Reviews with content warning for Vomit - What the River Knows

Hmm, I think it could be rated lower than a 4, honestly, but a 3.75 felt too severe. The story is…. Good, I think. Some parts felt very predictable, as other reviews have said, but some parts were fun and refreshing IMO.

I enjoyed the aspect of magic in it! And the scenery of Egypt + the archaeology felt fun! But!!! I don’t think I liked any of the characters, if I’m being honest. I found them annoying and felt that much could’ve been resolved from quite literally any one of them being even a hair truthful. But, that wouldn’t make for such a good story, I’m sure.

Despite my qualms, I definitely want to pick up the follow up book so I can put this storyline to rest.

Content Warnings

lakinglaze's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

First off, thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book. I’m so grateful and have now bought two separate editions of my own and the audiobook because I loved it so! Isabel Ibañez did such an incredible job with this novel! 🥰

I absolutely loved everything about the story. As a trained archaeologist myself, it hits very close to my heart! Inez’s strength drew me to her side and never let go. Whit’s charisma and ‘wit’ty banter had me falling right in love with him. The story was exciting, mysterious, adventurous, fun, devastating, shocking, and left me gasping for more! November won’t arrive soon enough!

Content Warnings

emoryah's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

blewballoon's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I rated this a 3 originally and then lowered it upon reflection. The ending in particular really frustrated me. There were some positives. I liked the historical Egyptian atmosphere (mostly the descriptions of what people were eating), I liked the touch of having illustrations every now and then, and there was enough adventure. The author seems to have done a decent amount of research on the setting. The concept of old objects having quirky magical properties was executed alright. The first issue I had with the book was that the writing felt bad. It reads like fanfiction I read when I was 12, written by fellow 12-year-olds. That may seem harsh, but it's exactly what I thought in the earlier chapters. The writing improves a little when there is more action going on, but the more reflective parts are very clunky. There's one part where the main character reflects that she's been seeing visions of the past/someone's memories, and that was a surprise to me because she never had any on the page before then. Maybe that was an editing mistake. There were also many instances where there would be a paragraph of internal monologuing, and then a line on its own for emphasis. As a stylistic choice, that's fine, but it was very repetitive and once I noticed it I couldn't stop noticing it. The rest of my issues are with the story and characters themselves. Spoilers and rant:

The romance doesn't feel right. Inez reads like she's 16 and Whit reads like he's 25, and while they have some banter, without Whit's perspective I'd think it was just one-sided teen girl hormones. The book also repeats ad nauseam that Inez is too trusting, and clearly, something is up with Whit based on the epilogue. Speaking of being too trusting, her dead mom shows up to convince her to betray her uncle and then poofs away to reveal herself as a villain (one of several "twist" villains) and contribute nothing further. The worst part of the book for me: what the hell was the point of dragging completely irrelevant cousin Elvira from the very beginning of the book back to the end of the book just to brutally murder her? It was a complete waste, unnecessary shock value. No character really gets any development. After spending most of the book with him, the uncle could do just about anything and I wouldn't have a reason to be surprised. I know the cliffhanger ending is meant to make you want to read the next book, but it turned me off even more. The book was already a long slog, and you didn't even have the decency to wrap any of it up? It leaves me with no faith the author can write a satisfying conclusion.

For me, the redeeming qualities of the book aren't enough to outweigh the bad. I was excited based on the premise but was very disappointed in the execution.

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What the river knows- 4.5⭐️ 2.5🌶️

New Adult Romantasy

Historical fantasy

Magical realism

Egyptian Setting

Coming of Age

Hispanic Heritage

Mystery

Secrets

Grief

Banter

The magic system is mysterious and intriguing. I was hooked with the idea of a fading ancient magic and finding out what that meant. I wish there had been more of it. It seemed as if it was mentioned and used like an after thought rather than something rare and mystical. Magic was literally collected as junk items and trinkets. The excuse that the Magic’s history was lost would make it more desirous, I would imagine. It was odd the. To have it play such a big role as a plot tool was contradictory.

The political atmosphere and perilous nature of archeology during such a significant time period was so well done. Bringing topics to the forefront that should have never left or that are still relevant today. I adored the descriptions of the architecture and weight of Egypt’s ancient history. I also loved the intersection of cultures. The use of Spanish was purposeful and immersive.

The plot was fast and because of all the secrets being discovered. I ate up every bit of this story.

As a kid who grew up obsessed with Ancient Egypt, the movie The Mummy and all its sequels I officially adore this book. It wasn’t exactly the tone and flavor of the movie, and I appreciated that.

The romantic tension and banter in this book was chef’s kiss! The slow burn was burning! The banter is so perfectly done! I can’t help but picture a young Brenden Fraser as Whit and loved every morally grey second of it. Maybe he was a bit superficial… I’m sure we will learn more about him and his past in the next book.

Inez was a great FMC! Young and tenacious to a fault. I felt so much compassion for her complicated relationship with her family. It was also so satisfying to see her outgrow her naivety from the first half of the book and become a bit jaded, but still have the impulses of a 19yo girl.

My only true disappointment was in Elvira, Inez’s cousin. I think the author missed out on an opportunity. To keep this spoiler free, I won’t elaborate…

Can I just say that I didn’t know this was going to be a series and my brain flatlined when I read that epilogue. I NEED the sequel to be released immediately.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tw:

Parental death

Alcoholism

Gun violence

Kidnapping

Death

Content Warnings