Thank you Adrienne Young, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press, and Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I ADORE the cover of this book, or really any of Adrienne’s books! Other than the fact that it’s written by Adrienne, that’s what really pulled me in! The typography is spot on and it’s just a gorgeous cover that makes you want to read it!
This book is a mystery-thriller romance with some magical realism elements! This book is expected to release on January 7th, 2025!

➼ small town
➼ magical realism
➼ mystery
➼ childhood friends
➼ thriller
➼ second chance

Trigger warning(s): death, assault

It did take me a little bit to get into this book, but it was the same way for The Unmaking of June Farrow and that one is one of my favorite reads from 2024! I wasn’t sure what to expect with this mysterious story. The description gives you so much to go off of from the start and my brain went into overdrive trying to predict what the outcome would be! Usually I’m really good at predicting the plot twists, but this one semi got me! I was definitely off for part of my suspicions, was truly shocked, but the ending I had predicted right even though I was hoping to be wrong.

James Golden returns to her hometown of Six Rivers after the death of her twin brother, Johnny. She’s set to settle his affairs when some questions arise about his death. You can see the character improvement from the start! James grows so much as a person, while she’s facing all the memories of the past!

★ ★ ★ ★/5
🌶️
💧💧

“𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴. 𝓘 𝓾𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓙𝓸𝓱𝓷𝓷𝔂 𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓘 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮.”

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Adrienne young is one of absolute favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. The family drama, the twists, the turns. The way she always wraps things up so perfectly with the prettiest bows. So perfect yet again.

I found Adrienne Young the first time she was a BOTM choice. I love her style of writing and the mystery she adds.
The cover of this book is beautiful. If I saw it at the store I 100% would pick it up to see what it’s about. The plot is intriguing too.
I liked this story didn’t love it like the other two I’ve read. Moved a little slow for me

5⭐️- I loved this one so much. It stole my heart there at the end. The characters were the highlight to me in this book. James was a strong female character that was so relatable. And Micah, just love him and his - will go to the ends of the earth - support to James and community. Small town vibes set the backdrop for this fast paced mystery. I could not put down and really drawls you right in to the story. Surprising reveal twists there at the end too that I did not see coming. Highly recommend and publication date is right around the corner!

Expected release date: 1/7/25

Special thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this complimentary digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

After the death of her twin brother, James goes back to her small hometown to find answers. While she is there she discovers she might not know her brother as well as she thought she did.

This book had a touch of magical realism with how James was connected to her brother. I enjoyed these elements as well as the mystery of finding the truth. This takes place in a small town and shows the dynamics of how small town life can be.

During this book James is not only looking for answers around her brother's death but also finding out what makes her feel again. It seemed like she had just been going through the motions of her life and no longer finding joy in what she did.

I liked the author's writing style. She was able to write what she wanted you to see. There were a few times where she talked about how Johnny saw how life was and coming into a dark world. It felt very emotional to me.

Seriously I am gonna need Adrienne to keep writing these amazing adult novels because they are some of my favorite books ever?!! This one did not disappoint with its suspense and who dunnit and had me second guessing what I thought was going to happen but it just made the story that much better. Such an amazing story!

I really enjoyed this story! The setting and atmosphere are spot on. I loved the isolated small town in the woods, full of local lore and residents with long memories who don’t take kindly to outsiders. The pace moves along nicely as well, dropping hints, spinning theories and then unraveling them. There’s a couple of good twists in there. Amidst all the mystery and drama there’s also really relatable elements like complicated family dynamics, difficulty setting boundaries, and reconciling past and present. A big thanks to Delacorte Press & Random House, and NetGalley for access to the eGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this slow burn, paranormal mystery. This is the second book I’ve read by the author and I love the way she details her settings. She perfectly captured Northern California and I only wish she’d taken the forest as an entity a bit further. Nonetheless, this was a captivating read and I blew through it quickly, eager to get to the reveal.

An other worldly, haunting mystery exploring how people change (or don't change) in a place where the past bleeds into the present.

This book takes place in a small, isolated town surrounded by redwoods, and it couldn't be more perfect for the plot. It amplified how stifling a community can be where nothing changes and everyone knows everybody.

Because James has been gone for 20 years, you get the unique perspective of an outsider who still has insider information, and that works great to create an atmosphere where everyone is suspicious. Things unravel at a great pace, and by the end I had a bunch of theories and was still surprised.

