The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Robin’s Rave Reviews 2024

THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW by Adrienne Young is a unique novel. I’m being careful to not give you too much about this one because it’s best experienced by the reader. If your reading tastes are similar to mine, you’ll love it!

This time travel novel includes the loyal/loving family theme wrapped with mystery and a touch of romance, but it also has a complexity that will keep you on your toes. Your brain will be engaged while reading this book, and it will keep you thinking long after, all in a good way.

Summary

The Farrow women are well-known for two things: their flower farm in Japer, North Carolina, and a mysterious curse. Years ago, after showing signs of mental instability, Susanna Farrow disappeared. She left behind baby June to be raised by the grandmother.

Now an adult, June is very familiar with the town’s rumors and whispers about her family and her mother’s disappearance. When June hears a voice calling her name and wind chimes that don’t exist and sees a ghost horse and a mysterious red door that appear out of nowhere, she questions if she is headed down that same slippery slope of mental illness. That’s why she feels she must sacrifice finding love and having children. The curse will stop with her.

Early in the story, just before June’s grandmother dies, she mails an old photo to June. June questions how the two people in the picture could be together since they didn’t live in the same time period. June investigates more about her mother and the disappearance. Every bit of information leads to another question. After receiving a yellowed envelope with the message “Trust me,” June decides to test her hallucinations. The next time the red door appears, she opens it and walks through. When she does, June must navigate a scenario where the present and the past intertwine, and answers lead to tough decisions.

My Thoughts

In the beginning of THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW by Adrienne Young, the author tosses the readers tidbits of strange experiences until she hooks you into the story. You suddenly realize you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole, but the Mad Hatter doesn’t seem so mad after all. Here, the impossible becomes reality. As Junes learns about the Farrow women’s ability to time travel, her view of the family curse changes.

Motherhood is a major theme, revealing the family love and loyalty of generations of Farrows. The story explores the choices we make and what we’re willing to sacrifice for those we love. Add a murder mystery and fierce, heartbreaking romance, and you have a winner of a novel.

I’d rate THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW with 4 1/2 stars out of 5. The only reason it isn’t a 5 is that trying to understand the timelines as they relate to the Farrow family makes my head spin. Once I understood the familial relationships between the characters, I was fine. It’s amazing how complex time travel is in this story, but the author handles it smoothly. Readers will let down their walls of believability long enough to accept the impossible is possible, at least in this world.

So I pose a question to you: If a door appeared that wasn’t there a moment before, would you step through it? Leave me a comment below.

If you like…

If this book appeals to you, check out these books I’ve previously reviewed and recommend: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young (same author), Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, and Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber. Happy reading!

Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors? Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!

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@author.robin.shelley

July 20, 2022July 5, 2022

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

Robin’s Rave Reviews – 2022

What would summer be without another hit by Mary Kay Andrews? The Homewreckers is perfect for you to read at the beach, by a pool or in your own backyard.

When Mary Kay writes a book, it’s a no brainer for me. I’m going to read it. They are always enjoyable and filled with her characteristic wit. Her novels, romance mixed with a mystery, are always light and entertaining.

If, like me, you enjoy watching home renovations shows, you’ll enjoy this novel. The Homewreckers is a fun story with MKA’s take on a home remodeling show facing countless problems, and that’s before a body is found!

Hattie Kavanaugh is flipping houses on Tybee Island. After some professional setbacks, she is putting everything on the line with her next house. When Mo, a television producer, asks her to do a beach house renovation show, Hattie realizes this job could save her and get her back on her feet. Even so, she isn’t thrilled with the idea of being on camera. And, used to making all the decisions herself, working with her co-host designer Trae and his big, on-camera personality will be a challenge.

As if constant problems with the rehab and a tightening timeline from the network aren’t enough, a mystery surfaces that involves the police. The wallet of a woman who has been missing for seventeen years is found in the wall of the house. Now they’re shooting the show on a potential crime scene as well. Leave it to Mary Kay Andrews to make a murder mystery delightful through the ups and downs of home renovations and a love triangle.

Fun side note:

This may be a case of life being stranger than fiction. Mary Kay and her husband have rehabbed several houses on Tybee Island which are now vacation rental properties. Last year, as they were working on their latest house, Coquina Cottage, a woman’s wallet was found in the wall. Somehow, years before, the wallet had been pushed through the razor blade slot, common in old medicine cabinets.

The documents inside the billfold identified its owner as Melba Lanier. The wallet held photos, an American Legion ID card, her commissary card, and other documents. Mary Kay reached out to the public through social media and found Melba’s children. Unfortunately Melba had since passed away. Mary Kay learned that she had lived in Coquina Cottage for a year in 1954 with her husband, Jack, when they were newlyweds. Mary Kay gave the wallet to Melba’s children and has put a tribute to her on a wall in the rental cottage.

The real mystery still is – how and why did Melba Lanier’s wallet get pushed through that slot in the wall? Mary Kay used this mystery to fuel her imagination, and it became part of her storyline in The Homewreckers. She used Melba’s last name, Lanier, as the first name of a woman missing for seventeen years in the story. If the real-life mystery intrigues you, click here to see a video of a TV news story on the found wallet.

I’ve reviewed several books by Mary Kay Andrews in my blog. If Mary Kay is a new author to you, check my reviews on these books as well: The Newcomer, Sunset Beach, and The Santa Suit.

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@author.robin.shelley

June 8, 2020

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is one of those books that has stuck with me for weeks after reading it. I recommend this coming-of-age story mixed with a murder mystery.

Kya’s family has abandoned her in their remote shack in the North Carolina swamp in the late 1960s. This ten-year-old’s struggle to survive in the harsh swamp tugs at the heart-strings, while the reader is also delighted by the marsh’s beauty as seen through Kya’s eyes. Her life is hard, but Kya values the marsh, she understands it, and living a simple life in nature suits her. Most of Kya’s experiences involving the nearby town are negative, so she remains reclusive out of self-preservation. Known as Marsh Girl, no one in town cares about the well-being of this wild child.

Kya grows into a young woman with a natural beauty that catches the eye of two boys from town. Tate Walker gradually earns her trust and friendship until he abandons her to attend college. Kya longs to connect to someone, but being immature both in social norms and in love, Kya get used by Chase Andrews. Then, when Chase ends up dead, Kya becomes the number one suspect.

Where the Crawdads Sing is both a New York Times Bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Reese loved the book so much, she is going to produce the movie version along with Lauren Levy Neustadter. Fox 2000 owns the rights. It is still too early in the process to know who will be cast in the film or when it might be released, but as of fall 2019, Owens stated the screenplay’s first draft was nearly completed although she couldn’t comment on who was writing it.