*Where the Library Hides* by Isabel Ibañez is EVERYTHING! Set in 1885 Egypt, it’s a dazzling mix of magic, mystery, and one of the most swoon-worthy romances I’ve ever read. Inez Olivera is the sharp, determined heroine of my dreams, but can we talk about Whitford Hayes for a second?! WHITT. Absolutely infuriating, entirely charming, and so full of layers you just want to scream. The banter? Electric. The tension? Off the charts. The *moments* between them? I’m unwell.

This story is a book lover’s paradise, with a magical library, lush settings, and writing that feels like stepping into a dream. If you’re into enemies-to-lovers (and falling for fictional men who’ll ruin your standards), this is a MUST-READ. Isabel Ibañez, take a bow! And give me Whit😭🫶🏻

okayyy she was still very much enjoyable, but i feel like in retropect i prefer the first book in the series! with the setting, budding romance, and quest vibes of the first book it truly set a standard. granted, i did not reread it before diving into this one, so this could be my faulty memory talking!

This was such a great sequel to an amazing duology! Isabel's writing is so lush and beautiful, it is so easy for me to picture everything as I read! Inez and Whit are easily a new favorite couple and I will miss them! I look forward to read more books from this author!

A really enjoyable and captivating follow up to it's successful predecessor with a strong lead character who you really invest in and a world you can't help falling head first into.

I really loved the first book in this duology and was thus excited to read the sequel and see how it'll all and. The first book was a lot of fun with an exciting story, a good protagonist and an engaging romance. The sequel is basically more of the same, and while I did like the conclusion to Inez' story, I didn't enjoy her adventures as much this time around.

The reasons for that are, admittedly, highly subjective. This book focuses a lot more on the romance between Inez and Whit, which I really loved in book 1 but wasn't as much of a fan of in book 2. Whit does something simply unforgivable to Inez during the first few chapters of this book, and I really didn't like how it felt like Inez cared for about 5 minutes but then only pretended to care while she's already kind of forgiven him. It was really weird, because quite frankly she should have kicked his ass and never spoken to him again beyond professional necessity, but alas, he's just too hot you know. I didn't feel it.

There are also some more twists and turns in the story which were either incredibly predictable or that I really didn't care about, especially one about the main villain of this adventure that made me actually groan when it happened. It felt comically overdrawn, like a Scooby Doo moment that completely took me out of the story. It didn't help that the villain proceeds to be incredibly cliché and boring, which, admittedly, has been a problem in book 1 as well but at least there was an attempt at complexity back then.

So in conclusion? This is still a fun read and works well as a sequel, and I still liked following Inez, as annoying as I found a lot of her decisions regarding Whit. It had the potential to be great but couldn't live up to it, and as such it's not a particularly memorable duology. I do hope others will find more enjoyment than I did in here.

And with that, Inez and Whit’s story comes to an end. This is the second and final book in the Secrets of the Nile duology, and it was a worthy follow up to the first book! I found the first book kind of slow in it’s first half, but thankfully this story takes off right where the first book ended. So we leap into action almost immediately, which gives the book more of a faster pace story. Like in the first book, Inez is still very naive and to be frank, stupid, in how trusting she is of people. A nice word and a smile and she believes whatever they tell her. I’m trying to consider the fact of how sheltered her life was before coming to Egypt, and how young she still is, but sometimes it’s hard when the truth is so blatantly clear 😅 I did however throughly enjoy getting to know the characters a lot more in this one, we got extensive backstories and reasonings for why they act the way the do. I did get in a few good laughs as well, the dialogue is very witty and sarcastic, right up my alley. And, of course, to see Inez and Whit’s relationship blossom, face obstacles, but ultimately realizing that they are eachothers soulmates ♥️ So cute.

Exciting to get to explore a new part of Egypt, learn about more history and see a bit more of the magic that remains in some objects. So all in all, I liked this one a tiny bit more than the first book, and it was solid four star duology that I recommend to fans of Divine Rivals, Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones and the Mummy to read! ♥️

P.S. We also get a massive plottwist in this one, that I did NOT see coming 🤯 D.S.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Books for the advance reader copy of Where the Library Hides for a review.

Where the Library Hides is the sequel to What the River Knows and it follows straight after the end of the previous story.

Inez Olivera is still reeling from the murder of her cousin Elvira and the betrayal of her mother. Following an ultimatum from her uncle Tio Ricardo to send her back to Argentina she has only one option left... to marry Whitford Hayes her uncles aide and prior nemesis. Whit has his own reasons for remaining in Egypt much of which are secret, can Inez bind her fate to Whit with all his many secrets?

