I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was a dual timeline story set between the 1930’s and the 1970’s. A found birth certificate and many emotions surrounding it entail this book. While I liked the storyline, it was hard for me to get into this one.

I definitely would try more by this author though.

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Sourcebooks Landmark
Pub Date: 4-1-25

Thank you @netgalley, @bookmarked, and @kellymustianauthor for the opportunity to read this eARC

Motherhood, family, secrets, friendship, love—these themes drew me completely into the world of Nell, Hazel, Becca, and Evie. What strong, resilient women, particularly Hazel and Becca.

"As she drove, time seemed a fluid thing, prone to slipping out of sequence in this state where her life had begun. She was a woman and a little girl, was forging her own path and being taking along for a ride, uncertain of where she was going or where she had been."

". . . those memories that adults hold of their earliest years only because of the stories told and retold to them so often that the stories become memories ingrained."

This was a truly haunting story with all the southern imagery. It made for quite an atmospheric read. I loved the character development and the dual timelines that drove the narrative. This was heartfelt and moving. I enjoyed it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

The River Knows Your Name is a beautifully written story by Kelly Mustain. It’s about dedication, perseverance, betrayal, unimaginable heartbreak and new beginnings.

The book is told in duel timelines from the POVs of Nell, Becca and Hazel.

Nell is searching for answers questions about her childhood and Becca is trying provide for herself and her child during the Great Depression.

Thank you to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for letting me read this ARC.

We have two timelines here 1930s the Mississippi area and then 1971 North Carolina. Nell and Evie very young children, and Hazel their mother. Always the two timelines makes for an interesting story when you compare lifestyles, attitudes and especially how far women have come in thirty years.

Nell and Evie discovered a birth certificate thirty years ago in a copy of Jane Eyre. Evie's mother was not Hazel. The two girls vowed never to talk about this. How this discovery would have impacted and changed their lives if brought to Hazels notice is so huge, that it was only realized thirty years later.

The story winds around secrets of Evie’s arrival in Nell’s home, how Hazel became secretive, disconnected from her children and that distance was maintained almost to the end. The reasons of course unraveled and it showed Hazel in a totally different light, protective to the end.

Very atmospheric, with tragic/dark overtones, plenty of history intertwined within the story covering the Depression era. Most importantly very strong women figures in this story.

This is my first book by this author. I did go get a copy of her previous one, The Girls In The Stilt House, after reading this one though.

Main characters: Nell, Evie, Hazel and Becca. There are a few more that play a big part in this story but these four will steal your heart by the end of this book.

This book is at the top of my favorites list. It will definitely be in my top twelve at the end of the year. I highly recommend this book. It's heartbreaking, beautiful, loving, hold your breath good. It will immerse you into a world of a mother's love. Another mother's need for control. And another mother's survival while allowing her child to live. To survive. To be free. It's just one you truly will not forget and will not want to put down.

This book had be just a bit confused at first. Trying to see where it was headed. Trying to figure out what each part was about. How they would come together. They came together in a way that had me in tears. Some happy tears and just a few sad tears. This author knows how to capture your heart. How to make you feel what a true mother's love is...

Told in two timelines and different POVs throughout. You get to know each character and what they go through. How they feel about each other. The fears they have. The love of sisters who are not true blood sisters but sisters of the heart. Of mother's. Mothers in ways that only a true mother knows. Even if not by blood. How they survive and keep each other safe.

There are a few characters in this story and it's fairly easy to keep them separate. To know who is who and what each has going on. How friends help even without knowing it sometimes. To be there for someone when it truly counts. The loss of a child. Not in death but in life. How a mother can go on knowing she did what was best. Even after she has lost everything else. Not knowing if she will ever see her baby again. Proof that your child is always your baby even when they are all grown and have their own family. In some cases anyway.

This is one of those books that you don't want to say a lot about what happened because you certainly don't want to give anything away. But it also is one that shows how much you have to trust people sometimes. How the most desperate of times make you do things you never thought you could. Or would.

A masterpiece in my opinion. A book with such depth and feeling. Do not miss this one.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SourcebooksLandmark, for this ARC.

This book is about lost family with a dual timeline - one in the 1930's and in the 1970's. I really like southern historical fiction. However, this one I had a few issues with. I had a hard time keeping up with the characters - apart from Becca I felt some of them weren't well defined to me so while reading I had a hard time following at first.

I loved Becca and found her storyline the most interesting. It's a 3 star read for me. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

I loved Kelly Mustian's debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House , so it was a no-brainer to request this from NetGalley. The book is deeply emotional and weaves two tales that take the reader on a journey from the Depression-era American South to the 1970s. Southern historical fiction is my favourite genre, so it's no surprise that I absolutely loved this one.

Dual timelines are a favourite format for me, and as usual, I loved the older timeline, BUT with the second being far back in the 1970s, I found that a plus. They're both complex storylines but are skillfully interwoven and seamlessly reveal the connection between the characters and their shared history.

