What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez is a wonderful historical fantasy with mystery and romance elements set in 1800s Egypt (5/5 stars)

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez is a wonderful historical fantasy with mystery and romance elements set in 1800s Egypt.

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library. We follow the dual perspectives of two main characters, narrated wonderfully by Ana Osorio and Ahmed Hamad. I also ended up selecting the hardcover as my Book of the Month choice for November because I had high hopes I’d love it as much as I loved Together We Burn.

Inez lives in Buenos Aires and only sees her parents occasionally, as they are often in Egypt working with her mother’s brother. When she receives word they are missing and presumed dead, she travels to Cairo to figure out what happened to them, against the wishes of her guardians.

The publisher blurb does not lie that this has major The Mummy vibes. The author notes that she incorporated real history within the novel. I think the ruminations on colonialism gave it additional depth for me. This is YA that leans New Adult as our main character Inez is about to turn nineteen. I love her love interest, Whit, and they have amazing banter.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I have greatly enjoyed both of them! Her prose is lush and highly consumable, and I love the way she writes headstrong female main characters. She’s also a wiz at describing scenery in a way that made me feel like I was standing right beside Inez. Ibañez is quickly becoming an auto-buy for me.

Be forewarned that there was a major cliffhanger at the end. I can’t wait until the sequel in this duology, Where the Library Hides comes out next December.

If you, like me, had an obsession with ancient Egypt when you were a kid, please run, do not walk, to get a copy of this book.

Tropes in this book include: forced proximity, rivals to lovers

CW: violence, firearms

I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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The Secrets of the Nile duology includes:

• What the River Knows
• Where the Library Hides