Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - What the River Knows

Such a fun read! It definitely has The Mummy vibes and I loved the Cleopatra addition. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved Egypt and this was such a fun read.

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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3.75

Finished reading: November 11th 2023

"Grief was like a memory keeper. It showed me moments I'd forgotten, and I was grateful, even as my stomach hollowed out."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Hodderscape in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I loved my first experience with the writing of this author when I read Woven In Moonlight back in 2020... While I somehow never picked up that particular sequel (something I hope to remedy soon), I couldn't resist adding What The River Knows to my wishlist as soon as I first heard about it. I have a weak spot for stories with a Latin American flavor, and of course I HAD to read a story that is partly set in the country I now call my home. I also love a good dose of armchair travel, and 19th century Egypt sounded like a particularly fascinating destination. And what a read What The River Knows turned out to be!

It's hard to put this story in a neat little genre box; What The River Knows is a very successful mashup of different elements and genres and the resulting cocktail works like a charm. With its late 19th century Egypt setting, the story is part historical fiction. There is also magic involved, making this story tip its toes in the fantasy genre. BUT. This first book of a new series can also be considered an adventure/quest for example with their mission to find Cleopatra's tomb. And don't forget the danger factor, plenty of lies, betrayal and a healthy dose of rival-to-lover romance. This might seem like a lot, but somehow this mix works surprisingly well.

One of the things that stands out the most is without doubt the historical Egyptian setting. There is so much attention to detail with the descriptions of the different settings and all things late 19th century Egypt, and it really made you feel like you traveled back in time to that era. True, some might feel there is a bit too much information being thrown at you at times, but I personally didn't mind as I enjoyed learning more about Egyptian culture and history. The visit to Argentina was brief and not as present, although there are plenty of Spanish words and phrases to make my inner philologist happy.

There were some minor niggles along the way though. I was surprised by the fact that the pace was quite slow at times, and it took me longer than expected to finish this story. This might have had to do with the longer descriptions and attention to detail, which in a way I also appreciated, but the fact is that the story didn't flow as well as I expected. I did enjoy the writing style itself though. One of the things I struggled the most with was probably the romance though. I just never believed in the attraction between Inez and Whit, and as a result the rival-to-lover trope fell flat for me. Did I like the initial sass and Inez standing up for herself? Yes. But especially in the second half I started to resent their growing connection.

What The River Knows has a dual POV structure and switches between Inez and Whit. I'm not sure if I liked Whit's POV all that much, and I think I would have preferred to stick with just Inez instead... They seem to be mostly in the same place anyway, and I just didn't think his thoughts were all that interesting (with a couple exceptions). That said, the plot has quite a few surprises and twists in store, and some I definitely didn't see coming. A little warning though: What The River Knows ends with a major cliffhanger, and for someone who didn't realize until recently this was actually the first book of a series this was a hard blow. Let's hope the wait for the next book won't be too long!

If you enjoy a well written historical fantasy with a dose of adventure, murder, magic and danger as well as romance, you should try traveling to Egypt with What The River Knows. The pace might be a tad slow at times, but there is no doubt that this story is rich and immersive!

Content Warnings

kenzieburt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious 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? No

4.0

Content Warnings

readswithcat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

Content Warnings

ashleypaling's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I’ve been anticipating this book’s release for months, and Isabel Ibañez did not disappoint!! What an immersive read from start to finish. I immediately loved Inez’s character and of course swooned when Whit came onto the page. The air of exploration and adventure was keeping me reading, and oh my god that ending?! I will be waiting impatiently for the sequel!!

Content Warnings

bringmybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Thank you to Edelweiss, Wednesday Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

“The Mummy meets Death on the Nile” could not be more Lindsey booknip if it tried and THIS WAS SO CLOSE but there’s one thing that kept pulling me out of the story over and over and over and over again and it’s this:

I absolutely cannot stand when plot points that don’t make sense are allowed to continue without being genuinely questioned by the MC because them being in the dark it’s what’s needed to move the plot along. Drives me beyond bonkers and there was a lot of that + “I can’t tell you” in here.

Okay, that being said - once I set that aside and just leaned into the suspense of disbelief, this was a pretty fun book with lots of interesting history and plenty of delicious tension between the two main characters.

Also, the cliffhanger …..??? what does it MEANNNNN

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What the river knows- 4.5⭐️ 2.5🌶️

New Adult Romantasy

Historical fantasy

Magical realism

Egyptian Setting

Coming of Age

Hispanic Heritage

Mystery

Secrets

Grief

Banter

The magic system is mysterious and intriguing. I was hooked with the idea of a fading ancient magic and finding out what that meant. I wish there had been more of it. It seemed as if it was mentioned and used like an after thought rather than something rare and mystical. Magic was literally collected as junk items and trinkets. The excuse that the Magic’s history was lost would make it more desirous, I would imagine. It was odd the. To have it play such a big role as a plot tool was contradictory.

The political atmosphere and perilous nature of archeology during such a significant time period was so well done. Bringing topics to the forefront that should have never left or that are still relevant today. I adored the descriptions of the architecture and weight of Egypt’s ancient history. I also loved the intersection of cultures. The use of Spanish was purposeful and immersive.

The plot was fast and because of all the secrets being discovered. I ate up every bit of this story.

As a kid who grew up obsessed with Ancient Egypt, the movie The Mummy and all its sequels I officially adore this book. It wasn’t exactly the tone and flavor of the movie, and I appreciated that.

The romantic tension and banter in this book was chef’s kiss! The slow burn was burning! The banter is so perfectly done! I can’t help but picture a young Brenden Fraser as Whit and loved every morally grey second of it. Maybe he was a bit superficial… I’m sure we will learn more about him and his past in the next book.

Inez was a great FMC! Young and tenacious to a fault. I felt so much compassion for her complicated relationship with her family. It was also so satisfying to see her outgrow her naivety from the first half of the book and become a bit jaded, but still have the impulses of a 19yo girl.

My only true disappointment was in Elvira, Inez’s cousin. I think the author missed out on an opportunity. To keep this spoiler free, I won’t elaborate…

Can I just say that I didn’t know this was going to be a series and my brain flatlined when I read that epilogue. I NEED the sequel to be released immediately.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tw:

Parental death

Alcoholism

Gun violence

Kidnapping

Death

Content Warnings

megs1328's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Inez learns of her parents deaths and decides to travel alone to Egypt to meet with her uncle and determine what really happened. She finds a friend and ally in her uncle’s employee Whit, though can’t fully give him her trust either. She is impulsive and it often gets her into problems she can’t get herself out of. Lies and betrayal plague her journey, and she still has much to learn.

Nothing really happens for the first 25% except character intros. The middle 50% was interesting learning how the magic worked and exploring down the Nile, as well as exposing colonialism. I did really enjoy the story development, though I began to anticipate what was coming, and didn’t think Whit’s POV was necessary. The last 25% was one twist after another and began to feel contrived, especially with

Elvira thrown in and promptly discarded

.

The climax was rushed and not resolved at all, leading to a huge cliffhanger. I don’t want to remove stars just because it has a cliffhanger, but this did not feel like an ending, every plot point was left wide open as though the author ran out of time and just slapped an epilogue on. Of course I want to read the second to see what happens next, but am mad about it.

I was going to give it 4 stars, though the writing was subpar and leaned heavy on dialogue, and made me wonder if the final copy will be better edited. I settled on 3.5 stars, but may round it higher or lower in a few days depending on how strongly I still feel about the ending.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing this eARC for my honest opinion.

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