Content warning: gun violence, sexual assault, discussions of inappropriate relationship between an adult and a teen

Not my favorite of Young's novels, but this still was an engrossing read. Don't go into A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS expecting a fast plot, this is one of those stories that develops slowly. For being under 300 pages, it does feel like a longer book (not in a bad way exactly).

I understand why readers watch the majority of this story unfold through the eyes of James Golden, but I really wish Young had given us even a few flashback chapters from Johnny's point of view. Same with Micah, I wish he had more of a voice. Once we got to a certain scene in the plot, I had a good idea of at least who was responsible for what, but I still found the reveal satisfying.

Smoke was the perfect name for that pup and I adored him, even if he wasn't always front and center in the plot.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.

When her twin brother is accidentally shot dead, James goes back to her hometown to pack up his belongings. But her true motive is really to understand what happened. The uneasy feeling will not leave her alone and she's confident that things aren't what they seem.

Add to that a small town where the love of her life, her brother's on again and off again girlfriend and all her childhood friends still live. A small town full of gossip. A small town she'd managed to escape. A small town where there are no secrets. A small town where she and her brother and her ex were keeping a secret they never told anyone.

And James isn't sure her brother is as innocent as he seems. But she knows him and there's no way he could have hurt anyone. Or could he?

Young's writing is haunting, claustrophobic and atmospheric. Her characters are memorable and three-dimensional. I love reading her stories.

with gratitude to netgalley and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I believe that fiction fans would agree this is one of the most anticipated upcoming releases of 2025.

This is the second book by Adrienne Young that I have read, following The Unmaking of June Farrow, which has received great reviews from many fans. However, I wasn’t one of them, although I admit it left an impression that made me want to give another one of her books a try.

Fortunately, A Sea of Unspoken Things surpassed my expectations.

The story revolves around the twin siblings, James and Johnny. After Johnny's unexpected death, James returns home to uncover the truth about what happened to his brother. As she uncovers the secrets surrounding Johnny's life leading up to his death, James realizes that her brother may not have been who she thought he was.

One of the things that won me over about this book is that the story revolves around the relationship between siblings, which is one of my favourite things to read about.

You will find a romance subplot in this book, and while the love story is quite sweet, I am happy that this is not the book's main plot.

Adrienne Young's main characters often carry a melancholic tone, which can be seen as both a weakness and a strength. Personally, I feel that the main characters from two of her different books—June from The Unmaking of June Farrow and James from the current book—sound a bit too similar. While this is something that could be criticized, I find that I don't mind it much. I only care that the story is beautifully written.

If you are a fan of Adrienne Young’s previous books, A Sea of Unspoken Things might be your new favourite.

If you haven't read any of her work yet, it's important to note that her storytelling often has a slow pace, which may not appeal to everyone. However, if you don't mind this slower development and enjoy solving mysteries with a side of romance, you will likely appreciate this book.

As for me, I have enjoyed this book, but I must admit that I still struggle with the slow pacing typical of Adrienne Young's books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was outstanding. The depths of the characters felt well articulated. It was such an interesting story that had me wanted to know more and more as the storyline went on. Per usual, Adrienne puts out another outstanding book!

Adrienne Young is such a fantastic author and this book is no exception! The story is gripping. I love love love it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book offers a unique twist to a murder. Twins always claim that they know when the other is hurt, or something if off. This happened to James when her brother Johnny was killed. She had this eerie feeling that she could not write off. That something had happened to Johnny, but she could not put her finger on what the feeling was. Days later when they finally contacted her with the news that her brother had passed. James is quick to throw a few things in a bag and head to Six Rivers. The small, rural town that is surrounded by National Forest. It is truly cut off from everything and everyone. Like every small town, the gossip runs deep. There are stories going back years. As soon as James walks into her childhood home, she is smacked in the face with her past. There is also something else that is making the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention, she is seeing her brother everywhere. Is he trying to tell her something or is this just part of the grieving process? James is taking it upon herself to dig into Johnny's past and to find out the answers to his death!

I loved the small town feel that Adrienne Young brings to life. The strong differences between Johnny and James. How James always had to shoulder whatever trouble Johnny ever got into. The supernatural elements had my brain sparking. This is a slow burn that will linger at the back of my mind for some time to come. Thank you to Adrienne Young and Delacorte Press for my gifted finished copy that I will treasure.

If Adrienne writes it, I will read it. This book was a solid 3.5 stars for me!

