Sunday Duvet Reading - The Unmaking Of June Farrow By Adrienne Young
Dive under the covers with me this weekend and find out what I've been reading this week.
After reaching my Goodreads goal of reading 50 books this year, I found myself in a bit of a reading slump. I’m not sure if it’s due to end-of-year burnout, the need to take things slower between books, or the whirlwind of constant travel I’ve been caught up in lately.
With good intentions I downloaded about six books onto my pilfered Kindle before I headed off to Japan in October and I came back not even having read one 😅. After long days traveling around Tokyo or jumping on the Shinkansen to our next destination - I didn’t have the energy to sit down and read until the tail end of our trip.
Now I’m back home and semi-settled into my routine, I find I have the time and head space to read again. So I suppose it’s time to tackle my ever-growing list of downloads.
This week we’re diving under the covers to talk about The Unmaking Of June Farrow By Adrienne Young, one of my most anticipated reads this year. So grab a cup of tea and get cosy as I share my thoughts on this novel.
Like what you see? Help me keep creating bookish content by treating me to a coffee. You’ll get really good karma 😉😘.
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 rumours.
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 realises 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.
My Thoughts
Adrienne Young’s The Unmaking of June Farrow is an intriguing blend of mystery, family drama, and a touch of magical realism. While it delivers on atmosphere and emotional depth, the story doesn't fully capitalise on its potential, leaving me with mixed feelings.
The novel follows June Farrow, a woman haunted by her family’s enigmatic legacy and the sudden appearance of strange visions. Set in a charming Southern town, the story promises a rich tapestry of secrets, curses, and unraveling truths. When June receives a cryptic letter from her late grandmother, she’s drawn into a multi-generational mystery that unfolds across a dual timeline.
Young excels at world-building, and her evocative prose pulls you into the heart of the Farrow family’s world. The setting feels alive, in a pumpkin spiced latte kinda way and the book’s mood is steeped in small town nostalgia. June’s internal struggle, particularly her yearning for answers and connection, is heartfelt and relatable - for the most part.
However, the execution of the story left me wanting more. The dual timeline, while ambitious, often felt disjointed, making it difficult to fully invest in either era. Key twists, especially in the latter half, felt rushed or underdeveloped, leaving loose ends that could have been explored more deeply. Additionally, the magical realism element - while intriguing - sometimes muddled the plot rather than enhancing it, pulling me out of the narrative as I struggled to understand unnecessarily complicated concepts.
Overall I did enjoy this novel however as the Goodreads reviews suggest there’s definitely a lot of people that loved this book. While it didn’t entirely live up to my expectations, fans of slow-burn mysteries and stories with a hint of magic may find it worth the read.
I’m going to state now, that I’m not a huge fan of time-travel novels and this is very much that. The first half of the book was very slow, with very little happening other than world building. The pacing at the start often left me drifting off to sleep at times, unable to complete the chapter. However the atmospheric writing kept me turning the pages - that and reading in a southern accent.
Personally, it fell short of my expectations as I found it a little too predictable. Most of the novel left you uncovering mysteries with the main character June, and the slow build up to the ‘big’ reveal unfortunately was exactly what I was expecting - if anything it was a little anti-climactic.
The romance and connection between the two main characters in the novel gave me that heated slow burn feeling reminiscent of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. However, I wanted more conversation and intimate moments between them. I wanted to be swept away with the budding romance and intensity of their love - and for the most part I wasn’t.
I found it hard to emphasise with June sometimes, the novel lacked the character development needed to understand her fully. I’d have happily read a few more chapters to flesh out June and the romantic arcs, discover more about the family curse and just generally get to know more of these characters. I needed to sit with them for longer.
*spoiler*
I’d also love to know more about the potential of Mason. He’s a huge part of the initial story and I felt he literally got lost to the passage of time. In all I felt that too much time was spent pre-door and I wanted more depth and backstory post-door.
I think what made me most uncomfortable was the trope ‘a women who didn’t want kids for very specific and relatable reason suddenly changing her mind’ with no real context other than she fell in love. It felt a little ‘oh when you’re older and meet the right person you’ll change your mind’ - this infuriates me.
*spoiler ends*
I’m afraid it’s a lukewarm three star read from me, nothing groundbreaking, but an enjoyable, cosy read for when you want to slow down. I’ll probably watch the movie when it comes out on Netflix with my girlfriends.
That being said I’ll be purchasing another copy for my mum this Christmas. She’s a huge fan of Where The Crawdads sing by Delia Owens and The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and this novel has all the hallmarks of those beloved novels.
Fancy reading The Unmaking Of June Farrow purchase it here.
Like what you see? Help me keep creating our bookish content by treating me to a coffee. You’ll get really good karma 😉😘