N_Porter
In Riversend, the river never forgets.
When Kaya and her father move to the quiet town of Riversend, she expects a fresh start-distance from grief, silence after loss. What she doesn't expect is the river. Dark, restless, and strangely alive, it hums at the edge of town like a secret everyone knows but refuses to name.
People go missing in Riversend. Not loudly. Not all at once. They simply fade-memories softened, questions unanswered. And the river is always nearby.
As storms roll in and the water begins to rise, Kaya finds herself drawn into a web of disappearances tied to the town's past: a boy marked by the river's touch, a friend who hears its whispers, a love built on sacrifice, and a force that feeds on grief, memory, and desire. The river promises healing. Reunion. Peace.
But everything it gives, it takes something in return.
As Kaya uncovers the truth behind the water and the lives it has claimed, she must decide how much she's willing to lose-and whether fighting the river is worth the cost. Because in Riversend, survival doesn't always mean escape.
Sometimes, it means choosing how you're taken.
A haunting atmospheric novel about grief, love, and the seductive danger of letting go, The Water's Alive in Riversend is a story where the river watches, waits... and remembers everything.
Trigger Warnings
This story contains themes and scenes that may be distressing for some readers, including:
• Grief and loss of loved ones (parental death)
• Death and disappearance
• Drowning / water-related danger
• Psychological manipulation
• Emotional trauma
• Sacrificial death
• Gaslighting / loss of memory
• Storms, flooding, and natural disaster imagery
• Mild violence
• Themes of hopelessness and despair
Reader discretion is advised.