Book Review: The Unmaking of June Farrow

I almost DNF’d this one, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I think. For some reason, this book, while not being very lengthy, took me forever to finish. As a big fan of Adrienne Young (I recommend her viking YA Fantasy, Sky in the Deep to literally everyone!), I was disappointed in The Unmaking of June Farrow. It felt like a slog to get through, which is weird, because it had so many elements I should have loved: time travel, tragedy, a murder mystery! So what was off? Maybe it’s the setting. You know I’m not a huge fan of contemporary reads, so when we started off in 2023 North Carolina, I was bored. June as an MC was also pretty meh. She just didn’t haven’t any substance until the very end. The further I read, the more interesting the story became. I definitely enjoyed the last quarter of it a lot more, and made it worth the read. Major points for a beautiful cover as well. But let’s get into it…

Things to Know:

• Standalone

• Time travel

• Murder mystery

• Tragic love

• Sophie’s choice
  

June Farrow knows she’s cursed. Every woman in her entire family has been. At some point they all go insane, and she’s terrified it’s starting to happen to her. She sees a man smoking a cigarette, a red door keeps appearing, and one day, she decides to walk through it. I do think it’s best to go into this book with little to no information, so I’m going to avoid spoilers.

However, the plot felt bogged down by miscommunication or just a lack of it completely. There ARE characters who know everything that’s happening and why, but they just refuse to spill. And it feels very annoying as a reader. I want more from a plot than ‘granny’s not talking’. This book also had an air of anti-religion, which, as a Christian, didn’t feel great. Look, I get there are people within ‘organized religion’ who have hurt others, and people are allowed to feel how they feel, and believe what they want, but it’s icky to feel like there’s an underlying bashing of anyone who believes in Jesus. Where’s the mutual respect?

Honestly, the last quarter of this book saved it for me. And not just because we finally get answers, but we also finally get some emotions from June. There’s tragedy, and honestly a really beautiful love story that comes together. If you’re a fan of Outlander, and The Time Traveler’s Wife, but set in rural North Carolina, you might enjoy this book.

Quotes:

“I had only one ambition in my simply built life, and that was to be sure the Farrow curse would end with me. It was as good a place as any to end a story. I wasn't the first Farrow, but I would be the last.”

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“You may have ruined my life, June. But first, you gave me one.”

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