Rating: 3-3.5
I picked this up, like many, because of it's comparisons to The Mummy. When I started reading this I LOVED IT! But sadly as I got further into the story some things started to irk me and and I ended up liking it less and less. However, that is not to say this was a bad book by any means. It was hard to understand what this book was trying to be. Was it fantasy or historical fiction or romance or mystery or all of the above? At times it read very YA and other times very adult. I will say I want to know how this story ends and will pick up the next book---so it did it's job of keeping my attention.

Things I enjoyed (for the most part)
Setting- I will literally read anything that takes place in Egypt and a bonus for anything about Egyptology.
Enemies to lovers? Check---well maybe...more on that later.
Inez- I honestly really liked our main character (well at first anyways) She seemed like a head strong female lead, maybe a bit shelter but curious and seemingly smart.
Reminded me of one of my favorite series ever--The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.

Things that irked me by the end:
The magic. - What magic system you may ask? Exactly. While the magical aspect was super interesting at first it was so under-developed and just used as a plot device to move the story where needed and ignored it the rest of the time.
There were many characters that were introduced and seemed important to the plot but then just disappeared and reappeared randomly? Can we get more Isadora please!?!
Inez- not a compelling main character- her personality seems to do a nose dive when she sees an attractive man. She makes the worst decisions and given how paranoid she is--she is the worst judge of character. I'm not sure if that was initially and the next book we'll see a whole new Inez (I hope so)
The plot is repetitive- We get it Inez is clever at escaping (while I mean she thinks she is anyways) It wasn't until halfway through the book that the plot finally picks up. But sadly that is where it lost me.
There were a lot of reveals in this story---which isn't a bad thing---but I think the author took it too far at the end. The way a certain character was treated made no sense to the story other than as a plot device to push Inez over the edge---which wasn't necessary given all the other events of betrayal she encounters in the story, which was more than enough to carry the conflict over to the next book.

I read another book by this author a couple years ago that I really enjoyed. When I saw her name on this one and the comp titles of The Mummy and Death on the Nile, I had high expectations. They were absolutely met.

I loved the nineteenth century Egyptian setting as a backdrop for this adventurous story filled with magic, mythology, and mystery. At times I felt like I was watching an Indiana Jones movie. Inez was raised in the upper society of Buenos Aires, but don’t expect her to conform their expectations. She’s headstrong, impulsive, and curious, three traits that lead her into one perilous situation after another. I immediately liked her. When she receives word from her uncle about her parents’ deaths, Inez leaves a note for her aunt (who’s serving as her guardian while her parents are working in Egypt) and travels to Cairo – without a chaperone. Which is unheard of during this time and also dangerous, but Inez is determined to discover what happened to her parents.

Upon arriving in Cairo, she meets Whit, her uncle’s assistant. He’s charming, infuriating, morally gray, and isn’t entirely forthcoming about his past. He’s also been instructed to send Inez back to Buenos Aires and is shocked when she outwits and outmaneuvers him and stays in Cairo. Whit is probably my favorite character.

This story is filled with twists and turns, secrets, betrayals, Egyptian artifacts and mythology. Like Inez, I wasn’t sure who to trust. The banter between her and Whit is fun and a little snarky at times, and their chemistry is evident from their first meeting. And that ending! Wow – I didn’t see it coming. I had to reread it a couple times, and the next book can’t get here soon enough.

At over four hundred pages, this novel is a bit long and started slowly for my tastes, but quickly picked up. It’s classified as young adult, but is easily a crossover so don’t let the genre deter you. Recommended for readers who enjoy an engaging mystery, well-crafted characters, and an adventure filled with unpredictable twists.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A 3.5, but I hate to say that I had to round this one down. I love the concepts in this novel. Magic? Egypt? Archaeology? Love it! I even mostly enjoy Inez as a character, and I’m interested in her dynamic and romance with Whit moving into the next book. Without spoilers, I also love a few big moments that happened in the last few chapters that will leave lasting consequences. It takes guts to stick to that and I think it’s great. I particularly enjoy Ibanez’s knack for writing complicated family dynamics.

My problem is… the first 70% of this novel, which unfortunately is way too long for it to drag like this. It took soooo long to get to the tombs. So long!!! So much of this novel is Inez whining about getting the truth out of her uncle, trying to escape whatever room she’s confined to, run off and cause more problems. Nothing really happens except her trying to make stuff happen and it’s not all that exciting. The last 30%? Great! I wish that we had spent more time on the archeology digs instead of getting to said digs. It would have had more exciting action, more interesting conversations. It just felt really slow until we got to Cleopatra’s tomb, and then that went by too quickly.

