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A review by _snarkysharky
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
1.0
Do you know what’s worse than Instalove?
Instalove with absolutely no chemistry.
I read this book as part of my first BOTM box subscription, and boy was I disappointed.
WHAT I LIKED
✅ Interesting premise
✅ Archaeological explorations of Egypt
✅ The illustrations were a cute addition
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
❌ I found the FMC annoying. She is juvenile, and acts and think like it all throughout the book.
❌ The FMC, for the lack of a better word, simps over the MMC right from the get-go, and thinks about nothing else but him. I find her very one-dimensional.
❌ The romance is superficial. The attraction was purely based on hormones. Absolutely no chemistry between the main characters.
❌ The characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me to care about any of them.
❌ Nothing really happens in the first 50% of the book. I wanted to toss it so bad, but tried my hardest to finish.
❌ The author doesn’t not trust the readers to retain or process information. A lot of things were expressed repeatedly and explicitly.
❌ The magic system existed solely for convenience. There are no layers to it. What you see in the first chapter is the only thing that you will ever get. Another one-dimensional aspect of this book.
❌ Incredibly predictable plot twists.
❌ Shakespearian quotes added in a desperate attempt to paint the characters as classy cultured literates.
This book was supposed to be an atmospheric read but it never really felt that way. In fact, I have never felt more detached.
I’m a big reader of fantasy and magic realism books, and was very excited about this book given the reviews. Unfortunately, this was a big let down.
Instalove with absolutely no chemistry.
I read this book as part of my first BOTM box subscription, and boy was I disappointed.
WHAT I LIKED
✅ Interesting premise
✅ Archaeological explorations of Egypt
✅ The illustrations were a cute addition
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
❌ I found the FMC annoying. She is juvenile, and acts and think like it all throughout the book.
❌ The FMC, for the lack of a better word, simps over the MMC right from the get-go, and thinks about nothing else but him. I find her very one-dimensional.
❌ The romance is superficial. The attraction was purely based on hormones. Absolutely no chemistry between the main characters.
❌ The characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me to care about any of them.
❌ Nothing really happens in the first 50% of the book. I wanted to toss it so bad, but tried my hardest to finish.
❌ The author doesn’t not trust the readers to retain or process information. A lot of things were expressed repeatedly and explicitly.
❌ The magic system existed solely for convenience. There are no layers to it. What you see in the first chapter is the only thing that you will ever get. Another one-dimensional aspect of this book.
❌ Incredibly predictable plot twists.
❌ Shakespearian quotes added in a desperate attempt to paint the characters as classy cultured literates.
This book was supposed to be an atmospheric read but it never really felt that way. In fact, I have never felt more detached.
I’m a big reader of fantasy and magic realism books, and was very excited about this book given the reviews. Unfortunately, this was a big let down.