Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. "A Sea of Unspoken Things" had me all over the place. I am a guesser. If I read a thriller/mystery book nine times out of ten I am guessing the plot with accuracy! But, no, whatever I thought I knew ... I just didn't. Well, I guessed some of it, but Adrienne Young definitely threw me for a loop.
Young knows how to set a scene! Her writing is atmospheric. The descriptions and tone were great for this type of story. I felt like I was watching a movie. This book touched on family dynamics and trauma. The lengths that some of these characters would go to protect their family is insane.
Ya know, I'm rethinking my dream of moving to a small town.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
Young knows how to set a scene! Her writing is atmospheric. The descriptions and tone were great for this type of story. I felt like I was watching a movie. This book touched on family dynamics and trauma. The lengths that some of these characters would go to protect their family is insane.
Ya know, I'm rethinking my dream of moving to a small town.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adrienne young you have delivered a GEM! i loved this book so much. i don’t feel like it particularly fits one genre — it’s a mix of mystery, magical realism, and thriller(kind of) with a tiny romantic undercurrent. the plot was so well written and interesting and i was invested from start to finish. this is the definition of a book you don’t want to put down. i loved that there were honestly like 3 mysteries going on at the same time but they all involved the same small town and same main cast of characters. the backstories run deep and discovering pieces of the past that provide context for the present here and there was so much fun. i just really had a great time reading this and felt like it was an adrenaline rush of plot twists.
massive thank you to netgalley for the early copy i was SO excited about this book (rightly so, clearly!) and i am so grateful to have been selected for an ARC
massive thank you to netgalley for the early copy i was SO excited about this book (rightly so, clearly!) and i am so grateful to have been selected for an ARC
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A woman returns to her small rural hometown to find answers about the death of her twin brother. Unraveling that story connects with another historical and present-day Mystery. I wanted to hear what happened in all three storylines but was not overly attached to. Any particular character
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
I had a hard time putting this book down. It was twisting and turning and the twintuition was so interesting.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So I have a feeling people are going to fall into 2 basic camps with this book. The first - those who don't care that the story isn't particularly strong, but who LOVE the moody writing and flowery prose. And the second - those who are bored out of their skulls because Young spends SO much time talking about irrelevant stuff in order to paint a pretty picture while absolutely NOTHING is actually going on in the story.
I see both sides, but if I'm honest? I spent a lot of this book also bored out of my skull and that's VERY hard to dismiss.
Young has been an auto-buy author for me for a while now. I've never once read any of her stories and regretted the time spent. However. While I didn't <i>hate</i> this book, I feel like Young got a little lost in creating the mood and atmosphere and forgot that there should also be a solid plot happening too.
I'm going to leave the pretty language of this book alone - there's no denying that Adrienne Young is a talented writer. She knows how to put words together in beautiful ways.
I want to talk about the stuff that DIDN'T work for me.
1. The characters. Even though I spent the ENTIRE book in James' head, I feel like I don't know anything about her. And through her, I didn't really know anything about Johnny either. Or Micah - even though he's the love interest, he hardly speaks and interacts with James. And the lesser side characters - I genuinely got the names mixed up. I couldn't keep Olivia and Sadie separate. I couldn't remember which one was the art teacher and which ran the diner. Ben was sometimes confused with other people too. Why? Because there's nothing that really defines any of them or makes them unique voices. We're only getting them through the FMC's perspective, and she doesn't spend enough time with them, talking to them or having any meaningful interactions with them for me to know who they are or...to really care.
Instead, we're TOLD who they are, and how to feel about them. Sorry - but that didn't help me.
2. The pacing. LORD is this book slow as hell. For the first 70%, I genuinely wondered if there was EVER going to be a plot. James spends so much time talking about how she can <i>feel</i> her brother and about how the woods look that it put me to sleep. TWICE. This book is not that long, y'all. We don't have a ton of time to first set up a mystery and then solve it satisfactorily to be spending THREE QUARTERS OF THE BOOK talking about owls and trees and other irrelevant stuff that ultimately goes nowhere, has no meaning, and doesn't serve the plot in any significant way.