The setting is atmospheric and took me to the Mississippi Delta and the North Carolina mountains in my head. I can't forget to mention the river of the title, as it is a character in and of itself and is a big part of the characters' lives. The characters are complex, and so are their backgrounds; each has their struggles and vulnerabilities to deal with. I liked how the author showed how family secrets from the past can affect the present and even the future. The women in these two timelines are strong and resilient and do whatever they can to protect those they love and survive. I enjoyed being on this journey with Nell, Becca, Evie and Hazel and their search for the truth.

Overall, this book was compelling and beautifully written and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves historical fiction with strong female leads and detailed, complex storytelling. All. The. Stars.

A story of family secrets and sacrifice. I was immediately drawn into this story of Becca, Nell, Evie, and Hazel as they navigated their stories, alternating between the early 1930s and the early 1970s. I loved the resilience these women all showed in different ways, the family they created along the way, the mystery of how each person's piece of the story fit together, and they way this was told in dual timeline/dual POV. I was captivated, and while it was heartbreaking at times, it's ultimately heartwarming.

This novel unfolds through dual perspectives, offering an interwoven generational narrative that spans decades. Becca’s story, set in the 1930s, follows her harrowing journey as a young housewife whose husband vanishes without warning. Suddenly widowed, she struggles to provide for her daughter, facing daunting obstacles in her fight for survival and independence. Becca is resilient as she navigates the perilous realities of the time, finding a job, caring for her daughter and her rights as a mother and a woman.

Decades later, Nell and her sister Ivie stumble upon a birth certificate that suggests Ivie’s mother was someone else entirely. As an adult, Nell becomes determined to untangle the mystery of their family’s past, revealing long-held secrets that have shaped their lives.

Set in the American South, the novel is rich with vivid descriptions of rundown towns and the Mississippi River. I enjoyed the scenic descriptions but I found myself wishing for a faster pace—less scene-setting and more immediate engagement with the core plot. The story truly gains momentum about two-thirds of the way in, when the connections between characters become clearer. While I initially struggled to keep track of the names across timelines, the merging narratives made it easier to distinguish each character’s role in the story.

I really enjoyed the last half of the novel as the tension built and the secrets started to be revealed and people’s intentions and motives became clear. I sympathized with Becca’s drive to provide for her child and the feeling helpless when she couldn’t. I didn’t expect to feel as much as I did for Hazel until the reasons behind her guarded nature became clear. Hazel was dealt unexpected situation and she did her best.

3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy of The River Knows Your Name.

In the 1930s Nell is a young girl when one day another little girl named Evie joins her family. Her mother is very mysterious about her and they end up having to move a few times. One day Nell and Evie find something hidden in an old book that has the name of Evie’s mother and it is not there mothers name. The girls decide to keep that a secret but they never forget what they saw. Now in the 1970s Nell and Evie are adults and Nell is determined to get answers about their childhood.

I liked this book but there were a lot of characters to try to keep track of and the story drug on for me in the middle. I was also expecting more of a shocking twist and was kind of let down that the build up of the book let to that. It was just okay for me.

Nell and Evie have been raised as sisters they're entire lives, since Evie arrived as a 2 year, in mysterious circumstances. Their reclusive mother has always kept their family circumstances secret and both girls have memories of moving from place to place during their childhood. One day, Nell and Evie find a copy of Evie's birth certificate touched into a book on their shelf, however it's not till Bell reaches her 40s that she sets out on a journey to uncover her family's secrets and the story of how Evie came to live with them.

A beautifully told, poignant family drama of survival told in 2 timelines and dealing with love, betrayal and the heartbreak that goes along with it. A captivating, emotional story which I highly recommend, especially if you enjoy family sagas spanning over generations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book

Kelly Mustian, author of The Girls in the Stilt House (2021), gives readers another captivating Southern novel, The River Knows Your Name.
Written in a dual timeline and largely centered on two women, much of the plot focuses on secrets and lies, parents or parent substitutes, children, and sisters, the need to protect those one loves, and the need to find answers—to solve family mysteries.

The story opens six days before Becca’s marriage to Ben Chambers while she is still living with her “second mother” Lottie, an artist who once painted commissioned portraits but now prefers painting everything around the house from walls and doors to shoes and a breadbox. Many community members view Lottie as “the town nut, but Becca adores her. Following Becca’s marriage, she learns the news that Lottie has been seen falling into the river. Her body has vanished. The next time readers meet Becca, they learn that her brief marriage to Ben and the rest of her story occur predominately during the Great Depression.

Although Nell’s story takes place primarily during 1971, she first appears with her sister Evie while both are children, or rather as Nell recalls the day ten-year-old Evie discovers they are not real sisters, a fact Evie insisted Nell never let anyone know they had discovered and one Nell did not tell Evie she already knew. Nell vaguely remembered an unknown man dropping toddler Evie off shortly before Hazel, her distant mom, suddenly moved both girls to Clay Mountain where Hazel continued to live after the girls grew to adulthood. How and why had Evie become her sister? Who was that stranger who dropped her off in a green truck? Where was that first house they had abandoned? These and other questions would haunt Nell into her forties and send her in search of answers.

