“𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳... 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵”

I was easily swept away in Adrienne Young's beautiful and atmospheric prose. It was one of the reasons that 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 was my top read last year. Yet, this one left me wanting more. For example, Johnny's connection with the owls... I kept waiting.

What I loved: the twin bond and use of magical realism to bring him into the story, sweet Micah and their love story, the mystery of it all, and the high school storyline was not what I assumed (iykyk).

Amazing characters and writing! I loved this book and am so glad I got to read it. Just beautiful!

Thank you NetGalley and Adrienne Young!

Another fantastic book from this author. I enjoyed the story and loved the characters. I wish it was longer so we could have more character development. This was different than her usual stories but still amazing.

This book explores the relationship between a pair of twins when one loses the other. It explores the grief of losing a part of your soul. I think the atmosphere, the emotions of everyone around this particular event that not only involves our protagonist, James, but a whole town, are so well written that you never feel outside of the story, more likely, it keeps you on edge, it makes you feel what they are feeling.⠀
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Especially when one never experience it in such a deep level (i’m an only child). I have to give all the congratulations to Adrienne because i went through a whole spectrum of emotions from beginning to end & i never felt it missed anything, i was always almost falling out of my seat with every reveal, every turn, every moment in which James doubted herself. I could relate to her in so many moments, i devoured the book in a couple of days & got me back from a two-month long reading slump. ⠀
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I don’t want to give too much aways since the book came out just last month but i just want to say how much i loved this book.
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All in all, give this book a chance, you will be hooked from the start & everything about it will leave you speechless. Again, thanks to the publisher, the author & y’all for reading this.⠀

ARC/ALC BOOK REVIEW

A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young

Thank you Delacorte and Netgalley for the #free eARC of this book!

SYNOPSIS: “James and Johnny Golden were once inseparable. For as long as she can remember, James shared an almost supernatural connection with her twin brother, Johnny, that went beyond intuition—she could feel what he was feeling. 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 secluded town of Six Rivers, California, to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to revisit the ominous events of their shared past and finally face Micah, the only other person who knows their secrets—and the only man she has ever loved.”

REVIEW: After reading Spells for Forgetting and LOVING The Unmaking of June Farrow, I just knew I had to read this one. But I’m torn on how to talk about this book, because I did like the second half. However, the first half took a while to get going. I’m usually a big fan of Young’s writing, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Like her other books, A Sea of Unspoken Things was full of many levels and interesting characters. Young expertly weaves together a complex story of a small town with its idiosyncrasies, history, and many secrets. We dive into the town’s secrets and the ones who keep them right up until the end of the book when truths are revealed and the past tumbling into the present.

The audiobook for this one was very well done, and I do not think the issues I felt with pacing were due to the narrator. I always enjoy Christine Lakin’s performances, and she did a wonderful job with this one as well.

If you are at all intrigued by this book, read it! You might find the pacing to be right up your alley.

As someone who has spent time camping and being in the Northern California redwoods, I can attest that AY has captured the misty haunting atmosphere of the place. I liked the dreamlike quality of the story and I truly didn't see the twists coming.

The novel’s strengths lie in its atmospheric writing, complex characters, and thoughtful exploration of its themes. James is a compelling protagonist whose artistic sensibilities inform how she views the world. Her struggle with guilt, grief, and her complicated feelings toward her hometown feels authentic and earned. Adrienne Young creates a palpable sense of unease that permeates every page.
I enjoyed it as I have all of her books. I rated this four stars.

This was so sad but so beautiful, James uncovers so much about her twin and herself. While trying to figure out what happened to her brother she reconnects with Micah and they navigate through this tragedy.

I read Adrienne Young’s book last year “The Unmaking of June Farrow” and I didn’t love it as much as everyone else, but it was still a good read. I feel the exact same about this book. It’s worth the read, but not one of my favorites, and that’s okay! Adrienne’s writing is beautiful I just feel her stories could have a little more depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I first off, Adrienne’s writing is beautiful. I love her imagery, and the way she describes things. But that’s where it ended for me. The characters were so…… bland. This small town (basically) murder mystery could have had a ton more to it, but it felt like every other small town murder mystery I’ve seen. The pacing was slower than I have seen from her other books, so I was surprised. I’m not sure if the different theme of the book threw it off or what, but I was expecting a bit more here.

