18th century Egyptian history layered with myths surrounding Cleopatra, Isabel Ibañez’s What the River Knows is part one of her YA historical fantasy duology Secrets of the Nile. Featuring a great balance of mystery storylines, familial relations, romantic banter, and light fantasy elements based on magical objects, this book hits all the right marks and is a well‑crafted YA read. With a solid start and appealing main characters, this book is really fun despite some pacing issues in its back half and a sequel that ultimately does this book no favors. Intended to be a historical fiction book with a fantasy romance story, easily the strongest element of the book for me is the way it successfully captures the sense of adventure reminiscent of stories like Indiana Jones despite having little action. From the moment Inez receives the unfortunate letter in Argentina, the story maintains this great motif of exploration. Whether Inez is exploring cities in Egypt, hiding as a stowaway on a river barge, visiting historic sites, or simply on the run while evading the peeved and exasperated Whitford Hayes, the story has a genuine adventurous spark that makes the book so fun to read. The tone also benefits…