James heads back to her hometown after her twin brother mysteriously gets unalived and they’re saying it was a “hunting accident.” James has this connection with her twin that she’s had most of her life, and something just doesn’t feel right about what the town is claiming. So, she goes on a journey of discovering what really happened. She hasn’t been back to her hometown in 20 years, so it’s dredging up a lot of her past and some things that were left unspoken. Hence, the title.

It took me a little bit to get into the book (about 70%) but once I did, I really enjoyed the mystery elements and it had me racing to finish to figure out what really happened. I love how it was nicely wrapped up at the end and also that this book was based around older characters (late 30’s). Gave it a very adult feel!

Adrienne Young is an automatic buy for me, so I was thrilled when an arc of A Sea of Unspoken Things appeared in my inbox. Which is why it breaks my heart to give this anything lower than five stars.

Sea has all the heralds of a Young book. Stunning prose, captivating characters, and atmospheric writing like no other. James, learning that her twin has been killed, goes back to her small town in Northern California to settle his affairs and finish a project he was working on. There she rekindles relationships and discovers there might be more to her brother’s death than she’d been told. As she unravels the threads of his mysterious death, she discovers things that will change the town forever.

I’ve read all of Young’s books and this is the first one I struggled with. The wonderful atmosphere was there. As was her gorgeous way with words. But something fell flat for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was specifically, but there are two things I identified as part of the problem. I found her friend in San Francisco more compelling than her old friend Micah in her home town. Quinn seemed to be more inline with who she was as an adult, and even though Micah brought her closer to her brother, I just wonder how long that tenuous bond will last. (FYI this is not a love triangle. It never gets that far.) The other, larger, problem I have is the lack of magical realism. This reads like a mystery to me. (And I’m not a huge fan of mysteries.) All of the ‘magic’ in this book can be written off as mourning trauma and twin connections that I’ve heard from many a twin. Both of these things combined left me somewhat unsatisfied with the ending. (Being unspecific to avoid spoilers.)

Overall, this book was very good and very well written. It just felt a little off to me. If you love an atmospheric book with a mystery, I think you will love this book. And for those of you that are turned off by the magical realism in Young’s other books, this could be a great place to start with her novels! You won’t regret it. She has a way with words that few do.

I debated going ahead and still giving this five stars because of all the strengths in it, but decided the problems I was having deserved to be noticed. But this will be a five star read for so many people!

Many thanks to the publisher for a copy. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

This was very well crafted, with an atmospheric setting, engaging storyline, and plenty of twists to keep me on my toes. I was not expecting quite so much of the mystery in this one, but thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless!

A gripping read that captures the complexities of grief and trying to run from the past.

The story follows James returning home after her twin brother dies. Everyone believes it was a hunting accident but James isn't buying it. She starts investigating and what gets dug up is more than she could have imagined.

This is my first Adrienne Young book and I loved it! It felt like a movie playing in my head. I give this 5 stars! I highly recommend it! It releases January 7, 2025!



Thank you #netgalley and #randomhouse for the ARC of this book for my honest review.

June Farrow was one of my top 10 books I read this year. So when I was approved for this arc, I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, this one was just okay for me. It didn't hook me in at all and I just felt like it was a slow burn with no real purpose. I will still continue to read this author as her other work was really magical. This also may be better on audio.

Small town setting where James comes back to find out what happened to her twin Johnny during a “hunting accident”. The magic realism was great it very much gave twin vibes, Micah the long lost bestie romance was a nice touch and wow the ending small town diners small town secrets

Adrienne Young stays true to her style of writing by creating an atmospheric setting that seems to draw you in. This is a slowly unraveling mystery that focuses on the bond of twins. I really enjoyed the second chance romance in this book, possibly even more than the mystery.

I thought I had everything figured out early on in this one but boy was I wrong. There are a few twists and turns that kept me interested even though the pace felt particularly slow at times. Overall, I enjoyed this read and it is one to cuddle up with, sink in to and ultimately just slow down a bit with.

✨ARC review from @netgalley and @randomhouse✨

Adrienne Young has one of the most magical and emotional style of writing and creating I have ever read. I would love to see her Notes app because I bet even her random musings are incredible.

A Sea of Unspoken Things is an emotional story that follows James Golden, a woman who has to return home after her twin brother was killed in what appears to be a hunting accident. With an almost supernatural connection to her twin, she can’t help but believe there’s more to the story than she’s being told.

We follow her through her grief and the unique, yet almost universal experience of returning to a place you were always trying to escape.

