The Procrastinators Book Club discussion

Welcome to the What the River Knows Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens November 1st and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 11/01
1st: Prologue-chapter 6
2nd: Chapters 7-14

Week of 11/03
3rd: Chapters 15-21
4th: Chapters 22-29
5th: Chapters 30-end

PARTICIPANTS
~Brianna
~Sophie

through end of chapter 6: This is a re-read technically but I already don't recall much of what is going on which is kind of nice. It is definitely filling the vibe of adventure/treasure hunt which is one of my favorites - especially in movies. I like how ballsy Inez is and trying to push against the grain/what's expected of her.

Up to chapter 3
I‘ll join this one… Probably won’t be able to read it as fast as the schedule.

@Brianna Yes, Inez is really ballsy, which makes her an interesting FMC. I wonder who the man was that stole her ring. What a rude and disrespectful person.

through end of chapter 14: I am super curious about the mystery at play and figuring out who is the actual bad guy and who is being honest. I liked Kareem and his willingness to help Inez with the Elephantine. I hope we get more of him.

Up to the end of chapter 14
This is also a re-read for me, I think I first read it about two years ago and it was a 5 star, which I don't give out easily. I only really remember about 70%ish so I'm enjoying not only being back in the story with the parts that I loved, but also remembering things that I forgot. I'm loving the banter between Inez and Whit, and I also find Inez a really great perspective to read from. Because I know how book one ends I'm able to pick out the red herrings that I missed the first time round. I do wish I was in the habit of doing more re-reads because its a whole different experience the second time round.

@Sophie - I'm glad you remember a good portion of it - I barely remember this (memory of a goldfish) so it feels pretty new. I am glad I am re-reading instead of just jumping into the next/final installment as I would probably feel pretty lost. I also enjoy Inez and Whit and am curious to see how that all plays out given the synopsis of the sequel.

Up to chapter 6
This is a first read for me. So please forgive my lack of knowledge 😛.
Why does it feel like Inez uncle is hiding something. There must be a reason Inez‘s father sent her the ring and that doesn’t put a good light on the uncle.
Also I don’t sympathize with the Britains in this book. They come of as entitled and arrogant. Coming to a foreign country with so much history, pretending they’re bringing knowledge, wisdom and civility.

Chapters 15-21

Loveddddd the end of chapter 21. The mystery element is strong and keeps the flow of the story going. I love learning about the history of Egypt, I feel like it’s not often explored in books, not just fantasy. @Sarah-Vanessa yeah the Brits will look bad in almost every historical book, they kept that empire going for hundreds of years, and what they taught us in school was very intentionally swayed in a positive light. I really love the Elizabeth 1st era, desperate for books, any genre I’m not fussy, written about them. Her reign and her families reign was sooooooo unique, messy and ruthless.

through end of chapter 21: I feel like we are starting to get additional pieces of the puzzle, even though they aren't quite coming together just yet.

@Sarah-Vanessa: I also don't sympathize with the Brits in this. It seems like they've come in thinking they are so much better than a culture/society that's been around for WAY longer.

through the end of chapter 29: Okay so things REALLY picked up and so many more pieces to the puzzle. I am super interested to see where things go from here and what other reveals are left. I know not everything will be resolved, but it'll be interesting to see how this installment wraps up and sets things up for the next in the series.

through the end: I really wanted to know what happened so I did read ahead and finish. (view spoiler)[I am SHOCKED at what happened with Elvira and what does that epilogue mean? What did Whit do?! Also - who is Porter? The name seems vaguely familiar. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[@Brianna I completely forgot about the epilogue so I was also very shocked. The name Porter is also familiar to me, but I can't remember him. It's still definitely a five star. (hide spoiler)]

Alright being sick since yesterday, I managed to finish this as an audio.

Wow, I‘m speechless. And what was that ending?!
I did not expect what happened to Elvira at all. I also don’t remember who Porter is, but I truly want to believe Whit is serious with Inez. After the Epilogue it seems like all of this was planned.

It‘s definitely a five star for me. There were some unexpected plot twist, that I didn’t see coming. The book was nicely paced, with a good balance between action packed situations and dialogues between characters. The characters are all very well developed and written, so is the world building. Loved that the story took place in Egypt.

@Sophie & Sarah-Vanessa: Thankfully we are reminded about Porter pretty early on the next installment .

I am glad we are all enjoying it so far! I would agree that there was overall a good balance of things so I hope that continues in the next installment. It has definitely re-sparked my love of all things Egypt and Egyptian history.