Thank you very much to the publisher and NetGalley for sending this ARC to me. I loved it! I will absolutely be recommending this to my book club. There are so many themes for discussion...racial discrimination, sexist ideas within society, love of land/animals, family legacy, and more! My only complaint is that I have to wait for part 2! I hope this will be published soon.

Oh, my! What a great story! I alternately listened to the audio and read the ebook. It was so good that when I couldn’t read then I could listen!
It’s a well told story of a family in South Carolina before and during WWI, and also in 1988. It deals with love and loss, family issues and she also talks about the natural world in the story and also at the beginning of each chapter. I hope that in the final printing there will be illustrations with the descriptions of the animals and plants she decribes.

I have not discovered her books before this. I will definitely be reading more of her works!

Thank you Harper Audio and Willam Morrow for review copies! This will be a win for fans of this author and readers looking for something a little different this summer, something to dig into if you like historical fiction, Southern family themes, and examination of women's lives over last century.

Where the Rivers Merge is a beautifully written, multi-generational family saga centered on the Rivers family and their grand South Carolina estate, Mayfield. Through Eliza Rivers’ perspective, the novel explores themes of love, sacrifice, war, segregation, and the deep ties to land and heritage. The structure and prose are undeniably elegant, and the novel captures the essence of Southern fiction with its exploration of social class and tradition.

That said, I never quite got fully hooked into the drama and sweeping generational story I was hoping for. The pacing felt a little too dry and static for my taste, lacking the emotional pull I was seeking. Some of this may be due to my on-and-off relationship with historical fiction, but ultimately, this wasn’t quite the book I was looking for. Still, fans of the author’s previous works and those who love richly detailed Southern sagas will likely find much to appreciate. While I’m unsure if I’ll continue with the series, I’m glad I picked this one up.

Where the Rivers Merge is a story about the love of home, friendship, romance, and betrayal. Set in the Deep South during the WWI years, the book highlights the racial divisions that dominated the south, with Eliza the daughter of the white plantation owner and Covey, the black daughter of the hired help, becoming best friends at a time when it was forbidden.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the story was well done. It held my attention throughout, and I loved reading about so much South Carolina history. I loved the characters, especially Covey. I loved how Eliza was so fierce in standing up against the racism that was so prominent at the time.

I gave this 3.5⭐️s rounded up. The ending seemed very abrupt. We don’t find out what happened to Mayfield, we don’t find out what Eliza decided about retirement, or if Norah and Savannah took over and gave Arthur the big finger that he deserved. I would have liked a few more pages to wrap things up a bit better.

Overall, an enjoyable read! Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced readers copy. This book will be published on May 13, 2025.

Loved this book. A family saga, telling just enough of life in the South in the early 1900s. The author tells with vivid details the bond Eliza Rivers has to her family’s estate, Mayfield and how she wants to protect the land for generations to come. The book has it all, an unusual friendship, first love, war, and heartbreak, A must read!. Thank you for the ARC.

Oh what a beautiful story!!! I love MaryAlice Monroe books and it has been several years since she has put a book out on her own. The story of Eliza and her beloved Mayfield stole my heart from the first page. A story of love, family, friendships, betrayal, death and so much more. Mary Alice takes her gorgeous writing and creates a story that I will think about for a long time!!! AND there will be a second book in this series!!!

5 huge stars!!! Thank you Netgalley for the honor to read and review this book!!!

Having moved to SC, I really enjoy this author and her protrayals of the lowcountry. It was a good read to just relax.

I did really enjoy Where the Rivers Merge, a story of a family and the land they love. Author, Mary Alice Monroe, tells a story of the Rivers family, who live on the land, farm it, love it, and sacrifice for it. I did not realize this novel was part one of a two-part novel. It is not simply that the second book is a sequel. instead the first book simply stops in the midst of telling a story. The setting is 1988, the 88th birthday of Eliza Rivers, who tells the story to her life to her granddaughter and her great niece. Eliza's story begin in 1908, when she was a child. The location is Mayfield plantation, where the Jim Crow Laws are still enforced and the memories of the Civil War are still a part of daily life.

The Mayfield plantation has belonged to the Rivers family for generations. This is a land where bigotry and childhood innocence exist side-by-side. Life at Mayfield is defined by gender, race, money, love, and loss. In many ways, Eliza's story is a coming of age saga, where Eliza finally understands the world is not as easy or innocent and even as fair as she expected it to be. The characters are well-defined and interesting, and I enjoyed the plot and the story that Eliza tells readers about her life. I just did not expect the book to simply stop. I wanted some warning that Eliza's story would continue.

I did like Where the Rivers Merge and I do recommend it. The story of Eliza Rivers' life, continues through wars and depression, and loss and love. I am looking forward to the second book and how the story ends. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC, in exchange for my honest review. I will anxiously be waiting for the second novel in this series.
4 stars

A beautiful story about Eliza Rivers. She having just turned 88 realizes that she must secure her legacy and her family's property Mayfield. While seeking out how she tells two of her family's female descendants the stories of growing up amid the turmoil that rolled through the south in the 20th century. Her experiences with segregation and the Jim Crowe laws. Her life during the losses of WWI. Her stories spin a tale of female and racial injustices, horrible grief, the bonds of friendship and her enduring love of Mayfield.

