Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

4/5

What The River Knows is an atmospheric YA historical fantasy, following our MC Inez as she travels Egypt for answers concerning her parents death.

This is a very stereotypical YA novel; which isn’t to say that it’s bad - it just follows YA genre patterns. Our MC is a very solid character, but nothing about her particularly stood out to me. I will say she did not get one break in this book and I felt so bad for her. Bad things upon bad things kept happening to her and no one was honest with her at all, they literally played her a fool a million times.
The plot is very linear, and there aren’t any stand out twists. The magic system is very soft and I found it to be a bit confusing because of how soft it was. I also feel like it was way to easy to do certain things plot wise, but that’s fine!
The romance isn’t really anything special; I didn’t really like Wes.
The setting of Egypt is quite vivid, and very well described.
All in all it’s a solid YA fantasy book!

I am fascinated with Egypt and things from the past so I had to have this book! This was a historical fantasy with romance. It was fast paced and took you right there. The descriptions were great and very in depth. I loved the story! Here’s to hoping for more!

I absolutely hated this book in the best way. I’d heard nothing but good things and man oh man it didn’t disappoint. I hated it ended on cliff hanger and left me wanting more.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an ARC copy of this Book!!! Holy Moly was it amazing!! I love reading historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. I read this book in a day and a half. I could not put it down. I just had to know how it ends. I love all things magical and this is old magic in one!!! I loved every second of reading this book. This book felt like I was watching a movie!

Such an incredible and atmospheric book!!! I fell head first into this incredible story and was quickly swept away. It left me on the edge of my seat, wishing I had book two already!

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez is a beautiful book both in its writing style and in setting. The novel immediately brings you in and the story never lets up from start to finish. The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat. The main character is a strong female and I really enjoyed getting to know her throughout the novel.

OH MY GOSSSHHHH I literally have no words. NO WORDS. But this is a review so I will try my best hahaha. Y'ALL. THIS BOOK. THAT ENDING--it gave me such an adrenaline rush, and bumped up my initial rating of 4 stars to a solid 5. I can't wait for the sequel! Here are the things I absolutely loved about What the River Knows:

- The Mummy/Death on the Nile vibes. Those were the PERFECT movies/books to compare this to
- The romance heehee
- Beautiful, detailed imagery
- Easy-to-read writing
- Learning more about ancient Egypt and late 19th century archeology
- THE MYSTERY
- THE ENDING
- THE EPILOGUE

I was gonna give this one 4 stars because it got a little slow for me after the first 1/3 of the book, and there were minor things that didn't work for me. But after finishing it? WOW. What the River Knows now has my full 5 star rating. I'll definitely be purchasing and rereading this one when it comes out!

Content rating: Overall PG-13, though it would be a mild R for language

A young woman runs away from Argentina to Egypt in hopes of discovering the truth about her parent's untimely deaths only to find a conspiracy involving Cleopatra and a young man she can't seem to escape.

I thought this was a standalone, the ending got to me because I couldn't figure out how things would wrap up and then it ended on a sort of cliffhanger.

I did enjoy it, it was a good, YA mystery and I think the setting was well adapted but I wish I had known it was a duology.

I usually love books about Egypt and history, but this one just wasn't for me. I thought the actual plot was a great idea, but I did not like the main characters and didn't enjoy the magical element to it at all. Great cover, great idea for a story, but I found I was forcing myself to read it.

What the River Knows is a marvelous adventure story following a determined and independent young woman as she travels to Egypt to search for answers after she finds out her parents are dead. I absolutely ADORED Inez and everything about this book! It was adventurous yet heartbreaking and I think the author did such a great job telling Inez's story. Not only that but the vivid descriptions of Egyptology and ancient Egypt showed that the author truly put a lot of time and research into making things accurate when it came to the fact parts of the story. I also really loved her own twist on finding Cleopatra's tomb. The descriptions of Philae made me feel like I was actually there and as a long time lover of Egypt's history it was magical. Everything about this book is magical really, It definitely lives up to the hype of The Mummy meets Death on The Nile! The characters were jumping off the pages they were so well written and I truly felt like I was watching this story play out like a movie in my head. The betrayals were not unexpected but still shocking and heartbreaking. I loved the world building and feeling like I was actually experiencing Inez's journey in Egypt and I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next for Inez and Whit!

