Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC of A Sea of Unspoken Things.

I absolutely loved The Unmaking of June Farrow so this was a very highly anticipated read for me...it pains me to say that I liked this, but didn't love it. I kept waiting to find the magic I expected and never really found it. The book was also a very slow burn and I didn't feel like anything happened until around 72%.

All that being said, this was entirely a plot and pacing issue for me. Adrienne Young has the absolute most beautiful, smooth flowing writing and I'm already looking forward to her next release.

3.5 stars

This book surprised me - I literally gasped out loud several times! I’m not usually a fan of thrillers but I couldn’t put this book down. If you liked the general vibes of Spells for Forgetting but loved the gorgeous story telling in The Unmaking of June Farrow, this book is for you!

The first few pages from the book were quick to grab my attention. As someone who struggles sometimes to get into a book in the first chapter, I really liked how Adrienne began. The story begins with the main character, James, returning to her hometown. Her brother has just died, but she believes there’s more than it only being an accident.

Right away the author shows us exactly where the story takes place. I love Adrienne’s descriptions because I know where I am, and I can mentally see the nature surrounding the main character. Her words express how James is feeling about the sudden loss of her twin. I felt her grief and the way she’s maneuvering the town that she hasn’t visited in twenty years, which come from different reasons.

I enjoyed all the guessing and wondering what the truth is. I felt like I pinpointed certain characters from the beginning, but I was only to guess one correct. I think the only reason I’m taking away a star is because of James and Micah. I loved them in the end, but I wanted more story for them. I think I wanted more from their relationship and why they were still into each other. I understand they’re each other’s first love, but many years have passed, and no other event has happened between them. I also wished he had more dialogue in there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

James comes back to Six Rivers (think Virgin River, but much darker), after the unthinkable happens - her twin brother Johnny dies from a gunshot wound, from a hunter's accidental gun. Or is that really what happened?

James can feel the movements from her twin, even when they're not together. Coming back to this sleepy Northern California town, where she quickly left after another tragedy happened before leaving for college. James faces the inevitable old friends, lovers, and a town full of people who don't like the fact that she just left.

The first half of this book is about discovering who was Johnny? Who are these other intricate characters that may know what happened to him? What does it feel like to lose the only family left behind? What kind of secrets remained buried and how do you recover from tragedy?
The second half turned into a murder mystery, one that will leave you guessing until the very end.

This is my first Adrienne Young novel, and surely not my last. Though the book can easily be ready in one day, it carries so much emotion and intrigue, it almost reads as a much longer book. Six Rivers is a dark and moody small town, and leaves you feeling uncomfortable until the very last page. Though sometimes home can be like that - you don't appreciate what it truly is until you realize you should never have left.

I loved the first book, The Unmaking of June Farrow, from the author and was eagerly looking forward to this one. As always, the author manages to weave an intricate story with the sense of time and place. It is always a joy to read such well built storylines. Looking forward to future works from the author

This was ⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me! (and believe me I am being generous) I honestly had a big expectation because I have heard such an incredible things about author and her books. So when I saw this book on NetGalley I thought why not request it and read it. Well I did and it was disappointing.

“We were made in the dark but we’d found a way to create our own kind of light”

I was provided eARC by publisher through NetGalley and this is purely my own opinion.

This was outside of my preferred genre which is fantasy but I was excited to read magical realism, atmospheric mystery and thriller, but the story took so long to form and story was just little exciting after 70% mark. So I literally pushed myself to read and finish it.

I actually like so much the fact that dead twin brother is photographer and the twin sister protagonist is a painter. Because I am a film photographer and abstract artist. So the inner throughs of protagonist around being artist was relatable. I also love the part of behind the scene of film photography which was beautifully described.

This quote how I exactly feel about my photography journey “the camera had been the eye through which Johnny saw the world. A window, where he could watch from a safe distance” it felt so personal and resonant for me. This was my favorite part about storyline.

Twins having supernatural bonds and it got activated more through the death of twin brother and James our protagonist is coming back her hometown after 20 years later but the life she left behind was still there and alive. So she was figuring out her brother Johnny’s death meanwhile facing her past and whatever she left behind.

The story had so much potential but it was flat and unsatisfying. I didn’t like it has lose ends when author mentioned so many times then we didn’t get any consequences. ( I am talking about Ben). I also found the romance flat and uninteresting. Lastly, nowhere in hell James is 37 years old woman she acted like in her mid 20s.

I wanna finish my review the quote from book which fits so well with my review 😌 “wishing things were different only drove deeper how unfair it was they weren’t” (exactly my thoughts about this book 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital review copy of this fast-paced, mystery-laced fiction. True to Adrienne Young’s style, this novel was infused with intense family dynamics, gentle romance, and supernatural elements. I yearned for more, however, and was left feeling a little deflated by this much anticipated novel. The things I typically enjoy about her books were tampered down some, which was unfortunate. I felt the twists at the end could have used more umph, more drama; they were enjoyable—one was not predictable, but I wished there had been more explanation, more said about it. The ending felt stunted because of this.

Overall, I can see fans of Adrienne Young’s enjoying this and I will continue to read what she puts out in the future!

Wow, what a powerful book. I love how Adrienne Young can create such atmospheric novels with a sense of time and place. She infuses the setting with an almost supernatural quality. I also appreciated the nuances of a complex brother/sister relationship interwoven throughout a mystery. I didn’t want to put this book down and felt sad when it was over.