3. The mystery itself. This was too complex for only a quarter of a less than 300 page story. Not only are we dealing with the tragedy of Johnny's death, we're also dealing with the disappearance of a young 18 year old girl. On top of that, we're left wondering whether or not Ben - Sadie's son - is Johnny's biological child (we never find this answer out) AND there's some mystery surrounding a kid who died some 20 years before that maybe James, Johnny, and Micah had something to do with.
We don't get satisfaction for some of those things - the girl's body is never found, and we don't ever learn about Ben's parentage. Some of those things come out of NOWHERE. Johnny's murderer - who I won't name here - is at once obvious and also not given enough page time to really sink in. We're just expected to go "oh yeah, that totally makes sense" and move on. Never mind that not 1 but 2 different people are arrested for MURDER in this teeny tiny town and literally nobody is affected by it because the book ends before we get to see the fallout. And the father of the kid who died 20 years before? NEVER finds out the truth about his son.
So what the hell was the point of reading this book at all?
4. The relationship. Lackluster is too bold a word. They hardly speak to each other. Don't have any deep conversations to build a connection. They just sleep together a few times (it's only briefly mentioned, and closed-door) and at the end of the book she's pregnant with his baby. 🫤It definitely doesn't help that we're held at arms' length from all of these characters - but these two people have ZERO chemistry. James has zero chemistry with anybody ever. I don't honestly think this story needed a romantic subplot - especially not one that no effort was put in to.
5. The supernatural element. Is missing. I was so disappointed that this wasn't a REAL thing, merely something James maybe needs to talk to somebody about? I was REALLY hoping the whole twin-communication thing was going to hold water and go somewhere. Instead, it was just another flowery layer on this already way over decorated cake.
6. Lastly and probably one of the biggest issues I had with this book - the ending. Where everything is, in the span of 2 chapters, turned ENTIRELY on its head. Where suddenly Johnny's character is completely retconned from being MAYBE a sexual predator to just a misunderstood man with "a wild heart". Uhm.
Are we forgetting what we learned about this guy over the course of the story?He killed a guy 20 years ago, zero remorse, because he threatened his sister. And then (the lot of them) covered it up. 😬He was a poacher. Mr. fascinated by nature killed protected animals. 😒And James - his empathic 'i know everything about him' sister - even admitted that Johnny was the sort to show up to a charity event, get plastered and start a ruckus, insult people, and then get thrown out. 🤦♀️Yeah...he was a real great dude.
And Johnny's character shift isn't even the only one that takes place. Micah - who up until the last 2 chapters - claimed he "was made of this place" - meaning he didn't belong in the big city, turns up to an event of James' in a tux. Because even in a story where the romance is barely there, the boy's gotta go get his girl, or something.
And James. Lord help me. James who fled her tiny, secluded, town that DOESN'T EVEN HAVE RELIABLE INTERNET suddenly finds herself completely happy to return to it and get knocked up by her old high school flame. 🤨She goes from feeling out of place in this small town to feeling like the big city she's spent TWENTY YEARS IN is "soulless". Never mind thatThe boy her brother killed's father is still wandering around and she's guilty of not confessing the truth about what happened to him 20 years ago .
I'm sorry - I don't downshift that fast. It makes her at best an unreliable narrator. At worst - she's simply got no decent characterization at all.
Bleh. I really, really wanted to give this book a high rating. I wanted to come out of this full of magic and wonder and empowerment the way I have with Young's other stories. But I just can't. If all you care about is pretty writing - pick this book up. Because Young's writing is REALLY good. But if you want a well-thought-out story...miss this. You're going to be frustrated and disappointed.
I see both sides, but if I'm honest? I spent a lot of this book also bored out of my skull and that's VERY hard to dismiss.
Young has been an auto-buy author for me for a while now. I've never once read any of her stories and regretted the time spent. However. While I didn't <i>hate</i> this book, I feel like Young got a little lost in creating the mood and atmosphere and forgot that there should also be a solid plot happening too.
I'm going to leave the pretty language of this book alone - there's no denying that Adrienne Young is a talented writer. She knows how to put words together in beautiful ways.
I want to talk about the stuff that DIDN'T work for me.
