Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I really enjoyed What The River Knows, but this sequel let me down. I found it very repetitive and Inez was even more insufferable. Definitely a disappointment for me :/
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This book literally only works if you’re deeply invested in Whit and Inez’s relationship—or possibly the success of their marriage. And, as I noted in my review of What the River Knows, I am not.
Where the Library Hides ditches pretty much all of the archeology and treasure hunting aspects of What the River Knows. Instead Inez, Whit, and assorted hangers-on spend a lot of time wandering around various Egyptian cities and (mostly unsuccessfully) trying to gather information to find either Inez’s mom or Cleopatra’s alchemy scroll.
None of that feels like the focus of the story, though. It’s just something for the characters to do to fill the pages while Inez bemoans the state of her relationship/marriage to Whit, who she allegedly loves deeply but doesn’t trust. Where the Library Hides doesn’t produce any new and improved chemistry between Inez and Whit—if anything, they probably have less chemistry in this book than the last—so the whole romance and marriage plot feels pretty forced. I couldn’t ever get invested in whether Whit and Inez could save their marriage because they never really felt like more than mildly friendly colleagues. It’s not structured as a romance, either, which leaves Where the Library Hides frequently feeling stagnant given its lack of a driving non-romance plot.
The thing that really takes Where the Library Hides down to 2.5 stars, though, is that there are two separate instances of someone in Inez’s family being revealed as a villain with absolutely no setup (and barely any fallout to justify the absurd twists). I have no idea what the book was trying to accomplish with those twists, but it mostly just makes Where the Library Hides feel soapy and absurd on top of the issues with pacing and story.
Overall, I’d call the Secrets of the Nile duology a pretty big disappointment. It’s poorly paced and relies too heavily on a pretty thin romantic plotline for a lot of its thrust and is generally not able to pull its most interesting elements together into a complete and compelling story.
Where the Library Hides: 2.5 stars
Secrets of the Nile duology: 3 stars