River Woman, River Demon is a crime thriller combined with Chicana brujería and curanderismo practices. Crime thrillers are not my usual reading fare so it's really the latter that got my interest to request an ARC. Earlier in the year, I read a book of short stories [book:Maria, Maria: Other Stories|58085300] by Marytza Rubio showcasing Chicana culture and really liked it.

Unfortunately the character of protagonist Eva Santos Moon really put me off. I think the author wanted to show her decompensating during a time of crisis but unwittingly may have displayed Eva's narcissistic histrionic personality instead.
Scaring the bejeesus out of her children with her antics, waltzing in and out of their lives to experience the Kodak moments, leaving mundane tasks for mere mortals like cooking, cleaning and comforting the kids to her long suffering sister. And
the drinking....if one is experiencing blackouts to the point where one cannot remember making death threats at a woman who you suspect is sleeping with your husband, that you're not sure if you've drowned and murdered (and you suspect your husband is trying to protect you by taking the rap), then maybe I dunno, stop drinking? Not Bloody Marys, hot toddies with extra rum, many cups of sake etc. At the very least have to be clear-headed to be a source of strength and protection for the family. Instead she acts like a nine-year-old who needs instant gratification at every turn, her eleven-year-old daughter is making her breakfast while she 'needs her rest', she is taking cross country trips to have trysts with a married man, and when danger is in sight, she beseeches her 11 year old and 7 year old kid to protect her! Eva believes she is being haunted by spirits and yet plays with an ouija board with her kids for fun and giggles with shit predictably hitting the fan. When Eva chides her son mentally for not protecting her from her bad dating choices, one really wonders who is the adult here. Her poor son develops selective mutism from all the trauma and this poor excuse of a mother refuses to bring him back to the pediatric psychologist because of a signing of a document that whatever the son says to the psychologist is private and cannot be disclosed even with the parent. These are in place to guarantee confidentiality, especially in cases of domestic child abuse. All medical professionals are trained to recognize the signs of child abuse and the reporting of it is mandatory. The children are noted to be more mature than their age, not because of the outside world as Eva states, but as a result of coping with a neglectful irresponsible parent always putting her own needs first imo.

It is clear though that this family is favoured and blessed by the author so I knew they would be protected by plot armor and come out unscathed. The crime thriller part was very clumsily concluded, depending on a series of implausible coincidences and some hand-waving tech explanation which the case hinges upon.

The childishness of Eva extends to name calling every woman she doesn't like a bitch, sometimes c***. I had whiplash with her. One moment the dead woman Cecilia is all kinds of nasty for seducing her husband, then she becomes 'our best friend,' 'fellow witch,' 'sister Wiccan.' The detective is another law enforcing b****, until she becomes a POC heroine upholding the law. Those at school bullying her daughter for being fat are also little b****** while she has no problem with her teen self bullying and ostracizing an Asian kid for being studious.

Being a bruja (witch) according to Eva's practice appears to entail everything from tarot card reading, using an enemy's saliva and hair for sticking pins and needles into dolls, to herbology, to celebrating All Hallow's Eve and Samhain. At one point in explaining, Eva calls the non-magical people 'Muggles.' Huh? A HP reference?
The Hoodoo explanations in reference to her black husband Jericho's Magick practice were interesting but it constituted only a small portion of the book. The setting of this novel is mainly in New Mexico, United States although Eva and her sister grew up in Calexico, California, United States and she subsequently met her husband in San Diego. Despite my unpalatable experience with this book, I am still interested in reading more about being a Chicana bruja and curandera. Upcoming [book:The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir|59411559] by Ingrid Rojas Contreras, a memoir about her Columbian family's curandera and magic background as well as colonialism, may just fit the bill.

River Woman, River Demon's publication date is 4th October 2022. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating, immersive story of grief, violence, justice, and what people owe (or don't owe) to others. I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come, and I can't wait to introduce it to readers once it's out.

River Woman River Demon



By Jennifer Givhan



I was drawn to this book because of the amazing cover.  I was so happy that I did.  I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down.  Eva Moon is an amazing character, she is dealing with her own issues. Now her husband is accused of killing their friend.  Going on this journey with Eva as she tackles the past and the present and embraces her true self, makes for a bumpy ride at times. But such a good one!  It’s tense, deep, beautiful and dark. Add in the Magick and you get a truly unstoppable story.  Pick up this book, you will not be disappointed!  Out 10/4



Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC





⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I didn't know how i'd feel about this book but I really liked it a lot. Couldn't stop reading. Thank you for this ARC.

This is an incredibly hard book to rate. Honestly 80% of this was just so depressing. I struggled to keep going.
There was a lot of overuse of certain words like girl, baby, toots, woman. It was annoying at best. I also wasn’t fond of a few descriptions that were given about the daughter (felt kind of yuck).
Another issue for me was that the writing was so poetic and beautiful, that when the author chose to use curse words they didn’t really fit, they felt way out of place.

Now, for the good. Again, the writing is beautiful, the descriptions of everything from the people to the surroundings really drew me in and made me see and feel what was being conveyed. The story was a very slow burn but it really came together at the end. Though none of the characters were very likable they did have redeeming qualities.

I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to read and review this ARC

My final thoughts are that this is a book worth reading and is very rich in detail and plot. So 3.75 rounded up!

This book is absolutely MagicKal! The characters, storytelling, descriptions, the author’s brilliant skills for blending folklore, ancient bruja witchcraft into psychological thriller meets murder mystery waltzes with paranormal vibes were impeccable!

My stomach tight, hair of the back of neck up, eyes popped out during my reading! It kept me at the edge of my seat!

Here’s a quick plot summary without much giving away not to spoil your thrilling reading adventure:

Eva Santos Moon seems like an unreliable heroine with her foggy perception, blackouts and depression as her best friend’s death anniversary approaches. She still doesn’t remember everything about that day, haunting her throughout adult life! She keeps questioning unnatural circumstances about her drowning incident.

Now she’s a wife, an aspiring artist and still a bruja. She’s inherited the knowledge from her ancestors, practicing the rituals. But her life will completely change when she finds her husband Jericho holding their new best friend and his boss Cecilia’s corpse. Her husband became the person of interest and they suspect about her involvement into the murder case.

Could their conjuring MagicK practice result with something unexpected? Are they not protected?

With the help of the author I learned so much about bruja witchcraft, curandera practices, Hoodoo that truly picked my interest!

This is rich, well written, capturing, unputdownable addiction I highly recommend!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

River Woman, River Demon is truly a masterful novel by Jennifer Givehan, with it's wonderfully timed and executed plot, pacing, characters and storyline.
Jennifer masterfully weaves a story like I've never seen before.
Very enthralling from beginning to end. I was hooked!
I was surprised by how much I truly enjoyed this book.
I would definitely recommend reading this upcoming novel.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Blackstone Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.