The prose itself is really good, and I’m invested enough to pick up the second one – in fact, there’s a lot I’m excited to discover – I just wish the good parts of the book hadn’t been stuffed into the backend.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, I found the plot to be a tad bit too slow. Once it picked up, I began to get excited over what was to come, but then it got slow again.

I LOVED this novel: secrets, family drama, adventure, mystery, fantasy, twists and turns. An incredible historical fantasy, perfectly adding a touch of magic to Egyptian mythology. We follow Inez as she sneaks across the globe from Buenos Aires to try and find the answers behind her parent's mysterious death in Egypt. Her trip is almost cut short by her uncle's hired man who meets her immediately on the dock to try and send her back home. Through ingenuity, determination and sheer stubbornness she successfully manages to firmly plant herself in the middle of the mystery, to the frustration of her uncle. As the story unfolds and details are uncovered, Inez eventually realizes that she never truly knew her parents and has lost almost all chances to learn.

I loved how cheeky Inez was. I'm still torn on Whit. I enjoyed their adversary-to-lovers all the way up until the last page, which SHATTERED my heart. I can't wait for the next installment in the series.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the e-ARC in exhange for an honest review*

I received a copy of What the River Knows from Netgalley for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This will likely be a short review, as I was supposed to write this a while back when I put the book down, but here we are. I am genuinely disappointed that I could not finish What the River Knows. I had heard such great things about it, and from all appearances, it seemed like something I would love. And I did enjoy (kind of) this book up to the point where I put it down, which was over halfway through. I don't think that there was anything glaringly wrong that made me put it down. The problem I had was with the story and the fact that it just wasn't pulling me in.

I wanted to be invested. I wanted to be there for these characters and this story because it sounded fascinating. But there was just something about it. I wasn't drawn in. I wasn't as fascinated as I thought I was going to be. The story was interesting, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't interesting enough to keep me coming back. I felt like it lacked the stakes I was looking for despite all of the things that were happening. It was, unfortunately, and to sum all this up, boring.

I probably should have just said that instead of talking in circles, but I didn't not like the book. That's the problem. I wanted to read it. I was just really bored and couldn't get through it. And the characters weren't interesting enough to drag me through the plot. However, I'll be honest and say that I'm not really sure what the overall plot was besides Inez trying to figure out what happened to her parents, and then it becomes a whole thing, which, again, is an interesting plotline, but it wasn't interesting here.

All this is to say, What the River Knows wasn't for me, which I've noticed puts me on the short list of people who didn't really enjoy it, which is okay. I might return to it at some point, but it was time for me to move on.

A fun read, I enjoyed this one more that Ibanez's previous novel (Together We Burn) as I felt the writing was better. A solid four stars.

i will not be reviewing this title in solidarity with the ongoing st. martin's press boycott. if you want to find out more about the boycott, please visit https://r4a.carrd.co/

As a lover of history and the Mummy movies, this book scratched an adventure story itch for me! I love the inclusion of Egyptian mythology and archaeology in addition to the standard romance and mystery elements. It pieced together so many cool details from the era and setting, and combined with well-rounded characters with interesting dynamic, it made for a historical fiction that was so fun to read! I can't wait to see what Isabel Ibanez does with the second book! Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!

A young Bolivian-Argentinian, Inez, adventures away from home after news of her parents’ disappearance in Egypt. This is a time when young ladies were not supposed to be out traveling on their own, let alone crossing the ocean to solve the mystery their parents left behind! But Inez is bold, clever, and resourceful. She can and did handle things really well, considering literally everyone was against her.

As she infiltrates her uncle’s secretive archeological dig, she slowly uncovers more pieces to the puzzle. Her battles of wits with Whit were some of my favorite scenes. He is yet another mystery in this book- someone who is often present but we don’t get the full story on. Even in his POV chapters, things are shrouded in shadow.

The writing in this one is vibrant and lush, making for an atmospheric and immersive read. The incorporation of a little light magic added to the charm of the story, as well as increasing the stakes behind the purpose of the dig. While this was all great, it did slow the pace of the story down and sometimes I felt bogged down in the atmosphere. But! The characters are delightful and multi-dimensional, their emotions jump off of the page, and this romp in the desert does get a bit emotional.

