"River, Know Your Name" is a breathtaking novel. The prose is exquisite, painting vivid and unforgettable images of the landscape and its people. The story itself is deeply moving and resonant, exploring themes of family, resilience, and the enduring power of nature with grace and sensitivity. A truly remarkable read.

This book was heavily detailed but each piece led to what made it a good read. At times it did feel that the number of settings was becoming too high, it led to some confusion on my part. I get why there were so many places though. It wrapped up well in that regard.
My heart broke for the characters as they endured some of the hardest times in American history. It's an emotional look back at what folks had to do to survive.
I really enjoyed "Girls In The Stilt House" and this one was a great read as well. Looking forward to future books from Kelly Mustian!

My rating:

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Historical Fiction


Review:

A enjoyable story. The story is told over a dual timeline and from a dual perspective. The story in the present (1971) is told from the perspective of Nell who is trying to understand her own past and how her little sister Evie fits in it. The story in the past is Becca’s story: a single mother trying to survive in depression era. The writing is highly atmospheric and the plot slowly unfolds but you are never quite sure what exactly is going on.. At the end of the book the two timelines nicely merge together an as finally all the pieces of the puzzle fit together and the truth is revealed.


Overall:
A well written and fascinating story with interesting well developed realistic characters; the plot flowed well and had plenty of suspense and mystery to keep you captivated till the end.

Review copy provided through Netgalley at no cost to me.

I really wanted to love this book. I devoured The Girls in The Stilt House and couldn't wait to read this one. Sadly, it didn't live up to its potential for me. The storyline was interesting and enjoyable, but the writing did not flow smoothly at all. Maybe it's just me, but at times, some of the dialogue and transitions didn't make sense. It took a while to understand the dual timelines as well as who all of the characters were, and I still forgot some of them as the story progressed. My main concern was that the writing lacked emotion. What should have been a tearjerker, felt more like a monotone retelling. I think that if the author portrayed Evie's POV instead of Nell's, and elaborated more on the synesthesia, it would have been a whole different ball game. I did like the characters but felt that some of them could have been more established. Especially Evie. Even though I was hoping for more, I would still recommend. Others seemed to have really loved it, so you may too!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

I loved the way this book weaved together multiple people's stories over time. There were beautiful examples of love, sacrifice, and healing.

This dual time line novel is set in the South and looks at secrets within a family and the search for the truth. Will finding out the truth be good for the family or will it destroy what little trust still exists between the family members?

Nell is in her early 40s and grew up with her mom, Hazel, and her sister Evie. Their mom was always cold and unemotional with her daughters. When Nell begins to have hazy memories about growing up in Mississippi, she decides that she wants to find out the truth. She remembers moving around and has no memory of her sister until a man in a truck brought Evie into their house and disappeared. She also remembers when she and Evie were young and they found Evie's birth certificate with someone other than Hazel being listed as her mother. Nell has a few clues and tries to put the pieces together to find out more about her earlier life.

The other time period is in the 1930s during the Depression when a young woman named Becca with a small baby is struggling to survive. Her husband died and her mother in law is one of the meanest women that I've encountered in books in a long time. How will she be able to keep her daughter safe?

The story switched back and forth between the two time periods but I was never confused about which time period we were in. Nell and Becca were both well written characters and both had hidden strengths that helped when needed. Both cared deeply about their families. There were a lot of secondary characters who added a lot to the story line. This is a story of perseverance, of betrayal and trust, and of the importance of family.

If you enjoy Southern fiction, you don't want to miss The River Knows your Name

Ever read one of those books that you couldn't put down because you were engrossed from page 1? Well this is one of those stories.

. . It is a riveting story of the power of love, the depths of betrayal, the strength of family and friendship. It has timelines from the 1920s to the 1970's. An exploration of Mississippi that makes you feel like you were there. The Girls in The Stilt House is one of my favorite books and this one is too. A definite recommend and a definite physical purchase which I only buy my favourites in physical copies

Thanks Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley. All thoughts are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

A novel set mostly in early 1930’s and 1971 in Mississippi and North Carolina. Becca has a young daughter and struggles to provide a home for herself and daughter Evie during the Great Depression.