This was also a really interesting look into how lifelong relationships grow together and apart, how time and distance can change our perception of people, and how ignoring the truth will eat away at you.

I'd recommend for anyone looking for a moody, suspenseful mystery with a little bit of romance and a deep exploration of loss.

I can already tell this one will stick with me for a while.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for feedback

I have read and loved Adrienne Young's last two books and was so excited to receive an early copy of this one -- and this one is by far my favorite of the ones I've read of hers.

After the accidental death of her twin brother, James returns to the small town she grew up in to tie up some loose ends.

Adrienne Young's writing is always so atmospheric and in this one especially, I could feel and picture the woods, the house where Johnny lived, and the places where they hung out.

I loved James -- she was such a good character, and I understood where she was coming from wanting to move away and why it made it harder to return.

Overall I loved everything about this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a good literary fiction mystery./thriller. I cannot wait to read what Adrienne Young writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

While I didn’t like this installment as much as her previous two, I will say the writing stays consistent with the way that Adrienne Young completely transports you into the atmosphere that she wants her for stories.

I really wanted her to lean a little bit more into the magical realism aspect of this novel, but my want for that aspect didn’t take away from the story over all. I was hooked from the moment the mystery of Johnny’s death presented itself and couldn’t stop reading until I found out what happened.

Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this eARC and the opportunity to read this early!

A Sea of Unspoken Things (e-ARC) by Adrienne Young
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“We were made in the dark.”

(Light spoilers at the very end of this review in the form of trigger warnings!)

Wow!!!! I’ll start by saying that I’ve only read one other book from Adrienne Young and it was The Unmaking of June Farrow, which was also 5 stars from me.

I was expecting another page turner, but A Sea of Unspoken Things was something else entirely. These two books couldn’t be more different! Where June Farrow was a sweeping, fantasy time travel romance, this book was like lifting the curtain and seeing a dark, twisted tale on the underside of that. Still a beautiful tale of love and family, but as opposite as it gets in tone and plot.

The first thing that really drew me in was the opening line (see above) and her subsequent descriptions of the setting: the very small town of Hawthorne and its place nestled in the thick dark forest. Her writing is so visceral, and really puts you in the middle of the eerie setting!

Overall, I’d classify this book as mystery with a sprinkling of the paranormal. Adrienne absolutely KILLED it (no pun intended) with the genre, and I have never ever been so captivated by the unraveling of a mystery before!

I’m certainly not a twin, but James’ relationship with her brother Johnny was so vivid and real and tactile that I could imagine what it’s like. Micah’s character felt like a warm hug and their romance was so perfectly nuanced. James and Micah balance each other so well and it’s so nice to see adult characters act like actual adults 🙂‍↕️

Five stars! If Adrienne Young writes it, I’ll read it!

Big thank you to netgalley for the ARC 🫶

P.S. I do feel like it’s appropriate to say: please check trigger warnings for this one!

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young is an atmospheric mystery set in a small town in the forests of California. James returns to town seeking answers after the sudden and mysterious death of her twin brother Johnny. As James begins piecing together what happened to her brother, she unravels some buried secrets and is forced to face the question of how well she really knew him.

I generally have enjoyed all of Adrienne Young's novels. Her other novels have had a touch of fantasy, and while there is one somewhat "mysterious" element in this novel, it is not really fantasy at all. This is a mystery/drama focused on the relationship between James and Johnny and the people in their small town. It was a slow burn, especially through the first half of the story. But I found it to be interesting and engaging from start to finish, with a few small twists to keep me on my toes while reading.

This is admittedly my first Adrienne Young novel, and I have to say I may be hooked by her writing. The book is beautifully written, and the characters James, Johnny, and Micah come alive on paper. When Johnny was killed prior to the start of the book, James returned home to small town rural California. Adrianne Scott does an excellent job weaving together past and present as we follow James’ journey to uncover clues of Johnny’s life, and I think my favorite part about this book is how well it captures the feeling and interpersonal dynamics of everyday life in the middle of the national forests in rural Northern California.

There’s certainly an element of supernaturalism, but no heavy reliance on magical realism.

A huge thanks to Netgally, Adrienne Young, and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC to provide my review!

I'll start by saying I am a huge fan of Adrienne Young's books and couldn't wait to dive in. I love the concept of the twin bond and small-town secrets, and the writing kept me wanting more. You definitely live in the small-town atmosphere while reading. But I feel like this book only skimmed the surface of the story and would have been much improved if more time had been taken to delve deeper into the characters and past events in flashbacks. I feel like I came away from it with no deeper understanding of the characters than when I started. Clarity and depth were sacrificed for the atmospheric writing style and just left the story feeling unfinished.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for access to this arc.

