To be honest, I was kind of disappointed by this. I was so excited for this release but it just sort of fell flat for me.
I do think people will enjoy this and maybe it was just a me thing. I had a hard time with the romantic relationship as it felt very flat and strange and one sided? The book would have been better without it I think.
I did love the Egyptian adventure and there is one twist that is AMAZING. Hard to know what to rate this as I changed my mind about 10 times… I think this is a classic 3 star read… not for me, but definitely will be for others as there are lots of things to like about it!

Isabel is brilliant and this might be her best one yet! I’m sure I’ll come back & add to this review but I’m absolutely blow away by the way Inez & this story captured my heart.

10000000000/5 stars

This story took my breath away with every page turn. I'm honestly shook at what I just read and I think I found my new recent favorite book. I adored everything about this. It did start of a little slow at the beginning but it didn't take long for the pacing to pick up as we are dived into the immersive and colorful setting of Egypt. Despite its obvious YA atmosphere and pattern, it was still fantastically written, keeping the captivating complexity of the mystery that surrounds its plot.

Inez was such a feisty and strong heroine. But the poor girl just couldn't catch a break. I felt so bad for her. At some point I just wanted to reach out and hug her! But the fact that she just kept trying to do what she thought was right made her such a lovable character to read about and see her point of view of things. I especially loved how smart and witty she was, rebelling against others and sneaking her way to places she shouldn't be in, or escaping from people. Her banter with Whit was particularly delicious to read.

Speaking of Whit...Whitford Hayes. MY GOD. How I loved that man. Morally gray bad boy with tragic background, cynical smile, a cinnamon roll deep down, and calls our heroine 'darling' with his English accent? COUNT ME IN. The fact that we got a few chapters in his point of view made him so much better to read about. His banter with Inez was just fun and brilliant. You could feel the tension between them in every moment and the over-flowing chemistry. It was such a slow-burn that at times I just wish I was inside the book and just push them to get together.

Another highlight about this book was how rich it was with Egyptology. It was just so interesting to read and adding some magic here and there, although soft, gave it a special kind of uniqueness to the story inside our story. I appreciated how the story wasn't overly dependent in the magical aspect of it but rather the magic was more of a sweet compliment to it. In addition, the way the mystery part of it played out even had me fooled. It left me not even knowing who to believe! Great plot-twist.

AND THE EPILOGUE. Listen, that epilogue KILLED ME. I can't say more. But my head is already trying to make sense of what I read and I doubt I will find peace until the second book comes out. Because I NEED ANSWERS.

Now please, once this book comes out, READ IT. Trust me. Its worth every second of your time.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very slow and tbh had it not been for the interesting premise I would have dnfed it . Unfortunately the ending felt rushed as well .

Thank you for the eArc .

Adventure and romance?! This book is for you! I was on my toes the whole time, there was foreshadowing but I didn’t see it coming until after! Such a great book would recommend to everyone!

This book was gifted to me by the publisher through NetGallery, all opinions and reviews are my own. #NetGallery #whattheriverknows

I'm assuming this book is a planned series, so be warned! Overall, the book was pretty decent, but it was definitely slow going from the start. It really picked up at the end and I think that was probably the most interesting part. Nothing much was happening in the beginning , that was pretty disappointing. However, I loved the idea behind the plot, it was intriguing and unique, I haven’t read many books like this one. If it hadn’t been as slow this definitely would’ve been up there. The main character was extremely likeable, but it felt like she was stuck in a constant time loop??? Great chemistry between characters, if you want something unique to read, I would recommend this one!

Wowowwowow. I can see how the author is friends with Rebecca Ross; they both are great at setting up immersive, thorough duologies. This book was so immersive I was literally looking up Egyptian food recipes because of it.

Lots of Mummy meets Death on the Nile comparisons. I’d say it felt more like National Treasure but make it Egypt. Which honestly? Huge compliment.

It wasn’t perfect; I did find Inez annoying especially at first. But still, I loved this. I need to sit with how much I loved this. And the epilogue. Need to sit with that. Cannot wait to read the sequel.

Ancient Egypt historical fantasy?
Sign me up!
This was so fun.
Exciting action adrenaline packed.
So fun so exciting.
Loved it

Isabel Ibañez stuns with a lush and atmospheric Egyptian adventure!

“A shadowy presence loomed in my mind, one woman who stood under a divided sky, half covered with a million glimmering stars and a milky orb casting her skin in a silver glow, the other half inflamed with a blistering heat from the sun.”

Reading What the River Knows is an adventure in itself. Ibañez expertly crafts a tale of old. This novel makes one think of something ancient, something exquisite, and something ethereal.

The romance between Whit and Inez is divine! A true rivals to lover’s epic is set onto the backdrop of 1800s Egypt. With views of the Nile and “temples grounded on amber-hued sand,” love and adventure loom on the horizon.

Only time will tell if their time together is meant to last…

As a child I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt. However, I could never find enough fiction books on the subject. What the River Knows is truly a dream come true! My childhood heart is bursting!

Upon sharing the former paragraph with Ibañez, she wrote to me, “I was the same way when I was a little girl. In many ways, this book is for her.”

Be sure to pick up a copy of What the River Knows! There is nothing better you can do than fuel your soul with a tale from the heart, written for all those who have ever dared to dream.

What the River Knows is an enchanting historical fantasy that will keep you turning pages. How can I resist something that comps The Mummy? Fun, romantic, and adrenaline-packed, this book has it all. I'm SO excited for the next book in the duology after this.

