Title: The Unmaking of June Farrow
Author: Adrienne Young
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length:  320 pages

Read if you like: atmospheric writing, magical realism, time travel fiction, themes of family and sacrifice, mysterious murder, the strength of women

Rating: 

I picked up this book a little later than most readers, initially adding it to my TBR because I’d seen many readers I trust really love it. I now understand why, because wow, what a beautifully told story. 

Young has the ability to bring a setting to life, well and truly. Her writing was so atmospheric and lyrical, it felt like you were there with the characters, seeing the beauty they saw and feeling the grief moving through their hearts. Every time I picked this one up, I found myself sinking deep into the story and refusing to surface until I absolutely had to.

I would have loved to see a little more of the history of the characters, because I truly found them all to be fascinating, which is the only reason this one came in at 4 stars instead of 5 for me. That said, it was still a fantastic read and one I’d easily recommend.

Warning: there may be some mild spoilers within this review. Please read with caution. 

The Book Synopsis: The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.

It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.

After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.

The Review

There was a lot to love in this book. I found myself deeply entranced every single time I picked it up. 

The setting is wonderfully depicted, so perfectly described that you feel like you’re actually in North Carolina. I’ve never actually been to this part of the States, but even with the drama and turmoil that was woven throughout the community, Young does an exceptional job of drawing out its beauty in equal measure. 

Young’s writing is also so lyrical that it brought the magic within the story to life in a breathtaking way, while also forming this undercurrent of suspense that kept me guessing. A couple of times, I thought I saw where the story was headed, just for it to take a sharp right turn. Even having guessed the major reveal, all that transpired that led up to it still took me by surprise.

June’s relationships and the strain that her magic puts on them were probably the highlight of the entire book for me. I felt like the romance and the tension between her and both of the romantic interests in her life were drawn out perfectly, and the conflicts that she needed to work through between them felt hyperemotional. They were driven from a purely fantasy construct, but had roots in real things that people face in relationships; it just felt very raw and real. Most impactful, though, was June’s relationship with her second timeline’s daughter. As a new mother myself, I can’t express how painful this rediscovering was from my perspective. It really stayed with me over time. 

While I enjoyed seeing June explore her surroundings and spend a lot of time introspectively focused, I would have sacrificed some of that detail to see a little more of the history and the other characters. I felt like every one of them was so fascinating and so well thought out that I wanted to know them more. In particular, I would have loved to see more of the other Farrow women. A whole family of strong women, cursed to endure the same fates, all shouldering it differently while trying to manage their deteriorating lives? I would have read the equivalent of another entire book to see their perspectives, but this is just personal preference. 

I really enjoyed this one. It definitely won’t be my last Adrienne Young novel.