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.

This book has a really interesting family mystery, told through two timelines—Nell’s in the 1970s and Becca’s in the 1930s. At first, it was a bit hard to keep track of all the characters and the shifting timelines, which made it feel a little confusing. But as the story progressed and everything started to come together, I couldn’t put it down, and the twists at the end really paid off.

Intriguing tale with enjoyable characters. I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very confusing as there were two timelines and in both of them a female character was investigating a very similar thing. THere were so many names of different characters in each timeline and it was really difficult to keep up with who was who and keep remembering which one was part of which timeline.

The Girls in the Stilt House is one of my favorite books, so when I saw Kelly Mustian had written a new book I immediately grabbed it up. Mustian and I are both from Mississippi, so her state and southern references always strike a chord with me, and I don’t know how else to describe it other than I just “get it”. This haunting and emotional story grabbed me from the very beginning and didn’t let go, and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

This was an excellent book. This is a dual time line book, which I enjoy greatly. A great family mystery is unraveled in the book with a few twists and turn that you did not see coming. This book did have a lot of characters, but they weave together beautifully in the end. I would recommend this book to my book besties!
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest opinion.

Nell has kept a promise for nearly thirty years to hide a shocking discovery about her sister, Evie, from their mysterious past. As Nell digs into their early life in Mississippi and beyond, the story alternates with Becca’s struggles as a young mother in the 1930s, leading to a fateful year that ties them all together.

While the story is intriguing and the themes of trust, betrayal, and redemption are moving, I found it hard to keep track of everything. With so many supporting characters, timelines, and places, it often felt overwhelming, and I sometimes had to go back to figure out what was happening or who was connected to who. This slowed the reading experience for me and made it hard to fully sink into the story early on.

That said, the plot itself is interesting and full of twists that kept me curious. As the secrets came to light and the two storylines came together, the book became much more engaging, especially toward the end.

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian
This story is told in two different time periods with two different women. Nell’s story set in 1971 and Becca’s story in the 1930’s. As you read their stories it’s clear they’re somehow connected yet you’ll have to wait till the end to see how. Nell remembers growing up with her single mom back in the 30’s, moving from one place to another. Then one year when she’s 6 years old she remembers a man dropping a little 2 year old girl (Evie) off into her mother’s care and she never leaves. They grow up as sisters but her mother refuses to talk about the past. Even now nearly 40 years later. Becca is recently widowed with a newborn to somehow support thru the depression. Life and the search of work send them to some interesting places. Eventually she places her baby in an orphanage temporarily so she can go to school to become a nurse. Of course nothing ever goes as planned. It takes awhile before you start to see how these stories weave together, still a great story to read.

Although this book was intriguing and a bit haunting, it was really slow for my liking. The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but I do wish the pacing picked up. Many times I was confused by the amount of characters and I continuously had to go back and reread who did what and who said what.

The back end of the story was exceptional and pulled everything together nicely, hence the 4-star rating.

I was interested in reading The River Knows Your Name because I had really enjoyed the author’s other book (The Girls in the Stilt House). This is a dual timeline story set mainly in Mississippi. Nell has many unanswered questions about her childhood and goes on a journey in search of answers. In the 1930’s Mississippi timeline, widowed Becca and her daughter Evie flee a bad situation. Mustian weaves an atmospheric, often mysterious tale that held my interest throughout. Highly recommend this book!

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian, published by Sourcebooks Landmark is a historical novel that spans decades.
A story of secrets, betrayal, love.
Nell, Becca, Evie, Lottie and Hazel, these women are united in a way they couldn't have dreamed of. An intriguing read, 4.5 Stars.

The River Knows Your Name is a pilgrimage through time, wrought with emotion and a river flooded with secrets.

📖 I thought the plot was really good. It was interesting and I enjoyed the then/now format. Like the river referenced in the book, it weaves and bends the plot in ways that keep you turning pages, and as it approaches its thrilling conclusion - that's when I got super into it. And that's part of why it's not quite a 5 star read for me. I enjoyed the first +/-75%, I just didn't love it.

I also found the number of characters to be a bit confusing, their voices didn't feel quite distinct enough for me to quickly and easily orient myself. It pulled me out of the story multiple times before I was able to get a better grasp. The time jumps and which characters belong in each - I felt the voices could've been more distinctly different early on to aid the reader.

The last +/- 25% I loved, though. That's when it really brought out emotions - when the stories come together.

✍️🏼 I enjoyed the writing. It's clear and reads smoothly. The dialogue reads as natural.

⏳️The pacing is consistent, a bit on the slower side of medium up until the last 30% or so.

👥 The characters are well developed and dimensional.

🪟 I read a lot of this book via the 'read aloud' feature in the netgalley app. The AI voice certainly didn't help me orient myself with the characters. Since that's at least a small factor, I tried not to let that impact rating too much.

Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this authors debut novel so I was excited to get an ARC for this one. I really enjoyed the story and how it was wrapped up at the end. I had an idea what happened but couldn’t put it all together completely. This story was engaging and well written. I would read more books by this author..