Book Review: What The River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

rating: 3/5 stars

synopsis:

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

thoughts:

what an interesting read. i loved the egyptian history and the focus on cleopatra. it was my first time reading about the last pharaoh of egypt and it’s making me want to branch out to other books with a similar focus! the writing was impeccable and so very beautiful. i loved the descriptive writing on the treasures and substantial trinkets that can be found in the markets. a couple of qualms i had though were the lack of connection with the characters (inez frustrated me to no end, i’m sorry. i can applaud her perseverance, but her stubbornness was too much for me) and the weird plot twist towards the end! in the end i wasn’t too invested in the mystery and wanted moooore of cleopatra’s story and all the hidden treasures!! not sure at this point if i will read the second book… only time will tell!