Loved this one!! The Egyptian backdrop was so lush the setting of this book and the descriptive prose were my favorite parts. The miscommunication between many of the characters annoyed me a bit but I can see how it was necessary to set up the betrayal. I loved Cleopatras memories. I can’t wait to read the next book I already pre-ordered! Whit better not be a bad guy!

I received an e-arc of What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I tried listening to the audio for this and the narrator's voice for Whit gave me the worst ick, so DNFed @ 21% - would not recommend the audiobook for this.
I picked this up again, reading physically this time and ate it up. I'm here for InezWhit, their banter, the Egyptian atmosphere, and what was that ending?? I have the next book preordered.
4 stars.

I absolutely loved this title. The book drew me in from the first page with its brilliant descriptions of magic and enchantment. It enhanced the setting of an Egyptian excavation site to seem actually magical. I felt that I could picture the setting around me with the immersive writing.
The characters seemed as if they were real people. Inez was a sympathetic character from the start, and I enjoyed following her as she pressed forward in her quest to find out what happened to her parents, despite being told she could not. Inez and Whit make a fantastic team on the page, and I look forward to reading more in this series when the next book is released.
The suspense was perfectly paced, not too intense but still enough to grab attention and make the reader want to know more. Some moments felt like they were on screen in front of me, like an old-fashioned adventure movie. I was strongly reminded of The Mummy. Excellent book!

Purchased for my high school library! A very enjoyable read. Adventure and mystery will make a great suggestion for fans of The Kane Chronicles, or the Indiana Jones or Mummy movies.

I really enjoyed a lot about this - the setting in colonial Egypt a few years after the seige of Alexandria, the archeology and magic, the tension between Inez and Whit, shifting alliances, the mystery surrounding Inez's parents disappearance and presumed deaths, and a seriously good plot twist - but also struggled with other elements. The pacing felt especially uneven to me, almost languid for the first 25-30% or so then a rushed, frenetic ending and Inez, our main character and the POV for the majority of this book, had a tendency to be kind of infuriatingly clueless. I spent a lot of this book wanting to reach through the screen to shake her.

But overall despite these flaws on the balance I ended up really enjoying this and am excited to see what comes next - the cliffhanger on this book is next level!!

This is such a great blend of Historical Fantasy and Magical Realism. I really enjoyed the magic system and how it played into the history of the world. The setting is so well done blending history and fantasy beautifully. The characters are well written and made it so hard to know who to trust and what to believe. I did still call most of the big twists but I was also seriously doubting my self. The combination of the mysterious deaths of her parents and the rush to find the tomb was so well done and I was really impressed with the pacing of the plot. All around this is a great book.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the eARC! I was always interested in Egyptian mythology and ancient history when I was a kid, so when I saw this book had Cleopatra, I was so excited to read it. This book ended up being one huge emotional rollercoaster. There were so many plot twists and betrayals that I could barely put the book down. The ending absolutely killed me, and I’m so sad about what happened to a certain female character. i didn’t want to believe what happened to her was real. I thought the magic system was creative, and I loved the world building. The scenes about the archaeological digs and discoveries were so adventurous and exciting to read about. I felt like I was discovering the tombs right along with the rest of the crew. The artwork was described so beautifully, and now I really want to go to Egypt. The romance was such a great example of forbidden romance, and I thought Whit and Inez had smoldering chemistry. Overall, I would totally recommend this book!

I adore the film The Mummy, so when I saw this book described as The Mummy meets Death on the Nile, I knew I had to read it. I found this book to be a little slow getting started but it picked up about halfway through. Inez is a feisty main character and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot. Looking forward to the next book!

Oh, this book! This was my first fiction title by Isabel Ibañez that I've read, but it did not disappoint. Her characters are great, and I felt totally immersed in the settings. I loved getting a different take on both Egyptian history with the search for Cleopatra, as well as the stark reminder of the history of the antiquities "trade" (theft) happening in the 1800s.

Inez is a compelling MC. I loved her stubbornness and tenacity. The rest of the cast provided depth and intrigue, and so many good mystery elements to unravel. The magic was woven through so skillfully in a way that was completely believable even in the "real world" setting.

But Isabel, that ending! I am not sure how to react to that, and the cliffhanger will have me preordering book 2 for sure, even though I'm a little afraid of what's going to happen next.