1. The characters. Even though I spent the ENTIRE book in James' head, I feel like I don't know anything about her. And through her, I didn't really know anything about Johnny either. Or Micah - even though he's the love interest, he hardly speaks and interacts with James. And the lesser side characters - I genuinely got the names mixed up. I couldn't keep Olivia and Sadie separate. I couldn't remember which one was the art teacher and which ran the diner. Ben was sometimes confused with other people too. Why? Because there's nothing that really defines any of them or makes them unique voices. We're only getting them through the FMC's perspective, and she doesn't spend enough time with them, talking to them or having any meaningful interactions with them for me to know who they are or...to really care.
Instead, we're TOLD who they are, and how to feel about them. Sorry - but that didn't help me.
2. The pacing. LORD is this book slow as hell. For the first 70%, I genuinely wondered if there was EVER going to be a plot. James spends so much time talking about how she can <i>feel</i> her brother and about how the woods look that it put me to sleep. TWICE. This book is not that long, y'all. We don't have a ton of time to first set up a mystery and then solve it satisfactorily to be spending THREE QUARTERS OF THE BOOK talking about owls and trees and other irrelevant stuff that ultimately goes nowhere, has no meaning, and doesn't serve the plot in any significant way.
3. The mystery itself. This was too complex for only a quarter of a less than 300 page story. Not only are we dealing with the tragedy of Johnny's death, we're also dealing with the disappearance of a young 18 year old girl. On top of that, we're left wondering whether or not Ben - Sadie's son - is Johnny's biological child (we never find this answer out) AND there's some mystery surrounding a kid who died some 20 years before that maybe James, Johnny, and Micah had something to do with.
We don't get satisfaction for some of those things - the girl's body is never found, and we don't ever learn about Ben's parentage. Some of those things come out of NOWHERE. Johnny's murderer - who I won't name here - is at once obvious and also not given enough page time to really sink in. We're just expected to go "oh yeah, that totally makes sense" and move on. Never mind that not 1 but 2 different people are arrested for MURDER in this teeny tiny town and literally nobody is affected by it because the book ends before we get to see the fallout. And the father of the kid who died 20 years before? NEVER finds out the truth about his son.
So what the hell was the point of reading this book at all?
4. The relationship. Lackluster is too bold a word. They hardly speak to each other. Don't have any deep conversations to build a connection. They just sleep together a few times (it's only briefly mentioned, and closed-door) and at the end of the book she's pregnant with his baby. 🫤It definitely doesn't help that we're held at arms' length from all of these characters - but these two people have ZERO chemistry. James has zero chemistry with anybody ever. I don't honestly think this story needed a romantic subplot - especially not one that no effort was put in to.
5. The supernatural element. Is missing. I was so disappointed that this wasn't a REAL thing, merely something James maybe needs to talk to somebody about? I was REALLY hoping the whole twin-communication thing was going to hold water and go somewhere. Instead, it was just another flowery layer on this already way over decorated cake.
6. Lastly and probably one of the biggest issues I had with this book - the ending. Where everything is, in the span of 2 chapters, turned ENTIRELY on its head. Where suddenly Johnny's character is completely retconned from being MAYBE a sexual predator to just a misunderstood man with "a wild heart". Uhm.
Are we forgetting what we learned about this guy over the course of the story?
And Johnny's character shift isn't even the only one that takes place. Micah - who up until the last 2 chapters - claimed he "was made of this place" - meaning he didn't belong in the big city, turns up to an event of James' in a tux. Because even in a story where the romance is barely there, the boy's gotta go get his girl, or something.
And James. Lord help me. James who fled her tiny, secluded, town that DOESN'T EVEN HAVE RELIABLE INTERNET suddenly finds herself completely happy to return to it and get knocked up by her old high school flame. 🤨She goes from feeling out of place in this small town to feeling like the big city she's spent TWENTY YEARS IN is "soulless". Never mind that
I'm sorry - I don't downshift that fast. It makes her at best an unreliable narrator. At worst - she's simply got no decent characterization at all.
Bleh. I really, really wanted to give this book a high rating. I wanted to come out of this full of magic and wonder and empowerment the way I have with Young's other stories. But I just can't. If all you care about is pretty writing - pick this book up. Because Young's writing is REALLY good. But if you want a well-thought-out story...miss this. You're going to be frustrated and disappointed.