What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez is a fantasy novel set in the unusual location of 19th century Egypt. Our main character, Inez, is a strong-willed and resourceful young lady, determined to solve the mystery of her missing parents. Along the way she learns who she can and cannot trust, including within her own family. She joins archeological expeditions and uncovers astounding treachery, all while falling for a young man who may be the most treacherous of them all.

This first book in the Secrets of the Nile duology cannot be read solely on its own. The cliff-hanger means we are waiting for @isabelwriter09 ‘s next book: Where the Library Hides.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

This book was so good! After so many books that felt wishy washy this was a breath of fresh air. I loved the setting - the Egyptian backdrop was breathtaking (I am a bit biased though because I LOVE books that take place around this area! I just love the culture and history). And the character Inez was such witty and fun to read about. I like the weaving of mythology and the flashback of Cleopatra's memories as well.

There were parts of this book that missed the mark in my opinion. I felt that more representation of actual Egyptian characters would have been nice and more care taken in writing about the artifacts. These are points that I hope the author can take a look back on and decide to do better about.

Overall as an entertaining read, I am going to give it four stars. On a level of skill and writing style a 3-3.5. I hope to see Ibanez expand on this book and develop its characters a little more thoroughly.

Absolutely amazing! I loved everything about this book. The characters were engaging, the mystery kept me on my toes, and the romance was intriguing. Plus all the lush Egyptian descriptions were amazing. I am eagerly waiting for book 2 because that epilogue destroyed me.

This was my favorite book of 2023! I was thoroughly impressed with the plot, characters and writing style. I admit I was not the biggest fan of Isabel’s previous work, but this completely changed my mind. I loved it and can’t wait for the next one!

I have enjoyed Isabel Ibanez's writing style of history and a little bit of fantasy. The characters are interesting, well-developed and the journey you take is wonderfully surprising. I think the love story that isn't too over the top and the family dynamics definitely hold your attention.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, I really liked how it was a bit different and took place in Egypt with Egyptian culture and mythology. I also liked that it touched on a lot of the issues with colonialism. I do think the magic system could have been more developed though and I don't know that it was entirely necessary to the story, there were times I forgot there even was magic and it became a bit jarring to see it again. There were a few parts of the plot that felt unnecessary, while at the same time I kept hoping I would see more from Whit's perspective rather than the short snippets that were given.

I heard a lot about the worldbuilding in this one, but I kept wondering why a book set in Egypt about safekeeping Egyptian cultural heritage didn’t centre any Egyptian people? That people of another culture from the other side of the world were getting in there to “save” the Egyptian artifacts? It left me feeling a wee bit squinty.
There were also plot elements that I struggled with. How did the MC discover letters in a room thoroughly searched by others before her? How could the villain be so cartoonishly evil? And the love pairing… I dunno. Not sold. I disliked the ending, the way a sympathetic character arrived just to be killed for Drama, the cliffhanger-esque final chapter. Not for me. 2.5 stars

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.