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.

This was a beautiful and immersive story all throughout, complete with both expected and unexpected twists. While I got a little lost occasionally and some passages seemed to drag on. I really enjoyed it overall. Not to mention, that epilogue had me audibly cursing. Will definitely need to check out book 2!

I wanted to love this, and I think I am in the minority here, but I really struggled with What the River Knows. The FMC, Inez, was extremely childish, shallow, and as if she knew best (despite having very little experience or knowledge on the subject at hand). The MMC, Whit, was fine. I have no real feelings on him, other than he felt very one dimensional. I wanted more from the plot and from the magical elements of the story. Overall, I was bored and annoyed while reading and struggle to finish the book.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What was that ending!!!

I enjoyed this, but I do wish there was a little more play on the magic. Maybe more discoveries and throw in there a curse. But that’s just because I really like that stuff when it comes to the time of the pharaohs.

The romance was there and I did enjoy it but I felt like it slow burned then simmered on and off too much.

I went into this book imagining The Mummy, while i did feels there were some similarities that gave me that vibe. It did lack for me a bit, the magic again was such a little importance in the story in my opinion.

The ending was definitely catching and I will most definitely be picking up book two because What was that ending!!! So many questions!

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Nineteen year old Inez Olivera lives in Buenos Aires with her aunt and cousins while her parents are archeologists in Cairo, Egypt. They are trying to discover the final resting place of Cleopatra, when something goes horribly wrong. Alerted of their death, Inez knows she must find out what happened to them. But being in the nineteenth century isn't always kind to headstrong females who want to experience life outside of society. Her uncle is less than pleased to see her, and his assistant. Whit, is handsomely insufferable. Inez quickly learns that dangers exist, and she might be in way over her head.

What I 🤍:
🕰️ Historical Fantasy
⚰️ Ancient Egyptian Setting
🚢 Adventure and Mystery
🤫 Secrets and Lies
🪄 Magical Objects
🌀 Creative Plot Idea
💕 Forbidden Romance

I'll start out by saying this is the most creative story idea as far as fantasy, that I've read in a long time! I loved how we had a strong, passionate FMC who's set to avenge her parents in the Egyptian setting. Traveling through Cairo, The Nile River and the tombs of ancient civilization was fascinating. But, that's where the story was at its best.

Honestly, I REALLY struggled with the pacing of this book. In fact, I ended up downloading it on audiobook and grabbing a physical to help me move along more quickly. (I was hooked enough to see what happens to not DNF it...and FYI the audio is TERRIBLE) The reason why the plot moved so slowly is because the plot has some holes. For starters, some ancient artifacts have magical properties that allow you to see images from the past. I wish that had been fleshed out more. Additionally, too much detail was spent on Inez's journey to the dig site rather than focusing on the mystery in itself. I also felt the romance was unnecessary and unbelievable since it was an insta-love yet we bicker 24/7 sort of situation. I didn't feel moved by their love story. Finally, some story elements were very predicable, which takes away some of the fun.

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Passion: 🔥🔥 (Kissing/'Touching')
Read If ➡️: You love adventure mysteries, archeology
Read 📅: Anytime!
CW ⚠️: GRAPHIC Death, Women being Taken Advantage Of

If you love Indiana Jones or even National Treasure, it's worth giving this book a read! Be warned though, while it is categorized as YA, I felt it was more 'New Adult' due to some very graphic moments. Book 2 comes out in November, and I'll be skimming it just to see how this duology ends.

My review will be posted soon to my Instagram Page (@LifeWithPrinceMan).

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for access to the eARC. I severely disliked this book and i'll summarize my main issues in a few bullet points
• the plot: extremely uneven pacing and im not exaggerating when i say you can read 60% of this book and have had nothing happen. then when something does happen, it is extremely convenient and unbelievable. left off on a very cheap cliffhanger

• the characters: very shallow and one dimensional. Inez was childish and naive, and never once considered that maybe while she's in a foreign country she should listen to those who've actually spent time there. Whit was the stereotypical broody male love interest with a mysterious past and that's about all he had going for him (even then not well executed). Oh and his brawniness. if i have to read about his brawny chest one more time while he leans against a door frame i swear I'll jump into a crocodile invested nile.

