The Unmaking of June Farrow — Books, Beauty, & Buys

By: Adrienne Young
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Delecorte Press
Pages: 320

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.

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.

First Impressions

I first saw this book on Instagram and immediately fell in love with the cover. When I read the summary I was a little bit on the fence but I was intrigued by a curse that spread across generations.

What I thought

This book was a little more confusing than I thought it was going to be but I did enjoy it overall.

June Farrow comes from a line of cursed women. Every woman in her family has gone mad. Her mother left her with her grandma as a baby and then disappeared. When the madness starts to come for June, all she wants to do is figure out a way to beat it.

This book was a bit of a slow burn for me. I found the story slow to start, especially since I was trying to figure out what the curse was and how it was working. I didn’t find the mystery element of the book unpredictable, which may also be why it moved a little slower for me. I think if I was unsure, it would’ve been more unputdownable.

I don’t want to give too much away because I do think it’s more enjoyable when you’re trying to unravel the mystery with June. I will say that there was some time travel involved and it did confuse me towards the end. Overall though, the rules for the time travel made sense, so I think if you’re someone who tends to be hesitant towards those kinds of novels this will be ok for you.

I would also say that if you find this to be slow, give it a little time. Once you get past June admitting that she is falling into the curse, it becomes much more interesting. I can’t put my finger exactly on what didn’t work for me in this book or what I wish was different. It was well written and I liked June. I think maybe the fact that she didn’t know what was going on most of the time made me feel like I didn’t know what was going on most of the time and therefore left me some disconnect with the story overall.