I really enjoyed What the River Knows and the cliffhanger ending left me wanting more. I have to say this sequel lived up to the hype of the first book. The story had as many twists and turns as the first book and remained action packed with wonderful descriptions on Egypt.

While I could guess some of the twists there were others that I didn't catch and I love when that happens.

Without giving any spoilers a great conclusion to the duology and I would recommend everyone to read this duology series.

What the River Knows was one of my favourite reads last year and after that killer cliffhanger, I was desperate to find out what happens next. Boy, this sequel did not disappoint. It was full of twists, turns and romance. I am going to remain spoiler free because it’s key not to know what will happen next. Inez is still in Egypt, reeling from loss and betrayal. With her uncle trying to get her out of Egypt, Inez explores every option to remain in the country and to seek justice, so drastic measures are now the best option. Once again Whitford Hayes was a delight to read. He was a mystery throughout the first book, with small snippets of his life popping up. In the sequel we finally get to know him on a deeper level.
With enemies surrounding the pair, they recruit the help of family and friends but this isn’t without a cost.
Isabel Ibañez is a fantastic writer and always winds mystery throughout her books. The historical setting, fantastic characters and fun plot lines made it really easy to read. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first book but overall it was really great.
Thank you for the eARC. I was thrilled to read this!

4.75 / 5 📜🌅

What a perfect conclusion to this duology. Whit and Inez were perfect. This book had me constantly wanting more but had me feeling satisfied in the end.

The tension. The dynamic. I just freaking loved it between Whit and Inez.

This was a lovely conclusion to Inez’s story! The setting and romance are probably the best parts of the book but I found the pacing and the plot to be a bit all over the place. It was too slow oftentimes and it took me a while to finish because there were too many boring lulls in the plot. And it didn’t help that it was pretty predictable too.

That said, I really loved Inez and Whit’s romance. I’m happy they got their deserved HEA!

Isabel writing is such a gift! Her words are sharp and thoughtful with the perfect mix of slow burn sparks, adventure and delicious anticipation. My favourite is her dry wit (pun intended) and the ways she weaves her characters with nuance and heart!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-ERC of Where the Library Hides.

Full review to follow soon but for now all I will say is: Do Recommend ♥️

I loved every minute of this book. I absolutely loved the historical aspect of it, as a huge fan of Ancient Egypt and the mystery kept me hooked the entire time. Inez and Whit’s romance had me in my feels throughout this stunning conclusion.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Where the Library Hides. I was really looking forward to this book after the cliffhanger in the first book. The first half of the book was hard to get through. Very little happened. The second half of the book more than made up for it and I really enjoyed the plot twists, especially the twist regarding Mr Sterling. Loved the epilogue also. Overall, I am giving this book 3.75 stars. Would have been more if it was 100 pages shorter and the first half of the book was condensed.

2.5 rounded down

I really enjoyed What the River Knows, and after THAT ending, I was so excited to read this sequel. However, I was left quite disappointed by this book, and definitely enjoyed its predecessor more.

Firstly, the characters had very little growth. In fact, I think they somehow regressed. Inez frustrated me with her naivety and lack of impulse control. She made bad decision after bad decision, trusted too easily, and dove headfirst into dangerous situations without a plan. She became really hard for me to root for, which is a shame because I enjoyed how cunning and determined she was in the first book.

As for Whit, I was disappointed with a decision he made in this book, and it completely killed the romance for me. There was not nearly enough grovelling for my liking, and I wish the author had gone in a different direction with his character.

I loved the sense of adventure and history that the first book had, but it was sadly missing in Where the Library Hides. From the title, I thought the characters would be searching for a library, but the library only comes into the plot at around to 70% mark. Up until this point, the characters aren’t really doing much except trying to track down another character. I just found the plot quite boring, and the pacing was inconsistent.

There were lots of plot twists - some that I saw coming and some that I didn’t. However, some of these twists didn’t make any sense, and with the sheer amount of them, it felt like the author was trying to mask the lack of plot with lots of big reveals. The reveal at the end felt very Scooby Doo-esque, and I really wish the author had gone in a different direction with that particular character.

The ending felt quite messy, and some things still don’t make sense to me. Instead of wrapping everything up in the text, we got a list right at the end of the book of what ended up happening to everyone. It felt like a bit of a cop out to me, and I would have much preferred a longer epilogue instead.