This book immediately pulled me in. I didn't want to put it down! I really loved the banter between the two main characters. And loved going on the adventure with the main character, Inez. As a child, I was obsessed with Egypt and I feel like you can feel the love the author has for Egypt in this book. I thought this book would be an easy 5 for me but the fallout of some of the twists didn't feel as genuine to me for the characters. I did love the history of Egypt this book explored as well but I wish it dived deeper into the mystery our main character was trying to solve. I will, however, be picking up the second book and can't wait to see what happens as....it does end on a cliffhanger. This book has also made me want dive into the author's back catalog.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book that unfortunately took me a long time to actually start reading. What the River Knows was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump, combining archeology, magic and mystery. I liked that whie the book was magical in many ways, it read more like an adventure novel or thriller with a historical fiction twist. Betrayals and twists are the main driving force behind the plot with an ending I saw coming but shocked me anyways. Perhaps my one complaint is that there are a lot of loose threads left for book two which always makes me a bit anxious.

If you are a fan of The Mummy, you will enjoy this book.
So much fun, so much cool history mixed in with fantasy. Highly recommend.

What the River Knows was such a fun read! I enjoyed the similarities to The Mummy as that is one of my favorite movie trilogies. I really loved Whit and the banter him and Inez was absolute perfection. The not quite enemies/sorta allies to lovers was everything I wanted. I adored their relationship and desperately need more after that ending. The setting - Egypt was breathtaking and came alive almost as another character itself. The mystery of what they were all looking for kept me interested and I cannot wait for book 2

I need book #2 now!

For fans of Rebecca Ross, you’ll love this history fiction/romance/magical book!

The description of the Nile and Egypt was absolutely gorgeous, but the story line was predictable, and felt all over the place. I wanted more character development to fully feel infested not only in Inez, but the others as well.

this was actually very cute and fun! it's so clear why isabel ibañez and rebecca ross are besties. their young adult writing is slightly elevated above a lot of the. god forgive me. commercial sludge that's being published

LOVED this book! The visual description of the story was great and it was easy to be fully immersed. Loved the pace of the plot. A subtle mystery, not intense thriller. Unique storyline and I'll definitely be checking out other books by Isabel Ibanez.

Not bad, but not for me.

There are going to be people who love this book, and I thought I would be one of those people, but unfortunately I am not. The storyline is great, the magic is beautiful but the writing style was aggravating. Perhaps it is misleading to say the writing style but every other sentence read like a thesaurus was kept on hand and words were constantly switched out. It made the writing feel disjointed and that really took away from my enjoyment of the book.

What the River Knows is an immediately captivating novel that dives into the idea of what makes a family and how far one will go to find out answers. From captivating descriptions of the Egyptian desserts to relationships that are truly given time to grow and thrive, this book is easy to become entirely immersed in.

It drives me crazy in books when there is non stop action and a timeline that simply does not make sense. In, What the River Knows, time is taken between each action scene. Inez’s journey from Argentina to Egypt takes several weeks and the timeline makes that obvious. The reader is aware of the journey and everything she had to do to get to her destination, without it taking up too big of a chunk of the book. Similarly, the rest of the book keeps the pace of a realistic time jump from location to location.

In the same way that the timeline and pace of the plot was well managed, the relationship of the characters were able to take time to grow and develop in a way that felt natural. Inez, her Uncle Ricardo, and Ricardo’s assistant, Whit, were all given a chance to grow in their own way. The mysteries that surrounded the dig site and the disappearance of Inez’s parents brought out characteristics that may have remained hidden without the prompting of a good mystery. The only flaw I found in their development was that while I loved the way they each grew individually, their relationships with side characters felt forced. These side characters were one dimensional where I would have loved to see more interaction and development.

While I cannot say much about the ending without giving away spoilers, let me just say that by the last words on the page, I was staring in shock. I even went as far as flipping pages to make sure I didn't miss anything. It was a brilliant way to end the book and it made me anxious to see what comes next for the characters that quickly won over my heart.

4.5/5 stars for a well paced adventure that truly kept me on my toes.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mummy meets Death on the Nile and this book is an unforgettable story about rivals to lovers, fantasy and more.