Is it possible for a novel to change the way you view the world around you? Author Mary Alice Monroe has been writing environmentally-focused fiction set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina for decades. Told with much heart and a touch of humor, many of her novels have brought to the forefront conservation concerns, including sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, monarch butterflies, and shorebirds. In her new novel, Where the Rivers Merge, Monroe aims even bigger by bringing to readers’ attention the ACE Basin, an estuary formed at the convergence of the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto at St. Helena Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. If you’re not from that area (like me), you may never have heard of this expansive home to marshes, wetlands, hardwood forests, and riverine systems.
As a fan of Monroe’s Beach House series (about sea turtle conservation), I could not wait to read this newest novel, which has been years in the making. I was so excited I didn’t even bother to read reviews for what it was about and then was blindsided when the book ended with a cliffhanger. So, I am here to warn you about what I apparently missed in all of the summaries: Where the Rivers Merge is the first of two novels telling the story of the ACE Basin, as it relates to her main characters. Set in 1988, Eliza Rivers Chalmers shares her story of personal challenges, mistakes, tragedies, and triumphs, as it relates to her beloved home Mayfield over the past 70 years.
Apparently, this is Monroe’s first historical novel, and she has done her homework. She carefully weaves in details to bring the past to life, though often her main character seems to forget the time period in which she lived (as demonstrated by her foolish and stubborn behavior, constantly coming up against patriarchy, racism, and primogeniture and being blindsided by the results). Perhaps she was demonstrating Eliza’s naivete with these instances, but her constant surprise regarding this would be my only true complaint about the book (and it’s minor).
Monroe’s lovely writing and masterful storytelling drew me in immediately and left me wanting more as the book suddenly ended without resolution. I am excited to read the conclusion, The River’s End, which is scheduled to be released in 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
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