3.75 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The gasp I gusped reading this book! lol I don’t know what I expected but it is intense. I’m a sucker for psychological thrillers. There are so many moving parts and you want to keep up with all of them. This book is definitely keeping me in my toes.

I loved the spooky vibes of this one combined with the mystery. The authentic language and history also made this a solid read. I listened simultaneously to reading so I could pronounce the words correctly and it really helped Eva come alive.

Eva Santos Moon is a wife, mother, and glass artist who also practices the ancient ways of brujería and curanderisma. As the anniversary of her childhood best friend's death approaches, she continues to struggle with blackouts and depression – something she has secretly dealt with for years. Then one night, she finds her husband Jericho holding the bloody corpse of their best friend Cecilia in the river behind their house. When Eva calls the police, they naturally label Jericho as a suspect and take him into custody. He maintains his innocence, but Eva (and the authorities) continue to find evidence that is difficult to ignore. River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan follows an unstable bruja as she struggles to have faith in her husband while the truth from her past fights to resurface.

For context, Jericho Moon is a black university professor, Eva is Latina, and their now-deceased friend was white. Already Eva understands that the justice system will not naturally lean in their favor, aside from the damning evidence the authorities have against him. After he is taken into custody, Eva must figure out how to maintain the household for the sake of their children, and also avoid becoming a suspect herself. However, when the police find naked pictures of Cecilia in the glovebox of Jericho's car, Eva begins to question his innocence herself, even if Jericho insists he has been faithful and didn't hurt their friend.

In addition to the unfortunate chaos Eva finds herself in, a lot of memories from her past begin to resurface – after all, Cecilia's death is eerily similar to that of Karma, her best friend who drowned when they were 15 years old. And Eva was accused of killing her back then. She only had her sister, Alba, and her other best friend and boyfriend, Sammy – although Sammy disappeared years ago and she hasn't heard from him since. Now she finds herself in a similar situation, only now she must dig up the memories and embrace her inner bruja to bring the truth to light and keep her family safe.

River Woman, River Demon is a different kind of psychological thriller. Givhan is also a poet, and you can tell she brought some of that lyrical and sensual style to tell this story. The witchcraft, Hoodoo, and ancient healing practices from her and her husband's culture add a unique spin to her character arc and how she discovers the truth of her past and present. She questions herself and makes questionable decisions, but that just adds to her relatability. I also really liked her children, Ximena and Xavier, who prove to be important pieces to the big picture as well.

A solid thriller. I really enjoyed reading a more political domestic thriller than what is usually seen.

The brujaria added a really complex component to the story that I enjoyed.

I did figure out the final baddie, though not a the details. I was still satisfied with how it all unraveled.

I really like all these magical/spiritual/folkloric books about people of color that are coming out. This was a gripping book. I love books that keep you guessing and this one definitely did. It'll definitely be on my reader's advisory list.

4.3 Stars

Well this was GOOOOOOD! I LOOOVED reading this book!

A well written unputdownable paranormal crime mystery that also caters to many of the current literary trends: POC-ownvoice, spiritually and culturally diverse, gender/sexuality diverse, feminist... you name it, it has t!

You'd probably love this book as much as I did if you like diverse, witchy, paranormal mysteries like The Diviners, Ninth House, Like Water for Chocolate, the Hacienda, and Cemetery Boys.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I wished some of the social commentary on race, colonialism, white supremacy etc. had been more organically folded into the plot, more shown that told. Some of this content came off a little "in your face" and preachy.

I very much recommend the audiobook!

The first person POV makes the story feel so authentic, well... it is an Ownvoice after all!

Also loved the spiritual/paranormal aspects, very diverse and unique! Different POC cultures and spiritual believes were well represented and weaved together,

I'm VERY MUCH looking forward to more from this author!

From the publisher:
When Eva’s husband is arrested for the murder of a friend, she must confront her murky past and embrace her magick to find out what really happened that night on the river.

Eva Santos Moon is a burgeoning Chicana artist who practices the ancient, spiritual ways of brujería and curanderisma, but she’s at one of her lowest points—suffering from disorienting blackouts, creative stagnation, and a feeling of disconnect from her magickal roots. When her husband, a beloved university professor and the glue that holds their family together, is taken into custody for the shocking murder of their friend, Eva doesn’t know whom to trust—least of all, herself. She soon falls under suspicion as a potential suspect, and her past rises to the surface, dredging up the truth about an eerily similar death from her childhood.

Struggling with fragmented memories and self-doubt, an increasingly terrified Eva fears that she might have been involved in both murders. But why doesn’t she remember? Only the dead women know for sure, and they’re coming for her with a haunting vengeance. As she fights to keep her family out of danger, Eva realizes she must use her magick as a bruja to protect herself and her loved ones, while confronting her own dark history.

A psychological thriller that weaves together the threads of folk magick with personal and cultural empowerment, River Woman, River Demon is a mysterious incantation of reckoning with the past and claiming one’s unique power and voice.

