Reviews - What the River Knows

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11.2k reviews for:

What the River Knows

Isabel Ibañez

3.85 AVERAGE

sloanebwhite's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

rlnickerson's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: No

blue_squishie's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous mysterious medium-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: No

micky22's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

maggiesummerkate's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

so i originally started this book physically, but i couldn't make it through until i listened to it on audio. that isn't to say the writing is bad, but everytime i picked up the book, i got sleepy, so... do with that what you will. i'm not really sure how i feel about this one, so bear with me as i write this review.

firstly, inez is... an interesting character, to say the least. i loved her at the beginning being all sassy and stuff bc the protagonist of the last book i read was the complete opposite. however, as the story went on, i liked her less and less because she was shocked by things that i thought were obvious. like there was one time with the magic where she said something and when the realization hit, she was like OH that's why, and i was like ??? girl be so for real with me, what do you mean you didn't know that?? is your brain working or???

now the plot itself i liked. there were parts of it that i felt it kinda dragged or that didn't seem completely relevant to the plot. i could've done without the entire romance part bc it didn't add anything to me; it's just another romance in a book that could've done without one. the idea itself was great, and i wish there hadn't been a romance because i found that it took away from parts of the story. i know why it's included, but i just... no thank you! inez is making enough bad decisions, we do not need to give her more of them.

and the ending? don't get me STARTED. that epilogue pmo. again, i know why it's included, but i would honestly rather do without. it felt like it was undoing the whole romance subplot in the span of like 5 minutes. as someone who didn't want the romance to begin with, this just negated any positive feelings i had about it. i'm seething, actually.

overall, i liked this book! i'm not the biggest fantasy reader (as everyone who knows me can attest to), so i'm always trying to put that aside when reading, and i think that worked for this story. but i do have some choice words about certain parts of the book... other than that, i definitely recommend.

smolreadingbean's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

A nice adventure in Egypt with clear critics on the involvement of other nations in Egypts history and development.

Really liked the atmosphere and setting and the fact that Inez does not let others just dismiss her.

I do not fully get why everyone was so mad at Inez for believing the people she knew, or thought she knew, over the people who are basically strangers and behave quite suspicious.

alague's review against another edition

4.25

The synopsis calls this a blend of The Mummy and Death on the Nile, and I think it's about right. It was so good! It's the late 1800s.. Inez is 19, living in Argentina while her parents spend half of each year in Egypt. She longs to join them, and thinks the time had finally come when she gets a letter. It's not an invitation to join them - it's her uncle telling her they are missing, presumed dead.
Inez travels to Egypt to figure out what happened to them, and ends up embroiled mystery and intrigue more dangerous and fascinating than she ever thought.. I loved this story so much and I very much look forward to the sequel!