Initially it was a tiny bit difficult to get into since the writing felt so ethereal and dreamlike that it was harder to comprehend.

But once I got used to the writing style I was hooked. I was rooting for the sisters. I found myself tearing up near the end.

I absolutely loved This is How You Lose The Time War and could not wait to read The River Has Roots.

Amal El-Mohtar’s The River Has Roots will bring a sense of magic and hope to your life and make you believe that anything has the power to be transformed or conjugated. It is a beautiful story of both romantic and sisterly love.

It reads like a faery tale and a ballad and a riddle all at once with the poetic prose that I grew to love in This is How to Lose the Time War. Once again, love is timeless and shapeless and formless - and because of that, it can do anything we want it to.

Once finished, I wanted to go back to the first page and start again. Read this amazing book!

Only Amal El-Mohtar could make me cry over grammar. This story is gorgeous, the magic system is so beautiful and unique I cannot imagine how she thought it up. This is a story of love. Love of your sister, love of your work, love of your craft, and love of your lover. By the end I had tears in my eyes. I don't want to say anymore, go in blind and enjoy.

I do not think fans of This is How You Lose The Time War who are excitedly tuning in for Amal El-Mohtar’s solo debut will be disappointed by The River Has Roots. It’s got the same poetic and beautiful sentences and Romantic (in the original sense) plot. I wished for only one thing when I was reading it, that it was a little longer. But perhaps I was wishing it longer in the same way that after eating an intense sliver of chocolate cake, you wish for one more bite, but if that bite were to actually be given to you, you might find that you are not as wise as the one who designed the portion. All that to say that this is a very short novella. Not a lacking novella, but it is an intense sliver of a story.

Two sisters sing magic into being on the edge of fairyland. They live in harmony (pun intended) with the land and the trees. When love goes wrong, it will strain their bond almost to the breaking point. This softly intense beautiful story about nature, magic, and family will touch even the most cynical heart. A little cozy bubble in these chaotic times.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for this honest review.

Review posted and links added closer to pub date.

The River Has Roots has the wonderful flowery prose that Amal El-Mohtar is known for. The story is short but emotionally impactful. I loved the characters and while I'm satified with how this story wrapped up, I would love more stories in the future with other charcters from Arcadia. I would recommend this to Fantasy and fairytale lovers, or anyone who was a fan of This Is How You Lose The Time War and wasnt turned off by the prose. It can feel complicated at times but I believes it is well worth it and makes for a beautiful reading experience.

Thank you @tordotcompub for the complimentary copy.

Magical! The language made me feel like I was reading an old fairytale. It took me a little bit to get into it and understand the grammar (magic) but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I loved the bond between the sisters. I would have liked a little more in the way of Esther’s relationship because up until close to the end I wasn’t entirely sure if her feelings were reciprocated or if it was all one sided. I absolutely loved the ending, I read it twice and can see me reading it again.

I have been meaning to pick up "This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, but it's never on the library's shelf (that's a great thing!). Since I heard so much about El-Mohtar's lyrical writing, I thought I would give her solo debut novella a shot. "The River Has Roots" does not disappoint!

It is a beautiful, lyrical, and spellbinding original fairy tale that celebrates sisterhood, the promises we keep, and the sacrifices we make for love. I love how this tale unfurls as if we the reader are gathered around a campfire listening to someone who is telling the story. I loved the play on words whether through murder ballads or riddles. I was utterly captivated.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan/Tor for an advanced readers copy of the book.

3.75 ⭐️

for this lil thing she was a STUNNER. from the prose to the storytelling, this was so lusciously written that i could it put it down!!! all this has showed me is that I need to get into her previous work if this was just a taste!

i will say i think it tried to do too much in too little time, which is where it lost a couple stars but OVERALL my enjoyment was 10/10!!!!

Imaginative, whimsical, and confusing- everything I've begun to expect from El-Mohtar! The prose is spectacular, both somehow precise and inexact. This felt like a classic with the story unfolding really wonderfully. A story of sisterhood, love, and peculiarity of writing. Grammar is magic, and El-Mohtar knows how to create it.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC!

This is practically a modern fairy tale, a classic in the making. It was lush, atmospheric, and so magical. It was beautiful and tragic, but hopeful in the end. This is in my top 5 reads of the year for sure, even though it's only January. I absolutely adored this and can't wait to get a physical copy of my own. No sophomore slump in sight! This is an absolutely enthralling novel, and I beg everyone to please read it!

I don't know how to describe this story without just telling the whole thing, as it was quite short. There's two sisters who sing to two willow trees on a river. Why? I don't know. They live on the edge of faerie, where time and space doesn't work the same as the regular world. They are each other's whole world but one sister, Esther is rebuffing the advances of an aggressive suitor because she's in love with a Fae. Her sister is worried her sister is going to leave her behind and run away with the Fae even though she promised she wouldn't leave her behind. There's also something about grammar? I think like, actual language grammar. I don't understand that point either. This is very apathetic summery because I don't have much to take away except this is one of the most beautifully written books I've read. I could picture the trees and faerie forest and the river. But I don't understand the point, it's written like a fairy tale and it's obviously some sort of parable or allegory but I couldn't tell you what that was.

