This is an amazing story of family and the length of a mothers love. Trying to find answers about her and her little sisters past Nell goes on a journey that brings her face to face with a mother she never new and a new found family she never imagined. I couldn't put book down, and if I wasn't reading I was thinking about what I had already read. I didn't expect it to end the way it did but I was so happy it did. I would definitely recommend this book to book clubs everywhere because it is one you are going to want to talk about when you are done reading.

Another great read by Kelly Mustian! After a bit of a slow start, I’m glad I stuck with this one. With so many characters and the multiple timelines, there were times I found it a bit convoluted. I had to reread parts to make them make sense and recall which characters were and were not important. It’s unfortunate that the plot didn’t really come together until the last quarter of the book. However, I still loved it!

This was such a good book that I had a hard time focusing on the other things I needed to get done! It was a dual timeline, but done right and helped build the mystery and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

I gave The River Knows Your Name four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Kelly Mustian, Sourcebooks and Net Galley for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed this book. It is dual timeline and I was invested in both timelines and the characters. The characters were well developed and I felt for each of them (well, except one).

I did not know why certain things happened the way they did until the author revealed the reason. I like when a story is written well enough that I can’t guess most things.

I had some trouble orienting myself when it would switch characters and timelines. I think it would have been better if the characters were a little more distinct. it also got a little redundant at about 50%-60% and I needed something to happen in order to move the story forward - I didn’t have to wait long for it to get going again, so that was good.

Overall, I really liked this book!

Beautifully, lyrically written, The River Knows Your Name ties sweet and sad family stories together with imagery of the Mississippi River and the North Carolina mountains. The stories twine together through love and sadness, loyalty and evil. Did not want this one to end!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this wonderful ARC.

I was super excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book, because I love this author and I loved her debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House. Unfortunately, I didn't love this book, even though I really wanted to. I had a hard time getting into it at first because I could not keep all the characters and their various locations and timelines straight. In addition, some of the writing didn't flow smoothly and I found myself repeatedly going back and re-reading passages to make sure I understood what was happening, particularly during the first half of the book. That being said, I still appreciated the intricacy of this plot, the atmospheric feel of the story, and the way the many secrets and lies were unraveled along the way. The second half seemed to move a little faster as everything started coming together. The drive to search for pieces of family history and successfully assemble those pieces into something that makes sense truly resonated with me. I was definitely emotionally invested in the outcome for Nell and Evie, as well as for Hazel and Becca.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I LOVED this book. The storytelling kept me captivated and wanting to pick up my book any time I was not reading. I am a sucker for settings, and the Mississippi River was a great basis for the story. I would 100% read more from this author.

I absolutely loved The Girls in the Stilt House so I was very excited to read Kelly Mustain’s newest book, The River Knows Your Name, and it did not disappoint!

This emotional story is told in dual timeline. In the 1970’s, you have Nell and Evie, sisters, who have always known that their lives hold secrets. Now, as an adult, Nell decides to look into her mother, Hazel’s past to finally get some answers. And in the 1930’s, you have Becca, a young mother doing everything she can to escape a bad situation.

As you flash forward and back, you follow Becca, Hazel, Nell and Evie on an unbelievable journey of friendship, grief, hardship, betrayal, redemption and love. This story has so many puzzle pieces and i really enjoyed watching them all come together. So many shocking secrets are revealed. This book will suck you in to the story and keep you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read an ARC of The River Knows Your Name in exchange for my honest review.

“The River Knows Your Name” is by Kelly Mustian. I found the storyline of this book rather interesting. This is a dual timeline book with some interesting twists. However, between the dual timelines straight and the number of minor characters, my passage through this book wasn’t smooth. As the book went on (and the timelines came together) things became easier to enjoy. This story was engaging, though I felt some of the characters could’ve been more distinctive (voice mainly). 3.5 stars rounded up (because the story did get better as the book went along).

I really loved the writing style of this author and I am so excited to read her other book. I hope many more are to come from this author. The way the storylines of the characters were slowly woven into a beautiful tapestry of connections was very engaging. I also really enjoyed the author's ability to make me feel like I could visualize the surroundings.

"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!