Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Unmaking of June Farrow

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

64 reviews

bringmybooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

FIRST THINGS FIRST, I DO RECOMMEND THIS BOOK EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THIS REVIEW SOUNDS LIKE I DON’T

Second things second, although I really liked reading this, there were things that could have made it stronger.

Similar to other books by Adrienne Young (Fable, Saint, Spells for Forgetting), there are a lot of references to things that have happened in the past that could have had a lot more impact had their been (more) flashbacks, or even dual timelines / diary entries, something. I’m being SHOWN things that are happening in the current story, but I’m being TOLD about things that have a lot of bearing on what’s currently happening and that disconnect keeps me from ever being fully invested in the story, if that makes sense?

Also, in the name of all things Aslan, can we please please please stop using “I can’t tell you the answer to the direct question you’re asking me because it’s too dangerous” when it is, in fact, not too dangerous and makes literally zero sense because you’re now putting the character in more danger because they have literally no idea what’s going on?

(Also also, at a certain point I legitimately just stopped trying to make the fantasy aspects make sense because they didn’t and it made me happier just to pretend I understood and keep reading.)

But all of that being said - I loved the idea of this book and even if it’s not going to be a forever favorite, I still really enjoyed reading it and there were one or two things that were legitimately jaw dropping moments and I LOVE having that in books!

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5⭐️ 3🌶️

Fantasy
Murder mystery
suspense
romance
Generational curse
Witches
30’s FMC
Past/present
Magical realism
Family secrets
Protective MMC

Adrienne Young has become an auto-read author for me. I’m always blown away by her vivid storytelling. She is able to pull you into whatever world she has created. Her books are always so heartbreaking and mystical. I adored stepping through this door with the June Farrow and watching this story unfold.

I think that the way the plot lines melded together was well done. While the overarching plot was a little predictable, the attention to small details and amazing character arcs made it such a joy to read. The magic was cozy while the plot had me trying to work it all out from the very beginning.

The romance?! It was swoon worthy. The tension and chemistry was everything I wanted from this book. My heart melted for this couple.

Thank you Random House Publishing- Ballantine and NetGalley for and advanced ereader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

brewdy_reader's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 • 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 • 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘍𝘪 • 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢 • 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴

This book has blown me away.

An affliction that is a blessing and a curse
An unsolved decades old murder
A love that transcends distance and time

This story is told in beautiful, poetic prose that transports us instantly. Nestled into the cozy, picturesque hills of the Blue Ridge Mtns in small-town USA, Jasper is a town where everyone knows everyone, where the annual midsummer faire is a main event, and where June Farrow owns and operates her family's flower farm.

This is a tale of family and a love story and it’s also a mystery/thriller. Young deftly blurs the lines between literary genres, obliterating the normal boundaries. Her words are smooth like butter & made my multi-genre-loving heart sing.

This is a story of 5 generations of women, of the choices they make to keep each others' secrets to avoid persecution, bringing strong witchy vibes. Combined with repressed memories, premonitions, hallucinations, a curse affecting only Farrow women, and an unsolved cold case - this is the perfect spooky fall read.

I loved how we get to unravel the mystery alongside June. Young is the master of the slow reveal, balancing predictability against complexity, employing amnesia to allow June to remember things over time, and utilizing visions to make us question her reliability.
This book made me 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅! 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝑶𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝟏𝟕𝒕𝒉
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 - 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

Shades of 11/22/63 and The Time Traveler’s Wife and Memento. Pass through different timelines.

Content Warnings

astoriareader's review

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emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

SYNOPSIS:

June is grieving the loss of her grandmother, Margaret. Margaret raised June with the help of a few folks (Birdie & Mason), after June’s own mother, Susanna, abandoned her & disappeared without a trace. Over the last year, June has been experiencing hallucinations, including a red door.
June investigates what happened to her mother, and after a series of revelations, June is faced with a decision to walk through the red door.
Can’t really say much else without spoiling it :)

MY THOUGHTS

Involves time travel + magical realism. Also, has suspense/mystery + romance.
Lots of strong female characters.
Interesting premise & well-plotted story.
A good Fall read.
A little slow in some parts.
Set in Jasper, NC.
Young adeptly paints the setting, as well as emotions & body language. While reading, your mind automatically forms a picture with the words.
As with all time travel stories, it is easy to find some logical inconsistencies & confusion. With these types of read, I find overthinking it isn’t worth it.
I enjoyed Young’s clever references to women’s legitimate issues timelessly being deemed “hysteria” or mental illness by medical professionals and society.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Read if you enjoy time travel with a mix of other genres (romance, mystery/suspense, magical realism).

Thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on October 17, 2023.

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