So... I hope this is the first book of a series... otherwise that ending killed me. I am very much in love with Inez/FMC, and her adventures in Egypt are very exciting. I also love her interactions with Whit. Their banter is enjoyable, and make me like them that much more. The story generally had a good structure and plot, but there are some players/details that may have been unnecessary... unless the plan is a series...

I also could not handle the amount of two-facing and lying... but again... only if this is the first of more books...

Generally, if this is the first of more, then great I could maybe get behind this book.... but as a standalone... I'm out.

A captivating and lush historical fantasy in Egypt. Loved the magic, mystery, and romance!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun read. First of all, I have to say I was obsessed with the Mummy when I was younger. This book gave me all the Mummy vibes that I wanted. It's a mix of that with a murder mystery, so I was definitely hooked.

I really enjoyed Inez as our main character. She was striving for independence and was remarkably resilient during the book. As for Whit, absolutely loved him. Slightly brooding but always had the charm ready to go. I enjoyed reading about the other characters as well. The author did a great job at weaving the mystery of what happened to her parents. That mixed with the visions of Cleopatra from the past kept the plot moving quickly.

I will say that around 90%, I thought everything was going to be wrapped up nicely, and that did not happen. There were so many twists and turns in the last portion of the book. I did not realize that this was going to be part of a series because there is definitely a cliffhanger at the end....and I need answers haha.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars.

At 43% of the way through the ARC for the first time, I preordered this book. Now, I am notoriously pre-order shy. The pain of getting the books to a non-English speaking country makes me ordinarily hold off and wait.

But I preordered What the River Knows without having even finished it, even knowing the frustrations of modern mail and shipping. That should tell you a lot.

If that doesn’t convince you, then the author’s IG post said this was born out of her obsession with The Mummy movie. This is my favourite movie as well…so I took the chance. It was a good one. If you, too, are obsessed with the 2003 classic, but this book. Truly.

Unfortunately, I hate, hate cliffhanger endings. And this one is a sheer cliff. A steep drop. It necessitated a 1/2 star removal for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

I went into this book half-blind, not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, and oh boy did it not disappoint! The entire story felt so rich with history that I felt like I was learning something new every chapter, something I hadn't considered before, something grounded in reality in this fictional world with magical artifacts and incredible characters. The protagonist is an absolute badass and I loved her to death; Whit is an absolute menace in the best way and has captured my heart with his heart of gold, and the side characters are all diverse and interesting on their own rights. And the twist! I had a feeling about it, yet reading was gut-wrenching regardless and I absolutely loved how it was written.

One star off for a slow start, but the ending more than made up for it. Lovely!

An atmospheric and satisfying read. Very recommendable. I fully respect the craft and skill of the author. Well-developed characters populate a carefully developed setting that almost works as its own character within this read. Easy to recommend to all historical fiction readers as well as those interested in strong women.

The world itself seemed vibrant, and as a sucker for Egyptian mythology I was excited for the book. The plot itself kept me entertained, and there were definitely twists I wasn’t expecting, but I was still left wanting more.

Some of the prose felt like it was translated poorly so some of the description or dialogue felt a little clunky. It was distracting at the beginning, but by the end it felt much smoother.

It took too long to get the adventure going. It was nearly half the book before the actual expedition began. That didn’t leave much time to really develop the adventure into something I was really excited about.

The book is clearly going to be a series, but I don’t like when a book doesn’t feel done. Almost none of the conflicts that begin have any sort of resolution. I certainly expected to have some left going, but I still want some sort of ending rather than just a last page.

I was a little confused/uncomfortable with the ages of the two main characters who seem to occupy the enemies to lovers trope. She reads like a teen and he reads like mid twenties. The difference felt like too much.

Ultimately I don’t think the adventure is one I’ll follow to a sequel. I liked the world and I liked the potential, but not enough to go down the river again.

I wanted to love this book so badly, but I just couldn't. This was just a middle of the road fantasy for me. Here's a summary of some of the things I loved and some of the things I didn't quite enjoy.

Some Things I Loved:
I really loved the setting, the way that Ibañez describes Egypt is mesmerizing and I felt like I was there with Inez and Whit (who I think are such interesting characters).

The friendship between Isadora and Inez was so refreshing! I was fully expecting girl hate and the fact that they were friends was very nice.

Some Things I Didn't Love:
My main issue is with the plotting. The first third went so slowly that it was a struggle to get to the good parts. If I was an editor, I would probably have suggested cutting almost all the Buenos Aires scenes in the beginning of the novel, they felt unnecessary and dragged the plot down.

I also didn't love Whit's POV. I'm not a huge fan of multiple POV's, but this one felt especially unnecessary.

There also wasn't enough magic for me. After all the boasting about magic items from the past we don't really see much of them.

Overall, not the worst historical fantasy, but definitely not my favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t love this title as much as Ibañez’ previous work, but I’m still eager to dive into the sequel… really wish this one hadn’t ended so abruptly or with so many odd holes in the story, but I can’t wait to see how it all ties together.

I enjoyed this book, but wanted more of a focus on the mystery, magic, and history of Egypt vs the romance/ relationships. It started off with this cozy, mystery adventure with tea,dust, markets, and a magic ring... but it quickly became about the relationships instead. Either romance, trust, betrayel...I don't mind that stuff, but would have liked it more if the afforementioned other areas of interest hadn't been tossed out in the process.

But I enjoyed it overall!