In 1971 Nell returns home to Clay Mountain to celebrate her mother Hazel’s birthday. Hazel and her two daughters spent most of their life at Clay Mountain, but Nell has sketchy memories of their early life in a different town. Her mother Hazel has secrets, and Nell wants to find out what her mother is not telling her.

This was about families and friendships, secrets and identity.

I loved the way Nell finds a photo of her mother and a man from the 1930’s which sends Nell on a search to find her mother’s secrets and the mystery of her early memories.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a chance to receive this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book starts out interesting and I had high hopes. once I got towards the middle, it began to drag. I pushed through the last book by the author (The Girls in the Stilt House) and ended up loving it. Unfortunately, I was not able to push past 50% with this book. I hope the second half redeems the story and the characters. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, Sourcebooks and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review!

I would like to thank Sourcebooks/Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to review The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian. . It is a riveting story of the power of love, the depths of betrayal, the strength of family and friendship, and the possibilities of redemption. Told through a dual timeline from the Depression era to the 1970’s, a strong family saga emerges. One day, sisters Nell and Evie discover a secret about Evie’s parentage. They make a pact to explore this no further, but as Nell grows up, she feels a need to explore fuzzy memories of a childhood in Mississippi she vaguely remembers, and reasons why her mother has been coldly distant her whole life. Her questions will take her to a southern ghost town and Natches, Mississippi and people whom she never knew existed, but who had great impact on her life and the lives of Evie, Nell, and her mother. I highly recommend this wonderful book. I could not put it down.

Kelly Mustian is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved The Girls in the Stilt House and was very excited to receive an advance copy of her newest story. This one is the story of Nell and Evie, sisters who both know that their history together holds secrets. But they’ve been content to let those secrets stay hidden. When their mom starts acting strangely, however, their curiosity rises to the top. As the author takes us on a journey back in time, we learn how Evie came to live with her new family as a young child. The story is told so beautifully that you can imagine yourself walking along the Mississippi River along with Nell as she tries to find out the truth. Five stars!

This enthralling historical fiction novel hits shelves April 1, 2025.

Kelly Mustian (Girls in the Stilt House) has given me everything I love in the historical fiction genre. We are treated with dual settings (1933-34 and 1971, the Mississippi Delta and the mountains in North Carolina); dual perspectives; family drama/saga; and a mystery to be solved.

Main character, Nell, now in her early 40s, has always known her mom, Hazel, to be secretive and a bit reserved all of her life. She's surprised when her younger sister, Evie, tells of their mom singing in the church choir and shopping...that's just not like Hazel at all. Then, of course, there is the bit about the two girls finding Evie's birth certificate, listing a different mother, stuck in a copy of Jane Eyre years ago. Evie begged Nell at the time not to say anything. All Nell can remember is Evie being dropped off at their house (which house and where she cannot remember) years ago by a mysterious man in a truck saying he would return in a few days. Thirty-five years have now passed.

Nell takes it upon herself to return to the deep south with little more information than an old black and white photo of her mom with a man taken in a mysterious place then called The Twilight Room.

I loved the eras covered. You've got the 1930s with The Great Depression and the ceaseless search for jobs juxtaposed with the repealing of prohibition, club singers, hat check and cigarette girls. Then, you are taken up to present day for Nell and Evie, 1971. So many interesting and eclectic characters are met along the way, too - a brothel madam, a couple of male "friends," of course, hiding their relationship, a meddling and evil mother-in-law, a handsome handy man.

The book is such an entertaining journey. I think fans of The Girls in the Stilt House would definitely like it as well as fans of Lisa Wingate and Kristin Harmel.

