunting accident begins to feel off to her. The more she learns the more she knows she needs to know what really happened. I loved this book, the characters, the setting, the writing. 5 stars.

I was beyond excited to receive an early copy of A Sea of Unspoken Things. Not surprisingly, the writing in this book is beautifully done. The author truly works magic by immersing the reader in her writing. The story follows James, who reluctantly returns to her small California hometown after the sudden death of her brother. As she grapples with her grief, she begins to suspect that his death might not have been an accident. This sets her on a haunting journey back into a past she’s tried to leave behind. What unfolds is a slow-burn mystery that expertly builds tension and suspense, leaving the reader constantly on edge. I'd recommend this to fans of the Mare of Easttown, with its atmospheric small-town setting and layered characters. Buy the book for the gorgeous cover and stay for the beautiful prose! I'd give this book a 4/5.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by this author (Spells for Forgetting was my first) and I just don't think that her books are for me. I didn't hate this book but it's definitely not my favorite. I found it insanely slow and was very willing to take breaks while reading it. I really got into it at around 65% and at that point it got a lot more interesting for me.

Give this book a chance if it sounds interesting to you but I don't think I'll be reading this author again unless another one sounds truly amazing. Even then it probably wouldn't be at the top of my list.

As other reviewers before me have mentioned, this book can be a bit slow. I even know exactly what point they were referring to, when they said it only picks up around the 70% mark. Now, a slow pace may not be the end of the world, though having it misfiled as a thriller—a genre defined by its ticking clock—has done <i>A Sea of Unspoken Things</i> no favors. A slow pace can be comfortably mitigated by vivid characters, lush prose, and fantastic atmosphere. And none of these elements are <i>badly</i> done, per se. They're just nothing to write home about.

The characters are fine. They add to the plot and have dimension. However, I had a hard time caring about any of them on a deeper level, including our protagonist, James.

There are occasional beautiful passages. I particularly liked the flashback with James, Johnny, and Micah diving off the cliffs into the gorge. But just as often, the prose was humdrum, with a whole lot of tell-not-show frontloaded. There was also, I'm forced to add, a whole <i>whack</i> of typos and grammatical errors, not to mention at least one missing word and left-in notation symbol. This is an ARC, so I hope all of those were fixed between the ARC's release and publication.

I was hoping, going into this book, that the magical realism elements would lend the story a dreamlike, numinous atmosphere. The way James spoke of the forest, it feels like that was Young's intent as well. Unfortunately, while the magical realism forwarded the plot, it didn't transform it, feeling half-assed, if I'm quite honest.

The mystery elements were fine. The romance was mostly fine. If it didn't culminate in one of my least favorite tropes. Spoilers omitted, but what the fresh Lifetime hell. Ugh.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House—Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

✨ Atmospheric Suspense
✨ Small Town
✨ Magical Realism
✨ Suspicious Death
✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Secrets and Lies

I’m convinced that everything Adrienne Young writes, I will love! This is a fantastic atmospheric suspense novel that follows James Golden as she refuses to believe the death of her twin was an accident. She returns to her small hometown after 20 years away to handle her twin’s affairs, to dive deeper into the circumstances of his death, and unravel the secrets that her town harbors.

I honestly couldn’t put down this book! I love Adrienne’s writing and how she pulls you straight into her story. I was instantly transported to the small logging town in Northern California and captivated by the small town life and the secrets that are hidden there. There are twists and turns at every corner as James reconnects with the people she left behind all the while digging into her brother’s life. Old memories and feelings are uncovered and she soon realizes that she may not have truly known her own brother or even herself.

I need to make a special mention of the relationship/tension between James and Micah! I love a good second chance romance and this was a definite will they or won’t they up until the very end!

Thank you so much to Delacorte Press for the advance copy! ❤️

An immersive mystery/thriller set in a very small town in California. James returns home to find out what happened to her twin brother after finding out that he was shot while he was in the woods. She has a feeling that all is not what it seems. Once in the town she starts to see his ghost as she begins reconnecting with people she has not talked to in 20 years. As James begins to dig deeper she finds that there is much more to the story than what she first thought and what has happened may somehow be connected to their past.

What I loved about this book is the imagery. I really felt immersed into Johnny and James' cabin in the woods. There was a dark vibe as well that really set the mood for this story. I also liked that there was much more to this story than I originally thought. Overall, a very solid thriller that mystery lovers will enjoy.

Thank you to Dell/Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.25 stars

This book, in my opinion, is 100% a thriller — and it absolutely delivers on that front. I went into it not knowing much about the author, but based on the covers of her previous books, I expected something more along the lines of literary fiction. I honestly don’t even know why I thought that, but I guess I was expecting something more introspective or character-driven (maybe because of the cover art or vibes I picked up on). But no, this was pure, gripping suspense. Mind you i dived in 100% blind without reading tropes or a blurb.

The story centers on James, and her journey is packed with twists and turns that kept me hooked from start to finish. I actually finished it in under three hours because I couldn’t put it down. The first 60% of the book was solid, with a slower build-up that worked really well for me. But then, after that, things started speeding up a lot, and the reveals started coming at a breakneck pace. For me, it felt a little rushed toward the end, and I would have liked the mystery to unfold at a more measured pace to really savor those twists and discoveries.

One thing that stuck with me is how much I wanted more depth from James. I was hoping for more of an emotional exploration — like some self-discovery, grief, or healing on her part. Honestly, her life felt pretty empty to me, and I’m not sure if that was intentional to reflect her inner state or if I just couldn’t connect with her. She just came across as… lifeless, which made it harder for me to fully invest in her journey.

Another thing that felt lacking was her relationship with Micah. It wasn’t explored in any meaningful way. We’re told they were close in the past and that they get back together quickly, but there’s no real deep dive into their history or why they still care for each other. I get that this book isn’t a romance, but if you’re going to introduce a relationship, at least give us a little more context or depth to understand why these characters are together, especially when James herself feels so distant and disconnected imo.

That said, the book was still really fun overall. The writing was beautiful and lush, and the author definitely has a knack for creating atmosphere. The mystery itself was great — even though the pacing picked up a bit too quickly at the end, the plot was so immersive. Each chapter fed you just enough information to keep you wanting more, and I found myself completely engrossed in the twists. It was one of those books that pulls you in, and even though the ending felt a little rushed for my taste, I still really enjoyed the experience. In the end, I think this was a fun, addictive read with a strong narrative. It wasn't perfect (I definitely had some expectations that weren't fully met), but I’m glad I read it. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and sometimes that’s all you really need for a good thriller.