My thoughts:

This book is a paranormal thriller. That being said, it would be a thriller even without the paranormal aspects. Eva Santos Moon makes a perfect main character. We are seeing through her eyes and from her perspective. It's hard for her to tell exactly what's real. So, it's hard for us to know also. That alone is frightening. Add in that her husband is being detained for the drowning murder of a close friend of theirs and that ratchets up the tension and suspense.

This book works well as a paranormal thriller because of the ways that Eva and her family handle Majick. When Eva asks for supernatural help, it really starts the part of the plot where mystery and Majick intertwine.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's a page - turner. I liked the characters readers are supposed to like, and didn't like the ones we're not supposed to like. I didn't like some of the choices the characters made, but it made them more real. I would recommend this book to people who like paranormal thrillers as well as those who like a story where Majick is accepted as real and attainable.

I really liked the story. I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked all the way to the end. I didn’t want it to end. The character development was good. They fit really well in the story. The story itself was very well written. I was really impressed with this one.

What I liked:
- I really liked the magick elements in here and how they are just part of the characters' reality
- It was thrilling, it kept me wanting to know what happened next
- The author did a good job at creating a creepy atmosphere

What didn't work for me:
- the pacing was a little off for me. it felt really slow at times and then all of a sudden it would go fast. It took me out of the story a bit.

Things that are common in the thriller genre that I don't like and happen in this book (I feel like this is where it's more of a me thing because I know it happens a lot in the genre)
- the MC repeatedly making really bad decisions. like so bad that it felt like "would an adult with kids really do this????" like I know you are going through things but... those were some bad decisions

As soon as I heard that this was a witchy book written by a Latinx author, I requested it immediately. It started out really good. I thought it was a very well written book. It kept me very interested in the plot and the characters are really well fleshed out. Eva is a very gray character which I loved. She's not your typical leading lady and honestly there were times when I was like What are you doing!!!! LOL But she felt so real!

The reason why I only gave it three stars was because I guessed who the killer was. I knew who it was right away so I was a bit disappointed at that but I will be picking up any upcoming release by this author.

I very much appreciated the interweaving of Eva's various self-identifications -- brujeria practicioner, glass artist, wife, mother, and sister -- into a complex whole as she followed both supernatural and forensic clues to determine her connections to the women who've drowned, and who's responsible, no matter how difficult the truth may be.

Oh yaaaas, this book hit the spot!

As the anniversary of her best friend's drowning approaches, the frequency of Eva's blackouts increase, a residual side effect from the trauma she experienced as a teenager all those years ago. Then one evening, Eva awakens on the couch to the sound of her husband Jericho moaning for help down by the river behind their home, and upon reaching its muddy bank, she finds him clutching the dead body of their best friend Cecelia. The cops show up and arrest Jericho, and Eva is left trying to pull together the pieces of what the hell just happened.

A chicana bruja and curandera, Eva searches for the truth through unusual means, calling upon the ghosts of the drowned women who haunt her and leveraging her ancestrial magick skills to keep herself and her family safe.

A gorgeously written novel that mixes the magical with the paranormal, River Women, River Demon is a haunting look at the power of our pasts and the achingly familiar desire to not lose faith when all the evidence screams otherwise.

I tried several times to read this book. I repeatedly put it down. The writing is extremely flowery. It's distracting and some of it just plain did not make sense. It was not at all what I expected from the blurb. For the first time that I can remember I did not finish a book. It may appeal to people who also really enjoy poetry but for me it was a big miss.

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.

I have been trying to have a more varied diet of fiction therefore I was fast to dig into this novel based on culture and folk magick (yes, the k is intentional). It seems I keep picking up stories that are about witches and water lately, maybe because it’s October. Often, these tales are about women who must find strength, particularly reaching back into traumatic pasts. For Eva, water turned toxic when her best friend Karma drowned, haunting her forever in the swamps of her memory. Her mind isn’t reliable, and just when she gets to the part of what happened to drag her friend to the bottom, the past won’t speak. Back then people believed she did it, she drowned Karma. Eighteen years have passed and “a thousand miles between Los Lunas and Calexico”, her days now are spent in a Magickal household of South Valley, New Mexico as a stay-at-home artist practicing Hoodoo with her husband Jericho (UNM professor of African American Studies) and their young children. It’s not fairytale nonsense, their deeply rooted practices, it is necessary for survival for people of color, but it can turn dark, mean. Jericho is a professor of roots and bones, of Hoodoo and mojo and herbs, he owns a successful shop and runs a Magickal showcase. Eva’s mother was a bruja (witch) who died when she was only eight. Left to be raised by her older sister, Eva was brought up among church folk, feeling robbed of her ancestry until she had her mother’s book of shadows in her hands, but it was meeting Jericho Moon that brought her birthright and Chicano perspective into focus. Her artistry was fruitful enough once, allowing her to purchase a ranch but things have gone off and death is rearing its ugly head again. She is no longer creating as before.

