Adrienne Young is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of all time. This small town mystery with some magical realism sprinkled in made this book a very addicting escape. Her writing is so beautiful and I always forget I’m reading! Yes this book is a slower pace, however, I was so captivated by this story it didn’t matter. This book is one that lots of people will enjoy with the mystery, suspense, twists, touches of magical realism, and romance.

Highly recommend picking this one up! Get your preorders in now. This book releases on Jan 7th.

When James Golden returns to her hometown of Six Rivers, California, it is with a heavy heart. After being away for nearly 20 years, James is home to bury her twin brother, Johnny. Although they’ve been physically separate, they’ve always shared a nearly supernatural connection, able to feel each other’s emotions as if they were their own. And because of this connection, James knows there is something more to Johnny’s death than an accidental hunting shot.

Six Rivers holds many secrets and regrets for James, and she’ll have to face the past head on if she hopes to find justice for Johnny. Along with her ex and Johnny’s best friend Micah, James will have to decide if the life she’s made for herself in San Francisco is the life she still wants.

This was a great read! There were lots of characters with their own secrets that intertwined to create a captivating mystery. The more I read, the more I wanted to keep reading to discover the whole truth. There were many layers to this story, and the way they connected and built upon each other was so well done. The setting of Six Rivers was both eerie and comforting at the same time.

The combination of magical realism, mystery, and the slow burn pacing that ramped up as the story progressed make this a must read.

I really liked this book. The characters, the setting, the mystery…I just found myself wanting more from the plot. I felt like the whole thing was foggy but maybe that was the point, with the main character being shrouded in grief. Excellent offering from Adrienne Young. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I devoured this in two sittings, and stayed up WELL past my bedtime for both of them. Needless to say, I really, really enjoyed it.

This lands as much more of a mystery to me than a fantasy, which felt a bit different for Adrienne Young, but was enjoyable regardless. The small fantasy/magical realism aspect did add something unique and interesting to the plot, but what really drove me forward was all the moving pieces, the complicated emotions explored between our characters, and all the different players in the mystery. This really is an exploration about things left unsaid between people who love each other and who have a very complicated and storied past. All of these characters are really complex based on their pasts and the way they connect to one another, and I also really really enjoyed the PNW forest town setting. I was completely surprised by literally every twist and turn, and it was so so so hard to put this down as a result of it.

I'm knocking off a star here because I wanted to be much more invested in the romance. It felt like it bloomed a bit late and as a bit of an afterthought, which is not what I've come to expect from Adrienne. I still really enjoyed them together and found them to be compatible, but I didn't feel super *excited* about them or their future together after the story ends.

Overall, if you like a mystery with a magical-realism bend, a complex exploration of family and small-town dynamics, and multiple converging murder mysteries with constantly changing suspects, I think you will really love this. If you're chasing a similar level of fantasy and romance to what you can find in The Unmaking of June Farrow, this definitely hits a bit different from that. Thank you so much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for this eArc!

This is absolutely a me problem, because Adrienne Young is SUCH a popular author and I see her books getting raved about all the time, but for some reason I couldn’t get into this one. I went into it with an open mind, and tried to read it a couple times, and it just wasn’t for me. The writing style is something to be admired though, and Adrienne Young is very obviously talented, but I just didn’t love this one.

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.