Review by betweentheshelves - What the River Knows

betweentheshelves 's review for:

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

3.5

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

This got a lot of buzz when it came out last year, and I can see why! The sort of archeology-themed mythology that's included in this book is pretty rare in YA; I can't think of a lot of books that are set around looking for lost artifacts. I also can't think of a lot of YA books that are set in Egypt, so there is also that!

What kind of rubbed me the wrong way about this book was the pacing. We spend a lot of time in the beginning of the book setting the stage, with Inez looking for her uncle and trying to figure out what happened to her parents. I will say I did see one of the major plot twists coming, and I think that took away from the shock factor for me as well.

The central romance was pretty well developed, though I do kind of wish we got more chapters from Whit. I think it would have helped round out his character a bit more; maybe we will get more in the next book! Be warned that this does end on a pretty big cliffhanger, but the second book comes out this fall, so you won't have to wait too terribly long to find out what happens to Whit and Inez!

Content Warnings