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!

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez is a beautiful book both in its writing style and in setting. The novel immediately brings you in and the story never lets up from start to finish. The twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat. The main character is a strong female and I really enjoyed getting to know her throughout the novel.

OH MY GOSSSHHHH I literally have no words. NO WORDS. But this is a review so I will try my best hahaha. Y'ALL. THIS BOOK. THAT ENDING--it gave me such an adrenaline rush, and bumped up my initial rating of 4 stars to a solid 5. I can't wait for the sequel! Here are the things I absolutely loved about What the River Knows:

- The Mummy/Death on the Nile vibes. Those were the PERFECT movies/books to compare this to
- The romance heehee
- Beautiful, detailed imagery
- Easy-to-read writing
- Learning more about ancient Egypt and late 19th century archeology
- THE MYSTERY
- THE ENDING
- THE EPILOGUE

I was gonna give this one 4 stars because it got a little slow for me after the first 1/3 of the book, and there were minor things that didn't work for me. But after finishing it? WOW. What the River Knows now has my full 5 star rating. I'll definitely be purchasing and rereading this one when it comes out!

Content rating: Overall PG-13, though it would be a mild R for language

A young woman runs away from Argentina to Egypt in hopes of discovering the truth about her parent's untimely deaths only to find a conspiracy involving Cleopatra and a young man she can't seem to escape.

I thought this was a standalone, the ending got to me because I couldn't figure out how things would wrap up and then it ended on a sort of cliffhanger.

I did enjoy it, it was a good, YA mystery and I think the setting was well adapted but I wish I had known it was a duology.

I usually love books about Egypt and history, but this one just wasn't for me. I thought the actual plot was a great idea, but I did not like the main characters and didn't enjoy the magical element to it at all. Great cover, great idea for a story, but I found I was forcing myself to read it.

What the River Knows is a marvelous adventure story following a determined and independent young woman as she travels to Egypt to search for answers after she finds out her parents are dead. I absolutely ADORED Inez and everything about this book! It was adventurous yet heartbreaking and I think the author did such a great job telling Inez's story. Not only that but the vivid descriptions of Egyptology and ancient Egypt showed that the author truly put a lot of time and research into making things accurate when it came to the fact parts of the story. I also really loved her own twist on finding Cleopatra's tomb. The descriptions of Philae made me feel like I was actually there and as a long time lover of Egypt's history it was magical. Everything about this book is magical really, It definitely lives up to the hype of The Mummy meets Death on The Nile! The characters were jumping off the pages they were so well written and I truly felt like I was watching this story play out like a movie in my head. The betrayals were not unexpected but still shocking and heartbreaking. I loved the world building and feeling like I was actually experiencing Inez's journey in Egypt and I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next for Inez and Whit!

This book is like a wonderful mash-up of The Mummy, Crocodile on the Sandbank (indeed, all of the early Amelia Peabody books), and Mr. Impossible.

It serves up romance, action, adventure, a roguish hero and a plucky heroine, and the magical island of Philae as a backdrop for the latter half of the story.

Philae is a beautiful place, and it was such a treat to read a novel set there. This story's twists and turns are all fun and fairly predictable, all of the characters fairly standard, and that was part of why I adored it.

It was so satisfying to lay in bed on a quiet Sunday morning, with a mug of mint tea with honey, and have a book give me exactly what I hoped it would: A well-written adventure set in 1880's Egypt with a hero and heroine who serve Radcliffe Emerson/Amelia Peabody and Evie/Rick vibes.

A story like that? Well, it's 100% up my alley.

What the River Knows doesn't reinvent the wheel, but that's not what I was looking for when I reached for this book on a rainy, cozy weekend. I wanted a comfort read and it delivered!

I do wish we'd gotten a couple of the story's reveals earlier on; sometimes secrets that are shared with the reader propel the story forward just as much as the ones that aren’t. I felt we and Inez, the heroine, were left in the dark for a bit too long, which caused a few chapters in the middle to drag a bit.

This minor quibble aside, I thought this was a wonderful read. Whitford (who I fell a little in love with myself) and Inez made a great pair. I'll definitely be rooting for those two come the next book, as I assume this story will be a duology based the ending we got. Yeah, yeah, the ending. I don't buy that my boy Whit is evil.

I hope this gets the hype it deserves come autumn.

Wow! I could not put this down. Inez journeys from Argentina to Egypt to find out what happened to her parents. There is magic, adventure, and a little romance. The cliffhanger at the end was pretty surprising but I cannot wait for the next book!