With multiple mysteries threading through the story, each chapter feels like a new revelation, building up to a very intense and gasp-worthy ending. It ended up being a wild ride there, and I am so looking forward to What the Library Hides!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

This was a fun read that is a part of a duology this is a fun, rich story, with mystery, magic, treasure hunting, adventure, and romance. i could not get enough of this story it was fantastic my only issue is i have to wait for the sequel

Thank you NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Isabel Ibañez for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a great mixture of Death on the Nile and The Mummy. I’ve always been fascinated by Egypt and the descriptions in this one are beautiful. Inez and Whit are both great characters that I hope to learn more about in the next book. The pacing was pretty slow in times, which made me take longer to finish it than normal, but it was worth it. I can’t wait for book two!

This was a fun adventure from start to finish. If you were a fan of The Mummy movies, then definitely check this out. It has a little bit of everything and characters I fell in love with.

One of my favorite books of 2023! What the River Knows is the perfect book for fans of The Mummy. This book draws you in with the lush storytelling and characters but keeps you hooked with all the twists and turns.

I, unfortunately, ended up DNF-ing this book at 33%. I chose this book based on the assumption that this was a historical fantasy adventure novel. First, I found this story to be very light on magic. It reads much closer to magical realism than fantasy and, as far as I could tell, the magic didn't add much to the story. And second, I found the pace of the novel a bit plodding. Other than Inez getting into different scrapes to convince her uncle to allow her to stay in Egypt nothing else has happened in the 33% of the book that I read. It isn't poorly written, I simply found it lacking in something that would hook me and keep me engaged in the story. I would find myself putting this book down with no interest in picking it back up again.

WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS is the first book in a duology set in 19th century Egypt. Inez's parents long ago left her in the care of her aunt while they spend most of their time excavating in Egypt. Though she longs to travel with them, they always leave her behind, opting for their adventures instead. What Inez doesn't expect is word of her parents' untimely deaths. Shocked and seeking answers, Inez stubbornly sets sail alone to Cairo, where she receives a less than warm welcome from her uncle. Curious, determined, and with a taste for adventure, Inez refuses to be left behind and ends up on an adventure that yields more questions than answers.

Despite Inez's impatience, the pace of WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS is rather languid. Objectively, I think this benefits the plot, but subjectively I wanted the pace to move a little faster. However, I enjoyed all of the descriptions Ibañez included, particularly when Inez explores Cairo. I also liked that real life history is the backdrop with a fictional plot superimposed upon it. This means there is commentary on British colonialism in Egypt as well as how they stole many antiquities from Egypt. (The Author's Note also has a good overview regarding the British influence on Egypt.) Because of the period of time in which this story occurs, the dialogue style is more formal. It's not incredibly overt, but it does allow for Inez and Whitford, her uncle's assistant, (and the reader) an outlet to bicker over formalities.

Although categorized as fantasy, WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS falls within the subgenre of magical realism. This essentially means the world as the reader knows it seems pretty typical, but there is an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. The magic system revolves around physical items whereby someone in the past spelled them to do something or to impart memories to the user. Inez finds herself seeing and feeling the memories of Cleopatra thanks to a ring mailed to her by her father.

I really appreciated the lack of instalove. There is evident attraction between Inez and Whitford from the beginning. But Ibañez allows it to build through interactions, which are mostly arguments, and experiences. Furthermore, they can't act on it for a variety of reasons, which I think helps make their attraction more convincing (forbidden love, anyone?). Inez is quite headstrong, which greatly endeared her to me, though her adventure streak is more daring than mine. I also felt frustrated for her when her uncle, and ergo Whitford, wouldn't give her much information about anything. I wouldn't necessarily call it miscommunication, but rather a lack of sharing intel by her uncle. However, this really sets up the book for an unexpected ending, which made up for the ever so slightly slower pace of the book. I look forward to reading the finale!

WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS is perfect for all fantasy readers, especially those with a penchant for the inclusion of Egyptian history. The deceptively calm pace leaves room for spurts of action and surprise for a riveting finale.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher.*

I am simultaneously overjoyed about the sequel being released this year and outraged that I've got to wait for the conclusion of the story. Ten months. I can make it ten months, can't I? I guess we'll see.