This book was beautifully written, as I’ve come to expect with Young. I could feel the bleakness of the FMC’s return to a place she worked so hard to escape in the wake of her twin’s death. The forest had a natural magic about it, however, I did not really get the magic realism from this one. I kept expecting the other shoe to drop and it didn’t. In addition, the deep dark secret was a bit anticlimactic, in my opinion. I just didn’t click with this one like I have with others in Young’s repertoire. I think maybe this just wasn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t speak to me like others of Young’s works. Like I said, it was still beautifully written but it didn’t leave me starstruck like her previous stories.

Adrienne Young knows how to craft an atmosphere so vivid and haunting, you feel like you're breathing the same misty air as her characters. A Sea of Unspoken Things had me hooked from the first page, dragging me deep into the heart of a small logging town brimming with secrets—and I didn't want to leave.
James, the female lead, is sharp, determined, and utterly compelling. Growing up in the shadows of towering pines and the weight of small-town whispers, she shares a telepathic bond with her twin, Micah. But when Micah is killed in a supposed hunting accident, the grief-stricken tether between them doesn't fade. Instead, it draws her toward unraveling the truth about his death-and along the way, an entirely separate murder mystery. Young doesn't just give you a mystery; she delivers layers. Twists that make you gasp, secrets you didn't see coming, and a sweet second-chance romance between James and Micah that sneaks up on you with all the feels. It's as much about solving a murder as it is about how far we'll go for the ones we love, and I couldn't put it down. This story doesn't just pull you in
-it keeps you there. For days, I was lost in this logging town, swept away by its eerie charm and the pull of its hidden truths. If you're looking for a read that will keep your heart pounding and your mind reeling, A Sea of Unspoken Things is it.

Title: A Sea of Unspoken Things
Author:  Adrienne Young        
Genre:  Fantasy     
Rating:  4 out 5

The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James’s deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition—she can feel what he feels. 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.

When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to rehash the ominous past she and Johnny shared and finally face Micah, the only person who knows about it. He’s also the only man she’s ever loved.

But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn’t quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he’s not the only one. What she uncovers will push her to unravel what happened in the days before Johnny’s death, but in the end, she’ll have to decide which truths should come to light, and which should stay buried forever.

I’ve read—and loved—all but one of Adrienne Young’s novels, so I expected to enjoy this one. And I did—I read I straight through in one sitting. She brought Hawthorne to—rather unsettling—life. I don’t like small towns, and this one gave me the creeps, but it was very well-done and believable. That was a fascinating read, and I was eager to find out what was going on. The landscape itself is a character, and a very vivid one, and I enjoyed this story a lot.

Adrienne Young is a bestselling author. A Sea of Unspoken Things is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 1/18/25).

I looooooove Adrienne Young and her writing. Every single one of her books hits. Adrienne Young has delivered yet another captivating, twisty, heart-throbbing small-town mystery that you’ll want to devour in one sitting! How could I resist? I just had to request an ARC and ended up enjoying every second of it!

The supernatural elements, like the ghost of a loved one leading you to their killer, or the victim being potentially involved, make for a highly intriguing plot, don’t they?

Another fascinating part of the story is the connection between James and her twin brother Johnny Golden. They are like yin and yang—James’s brightness balancing Johnny’s darkness. Johnny creates chaos, and James is always there to clean up the mess and take the blame. This has been their dynamic ever since a tragic event drove James to leave town to pursue her artistic talents, never looking back. But she didn’t just leave behind her troubled brother; she also left the love of her life, Micah, and started anew in San Francisco.

Overall, this fast-paced small-town mystery with paranormal and romantic elements keeps you hooked. I’m rounding my 3.5 stars to 4 owlish stars and eagerly awaiting more of Young's books in the future.

Adrienne Young's writing will never fail to transport me to the most magical and surreal settings. She immerses readers immediately in the world in which all of her books takes place, helping the reader to feel like a true part of the story, not just a spectator of it. You feel every sensation of the characters, walk through every single emotion alongside them, and feel every twist and turn just as strongly.

This is a story about the power of sibling love, seeking justice, and finding retribution along the way. With a beautiful second chance love story alongside the mystery of finding out what happened to her brother, this story of James is a true masterpiece that will join Adrienne Young's other adult titles as some of my favorites!