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, for this captivating mystery interspersed with historical fiction.

Another amazing book by Kelly Mustian. I will definitely read anything she writes as this point. Such a talented writer. This story was very intriguing and kept me reading late into the night.

I found the plot line and character development interesting. The suspense build up was good but character development leveled off during certain parts in the narrative and I found myself skipping over paragraphs that seemed repetitious.

I feel the time era switches in the narrative were too numerous and disrupted the flow of character development. Evie got "shallow" in the switches and made it difficult to visualize in depth. The time switches got frustrating at times. It becomes annoying if you cannot engage in a full read - hard to "come back to."

This is the first book by those author
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read the ARC of The river knows your name

It is a great book about love loss and eventually finding hope and the family you lost

Not a fan of this book. It was so confusing. I couldn't keep any of side characters straight (did we need to know so much about Estelle that wasn't involved in the plotline?) the locations, the houses, the towns.....who's house belong to who......why there were extra houses that no one lived in. I remember looking down at the details and saying "how am I only 30% into this book? It was taking forever.

And there was such a big chunk skipped -how did they tell Hazel that Becca was just showing up? For a character that was so tight with her feelings and her past, they just sprang all this on Hazel and it went well?

The River Knows Your Name tell us the story of Becca and Nell, separated by the years. Becca, attempting to live on her own after her husband tragically passes away, finds herself having to make decisions a mother should never have to make. Nell, growing up with a sister, who just appeared on her door step when she was young, tries to learn more about her own mother and just where Evie came from. These two women's stories revolve around each other, closer than we can ever imagine.
The River Knows Your Name opened my eyes to a different time in world. I cheered and hoped Becca and Evie would make it. I cried as Becca's attempts failed. I loved the friendships she made. I wanted to know more about Nell's mother and the history of her family. This book gives you all the feels.
This is Kelly Mustian's second novel and I am in love with her writing. I love her take on the American South. It is hard to put her novels down once you have started. She captures your attention from the first page. I will continue to follow Kelly Mustian's writing and will recommend her writing to others. Special thanks to NetGalley, Kelly Mustian, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a historical fiction with generational split timelines of 1930's, during the Great Depression, and 1970s. There are multiple narrators as the story evolves through Nell's quest to piece together her past without the assistance of, Hazel, her cold and secretive mother while trying not to further wound, Evie, the person who was raised as her sister. Nell recalls when young Evie arrived in their lives, but not the why. This mystery untangles the how the actions of a single person can set into motion life altering consequences and reactions. We meet Becca, a young mother with limited resources and several losses stacking the odds against her during a time of few safety nets for women like her. We meet a much younger Hazel, a single mother faced with a huge decision that may cost her dreams and ultimately her identity. The settings of Mississippi and North Carolina are often important backdrops and touchstones to characters with a sense of history and timelessness.

This book was well-paced between timelines and character perspectives, without dwelling overly long in any. I enjoyed Becca's perspectives, especially from a historical point of view. I felt her sense of place in the South and during the Great Depression were authentic. I also enjoyed the multifaceted characters who were flawed, but relatable. The end of the book tied up many loose ends, some of which I was not even asking about. However, a miss was not fleshing out what the ending of the villain was. Additionally, I felt the title of the book was a bit of a miss that was not threaded throughout the book. The look at the realities facing women in that era without a male figure to assist them or financial backing was thoughtful. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC.

I found the book to be a bit confusing with the two timelines. It was slow to start but after a while I got into it a bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest feedback.

An awesome read that I couldn't put down!
Lots of secrets that kept me turning the pages and some very unforgettable characters. I'm still thinking about these characters especially Nell.
I'm giving this novel 5 stars because of the excellent writing of the two timelines.
I think my favorite part of the story is the 1930's. I love history that's why I enjoyed this so much.
It was the title that drew me to read this and I'm glad I did!
5 stars for an entertaining adventure. I highly recommend.
My thanks for a wonderful read. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.