This book is like a wonderful mash-up of The Mummy, Crocodile on the Sandbank (indeed, all of the early Amelia Peabody books), and Mr. Impossible.

It serves up romance, action, adventure, a roguish hero and a plucky heroine, and the magical island of Philae as a backdrop for the latter half of the story.

Philae is a beautiful place, and it was such a treat to read a novel set there. This story's twists and turns are all fun and fairly predictable, all of the characters fairly standard, and that was part of why I adored it.

It was so satisfying to lay in bed on a quiet Sunday morning, with a mug of mint tea with honey, and have a book give me exactly what I hoped it would: A well-written adventure set in 1880's Egypt with a hero and heroine who serve Radcliffe Emerson/Amelia Peabody and Evie/Rick vibes.

A story like that? Well, it's 100% up my alley.

What the River Knows doesn't reinvent the wheel, but that's not what I was looking for when I reached for this book on a rainy, cozy weekend. I wanted a comfort read and it delivered!

I do wish we'd gotten a couple of the story's reveals earlier on; sometimes secrets that are shared with the reader propel the story forward just as much as the ones that aren’t. I felt we and Inez, the heroine, were left in the dark for a bit too long, which caused a few chapters in the middle to drag a bit.

This minor quibble aside, I thought this was a wonderful read. Whitford (who I fell a little in love with myself) and Inez made a great pair. I'll definitely be rooting for those two come the next book, as I assume this story will be a duology based the ending we got. Yeah, yeah, the ending. I don't buy that my boy Whit is evil.

I hope this gets the hype it deserves come autumn.

Wow! I could not put this down. Inez journeys from Argentina to Egypt to find out what happened to her parents. There is magic, adventure, and a little romance. The cliffhanger at the end was pretty surprising but I cannot wait for the next book!

Looking for a historical fantasy set in Egypt with mystery, murder, and magic? Here ya go!

Wow! What a fantastic and intriguing read. I loved the research and detail the author put into this story! The authors note at the end dove into the real world events and people that set this story into motion.

This book starts in Buenos Aires in 1884. Inez is living with her aunt and cousins while her parents explore Egypt. She is waiting for their most recent letter and hoping they will soon be coming home. Instead she receives a letter from her Tio Ricardo letting her know her parents are presumed dead. Unable to accept their fate and curious to know more Inez leaves for Egypt(with only a note left for her Aunt or cousins) When she finally arrives in Cairo she expects Ricardo to meet her and is instead greeted by an insufferable but cute young man named Whit, who works for her Uncle. She is immediately told to go home and accept her parents death. Inez stays, of course because she HAS to know what happened, and uncovers absolutely insane secrets her parents and Uncle have kept from her.

This book is full of twists and turns in every chapter. I love a book where I don't know who to trust and this delivered! There is so much mystery, drama, and of course a witty and banter filled enemy to lover romance. Inez is quite the character, I love her brazenness and persistence. She refuses to take no for an answer much to Tio Ricardo and Whits annoyance. Whit is sneaky and morally gray and I'm not sure where I stand with him but I still enjoy his character so much. Oh and MAGIC! Old Egyptian artifacts that have leftover magic from centuries ago that can attach to certain people? Yes! So cool. The ending is a GIANT cliffhanger and I believe a sequel is coming 🤞🤞🤞 I'm hooked and I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC.

Thank you to #wednesdaybooks and #netgalley for an early arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

Okay, I am suffering from a book hangover from this one to be sure! I couldn't put it down. And the sequel doesn't come out until next year - I am not okay! Guys, do yourself a favour and add this one to your TBR list. It's The Mummy meets Indiana Jones with a slow burn romance and so many mysteries to be solved. Isabel did such a fantastic job stringing me along, wondering if my hunches were correct and what the real reasons behind all of the secrecy were. And while she gave away just enough answers for a very satisfying ending to this first book in the duology, she didn't give them ALL away - so I am EAGERLY awaiting the release of the final book in the duology because I need to know what happens! If you like lush, immersive historical fantasy with fun and unique magic, and Egypt, you'll love this book.

