Wow. I tend to read solely romance or fantasy books, but on the rare occasion that I pick up a book with a mystery aspect, I always hope it will be one that will keep me guessing until the last second. This book did that.

I knew after reading The Unmaking of June Farrow that I wanted to read more of Adrienne Young’s books and I am so thankful I was chosen to read an ARC for this story because I truly could not put it down once I started. This book had so many twists and turns, I was constantly convincing myself I had solved the puzzle, only to have my theory debunked pages later.

This was a quick & entertaining, and definitely secured a spot near the top of my mystery/thriller reads!

So so good. From the moment I started reading I didn’t want to stop. Every chapter kept me wanting more and more and I became emotionally attached to their characters straight away.

Adrienne has a beautiful way of giving depth to these characters and creating mystery in a way that has you questioning everything and everyone.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very different from the Adrienne Young books I read up until now. This is the very dark story of James, a woman who grew up in a small town in the middle of the wilderness. She left the place after graduating from high school, went to college in Byron, and then became a professional artist. She is now 37 and has to go back to get her twin brother's stuff after he was found dead in the gorge. She always had this very strong connection with her brother. A twin thing. She could always feel what he was feeling, and he has doubt about this accidental death. She makes it her goal to understand what happened to twin brother Johnny, and she ends up opening a whole can of worms.

The book was slow paced, very dark, borderline depressing, and I was a little disappointed. But it is a good book on second chances and finding your place in the world, figuring out where is it you belong.

A nice winter read.
3.5 🌟

If you were to compare this to the Unmaking of June Farrow, I would say A Sea of Unspoken Things is like the more angsty and dark cousin. The imagery is great in this book, but I thought the glimpses of the brother were not necessary or added that much. I enjoyed the 'plot twists' and the incorporation of people from James' past. This book was an easy read and would recommend.

My only experience with Adrienne Young was The Unmaking of June Farrow, so I guess she does slightly supernatural kind of books? I could 100% be wrong here.

Honestly, I could have done without about 20% of the internal crisis/questioning. The book felt slow and slightly repetitive, with characters and situations introduced...only to have nothing to do with the ending. There were portions that were beautiful, and I am slightly obsessed with the last line of the book: "Maybe we were made in the dark, but we'd found a way to create our own kind of light."

It was a solid 3.5/3.75 stars, but not enough to be a 4 star book. Would certainly recommend if you're good with a slower pace.

i LOVED this book!!! it had everything you could want- mystery, romance, lots of layers & twists i did not see coming.
the story was incredible and as always adrienne young’s writing is just beautiful. the way she describes six rivers makes it so easy to picture that it really feels like you’re there.
4.5/5 stars !
• thank you netgalley for the ARC !

Another masterfully magical tale from Adrienne Young, this story follows James, a woman attempting to pick up the pieces of her twin’s brother messy life after his unexpected death. As twins, James has always felt a strong connection to her brother, Johnny, and small town secrets catch up with her as she unravels more than she anticipated when she returned to her rural hometown. I really enjoyed this book! With dreamy descriptions of familiar childhood memories and daunting consequences of young adulthood, this book delivers a cozy mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing. Young’s writing style is very artful, so if you are a reader that craves more fluff rather than a direct narrative, this book is perfect for a frosty, late autumn morning!

Adrienne Young is absolutely magic when it comes to writing - her imagery is untouched. SUCH an incredibly talented author and I can never get enough of her books.

Following James as she comes back to her hometown after the death of her twin brother Johnny, we witness her catching up with her past - Micah, Olivia, Sadie - and other people and memories.

No spoilers here, but the way everything unravels in the story and one mystery turns into two, how we never really feel like we can trust anyone until the truth is finally revealed...my body felt so tense as I was reading this book in the best way. To be able to actually FEEL the story - smell the forest air, etc.