• the romance: terrible. i don't know what either character saw in each other. no chemistry, horrible attempt at banter, "innocent girl x experienced man" will always give me the ick

• the writing: okay. decent at least. she knows how to form a sentence and have it make sense. however the writing is extremely unengaging and lacks any sense of personality. some of the descriptions of egypt and the tombs read like was reading one of my college archeology textbooks.

3.5/5 Stars What the River Knows captured my attention because of its comparison to The Mummy. It definitely had similar vibes in that it took place in Egypt, there was a flirtatious male main character and an intelligent main female character, and there were magic elements.

I liked how adventurous Inez was- always willing to sneak out and find the truth. Whit is straight out of a romance novel- with all his doorway leans and teasing phrases. They played off of one another well, but it did start to get a bit frustrating especially because their relationship would seemingly progress and then go backwards a great deal several times.

The setting was impeccable- Isabel Ibañez’s description of the cities and buildings and natural world were beautiful. I felt like I was there. If you’re wanting a swashbuckling romance, filled with a good amount of Egyptian history mixed with a coming of age story, this is the book for you.

Though it did not captivate me like I’d hoped, I can see why others enjoy it so much and I look forward to reading book two. The epilogue REALLY piqued my interest with that twist!

What a fun book!!!! I ended up listening to the audiobook but it was a perfect mix of magic, history, romance, and adventure. 10/10 will read this author again!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was a beautifully crafted story, A blend of historical fiction with some magical realism. A bit of drama, deceit and mystery along with some angst and a slow burn romance. There is distrust, doubt and grief as well as hope and excitement. It truly has a bit of everything.

Inez Olivera has traveled from Argentina to Egypt in the hope of discovering what happened to her parents. Her uncle is there and she is sure he must know what led to their deaths and she needs to know for closure. What she discovers when she gets there is that her uncle doesn't want her to stay and tries to send her back immediately. In addition, her parents deaths seem more and more suspicious. As time goes on, she finds herself with more questions than answers and isn't sure who she can trust.

Unfortunately, her uncle's "right hand man," Whitford Hayes, draws her attention. He makes it clear that they aren't going to be together but yet his body language says other things and Inez can't help but feel drawn to him. Yet, she also suspects she can't trust him either but she really wants to.

This was such a fun read. It's emotional and moving. The descriptions are rich and inviting. I was drawn into it like it was another world being painted for me. A definitely piece of art.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is the first book I have read by Isabel Ibañez and I will say I am not disappointed.
If you are looking for a historical romance with some fantasy elements, adventurous and mysterious with a hint of slow burn. THIS IS IT.
God I just fell in love with the characters, the tension, the chemistry, the banter between Inez and Whit was *chef’s kiss* loved it and I miss them
Loved every second of their journey and I cannot wait for the second book.
I also loved the writing style, Isabel did an amazing job of getting me immersed into this world.

I was excited to get this NetGalley ARC and thought that Isabel Ibanez did a fantastic job creating the world for the characters, had me wanting more from every scene and wrote a story that gave me all the feels. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Thank you to the netgalley and the publisher!

I absolutely LOVED this book. The setting of Ancient Egypt was fantastic. I also liked our main character. There were times when I started to get frustrated with her but when you put it in the context of a teenage girl going through what she was going through her actions were actually quite understandable. Our story starts off with Inez losing both of her parents and running away from her aunt's house to travel to Egypt by herself to find her Uncle and investigate her parents death so you could say she was going through a lot haha.

And then we have Whit. He was so great and brooding and a bit mysterious. I also loved the banter between Inez and Whit. Give me more please!

There were a few twists that I saw coming but that didn't make them any less enjoyable because those twists just worked for the story.

The character, the setting, the character dynamics, they were all fantastic. Honestly rivals/enemies to lovers set in ancient Egypt was all you needed to say to sell me on this and I truly enjoyed myself.

And that ending! Left me screaming. The sequel can't come soon enough. I need answers.