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Darling readers, despite her recently revealed feelings about Sarah J. Maas, we at Heart.Wants.Books still love and adore Jamie B. Golden enough to consider all of her green lights (as well as Coach Knox’s, it’s a both / and).  Today’s title came to my holds list via Jamie and y’all, even though it’s suspense / thriller, and it was just the right amount of suspense with a side of whodunit.  Jamie says this is the perfect October book and I’ll counter that it’s the perfect book for channeling fall vibes, and would have been an amazing choice for us to read during the first two weeks of October, as it also includes WITCHES!  

There is something about reviewing a book dedicated to “all the Witches especially we who’ve just begun to understand our strength” while on a weekend retreat with two other women who are powering through life at home and at work that brings me so much joy and really brings some of the themes of River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan to life.  While the story is about a chicana artist, Eva, who is struggling with life, family, work and mental health. All of that is before her husband is arrested for the murder of their dear friend, and the novel is about so much more than that.  It’s about the haunting of youth, literally in this case as our protagonist’s BFF passed in a very similar way when they were teens, and how we deal with trauma (or don’t).  It’s about the struggles of family, both found and blood, and it’s about the strength of our ancestors, specifically focused on brujería and curanderisma for this tale.  

I had a big feeling window moment and a big feeling mirror vibe from River Woman, River Demon that have stuck with me.  The window moment was related to how our chicana protagonist has lived experiences that are both similar and different than her Black husband, and how those blend together and intertwine in their marriage and family.  The mirror vibe was from how the women in the story relate to each other.  Eva’s mom passed away bringing her into the world, and she was raised by her sister Alba, who drops everything to come take care of Eva and her children when Jericho is arrested.  Eva’s eldest daughter definitely tries to take care of her family in ways that are too old for her years.  Even La Detective who is tasked with the murder investigation pushes Eva because Jericho’s arrest doesn’t feel right in her gut, and she knows there’s something more happening, but connecting all the dots is a challenge.  There is more to say about the relationships female characters have with each other, especially with other supporting characters, but #nospoilers.  

I’m giving River Woman, River Demon four emphatic stars.  The story is fantastically well-woven, gorgeously written, and such a fun hang.  I considered a higher rating, but I’m not likely to reread this story.  I am likely to be looking at Givhan’s back list and adding some of those titles to my TBR.

What’s a book you’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and know chances of a reread are slim?

~Nikki 

A recipient of poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices, Jennifer Givhan is an Indigenous, Mexican-American author of five full-length poetry collections, three novels, and shorter fiction and creative non-fiction works. She earned her MFA from Warren Wilson College and a Master’s in English Literature and Creative Writing from California State University Fullerton. She pulls from her personal story, the story of her mother and the other mothers before her, the cultural trauma around indigenous women and girls to shed light on the past, heal the present, and prepare a brighter future so that her daughter doesn’t have to experience the things all the others before her have lived through. She has taught at universities such as University of Washington Bothell’s MFA program, Western New Mexico University, and the University of New Mexico. She’s raising her children in Albequerque, New Mexico, but is currently living with family near San Diego in the Imperial Valley where she grew up to research and write her next novel.  River Woman, River Demon was chosen as an Amazon Book Club Pick and a National Together We Read Library Pick, as well as being featured on CBS Mornings.

I finished River Woman, River Demon two days ago and I feel like I haven’t had enough time to really let it sit and percolate in my soul for long enough. This book is going to haunt me, in hopefully goodly, growing ways for some time. I, too, had some windows and some mirrors pop up for me in Givhan’s words. I loved reading about what feels like a marriage relationship that is strong and unquestionably supportive by both spouses, and yet when real tragedy occurs to that same relationship the morally questionable behavior that occurs is viscerally, emotionally, realistically possible. Would we react differently if we experienced the same trauma that Eva had? Can we say for certain what we would do? I don’t think so, and I think experiencing  what this character decided to do to re-confirm her power and agency in her own life, through magic and relationships (both familial and questionable), allows us as readers to experience greater empathy for all the humans in our world. I adored how Givhan brought her own brujeria practice into the fabric of this novel, and it has supported my own understanding of magic of manifestation and prayer in my own life. I’d also like to point out one scene, when Eva takes her X’s (her children Ximena and Xavier) to the pumpkin patch on Halloween, that she does so for the ritual of that activity in the lives of her children even though she didn’t feel like it was going to benefit her life, she wanted to bring more normalcy to theirs. And I love that.

I, like Nikki, am also giving River Woman, River Demon four shining stars. I doubt I will re-read the book, but I’m more tempted to up my rating to 4.5 stars. I just can’t round UP. I’m definitely looking into Givhan’s backlist and putting anything new straight on the holds list. I think the problem with re-reading a thriller such as this is the surprise factor will be gone and the excitement I felt as some of the foreshadowing came into being near the end will lessen my experience of a re-read. I highly recommend this fall-themed read, and might consider a re-read during a quiet, private All Hallows celebration in the future.

What books do you purposefully read because of the season, either of the book or in real life?

~Ashley

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