The town is set in the Pacific Northwest and the gloomy, haunted redwoods that surround the area. I fell in love with the atmospheric surroundings and the mystery that comes with a small, tight-knit community.

Mark this on your January TBR, especially if you loved her other books like The Unmaking of June Farrow and Spells for Forgetting .

I’m so grateful and honored to be able to read this before its release.

Well, Adrienne Young is quickly rising to become one of my favorite authors. The Unmaking of June Farrow is one of my favorite books of 2023 and I was honored to get to read the arc of A Sea of Unspoken Things set to release in January 2025. This book is stunning. Atmospheric. A mystery in a small town. A long lost love. A dark secret and a bond that only twins can share. I absolutely loved this and cannot wait to purchase the physical copy so I can add to my bookshelf.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc. I absolutely loved it. Five stars.

Adrienne young writes it, I will read it. Her writing is always atmospheric and descriptive. This was probably my least favorite of hers but still a solid 4 stars.

I wanted to first mention that this is my first read by Adrienne Young, and wow. I am so impressed by her writing skills. The detail in her writing makes you feel like you are in the exact moment in the story as if you are living it. I am rating this 4.5 stars as my history of reading mystery books is limited, I find myself enjoying books more as if you were the mysterious main character of the story which keeps the story intriguing.. As for this story, the series of events of the mystery has already passed and now we are searching for why and unfolding more, making it difficult to keep the story moving for me. I would say this book comes in waves where in the beginning you are being introduced to the characters and then 50% of the way you are getting into the unraveling scenes! I also love how every character mentioned in the story had their own motive and you weren't left with questions like "what happened to this guy?" Not at all. No one was forgotten! I appreciated that. She made sure that the threads threaded together at the end and it was so twisty. I can't wait to read more her books! Thank you!

Getting approved for Adrienne Young’s latest was very exciting as I am a big fan of her books!

I love the magical realism in Young’s previous novels but A Sea of Unspoken Things was less heavy on this aspect. I did enjoy the pieces of it that were intertwined in the story but it wasn’t a big aspect of it.

I found this one a little slow to start but the author does such a good job describing the scenery and laying the groundwork for the story that I still found myself engaged in the book. I love her writing style, I feel fully engrossed and swept away by it. The way she describes the forest is just perfection.

Once the story picked up, I had a hard time putting it down. There were some good twists that I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed the ending.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Devoured in a day!

If you're read her other books, you already know what to expect. It does start off a little slow and builds up to this crescendo of questions and answers towards the second half of the book. This book does exactly that as well and of course, there is that magical realism aspect where your'e not really sure what you can trust and whom. She is still very descriptive in her language and dialogue but I personally like that. I still think Spells for Forgetting is my favorite though.

Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book.

There are a few things I come to expect when reading an Adrienne Young book: an atmospheric small town, a mystery that is threaded with the supernatural, and romance that feels like it spans lifetimes. This book has all three of those in amazing harmony.

James Golden felt it when her brother died. She felt the ache in her chest where the bullet hit before she got the call saying he had been shot in a hunting accident. Now, Johnny’s spirit has stayed with her ever since she returned to the town she left 20 years ago. She feels him in the walls of his home and sees his shape in the town diner, and it feels like he’s trying to tell her something. The facts of his case don’t make sense and as the secrets of Johnny’s life begin to unravel, James begins to question how well she knew her brother, and how well she knows herself.

This book creates such a compelling story with its many layers and possible explanations for events. It really will keep you guessing. The pacing is wonderful and when I started reading I was so encapsulated in the story that I looked up and was almost 50% through the book.

The character dynamics are so intriguing, especially James and Johnny. I love how Adrienne Young is able to convey the relationship between these characters when Johnny isn’t around to provide perspective. She makes their relationship endlessly complex in ways that you wouldn’t consider when thinking about twins and that adds an entirely new level of mystery to the story.

I didn’t mention the romance in the short summary because it sort of takes a seat in the background for this story, which I thought was totally fine. Micah is a very pivotal character for James and he really propels a lot of her choices throughout the story. This book definitely wasn’t as romance heavy as Adrienne Young’s other books, but in a way it made the romance feel more natural. By not drawing attention to these two people having their “second chance romance” it solidified the point that their love had been there all along.

This book was absolutely amazing and I absolutely loved getting this perspective on twins from an author who is a twin. The magical realism balanced well with the story and truly elevated the book to the level of wonder that I felt while reading <i> The Unmaking of June Farrow</i> and <i>Spells for Forgetting</i>.