When she discovers her husband one night howling in the river, there is a dead woman in his arms, their friend Cec (godmother to their children). Claiming to have found her that way, there is no way to make sense of the horror and it isn’t long before Jericho is arrested and charged with her murder. It’s not going to look good, this defense of it being an accident, she knows how the authorities will judge their lives, their spiritual practices only make them look more guilty, but it is her own past that will fall under intense scrutiny. Does she even believe in her own innocence? Is there a spell that will right the wrongs, protect her family? A ritual that would prove Jericho’s telling the truth, does she believe him? Jericho is the one who always makes things right, he has been the pillar of their family, now it’s fallen on Eva’s shoulders. How can she defend him when she isn’t sure herself if he is guilty or not?

Eva suffers from blackouts, are they caused by the trauma she suffered losing Karma or is something more nefarious happening? How reliable is Eva? As she meets with the detective, she wonders if Cec and Jericho could have been lovers, and it awakens the beast of jealousy within her soul. Cec’s death is a mirror of Karma’s, it illuminates the past that Eva can’t get straight in her clouded mind. Her children (she calls them the X’s) have more faith in their father than she does, but they are having a hard time struggling without Jericho and her son Xavier is suffering through emotional distress, refusing to speak. Strange things start happening, Eva thinks they are being haunted. Living ghosts walk back into her life, she doesn’t know who to trust. She feels betrayed, conflicted, lost, and is drifting away from her life, from her marriage, from the truth.

The past and present are about to collide, darkness is falling, has she conjured this?

She’s a mess and is looking for strength, but does she have the clarity, does she trust her intuition enough? Eva’s making more mistakes, with her husband gone there is no one to guide her, but will she trust her gut? It is all so murky as the things from her past, the secrets she kept even from herself, climb out of the woodwork. Can she save her family if she doesn’t know the person or thing that is after them? What if she is the one calling the destruction upon them all? A solid psychological thriller with rich cultural history.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Blackstone Publishing

Special thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

First, I loved the cover. Looking for books, it screamed out at me! And I'm so glad it did. And lucky for readers looking for a thriller, look no more. Second, Eva, Eva Moon is an artist, 3rd her friend gets murdered and her husband is blamed for it. She uses the ancient ways of brureria to protect her family when her husband has been taken into custody for the murder of her best friend.

But years ago, another girl close to Eva asmurdered in a similar way and now more than ever she turns to dark arts for protection that are buried deep in her family's past and now as the second murder is brought up, Eva starts having blackouts, headaches, time loss. and stagnation in her heart, she starts to wonder what has she done maybe?

Pretty good. I enjoyed it. 4 stars

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

A captivating mystery that does not let you go till the very end. Jennifer Givhan's gorgeous prose makes her poetic background evident, it is beautiful and propulsive. Meticulous plotting and thoughtful, evocative explorations of grief, brujería and curanderisma, and complicated family ties make this a do-not-miss title.

This was a great read! Kept me engaged. It was suspenseful and is different from books that I normally read. I love the history aspect and Eva Santos Moon is a great character. Highly recommend.

I know Jenn Givhan as a poet first, and I love when poets write prose. I found myself so delighted when I found myself spilling into the story, finding myself mixed into the complexities of the situation. I was hesitant at first because a review a little ways down made some mis-reads of the character, so I anticipated her to be in a particular way, but it turns out she was human and complex.

(I'd like to respond to the reviewer, who mentions blackouts--they aren't because of alcohol and it turns out misinformation from another character was being spread--but there isn't a way to reply. There are also reasons why the protagonist resists systems--POC are often mistreated in these situations, so she was being protective of her son, not herself.)

Either way, this is a sharp, good book, a perfect escape. I would have loved to see Jericho more--the way Eva describes him makes me want more of him. Perhaps we'll get a sequel some day.

I really wanted to like this book. The title is evocative, the setting is fantastic, and the initial blurb seemed promising. A bruja heroine haunted by her past, forced to exorcise her demons through struggle and fortified by the love around her—that’s a hell of a premise. However, sadly this one didn’t work for me. While I loved what the author was trying to do, I felt like she ultimately didn’t pull it off.

After I finished, I spent some time mulling over why this book didn’t work for me. Part of it is the prose style, which is frequently so lofty that it becomes clotted with clauses in a way that disrupts the flow of the story and becomes difficult to follow. These poetic passages contrast with the dialogue and the narrator’s asides to the audience, which are often stilted and clunky. Too much tell and not enough show. I felt like a lot of the plot was coincidental and predictable, with a cartoonishly bad villain who didn’t have very believable motives. And finally, the book took itself extremely seriously. If your heroine names her children after the X-men and they can turn invisible, then you need to be able to laugh a little and see the humor in some of it. I hate that this one didn’t work for me, but it was not a read I’d recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.