This is my second Isabel Ibañez book, and she's pretty much secured me as an automatic reader of anything she writes. I love the richness she weaves into her settings and her characters, as well as the way she makes magic seem to be a completely natural part of our world rather than something that exists solely in fiction. Her characters are complex and interesting, as well as occasionally frustrating--like real people. Even prior to reading the Author's Note, it was obvious that she had done quite a bit of research into her subject in preparation for this book. Bravo.

Inez (19) is tenacious and feisty. I could also call her reckless and gullible, but I don't exactly blame her for the decisions she made. Despite being an heiress, she didn't allow herself to be simply a pretty girl awaiting whatever fate was assigned to her; she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Whit (probably 20-25; why are we never told his age?!) was very complicated, and I developed a kind of love-hate attitude towards him. On the one hand, he's secretive and prickly with a lot of self-destructive tendencies. But then he's also protective and, in some ways, quite honorable. Just when I think I've figured him out, he does something else to flip my opinion on its head. (Did I mention ten months is a a long wait?) Their banter throughout the book was quite reminiscent of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth's whole conversation during the first proposal scene from the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. I wish there were more sections from Whit's point of view, but I suppose the readers need to be kept in the dark, too.

Supporting characters were no less developed than Inez and Whit, and so many of them held their secrets close. I'm still wondering about some of them (hopefully there will be answers in the sequel).

In short, I loved this book. My biggest complaints are that I don't Whit's age, and he occasionally used some language that I abhor. Oh, and that cliffhanger—I’m dying. Would I buy it? That depends on the second book.

Note: Not a lot of language, but 5-6 uses of the f word. Some sensuality. CLIFFHANGER.

As part of the upper crust of Argentinian society in the 1809s, Inez was never able to join her parents on their archaeological adventures in Egypt. After her parents mysteriously disappear, she sets off to find them. She instead finds herself in the middle of an adventure trying to find Cleopatra’s tomb amongst other things.

This book starts off slow but definitely picks up. I loved Whit, the love interest and the high stakes of adventure and treasure hunting. The setting descriptions were lush and vibrant.

I didn’t realize this was the first part of a duology until the cliffhanger at the end. But I’m immersed enough that I definitely plan on reading the second when it comes out.

Read this if you love:
🌍 YA Fantasy
🌍 Treasure hunting
🌍 Egyptian mythology
🌍 Slow burn romance

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday books for this eARC. What the River Knows is out now.

Wow, I absolutely loved this book! Mystery, magic, adventure, a slow burn romance, Egyptian mythology, forced proximity, tension, so many twists and turns... Honestly, what's not to love? Plus, that ending was completely mind-blowing, and now I absolutely cannot wait for the next book! If you're a fan of anything that I listed above, you should definitely pick up WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS asap!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

"Hidden things always fascinated me. And you, Mr. Hayes, have a secret. It's long since been buried but I know it's there. And one day, I will uncover it. Mark my words."

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the advanced reader's copy of What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez. All thoughts that follow are my own.

What the River Knows is about a young Argentinian girl named Inez who belongs to the upper crust society of Buenos Aires and longs to explore the larger world around her with her beloved parents. There's only one problem- she frequently gets left behind. After her parents disappear under mysterious circumstances, Inez, armed with her sketchpads and a gold ring that her father sent her for safekeeping, ventures to the beautiful and ancient city of Cairo, Egypt, a historic city steeped deep in old world magic. Once she arrives in Cairo, her golden ring pulls her down a path of discovery and hidden secrets she could never have imagined and if she isn't careful, everything coming to light about her family might just bring about her own death.

I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end. The author created such beautiful and descriptive scenes, really making me feel as though I was venturing down the streets of Cairo with Inez and Whit. There were also so many different plot twists that I didn't think could possibly come together by the end of this book but they did in a super interesting way. Inez is such a powerful and independent character (reminiscent of Evelyn from the Mummy franchise) nicely foiled by the charming and somewhat annoying companion she finds in Whitford Hayes. This book is steeped in ancient Egyptian history while still retaining a YA feeling/tone.

One thing that I wish was slightly more included in the book was the magic system that was implemented. The little bit that we get to see is interesting and seems vital to the overall story but also feels underutilized. I also wished that there was a bit more inclusion of Inez's passion for writing. I'm hoping we get to see this a little bit more in the next book.

Overall this was a really enjoyable read and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes the Mummy films and is interested in Ancient Egypt. 4/5 stars!