After realizing her brother was shot his twin sister James heads back to the remote area of Six Rivers CA to tie up lose ends and send out the remainder of the photography conservation project he was working on. Upon returning memories begin to flood back about their troubled youth and her twin connection seeing her brother and his life she begins to realize she didn’t know him as well as she thought. A small departure from her previous two books this book still felt like them even being darker and as always I stayed up until I finished it. Well done I will always blindly read Adrienne Young 5⭐️

Holy shiznit! If only this was going to be released in October because this gave me all the fall feels! After reading this and The Unmaking of June Farrow, I can confidently say Adrienne Young is now one of my favorite authors!

Johnny and James Golden are twins and seem to have a sort of supernatural connection bonding them together. Because of this connection, James actually feels her brother being shot and killed before she is even called by the police. She decides almost immediately to return home to investigate what actually happened to her brother and, along the way, has to confront her own past.

This is an easy top 5 book of the year for me, 5 out of 5 stars! 🌟

This was short, and wrapped up well, but up until the last fourth or so it felt like a half-formed thought of a novel. I really loved <i>The Unmaking of June Farrow</i> and was so excited to receive an early copy of this! It just didn't quite hit the mark for me, but I'll absolutely read more of Adrienne's work. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an early copy!

This book was amazing! I love all of Adrienne young. And I was so happy to get to read this book! The story was so beautifully written and I could not put it down!

This was my first by the author, even though her books are on my TBR, I just haven't got around to reading one yet. I went in completely blind, so I really had no clue what to expect. It started out slow but did start to pick up in the last half. I read it in a day and really enjoyed the ghost?/twin connection and the murder mystery kept me engaged. I thought I knew what was going to happen but it did take a twist I didn't expect. It was beautifully written and I quite enjoyed the second chance romance that was sprinkled in. The ending felt a little bit rushed to me but overall I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading her other books soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I saw this book I just saw Adrienne Young and knew I had to read it.

It did not disappoint, I really enjoyed the connection the FMC had with her brother even though she doubts him.

Love that Romance wasn't the main idea but enjoyed the little bit we got.

The book kept changing my mind about what had happened as I kept reading.

Another fantastic read from Adrienne, thanks Netgalley for the Opportunity to ARC read.

A Sea of Unspoken Things is one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 and it did not disappoint. Adrienne Young has slowly become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is incredibly atmospheric and immersive, her upcoming novel is no exception to that. From the very first page she managed to suck me in to the story. Her writing transports you completely, until you realize it’s past midnight and you should probably be sleeping. But how can one possibly sleep once they have begun such a beautiful and mysterious story? A Sea of Unspoken Things is both similar and different to her previous adult works. It has the signature small town mystery and atmospheric setting. But this one leans less into the slight fantasy element that the others do. It still has a magical realism element to it, but somehow this story is different. It’s darker. It’s more emotional. It’s a wonderful study about twins and their unbreakable connection. It’s a story about grief and second chances. A story where one learns that it is never too late to be yourself. The mystery aspect of the story was addicting and page turning. Every time I think I had it figured out, another twist was thrown in that I should’ve saw coming. Young is a master at writing second chance romance. While the romance takes a back seat in the story and is a very small subplot, I found myself loving it. It was just enough and was so very important to the story. Obviously this book gets 5 stars from me. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This book was not only a beautiful love story but also a shocking thriller. I loved everything about this one. Perfect for a nice gloomy, chilly day this coming January! Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC!

I knew when I saw the author that I wanted to have this book. Young has become and instabuy for me and this story is no different. Her writing style is one of my favorites and her ability to pull me into the worlds she creates is enchanting. This one starts slow, but the ride is well worth it.

From the moment this story began it drew me in immediately. I absolutely loved the writing style Adrienne Young uses and how the novel was structured. You really feel the weight of James' grief, but she never loses the ability to see the beauty in the nature of Six Rivers. The author also spends a lot of time establishing every character we meet, (even though it's through the perspective of James) you really feel a connection to each person and how the past has changed them over time. As for the plot, it was very well-paced; I honestly had a hard time putting the book down and I was completely immersed in the story. I immediately wanted to re-read after I finished to see hints that I may have missed. I would recommend this to fans of Gillian Flynn's "Sharp Objects" and David Lynch's "Twin Peaks".
Review will be published on my Goodreads and Instagram accounts after publication

Adrienne is an auto-buy author for me and this new book by her reinforces that. While this started off a bit slow for me, I was slowly sucked into this story. The vibes were immaculate. She has such a beautiful, immersive way of writing, I felt I was in the Pacific North West. You absolutely need to pick this up.

Review will be posted on my Goodreads. Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc!!

Starting with a premise that has the potential to trip over so many cliches found in a made-for-tv movie, a woman who left the small town where she grew up without looking back is pulled back to deal with a family tragedy. But the melodic prose of the story and and the unravelling of the characters' histories creates more than the boilerplate plot. Jack's connection to her twin fuels her need for answers or maybe just closure, but as she picks up the breadcrumbs of his life, she gains a perspective on what she left behind and even where she wants her life to go. The mysterious circumstances surrounding her brother's death as well as the curious disappearance of a young woman whom he was connected with might have the makings of an action thriller, but play out in a character-driven drama. The story has a quiet, melancholy, and even romantic note rather than the adrenaline pounding of a thriller. Readers who enjoy tales that emphasize a connection to the characters, magical realism, and cozy mysteries could enjoy connecting to the story of Jack as she reconnects to her past.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine, Delacorte Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.