A huge thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC <3

The one thing that you can always find in an Adrienne Young book is the rich atmospheric writing. The details from a creek in the floorboard or the breeze felt in the hair paints the scene perfectly and I love that about her books, and A Sea of Unspoken Things delivers on that. The second thing I'm expecting to find is the magical realism. In this story, there is a supernatural connection between twins, which makes solving the mystery of the death of her twin brother interesting, even after Johnny has passed.

In this story, James, returns home from a place she fled, to come to terms with her twin brothers death. She soon believes it was not an accident, and instead decides to solve this mysterious murder case herself.

There were some twists I was not expecting, and at times made you believe certain things about the characters that surprised you if they were true.

As along time Adrienne Young fan, from both YA and her adult novels, this would be my least favorite of her adults, as it took awhile to be fully invested in this story, where at times I just wasn't interested or could keep the introduction of the many characters straight in the beginning. Once I hit the 55% mark though, I couldn't put this down, and was rewarding in the end. Can't wait to see what next Adrienne will write!

A very thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book!

I have been a huge fan of Young's novels over the years. This one had all the musings of a great storyline--family death, second chance love and an overarching mystery surrounding it all. However, I had a hard time getting into this one and felt myself getting distracted as I was reading. It was still a solid book so I am giving it 3 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC! All opinions are my own. Releases Jan 7, 2025.

Let me start my review by saying Adrienne Young has such an easily read writing style and I absolutely eat up anything she writes.

This story follows the story of James, who returns to her childhood town following the death of her twin brother Johnny. The connection between James and Johnny is almost supernatural. She can feel what he’s thinking or feeling as he’s feeling or thinking it, she even felt pain in the same spot he was shot when he died. Throughout the story, she is determined to figure out what exactly happened to Johnny, because there is no way it was an accident in her opinion. Her ex-boyfriend Micah helps her out and I just have to say, I am OBSESSED with the Micah content *chef’s kiss*

The beginning of the story started a bit slow with introducing the town and all of the characters. At about the 45-50% mark this story picked right up and I was SAT until I finished the book. Totally fit one of those memes talking about staying up until 3am because you just have to know what happens! The writing is so detailed, I felt immersed in the story like I was there myself.

I’m normally someone who figures out the whodunnit factor pretty early on when a death is involved in a story, but not this one. Adrienne got me. I was SHOCKED. The ending was wrapped up perfectly and I wasn’t left with questions or wanting more than what we were given.

HIGHLY recommend, especially if you’ve read Adrienne Young before and love her writing.

Wow. All I have to say is wow.

A Sea of Unspoken Things is one of the most curious books I’ve read in a long time.

The intricacies and depth of the characters in this story are only rivaled by their beautiful and fated connection to one another. I could feel the weight James’ melancholia. Her fear. Her longing. I felt like I was experiencing Micah’s friendship as if it were my own. His protection. His loyalty. His deep hurt.

Adrienne does an incredible job of pulling the reader into the world she has created. I could picture the small logging town, smell the coffee being poured local diner, smell the smoldering ash in the fire pit. I could taste the salty tears and they dripped from James’ face.

A Sea of Unspoken Things whisked me away into a story I believe, and characters I believed in. This is the first book from Adrienne Young I’ve read, and it certainly will not be the last.

As always, Adrienne Young creates such an immersive experience. I loved the mystery element to this story that feels unique to her other books. She has such a way with words, and I always enjoy myself when I read her books. The characters of this story were so dynamic and relatable. It was a pleasure to take a trip into this remote mountain town.

3.5 ⭐️
The story follows James, a woman who hasn't returned to her hometown in over twenty years. She left for college after tragic events and is confronting those memories along with also suspecting something unusual about her twin brother, Johnnys, death when she finally makes her return to her hometown.

The mystery in this book had me hooked and I was guessing the entire time. The first half or so was really slow in my opinion, but it didn’t bother me all that much because something about the writing in this just kept me hooked. It was so well done I really felt just fully emerged into this story. The romance did lack for me, I wish we could have learned a little more about there back story, but it’s okay. The writing in this one was truly the star for me.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance e-copy for an honest review!

