First off I want to say that I have been obsessed with the movie The Mummy since as long as I can remember. So when I saw that this book was The Mummy and Death on the Nile vibes I COULD NOT WAIT!

The setting of this book was absolutely beautiful. I love anything set in Egypt. The writing was fantastic. I think I would have enjoyed this even more if it wasn't YA but that's my own preference and nothing against the author. She did an amazing job! Whit was definitely my favorite character. Probably because I was picturing a young Brendan Frasier. A great book!

Thank you for the ARC!

I love Isabel Ibanez and this book certainly did not disappoint! I had never read a book that took place in Egypt, so that was a fun new adventure, all while incorporating several other cultures and languages as well. This book had little bit of romance, a little bit of magic, and a lot of twists and turns. My only complaint was that there were a few things I predicted (and I am usually easily fooled!), so I wasn't quite convinced about the nature of a few characters along the way. I will also say that I truly hope there is a sequel in the works - otherwise the ending is maddening. ;)

This was such a fantastic historical fantasy with the perfect Egyptian adventure vibes! Egypt has been a place I’ve always been fascinated with and lived off of The Mummy growing up, plus I’m a huge Agatha Christie fan, so this being pitched as The Mummy meets Death On The Nile, I could hardly pass it up.

Set in 1884 Egypt, Inez sets off from Buenos Aires after receiving word of her parents untimely death while in Egypt. A place she’s always wanted to be apart of after seeing her parents devote so much of their time to it and hearing the stories they’ve told. When her uncle tries to send her home without answers she becomes determined to find some herself.

Fantastic vivid setting, the writing was beautiful and really set the tone for the book. I loved the characters, Inez was head strong and I couldn’t get enough of the banter between her and Mr. Hayes. Their relationship was a slow burn with the grumpy sunshine trope that was such a delight to read. There’s romance, mystery, adventure, antiquities with inherited magic and mention of Cleopatra.

Well developed characters, a fairly complex plot, with a bit of a twist and a cliffhanger and I already can’t wait to read the next book! While I do think the pacing could have been a bit faster and the magic a bit more in depth, this was a solid historical fantasy.

Egypt is fascinating, especially in 1884. Just ask Inez Olivera. Every year her parents came from there glowing with love for it. They filled her with stories about the amazing archeological discoveries, the hieroglyphics to be interpreted, the bustle of the streets, the food, the romance of traveling in an ancient land.
But they had other plans for Inez. Every time that she asked to go with them, they told her no. So when she learns of their mysterious death there, she finally decides that she has to go anyway. Inez travels to Egypt to demand answers from her uncle. He gives her a cool reception. It doesn’t help that she is blocked by her uncle’s handsome assistant at every turn. Whit anticipates Inez’s tricks, orders her around, and turns out to be a vault for secrets. In a land where everything is for sale and the ruling British overseers cannot be trusted, it will take Whit to keep her alive. Inez finds herself in a web of unscrupulous treasure hunters, magical visions, and hungry Nile crocodiles, as her uncle hurries to uncover Cleopatra’s tomb.
Throughout the novel, Inez struggles over who to trust. The tension between her and Whit is well done. Inez truly makes a mess of things, but who could blame her? There’s anger and deceit and fear. It’s a journey that feels real, and it’s satisfying to see pieces coming back together.

What the River Knows harkens back to classic action adventure stories from years ago. The story is set in both nineteenth century Argentina and Egypt and follows Inez the daughter of two Argentinian archaeologists who have died under mysterious circumstances while working in Egypt. Inez decides to sneak away to the land of the pyramids, the exotic location of her dreams, in order to find out what really happened to her parents. While there, she accidentally becomes embroiled in a cat and mouse game involving her uncle, Egyptologists, and politicians, each with their own motives and suspicions.

I liked the beginning of the story because it felt like it was going to be a fascinating adventure full of magic and mystery. However, I was disappointed at the lack of magic. There was only a tiny bit of fantasy as the majority of the story was focused on the politics and complexities of the archaeological world in Egypt at the time. I would have liked a lot more magic because I found the story very dry and slow paced.

I loved this. I can't oversell how much. The mummy vibes, the ancient magic, the suspense was killer, and the characters were just delightful. I love this authors writing style, it was captivating from beginning to end.

This book was sold to me as The Mummy meets Death on the Nile and I can't think of anything more specifically tailored to my interests. The story, setting, and characters were well-developed and delightful. I want more!

What The River Knows
🌕🌕🌕🌕/5
Summary: A historical fantasy set in 1884 Egypt. A young Inez Olivera has just discovered her parents have suddenly died while in Egypt and is compelled to investigate.
Headstrong, she travels from Argentina to Egypt where she must challenge her “guardian” uncle and his annoyingly handsome, secretive associate Whit. Inez is thrust into a society of swindlers and thieves.
Inez holds a magical affinity to ancient artifacts that some would kill for.

What I Liked:
- How ancient artifacts and magic were incorporated into the story.
- The adventure, suspense and major plot twists.
- Had a similar vibe to “The Mummy” series.
- Whit and Inez are interesting, multi layered characters. Both were flawed in a way that brought them together.

What Could Have Been Improved:
- The romance was a bit slow moving.
- I would have liked to see the magical aspect expanded into further details.
- Although the imagery and texture of the book was lovely, it overshadowed the dialogue and plot.