I’m a huge fan of this author and all her previous books. I was so excited when she drove into historical fiction, especially about the low country that she has always written about
I love family sagas and this book was amazing

Where the Rivers Merge is an epic tale of a southern plantation located in the ACE Basin, near Charleston, SC through the early 1900s. The story is told by 88 year old Eliza Rivers as she remembers her earliest years growing up on Mayfield Plantation with two brothers and an unlikely best friend. The Rivers family has a place in Charleston society and Eliza is expected to take her place in it but she fights that legacy at every point. This is just part one of the story and I am eager to hear the rest of Eliza's story.

As someone who lives not far from the ACE Basin, I enjoyed reading and learning about this important area and the plants and wildlife that an integral part to the environment. This historical fiction is well written and will immerse you in this little corner of history. I was disappointed to look up after hours of reading and realize I was not in fact in 1918 South Carolina, batting away the mosquitos as I lay near a pond on a lazy summer afternoon.

“Where the Rivers Merge” by Mary Alice Monroe is a beautifully written southern novel about love for the land and conservation. Eliza narrates her life and efforts to conserve her family estate, Mayfield. I enjoyed this book.

Review: Where the Rivers Merge
Author: Mary Alice Monroe
Format : eARC from Netgalley*
Publishes: 13 May 2025
Genre: Southern Fiction

This book has my heart and I took my time with it, as does 80-year-old Eliza Rivers Pinckney, as she begins telling her story from girlhood to her granddaughter and great neice. I didnt want it to end. I could imagine being at Mayfield sitting by the murals and hearing Eliza tell her stories.

Mary Alice Monroe gives us such a beautiful story in this book all with amazing details and information about the ACE basin in South Carolina.

The Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin is a 1.6 million-acre wetland and upland ecosystem in South Carolina. It's one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the Atlantic Coast and home to many endangered wildlife. Historic plantation homes and rice fields were all once upon a time dependent on this area.

The lowcountry is an amazing place but with so much being developed today much is at stake when it comes to land and wildlife and preservation of our great states history and coming from a history buff like me it's so sad.

*Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This review is entirely my own.

A truly captivating book written by Mary Alice Monroe that pulled me in to the emotional journey of Eliza and kept me invested to the very end.
A poignant story of Eliza, her family and the family legacy. Mayfield her family estate that means so much to her.
Set in the lush Lowcountry the story revolves around characters whose lives are intertwined. Characters that have to navigate through their own personal trials, internal struggles and triumphs. Vividly developed characters each with strengths and flaws.
The descriptions of the farmland are so vivid I was picturing the horses, pond, beautiful gardens as I read.
Complexities of family relationships, forgiveness, love, war, traditions, change, intricate ecosystems, and so much more. A multigenerational story.
I have book hangover. I am looking forward to the second book coming out so I can return to Mayfield, more time with these friends to see how the journey continues.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this profound book.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC for review. This was the fantastic tale of Eliza and the beauty of Lowcountry South Carolina. The book tells of Eliza’s upbringing and the Mayfield estate and goes back forth in time being young Eliza and when she is 88 with her family. I love the stories interwoven with other members of the family and how you find out about Rivers/Delancey family.

I have been a fan of Mary Alice Monroe for years and this book did not disappoint! I love the strength that Eliza showed to keep the land in the family and go against what was expected of women.

This was not what I thought it was, nonetheless, I still enjoyed it and apparently this is a different genre for this author. I’d say, for her first time it was well written and was able to draw me in.

an excellent book although I do prerer ones that continue in one time period instead of flipping back and forth. But that is done so smoothly in this book I didn't mind it at all. I learned a lot about a region I didn't know and am waiting anxiously for the sequel.

Mary Alice Monroe has a new book that you have to read! Eliza Rivers has led quite a life and she tells her story to her granddaughter and great niece. She grew up in the lowcountry of South Carolina at her beloved Mayfield. The author makes you feel like you are there with Eliza going through he idyllic childhood with her family, friends and neighbors, the hardships of the Great War and trying to stay true to herself. There are great lessons about birds, the land and the families beloved horses. This is historical fiction at it's best and the best part is there is a book 2 coming!

Where the Rivers Merge
by Mary Alice Monroe
Pub Date: May 13th 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my h0nest opinion.
From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes her highly anticipated Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.
This is book club fiction at it's finest.
This is a must read! Add it now to your list of books to read and buy it as soon as it's available in May!
The protagonist’s life story growing up on a rice and horse farm in South Carolina is engaging. I grew to care deeply about every thrilling personal victory and tragic heartache. Just when I anticipated one plot twist the tale would go to an unexpected but pleasantly surprising new place. The story had great pace. All historic details were accurate and made this time period in the Low Country of South Carolina’s coast come alive.
The author, Mary Alice Monroe, tells us in her notes this is a story about conservation and love of land. She certainly delivered on this and so much more! I look forward to the sequel.
5 stars