Book: What The River Knows

 Book: What The River Knows

Author: Isabel Ibanez

Pages: 416

This is my 157th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Bolivian-Argentinian Inex Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of 19th 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.  Inex has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her gobetrotting paretns - who frequently leave her behind.  When she receives word of their tragic deaths, inex inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother in law.  Yearing for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, brining her sketch pads and a 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 paren'ts disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.  With her guardian's infuriatingly handsom 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.

This was a pretty good book.  I listened to it and it was a fast listen.  I liked the story from the start, but Inez never really grew on me.  She is a teenager, but I find writing about them as main characters can be hit or miss on maturity level.  This one she leaned toward the immature, and while it made sense to the author to do this, it wore on me.  But overall it was a good story.

Stars: 4 

Book: A Witches Guide to Magical InnKeeping

 Book: A Witches Guide To Magical InnKeeping

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Pages: 352

This is my 156th read for the year

What Amazon says:

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain.  Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild.  Now she helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her.  But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power.  Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and just ight know how to unlock the spell's secrets.  Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain betwitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised that he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell.  Worse, he might actually be thawing.  Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sear Swan is about to discover that she doesn't have to do it alone.  And that the weird, wonderful family she's made might be the best magic of all.

This was a pretty good book.  I didn't like it as much as Sangu's first book, but enjoyed it well enough.  IT is pretty well written and the story moves along at a good pace.  

Stars: 4