Spoiler Alert:
And dang it that epilogue had me up at 4am unable to sleep! I need to know more!

What the River Knows is full of adventure and Egyptian history. I definitely has The Mummy but make it YA vibes (there aren’t any undead mummies, however). My favorite part of this book is how you become so immersed in the setting. Ibañez definitely did her research! I loved reading about the politics of the time period, as well as the ancient history of Egypt, which plays a large role in the story. Ibanez touches on British colonialism and the importance of history and not stealing artifacts.

The actual fantasy aspect of this book is fairly minimal, as magic only clings to old objects in this version of history. However, I found it works well because the magic didn’t overpower the importance of the setting and the archaeology.

I also enjoyed the romance. Inez and Whit are both headstrong characters, and it was fun to read about their tension and growing forbidden relationship. I especially appreciate Inez’ resolve, especially in a time period where women had no agency over their own lives, and she was unfortunately naive in a lot of situations.

My biggest critique is that I could tell the story is setting up for a sequel. The middle drags a little bit, especially the mystery. A lot of questions and mysteries were piled up on top of each other, and we didn’t get any answers until about 75% of the way into the story. I think having a couple of reveals earlier would’ve helped propel the plot along.

Overall, I loved the adventure, history, and romance in this book! Thanks so much to Wednesday Books for sending it to me for review.

The cover is GORGEOUS. The premise is AMAZING. Great job to the marketing team!!!!

At 2%, I found myself skim reading. I restarted the book assuming it was me but quickly realized it was actually full of built-up details that may or may not matter later and just were not holding my interest. I gave up at 5%. The paragraphs seem very long, especially for a Young Adult book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This is probably my favorite Ibanez book so far! I've been fascinated with Cleopatra since I was a child, and I loved that a lot of the mystery and action in this book revolved around her and where she was laid to rest. Inez was a great main character, and although there was a lot going on in just under 400 pages, nothing ever felt rushed or glossed over. I liked the rivals-to-lovers romance, and I also really appreciated Inez and Isadora's relationship. Isadora wasn't a huge part of the book, but despite being described perfectly to fit into the "mean girl" slot, she was kind and supportive towards Inez, and I really hope she shows up in the second book. I loved the descriptions of Egyptian scenery and relics, too.

Oh. My. God. That ending?!?!!! Is there a support group? How am I supposed to wait over a year for the conclusion?? I don’t know how to function right now.

I basically begged for my eArc of this book! I’m not even joking, I literally begged! I was enthralled by the idea of a 1999 The Mummy/Death on the Nile mash-up, but I was not prepared for how much more this story was going to be. There are so many twists and turns, bad guys who are good, good guys who are bad, and people I haven’t even figured out yet. Some of them I figured out and some of them blindsided me. But NOTHING hit me harder than that ending.

It’s 2am on a Wednesday morning and I’m here writing this review because I could not put the book down and now I’m distraught it’s over! Probably going to be my favorite book of 2023 or at least top 3 at minimum.

If you enjoy a sassy, strong, female lead character… a broody, mysterious, and very enticing male hero (gah I hope he’s the hero)… and some Indiana Jones level bad guys/action… then this is the book for you!

Isabel… Elvira?!? How could you???!

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author who took pity on me, for my copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: Egypt, Death on the Nile, archeology, adventure

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Instagram on 4/7 and to my book review blog on 4/12.

I really wanted this to be 5 stars. The premise is so intriguing and Egypt has so much interesting history, both on its own and in relation to archeology. Unfortunately, this is a book where I'm not really sure how I feel about it, so it's 4 stars right now but might drop down later.

