What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

 17 year old Inez lives with her aunt and cousin in Buenos Aires half of the year while her archeologist parents work at digs in Egypt. Inez's aunt tries to raise her as a proper 1800's aristocrat, but Inez is too interested in the magical objects her parents bring back from their excavations. When Inez receives word that her parents have disappeared, she abandons all propriety and boards a steam ship to Egypt.  Once there, she confronts her uncle and his infuriatingly handsome but often inebriated assistant Wit. They try to send her home on the next boat, but she evades their efforts and is soon caught up in the shadowy world of the Egyptian artifact trade. Her uncle is sometimes harsh, and sometimes kind. Wit is both annoying and charming, and they are both hiding something. Inez does not know whom to trust. 

I can't remember why I put this book on hold.  I think a patron recommended it to me because she knew I read historical romances.  On Good Reads people either hate this book or love this book.  I must admit I am on the "hate" side of the scale.  I didn't hate it, but I thought it was a bit of a slog.  For one thing, it is ridiculously long.  It would have been a better book if it had about 1/3 edited out.  Secondly, there was absolutely no character development.  The author was clearly caught up in the setting and plot, and forgot to make the characters interesting. Third, the magic system was a bit shaky.  Ibanez seems to be making it up as she goes along, and it isn't internally consistent. Lastly, the ending, after 17 hours of meandering narrative, was a totally unsatisfying cliffhanger.  I considered giving up on the book 4 hours in, but I didn't have anything else in my cue that was available. I kind of wish I had.  (416 p. 2023)