Book Review- What the River Knows

About the Author-

Isabel Ibanez, a fellow word nerd and writer; hails from Boca Raton, Florida, and has two lovely daughters. She has a Creative Writing degree and has been a mentor for Pitch Wars the last three years.

Her Book “What the River Knows” is the first book in the Secrets of the Nile series. She’s written other books too though like Woven in Moonlight, Written in Starlight, and Together We Burn.

Click HERE to learn more about Isabel Ibanez

I haven't read any other books from Ibanez, but you can be sure I will!

About the Exclusive Book-

The Owlcrate box "Perilous Travels" contained this version of the book and it is gorgeous. It has a custom dust cover and interior reverse artwork on the dust cover, the hardback cover is embossed with gold and has Cleopatra on the front. It's a beautiful turquoise green, and the edges of the pages are stamped with an intricate design. It Overall it's a gorgeous book! I am so glad to have such a beautiful book in my collection.

What I love about Owlcrate, and it's why I recommend it to every reader I meet, Owlcrate provides me with books I otherwise wouldn't pick up. For a variety of reasons, I am so glad because I have discovered so many good books that I have truly enjoyed reading. Sure I've had some duds too, but for the most part, I've enjoyed my books that I have received. Check them out if you're interested.

Book Format-

The book is presented in 4 parts and this is great for the separation between what’s going on and what’s coming. The book itself is 395 pages, in entirety if you count the Author’s Note, Epilogue, and acknowledgments it comes to 404 pages. My Owlcrate exclusive book came with a bonus at the end of the book, which is letters written between Whit and his sister Arabella.

The book comes with a small map of Egypt at the front of the book, as well as a broad timeline of Egypt's history. This is great for reference if you don’t know much about Egyptian history. A lovely addition.

There is no reference page for the chapters, or their page numbers. This book does have chapter titles, but they are in Spanish. If you don’t know Spanish, it might be hard to keep track of what chapter you are on. However, a quick Google translate will help very quickly. It's not enough to distract from the book and if you earmark or use a bookmark to keep track of where you are, it is very easy to forget there are even chapter titles.

The book contains a prologue and epilogue. Both help establish the setting of the scene.

The descriptions of the island Philae, the Nile, Cairo, and even Buenos Aires are all so detailed and just lovely to read. You’ll get caught up in the details of the tombs, and surrounding artifacts inside. The descriptors are lovely.

The Story-

This is a Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Young Adult book, and OMG from the get-go I loved Inez. Her spunk, strong will, and curiosity are just wonderful. It’s 1889 and she’s the classic rebelling against the societal expectations of women to be quiet and invisible. It’s giving Girl Boss vibes without making Inez a man-hater or an unlikable character. She’s a wonderful blend of strong and delicate. She’s exactly the kind of character I love, strong but sweet.

When Inez finds out that her parents have passed away in Egypt she makes it her mission to find out what happened to them. All she knows is they disappeared in the desert in Egypt and haven’t been heard or seen from. After she receives an Egyptian ring in the mail from her father her suspicions are confirmed and seals her plans. The ring has magic in it and Inez feels and sees memories from who she thinks is Cleopatra, and she tastes roses.

I’m unsure if you know, but the book spells it out pretty clearly. To be a young woman in 1889, traveling alone, with no chaperone was quite scandalous. Inez doesn’t care what the act does to her reputation though. She’s determined. Not even wiley old Whit can outsmart her. She ditches him the first chance and makes her way to Cairo. She’s come a long way from Argentina, and a young man isn’t going to stop her from finding out what happened to her parents.

Inez gets this irk when she realizes her Tio Ricardo does NOT want her in Egypt. Why? Inez struggles with this question. Why is he so determined to get rid of her?

Well, Inez isn’t giving up so easy. Later after a cute outing with Whit that leads to disappointment; she decides to sneak aboard the Elephantine, a Dahabeeyah that her uncle owns. They are taking it all the way to Philae Island, where they have been excavating, looking for something. Inez suspects its Cleopatra’s tomb, but no one will answer questions or confirm her suspicions.

Once aboard the elephantine, Inez tries to make herself unrecognizable. She dresses like the men and tries to blend in by handling different tasks. Thankfully, Kareem, a young boy who works on the ship has taken a liking to her and her piaster (Egyptian currency) and helps her stay hidden.

An accident sends her flying from the boat and into the Nile. This part was heart-pounding and after a rescue from Whit, she ends back up on the boat. Discovered. She knows just as much as she did and now she has to fight for her right to be on the boat.

She’s required to play her last card. She must reveal to her uncle the truth about her, the magic, and the ring her father sent her. After much convincing she’s now a part of the team and what she could find on the island sends shivers through her.