I really enjoyed reading this mystery thriller. That’s not not usually my genre but I liked it. I was not a fan of the female leads name being James, it made for a confusing start. But I liked reading the twists and turns this took. Especially the ending. I always love the twist you never see coming. The only thing I would change is this beautiful ending when Micah and James end up together and he says “I love you” but her response and the last thing she says is “I know.” It just falls flat and loses some of that sweet romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Adrienne Young has written another potential best selling book! I loved every minute of this small town mystery and finished it so fast because I HAD TO KNOW THE TWIST.

First it starts off by following James, a woman who hasn’t traveled back to her hometown that she escaped from in over twenty years. And yes I said James is a woman! I have a “boy” name myself, and loved that the author made that relatable. Moving on, James has to tie up loose ends from the death of her brother, but that’s not the main reason she’s finally coming home. She was Johnny’s twin sister. And she has no doubt that something is astray in his death.

James had always cleaned up messes that Johnny had caused. And she discovers that she hardly knew her twin at all. She also has to face her ex, Micah for the first time in twenty years.

There are so many twists where I thought I knew for sure what happened and was flat out WRONG. This will keep you on your toes and make you not want to put the book down til you’re done reading.

Read if you LOVE:
* supernatural elements
* small town mystery
* romance with an ex
* face paced plot

How can a story be a comfortable read while also giving you just a slow drip of information about the back story of the characters? By being written by Adrienne Young. She uses the tactic of withholding information without making the reading experience frustrating. You know you'll get the full story eventually, you just have to hang in there with the characters to get there.

In A Sea of Unspoken Things, James returns to her hometown in rural California after the death of her twin brother, Johnny. James left for college after tragic events and is confronting those memories along with a mystery around Johnny's death. The cast is pretty large and it's hard to know what the main storyline is at first, but the writing is so wonderful that you are carried along as the layers unfold.

Four stars for beautiful writing and storytelling!

I’m a long time fan of Adrienne Young and have loved all of her books, so naturally I was super excited about this one. Unfortunately this book was just okay and I am in total denial about giving one of her books 3 stars.

The mystery definitely kept me guessing the whole time and there were some twists I didn’t see coming, but it was incredibly slow. I kept waiting for things to get better or more interesting, but it didn’t really pick up until the last 25-30% of the book. By then, there were too many things I just didn’t love.

I can’t really say much about what I didn’t like about this one without giving away spoilers, so I’ll just say that the way some things were handled/portrayed didn’t work for me. I also felt like the romance was very lackluster.

So disappointed that this book was not for me, but I am hopeful for Young’s future books.

Content: closed door, some strong language

I picked this new Adrienne Young novel up after finishing up The Unmaking of June Farrow a few months ago - I wasn't a huge fan of the book but wanted to give another story from Young another go. I'm not sure I fully loved A Sea of Unspoken Things but I did find it interesting. The relationship between James and Micah, the small-town-claustrophobic setting and the mystery of what happen to Johnny and later Autumn kept me engaged (albeit a bit slowly) however I felt like the book didn't really pick up until the back half of the story. Which judging by what other readers have mentioned in their reviews are par for the course for a slow burn mystery, which I'm learning isn't something I vibe with in mysteries.

That said, I think Adrienne Young's work has a particular sense of paranormal-adjacent energy which is pretty fascinating and I'd love to see her try a full blown ghost story. A Sea of Unspoken Things was the right book to kick off the month of October and I truly appreciate Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy for an honest review. 4⭐️

Wow, what a beautifully written book! Adrienne Young is always able to transfix her readers within a few pages! I was hooked right away, getting sucked into James' hauntingly beautiful world and felt like I was in Six Rivers with them. She does such a good job at bringing the duality of beauty and pain of the world into her books. It was a wonderful read that I will continue to recommend to those around me.