This book took me a long time to get into. This was my second Adrienne Young book to read and the pacing felt very different than what I was expecting after reading the Unmaking of June Farrow. Once I got to about 3/4 through the book, I felt like the plot actually picked up and we started getting somewhere when Autumn’s story mixed in with Johnny’s. It felt James’ character didn't have as much growth as I hoped aside from her relationship with Micah. Overall I liked this book, but I don’t think I’d recommend it as much as I did her other book.

I was so excited to get this ARC of Young’s latest novel. I loved June farrow. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the latter. The characters were intriguing as was the eerie setting of dark small town. It was slow to get into and took me until about 60 percent to want to keep reading. I loved the ending, but the beginning could have been a little shorter.

I will always read anything by Adrienne Young.

When James feels her bother die, she returns to Six Rivers to get his affairs in order. Instead, something feels off about his death and she finds a mystery to solve instead. James left Six Rivers behind years ago and the memories from her youth. Will she be able to stay and figure out what happened to Johnny?

This was not my favorite of hers and I would have much preferred the audio over reading it. It also felt like this should have been released in the fall season. I am very much a mood reader, and I think I would have enjoyed this more during spooky season. Perhaps my review will change the next time I read this book.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much, @NetGalley, for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I greatly anticipated A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young since The Unmaking of June Farrow was in my top 12 of 2024 and earned a surprising and rare 5-star rating. In this contemporary story, James returns to her home town after her brother’s mysterious death. Set in rural California, the author creates a strong sense of place.

Sadly, this didn’t meet my expectations. I appreciated the writing and the slightly unsettling supernatural elements, but the plot was very slow. I often enjoy character-driven books and novels about grief, but I just didn’t connect with it. I kept waiting to be swept away as I was in June Farrow, but sadly it never happened.

I’m interested in Adrienne Young’s next book, but I’ll approach it with tempered expectations. Thank you to Delacorte Press for the advance review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC! Unfortunately, I did not like this as much as the author's previous work - however I think this is still an enjoyable read. Fun read but couldn't connect with the characters. The plot was somehow too much and too little at the same time?

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I think I will always read anything Adrienne young writes.

I struggled for a bit with the beginning of this book just because it felt like a slower pace than I’m used to. I almost completely gave up but I pushed through.

James and Johnny are twins and have a special connection. When Johnny dies, James has to go back to town to settle his affairs. But things aren’t what they seem, and she realizes she may not have known her brother the way that she thought she did. So she has to enlist the help of Micah who is her brother’s best friend and the one person that she loved.

The second half of this book is good and makes up for the first half being so slow. and the twists were good so I think that was its saving grace.

I would say 3/5 stars for me on this one just because I want to enjoy the entire book not just half of it!

For me, this one was just okay. I really enjoyed her YA novels, but I seem to have a harder time getting into the adult ones. The beginning was intriguing, then it got slow and felt somewhat repetitive and then it picked up pace a little bit, and then it slowed back down with a conclusion that did not end with a bang or any sort of wow factor. Overall it was an okay read, but if you're looking for a good twist, this one isn't it.

I would say this falls on the cozy, atmospheric, mystery side that previous Adrienne Young books have. Unlike her previous adult novels, this one felt a little slower paced and I didn't feel quite as drawn into the mystery in this one. It lacked a little of the magic that I really enjoyed in her other novels. Still a solid read, but not my favorite from her.

As my intro to Adrienne Young, I definitely want to explore the rest of their books too. This read like a thriller, which I wasn't expecting based on the cover.

I loved this. First off, I loved the setting. It threw me off that it was talking about Redding and Northern California because it’s where I am from and live. But it was fun reading about it and it randomly popping up. The mystery was great too. I got one thing sorry of right, but my jaw was dropped the later half of the book. It took me a couple tries to read this book, but I’m very glad I did. I loved everything about this. The twin bond, the mystery, the setting and the unexpected love story. Definitely not one to miss.