Book Review | The Unmaking of June Farrow

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Published by Random House Publishing Group on October 17, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Magical Realism, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Women
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover

A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel.

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. With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.

Adrienne Young brings an ethereal story with unforgettable characters. I loved the story, characters, and mystery.

The opening of the book truly brings you in to the atmosphere. The line “put me to sleep with the fiddle at sunset,” felt so raw and made me want to continue reading. The story immediately introduces us to the mystery, each Farrow woman is affected by madness. There is a question of what’s going on as June has been experiencing symptoms for over a year now but is too afraid to tell anyone. The mystery surrounding June and her family is revealed when she makes a decision. There is a bit between in the middle of the first half that is a bit slow to get into.

There’s also the mystery of Nathaniel Rutherford, the minister of Jasper before his death in 1950, and who murdered him. Both the mysteries were engaging, this plus the writing and characters made you want to keep reading. The romance between June and Eamon felt a bit forced. Seeing the relationship from the middle felt rushed and boring.

There’s not much I want to say as to not spoil anything.

Updated 5/31: So, I read this book for book club and after we had are discussion over it, all of us re-thought the star rating. Much of this book felt like it needed more research. For instance, Presbyterian don’t believe in full immersion baptism, yet that’s the manner of attempted murder used in the book. Also, it would’ve been nice to see what happens in the 2020s. What happens to Mason? And everyone else in town? Why were the Farrow women cursed? Why were the Farrow women not part of the community? It couldn’t just be that they were weird. And if it was because they were witches, medicine women, that’s a very accepted practice in the Appalachia region (as far as I know). There were just some holes in the book that need to be worked. I find that with Adrienne Young’s work it has this great appearance with such gorgeous language, but when you look any deeper the story itself falls apart.