Overall, I was disappointed with this sequel. However, I will read the authors next book since I enjoyed the first in this duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first book and after that criminal epilogue I was hesitant to start this book afraid it won't be as good as the first one, and it wasn't, but I still liked it

the beginning made me interested, I needed to know what epilogue meant and how it's going to be resolved, but later... the middle was very slow, I felt like almost nothing happened and reading this book took me awfully long time (especially since I devoured what the river knows in like 2 days), because i needed to force myself to pick up this book - not that it was bad, but I just really didn't want to started reading, I blame it partially on my tiredness this week but still, only since 70% it managed to hook me

the ending was really good, kinda unrealistic and over the top and dramatic af, but I really needed to know how it's going to be resolved

about Whit - i liked him in the first book, but gotta be honest in the beginning I really didn't like him and couldn't understand how could they possibly end up together and for a long time I still wasn't convinced, but he won me over in the en

the epilogue was cute, maybe possibly there will be book about Arabella?👀 pretty pls

overall it was really good duology, one i will certainly recommend to many people and the first book is one of my fav books ever

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

After absolutely adoring What the River Knows and the lush world Isabel Ibañez created with headstrong Inez, charmingly frustrating Whit and all the family dynamics (and THAT CLIFFHANGER), I was very excited to dive into Where The Library Hides. And I certainly was not disappointed!

Picking up literally seconds after where its predecessor ends, this story follows the path being carved by Inez’ mother and herself alike as they try to solve the Cleopatra mystery all while dodging several levels of dogmatic bureaucracy, a certain startlingly tenacious new family member and an inconvenient romance to boot. The pacing didn’t let up throughout the whole journey and I lost count of the times I gasped at the plot twists. I loved how headstrong and determined Inez was and how she didn’t let Whit off the hook too easy. Overall, this was a fun and gripping conclusion to the duology that delivered on the stakes set out by the first one. I loved it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy to review. All thoughts are my own.
I absolutely adored What the River Knows and have hugely anticipated this sequel for the longest time. I'll admit, I was a little exasperated by the happenings for quite some time in Where the Library Hides and was worried my excitement to return to this world was going to be let down. There is more focus on the romance between Inez and Whit in this one, which makes complete sense since the only way Inez could stay in Egypt was to align herself with Whit, but with this comes a LOT of miscommunication and secrecy from Whit that had my heart dropping. I loved both characters in book one a lot, and to say I got frustrated by Whit's inaction when it counted to Inez in the first portion of the book had me ready to ditch him for good.

There was a lot of danger, action and adventure from 50% onwards, so much double-crossing and a lot of secrets revealed. If you loved The Mummy (1999) and Indiana Jones then you'll 100% enjoy this duology - and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a spin-off with a few side characters too!

Sadly this one feels like it definitely had second book syndrome. I was not a fan, which is a shame because I didn't think its previous book was terrible!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!

🌟✨/5

Just let me be a hater, okay? What the River Knows was far from perfect, but it interested me enough to give the sequel a try. In retrospect, I shouldn't have. Full of repititive writing, horrendous pacing and cringy romance and having almost nothing to do with the library, Where the Library Hides is far worse than its predecessor.

To begin with, nothing happened for almost 75% of the book. This could've been shortened to less than 300 pages without affecting the overarching plot. I couldn't care less about the MCs and their 'romance'. Inez made terrible decisions one after the other and Whit, well, Whit is a terrible person and no one can convince me otherwise. It was infuriating to see Inez forgive him without much though. The lengths the author went to to make him appear 'swoon-worthy' was ridiculous. The whole Isadora plot should've been scrapped from the story. Her intentions were extremely obvious from the start and reading through Inez's POV about how she loved and trusted her sister was annoying. And the way Isadora met her end...it didn't affect the plot at all. The author went overboard with betrayals and plot twists that made no sense. Reading THAT plot twist after the slow paced 75% cemented my rating of one star. The author didn't make good use of magic as a plot device. The atmosphere of Egypt which I actually enjoyed in book 1 was conspicuously absent in this. The climax was terrible.

Where the Library Hides did not meet my already low expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I'm sad that being ill last week took me away from reading this book quicker. I was so excited to delve back into the world with Inez and Whit and see how they would navigate everything we learned at the end of the first book.

I loved where the story took us and loved exploring more of Egypt with these characters. This second installment was non-stop with lots of fun plot twists! I was happy with the ending to this duology.

I can't wait to see what Isabel writes next and in the meantime I have some previous books to get reading!