Following these two opening sections that form an unlabeled preface, Mustian devotes a series of multi-chapter sections to both Nell and Becca, giving chapters 34-36 to their mother Hazel, then returning to Nell and Becca for the remainder of the book, which ends with a 1975 epilogue. As readers of other dual timeline novels can easily guess, the two women’s stories gradually converge.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I recommend keeping a character list to deal with the large number of supporting characters playing roles in the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance reader egalley . The River Knows Your Name will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction, family secrets, and mysteries to be solved.

With alternating POVs in dual timelines that are clearly connected but the reader doesn't find out how until the very end of the book, this story was very interesting to read! There were so many intriguing characters that captured my emotions. I was rooting for Becca and despised Mildred. I found it difficult to connect with Nell, but understand why the author chose to use her POV for that storyline. I really enjoyed the found family aspect and the historical elements of the 1930s South.

Ultimately, I wanted the book to tie together better. The title, synopsis and prologue made me think I was about to read a haunting mystery where the river played prominently but that is not what the story was about. While Evie is arguably the central figure of this story, we don't get much of her perspective. The characters of Lottie and Hazel were so prominent in the storyline, but I didn't feel like I knew them at all. While the story was very enjoyable to read, I don't feel like I took away a bigger message from it.

An emotional dual time line novel about four women-Nell, Evie, Hazel, and Becca-and a secret which hovers over them all. It moves between Becca in the 193os and Nell in 1971, Who was Evie's mother? Nell and Evie know it wasn't Hazel but how did they become a family and why? No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.

this book held so many feeling within its pages. so many powerful moments both harrowing and tender. i was in awe of some of the characters both in their grit to carry on or in their grit to fight on.
there were some real horrors in this cast of characters.
the mysterys evolved around a baby left to a mother and her daughter one dark night. nothing more is said and its clear nothing more should be asked on the matter. and so the girls and their mother grow on. but Nell isnt ok with leaving it there and is determined for both Evie and herself and possibly even their mother,to find out more. to find out why.
in our dual timeline we also have the tale of a mother who is going through so very much. and gradually these two timelines meet until we finally found out who plays what part in these girls lives. and how Nell came to have a new baby sister overnight.
there is so much pull to this book. its a fantastic read. its hold you tight until youve read every last page and even then leaves you thinking long after the last page is turned.

So excited to receive an ARC of this book. Girls in Stilt Houses is one of my all-time favorites so couldn't wait for this one. I didn't love this one quite as much due to the dual timelines. It did have all the moodiness & Southern charm that I have come to expect from Mustian though. The two storyline involve Becca, a young widow trying to care for her baby during the depression and Nell in 1971 trying to piece together the mystery of how her baby sister came to live with her & her mother. Neatly tied together at the end. Looking forward to the third novel.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this free ARC and the opportunity to review it.

Kelly Mustian writes from the heart, and this dual-timeline story, told through the perspectives of sisters Nell and Evie, is both suspenseful and emotional. Their relationship, intertwined with that of their unknowable mother, Hazel, is complicated by the story of Evie’s mysterious origins. In the depths of the Great Depression, a baby was dropped off at the ramshackle home that Nell shared with single-mother Hazel, by a male stranger, in the middle of the night. Nothing more is said about it to the bewildered Nell, who quickly becomes a devoted big sister. She never asks, and Hazel makes it clear that she won’t tell. Does she even know Evie’s story?

During the 1930s timeline, however, the focus is not so much the girls and Hazel as it is fugitive mother Becca’s story. all is revealed in the 1970s timeline, when Nell takes it upon herself to get answers.

The double timeline occasionally trips over itself, largely because many of the 1930s characters are very relevant to the outcome, but their relationships are unclear. Hazel’s background is hazy until the end; by the time Evie and Becca get their story told, it’s hard not to have guessed. With this large and often overlapping-yet-separate cast, the many changes of setting (all beautifully depicted), and the multiple, also entwined- but -distinct stories unfolding, it’s hard to keep them straight. Some of the links, when revealed, are also a bit contrived, with too much power given to the villain. Still, the author’s story-telling and character development are excellent and I found myself willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good tale and beautiful writing.

Unfortunately this did not work for me and I gave up around 30%. Maybe it’s just me but the recent trend in literature with dueling POVs is getting tiresome. It’s hard to keep track of the characters. Once you get invested in one storyline, the POV switched. The pace was also just a little too slow for me. Thanks SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for the eARC for review.

This book was a trip through time. Starting in the 30’s and moving into the 70’s. It’s a story of survival, endurance and love. I was so moved by the last quarter of this book that I’m still in awe of the way this writer gave me hope and found family and yet a deep sense of loss for many of the characters. My book club chose The Girls in the Stilt House for this month’s selection and I’m picking it up next to read by this same author and I’m looking forward to another story by this gifted writer. Excellent story I highly recommend. 4.5 stars!