This is an adventurous read of complex characters with a soft enemies-to-lovers vibe. I am a fan of historical fiction so insight into the ancient civilization of Egypt mixed with a pinch of magic was perfect.
We witness Colonialism at its height with dire outcomes for human rights and independence. Although much was lost the magic of Egypt remains alive and never dies.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the eARC

An absolute RIDE. Romance and adventure? I love this story. Couldn't put it down. WHERE IS THE NEXT ONEEEE!?!?!?!

5/5

Isabel Ibañez has done it again. She has wow’ed me in every sense of the word with the magic in her worlds and in her words. I didn’t think she could top Woven in Moonlight and Written in Starlight, yet here we are. This book gives us a lot: a complicated family, an angsty romance, and a glimpse into the underbelly of Britain’s pilfering in Egypt during the 1880s. I can’t wait to have a physical copy in my hands this November.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For a shortened version of my review and content (sex, language, violence) summary, check here:
https://www.novelnotices.com/what-the-river-knows//

Wow.  This was so unique compared to a ton of other YA novels.  I loved the setting, loved the characters, loathed and protested against the ending—it killed me and I need the second one to be announced.  The pacing of the romance bothered me at first, but that could just be because I have a harder time measuring the story arc when reading on an electronic.  Still, I loved the couple.  Whit and Inez are amazing and complex, just like all the rest of the characters.  

I saw some of the twists coming, but the way everything unfolded was spectacular. The plot felt extremely original and I really felt drawn into the 19th century Egyptian world. I would have loved a bit more explanation for the magic system, but I can live with what I got. Which is a very interesting and aspect in the world. I would also like to point of that I loved Inez's background. Her feelings toward Egypt and her parents (spawning from this background) were realistic and multi-layered. She and Whit both had their flaws, and that only made them all the more entertaining.

Can I also point out that they are pretty much the blueprint for banter? Sarcastic, witty, soft enemies-to-lovers—yes, please.

Here's to hoping the next one isn't too far into the future.

Holy hieroglyphics! What an adventure. It is a very good sign when as a reader you are torn between reading faster to get to find out what happens next and slowing down because you don’t want the story to end,

Our spirited and adventurous heroine Inez travels to Egypt to discover the truth about her parents mysterious death. She is met in Cairo by her Uncle’s handsome but enigmatic assistant Whit who is charged with returning to England. Luckily, for the reader Whit doesn’t succeed and from there the twists and turns don’t stop. There is a sparkling dialogue, some romance and a dash of magic to round out this very enjoyable book, which appears to be the first of a series as it ended with a cliffhanger.

This is categorized as a YA book and I would definitely recommend it for younger readers. If you want to become the favourite aunt/uncle it would be a great gift. It is also a great read for adults looking for a pleasure read or a bookclub wanting to mix up their genre choices.

Woah. This book was such a rush and I would totally make a joke about how I’m in de-Nile that it’s over but that would be super corny, so I won’t. What the River Knows is an adventure-filled, YA fantasy book with an amazing romantic line (with a pretty damaged love interest) and tons of betrayals and shocking twists, set in Egypt. I’ve loved learning about Ancient Egypt since I was little so this was the perfect book for me and has reignited my passion for the subject (especially Cleopatra, of course). Although it took me a couple of chapters to become engulfed by the book, by about 20% I couldn’t put it down. Ibañez grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the end, where she effectively throws you right off a cliff. Pick this book up as soon as it is released and preorder it now so I can have someone to rant about it with. Saying that I cannot wait for the sequel is an understatement.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley offering this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a slow read for me. So many pages are dedicated to describing the smallest details. Boat docks, city streets, table settings, rugs, tents, etc. Which really enhanced the feeling of being in Egypt, but didn't necessarily move the story forward. I need a little balance between imagery and pacing/plot progression.

Anywhooo... I liked it, it was okay. The 1 page epilogue was definitely the most intriguing aspect of the book. Whit just became much more interesting!

Wow. Okay. Where do I even begin?

Let's start with the cover. Kerri Resnick is a master crafter! That amazing cover was the first thing that caught my eye on NetGalley, so I have Kerri to thank for bringing this book to me. Her work is incredible. I’m usually a historical mystery girl, but that cover couldn’t be ignored, so I requested an eARC of this YA historical fantasy from Netgalley, which they kindly granted me.

This is the challenging part of the review. How do I tell you how outstanding the book was and how many feels it gave me and how many ways it kept me on my toes without spoiling things? It gave me all the feels and just when I thought I knew where we stood, everything shifted. And shifted. And shifted. It’s lovely. What a grand adventure!

Inez Olivera is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood in 19th Century Argentina. She misses her parents, absent half the year in Egypt, and longs to join them. But her hopes are dashed when a letter arrives, announcing their deaths instead of granting her permission to join them. And thus begins a wild, intriguing adventure in a whole new world as she searches for answers to their disappearance an ocean away. Along the way, she joins her guardian, Tio Ricardo, who may not be quite what he seems; and his infuriating, handsome, right hand man, Whitford Hayes, for the adventure of a lifetime. As others have said, this definitely gives off Indiana Jones vibes, if he were a sheltered, artistic heiress who doesn't know how to take no for an answer!

This is my first Isabel Ibañez book, but it definitely won’t be the last. She fashioned fascinating characters with depth and mystery, and a plot that kept me guessing the whole way through! I can’t even be mad about it - until the end. How dare the book end, leaving me to wait a whole year for its sequel?! I've grown quite fond of Inez and I want to see more of her story! It was a whole journey and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves ya fantasy, wants to learn more about historic Egypt, or enjoys will-they-won't-they romantic tension. Check out Netgalley for eARCs or pre-order ahead of its November 14 release!

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!