After some time on the island, Inez learns a few truths that sent this story spiraling and at one point in time, literal tears fell from my eyes. The setup to that moment is so good and you truly hate this character by the end. I won’t reveal too much, only to say that Inez finds herself trusting someone she should have been able to trust, only to be betrayed.

Read the book to find out what happens on the island, I promise you won’t regret it!

Characters-

Inez Olivera- Inez is spunky, smart, witty, and creative. She’s headstrong, stubborn, and doesn’t give up easily. She was a lovely character to read and her place in the book makes you emotional. She’s a girl boss at all the right times without hating on men in general. She’s against the bad guys and the romance is perfect.

Whitmore Hayes- What a complex character! He hides himself from everyone which makes it hard to get a bead on who he truly is.

Tio Ricardo Marques- Stoic, quiet, and secretive. Tio Ricardo (Uncle Ricardo) is the Uncle Inez barely knows. He's the one who has stolen her parent's time from her and kept them in Egypt to fund his digs all on the idea of saving Egypt's last remaining artifacts from plunderers, thieves, and well, people in general. He's pretty straightforward about not wanting Inez in Egypt for reasons unknown. He's hard-pressed to tell any stories and keeps Inez at a clear distance. When you read the book you'll realize, things would have gone a lot easier if he'd just been truthful to Inez, but you'll also understand why he couldn't be honest.

Abdullah- Seems like a nice guy. He's Tio Ricardo's brother-in-law, his wife's brother. His wife Zazi has since passed, but out of duty or promise he's continued to help Abdullah with their mission. We don't learn a whole lot about Abdullah except the obvious, he's a lot more patient than Ricardo, less of a temper, and more excited to have Inez present on the island of Philae.

Cayo and Lourdes Olivera (Inez’s Parents)- We don't know too much about Inez's parents except what we learn from her which is pretty much nothing. Inez has lived in Argentina for 17 years with very little interaction between herself and her parents. Her mother was always very proper, reserved, and strict. Her father was kind, adventurous and he took the time to nurture the natural curiosity in Inez, which he also shared himself.

Elvira Montenegro- Younger cousin of Inez, a bit of a romantic dreaming to play matchmaker. A daydreamer. Elvira lives a little bit more easily in her mother's world, (Prim and Proper) and enjoys tea parties, outings, dancing, and parties. Excited for courting season Elvira thirsts for one thrill of freedom before submitting to her mother's plans. Future marriage. A common practice in 1889, was young women getting married off as soon as they turned 18. Think Bridgerton, but Argentina.

Thoughts-

Oh, I love this book. I am so excited to read the second one. I loved the characters, romance, action, drama, and everything in between. It's a wonderful story full of adventure and the time setting (1889) is like my favorite period for romances. It's old enough to be timeless, but young enough to not be boring. I have "Together we Burn" and now I have to read it as well.

Spoilers-

Okay, this is it. If you don't want to know anything about the ending of the book just steer clear from here. Just move on, go grab another book to read, and call it a day.

If you're still here, then what I'm about to reveal to you is a small snippet about the ending of this book and why I'm so looking forward to reading the next one.

Ready? After you scroll down you will be learning some of the ending of this book. I won't reveal everything because that wouldn't be any fun!

Okay... so Elvira gets kidnapped! Oh, the drama that unfolds!! I won't reveal the key surprise but suffice it to say I did not expect the twist. Who Elvira has been kidnapped by will roll your rocker.

Inez was going to take Elvira back to Argentina but now she's missing and what's worse, the person who betrayed her the most tactfully CHOSE Elvira instead of Inez. These people who want Inez have been tricked into thinking they have her. SO MUCH!!

The ending of this book will haunt you. I know it haunts me. A loss of life I wasn't expecting, a romance we thought was impossible now confirmed possible, and trauma beyond what we thought could happen to Inez now suddenly thrust upon her. On top of all that, someone who values money more than life, betrays Inez AGAIN! For 1889 this is horrible to happen to a young lady. Just trust me!

The interaction between Whit and Inez is so wonderfully innocent and deep. It's near the end that what wasn't possible between them, clearly becomes plausible.

I won't spoil the entire ending, because honestly, you have to read it to get the full effect. I will say, I was not expecting this ending. Not at all. I am very glad I read this book and you will be too.

Give "What the River Knows" a read and I promise you will enjoy it!

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Closing

Interested in reading along to the books I review? Check out my book club on Fable, The Bookish Fae! I include the books I get in my Owlcrate boxes and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the books! There are other great book clubs on here too for a variety of different books you might be reading ATM.

Happy Reading and may you walk the road less traveled!