The Unmaking of June Farrow Book Review
Check out my review of The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young, a moving time travel romance set in the mountains of North Carolina.
My favorite books often have a lot to offer to my reading experience.
Does The Unmaking of June Farrow fall under the magic realism genre, is it a time travel book, or is it a murder mystery?
Yes. All the above, and that is a huge part of its appeal. There’s a little bit of something to match any of your moods.
I knew very little about author Adrienne Young or the plot when I first picked June Farrow up but was quickly pleased to discover it is set in my home state of North Carolina. I’ve adored reading magic realism books by Sarah Addison Allen, author of Lost Lake and The Sugar Queen, so it was lovely to meet another author in that same vein.
As my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains have recently been impacted by Hurricane Helene, this story now takes on an even deeper special meaning. June Farrow gives you a peek into these quaint small towns nestled in the mountains and the kind of lives that have been upturned in recent weeks.
In this story, you’ll meet a generation of women who will go to the ends of the earth for one another and be reminded that family is everything.
Curious if this book is for you? Check out my full review below.
Summary of The Unmaking of June Farrow
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.
What I Liked
Here’s what I would tell my best friend about the book:
- Curious Set-Up: Our introduction to June starts with a mysterious illness and I loved watching this challenge unfold for her. How she processes the events as they happen felt very real and kept me coming back to grab my book to see how it all played out.
- Real World Romance: There’s the entire romance genre with it’s obvious promise of happy ever after endings and then there’s the kind of heart wrenching romance filled with messy challenges where you’re never quite sure if it will work out at the end until it either does or doesn’t. June Farrow is for sure that second kind of love story. I read a lot of romance, this was a refreshing change of pace to add to my queue.
- Hint of Magic: This book falls under the magic realism genre which I’ve always loved. The rest of the story feels like it could totally happen, so real life but with a dash of wonder.
- The Setting: I love stories set in small towns, add in the mountains and I’m hooked. The characters of the story mirror what I know to be true about the people of the North Carolina mountains. They are loyal, hard-working, resilient, and value family above all. When there are challenges, their grit shines through.
What I Didn’t Like
I struggled a little bit to wrap my head around the time travel timelines and cause-and-effect decisions June faced. It wasn’t problematic enough to ruin my reading experience, but a time travel genre purist might disagree.
How Spicy Is It?
🌶️🌶️: The Unmaking of June Farrow rates a Level 2 on my spicy books rating scale. Characters connect on an intimate level in a way that supports the story but the emotions matter more than the physical act.
Overall Score
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I give The Unmaking of June Farrow 5 stars. It is a really solid pick to achieve this high of a score and it absolutely earned it.
If this is your first time reading one of my reviews, you may want to check out how I score my reads with this scale guide here.
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