A review by lindaskessler
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I wish you all could be in the text chain I had with my friends while reading this book—just a series of predictions, ranting, pining, and more. I can’t deny this was a fun read, it took me on an emotional roller coaster, but at the end of the day I am left reeling from a tornado of twists and turns that took away more than they added to the story.

I saw a reel advertising the sequel to this book—Where the Library Hides—and was drawn in immediately. Nearly all my booksta friends had read this already, so they got a front row seat to my commentary as I listened to the audiobook. 

I wanted to love this story, I really did. Magic, mystery, adventure, romance, historical fiction featuring Egyptian artifacts and lore—it has the makings of a fan favorite, but alas not for me.

I understand this is a mystery, and part of that is that ultimately everyone is unreliable and you as a reader don’t know who can be trusted. But the whiplash I received for multiple characters as we swung from trusting to not and back again (or do we??) was wild. 

I had a lot of emotional reactions to this book, and I’d like to slap a number of characters upside the head. I feel for our MC and the myriad of traumas she endures in short succession. Some events, particularly a gruesome fate met by one of our cast, I didn’t understand why were included. It felt gratuitous and upsetting as it didn’t really do much to further the plot, just to upset our MC and the reader. 

The beginning of the book was a bit slow rolling, then settled into a medium pace until (imho) the author steamrolled us with information and plot points in the last 10th of the book. I enjoyed some reveals and the romantic tension (“have you thought about kissing me? 👀) but this just didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

Really hoping the author delves more into the magic in the upcoming (Nov. 2024) sequel!! There is so much potential there and I’d love to see it explored.