The first half of the book lives up to expectations. We get Inez traveling to Egypt and using her wits to tag along on her uncle's excavation. I loved the descriptions of Cairo and the Nile and Phillae. There's so much culture and lush imagery, it's easy to become engrossed in the setting and story. Unfortunately, after that the plot doesn't focus as much on archeology and Egypt as it should. We do get multiple excavation/temple/tomb scenes, but I wanted more of them. I wanted a true exploration of being on an archeological site and discovering these big things and worrying over tomb raiders. Instead, we get more focus on personal relationships (or lack thereof).

The story was also fairly predictable. I wasn't entirely sure at first, but once Inez got to Cairo I felt more certain of what I suspected. Then, later on when the first half of my theory was revealed, it was also immediately obvious that the rest of it was too and I got to sit with a feeling of utter dread while Inez just went with things despite the signs pointing to a bad conclusion. That being said, I can actually understand why Inez didn't question things as much as she should've, and why when she did question things, she dismissed her own instincts. Like, honestly, I think anyone probably would in that situation. This is one of the few cases where I think things being predictable for the reader and not for the character actually makes sense...I just wish the predictability was less subtle so I didn't have to spend 30% of the book waiting for the other shoe to drop.

One thing that really bothered me was that the whole mess with the grave goods was framed as being wholly Inez's fault. Like, was she being extremely dumb? Absolutely. Is it understandable? Also yes. And is it especially understandable because her uncle kept lying to her and hiding the truth? 100%. Half of the mess would've been avoided if Tío Ricardo had simply told Inez what he'd suspected and dealt with the potential fallout of that. Instead, he kept secrets and lied (and it was fairly obvious this was setting up to be a miscommunication trope) and then got angry with Inez when she didn't magically know who their enemies were. Not just him, Abdullah also got upset with her, though not as much as Tío Ricardo....but Abdullah also wasn't telling her shit. Like, a single conversation in Cairo, as upsetting as it would've been, would've literally circumvented this whole thing and instead everyone blames Inez.

As for the characters. Inez is great in the first half of the story. She's got a lot of spunk and a desire for the truth. She's fairly good at getting herself in and out of any situation, which comes in handy. But for someone so interested in Egypt, she doesn't really seem to know that much about it.

I actually liked Isadora, and I'm not really sure what Whit's problem with her is (though I'm sure it will get revealed in book 2). She and Inez make a formidable team and I would've liked to see them interact more. Her dad can be awful and kind of gruff, but Isadora seems to manage him fairly well.

Whit is...mainly annoying, imo. Inez wants the two of them to be friends, and while they're in Cairo he seems fairly normal, but so much of the story involves him being secretive or lying or just being annoying and pushing Inez away. It gets frustrating after a while. We also get to see things from his POV, but they're mostly small snippets and single scenes. I think it would've worked better if we'd gotten chapters or half-chapters from his POV or if it had been excluded altogether. Some of his POV scenes provide helpful information, but the way it's written now it mostly just seems like he has a POV because Ibañez couldn't figure out how to provide the information any other way.

Tío Ricardo had the potential to be a fantastic character. The first scene where they're all at dinner makes him seem really promising, and it definitely appears as though he cares about Egyptian history and the injustices being wrought by the British and French. However, a lot of that is overshadowed by how secretive he is and just downright awful he can be to Inez. He sort of redeems himself toward the end and shows that he truly cares about her, but it still doesn't make up for the rest of the book.

I didn't realize that this book was part of a duology. I thought it was a standalone like her previous book. This book really didn't need a sequel. The way it stands now, there's obviously things left unfinished that require a sequel, but if the book had been cleaned up a little, I really think a full story and arc could've been told within the one book. Certain parts of the book are dragged out and probably could've been cut in favor of finishing the story satisfactorily. And honestly, what's left of the plot doesn't really feel like it could fill a whole second book.

Also, what was that ending? Things were already fine without that INEZ FELL FOR IT note. It adds a layer to the story that it absolutely does not need. There are already so many complicated relationships and crossing and double-crossing, the book doesn't need more. I was actually somewhat interested in a sequel before reading the epilogue, but once I read it just kind of felt 'meh.' It's too much going on and I'm not really interested in seeing more of Inez getting lied to and then falling flat on her face when everyone else's lying is revealed.