This. Book. Was. Stunning.

My ONLY complaint is that it wasn't long enough. The prose is beautiful. The story was enchanting. Magical sisters. Grammar as a magic system. Romance. Pining. This was everything.

While this story may have benefited from a bit more length, it was ambitious and poetic and emotional. I was taken aback by how quickly I cared for these characters. Like a fable, this was brief, beautiful and hard-hitting. I'll be rereading this closer to the release date and I'm so excited to share this with others.

Magic is grammar is magic — what a unique concept, capable of transforming (or translating, as it were) something as rote and boring as grammar into something exciting and special. The real magic at the heart of The River Has Roots is the relationship between two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, whose love for one another carries the story along the River Liss, winding through time and throughout the land in a way that makes it easy to tear through this book in one sitting. Between the stanzas of songs and riddles and the twining river running north to south, the lyrical nature of this gorgeous novella shines through. Encapsulating El-Mohtar's stunning turns of phrase and the whimsy and mystery of Faerie, fans of the Cruel Prince series or the Emily Wilde series will love this.

The River Has Roots is a stunning, lyrical novella. It's a fairy tale recrafted like a meandering river, with clever touches and nods to the traditional murder ballad form. It's a world where the magic system is built on grammar. (oh my heart!!) There's enough plot to carry the book through, too, which is pleasing, because the style risks being form over substance.

Ysabel and Esther Hawthorn are sisters who live by the River Liss. The Hawthorn family is responsible for singing to the willows, and Ysabel and Esther love each other as dearly and completely as they love the singing. Esther is being courted by her neighbor Samuel Pollard, who she cannot abide, and and Arcadian named Rin who "is a feeling, a lightness in her step, a burr in her throat..." as ethereal as the land they come from. Love and power can be a treacherous game though, and Esther comes to a crossing point where she must face the most difficult of choices.

This has perhaps my new favorite twist on an old favorite murder ballad, The Two Sisters/The Cruel Sister/Bonny Swans, wherein the sisters are dearest friends rather than bitter enemies, and yet the outcome is still much the same. For those familiar with folk songs, you'll find other recognizable ballads lightly referenced throughout. There are some similarities in lyrical style to Time War, and with the same amount of whimsy, but with perhaps more grounding in plot.

I look forward to reading and rereading this story over the years. Simply put, it's gorgeous.

I tore through THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR and was ecstatic to receive an ARC for THE RIVER HAS ROOTS! Amal El-Mohtar has such a gorgeous and lyrical way of writing, I immediately lose myself in the story every time. The magic system is so incredibly unique that it took me a moment too wrap my head around, but it fits perfectly with the fairy-tale-like aspect of the novella. A quick read set in an enchanting world and overflowing with beautiful ballads, this tale of love, deceit, and sisterly devotion is one I won't soon forget.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is absolutely the loveliest!

Synopsis:
Esther and Ysabel live in Thistleford at the edge of Faerie lands, where they love to sing to the magic willows praising them for their abundant harvest. Esther is totally smitten with Rin who lives in the enchanted lands of Arcadia. When Esther declines the advancement of another suitor Samuel Pollard, her life is put in danger. Esther must decide between saving her sister and being with the love of her life.

My Thoughts:
Amal El-Mohtar’s writing is so beautiful it is like reading a dream. The prose describing the magic system called grammar are captivating and clever. I am not sure I have read a book before where I can describe the use of language as hypnotizing. I was hypnotized! The bond between the sisters is endearing and I dearly loved this tale.

This was stunning! I requested The River Has Roots because I loved This Is How You Lose the Time War, and I loved this one even more. With Time War, I felt confused the entire time, like the book was saying "look how clever I am, keep up if you can." This book instead takes you by the hand and leads you along so you can feel clever, too.

I adored the sisterly relationship, the concept of grammar as magic, the beautiful ways language is played with, and the way this blends a classic folkloric feel with something new!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

"This thing you are used to, it has a past, and that is part of it."

I read this directly following This Is How You Lose the Time War, so I was in the zone for another unique short story where I don't fully understand the world, but you pick up on things along the way. I flew through that one in a day, so I expected to do the same with The River Has Roots. At 144 pages, it surprisingly took me a few days. 

After reading the bio, I expected a sweet magical story around sisterhood and to dive into the land of the Faerie - which it was. Still, I was caught off guard opening into the rules of Grammar, and how this world's magic system appears to be run by it. 

El-Mohtar's writing is beautiful, poetic, and magical. I could read 144 pages of her painting the picture of water flowing over rocks alone. I digress...

Once we moved on from our Grammar lesson, the story picked up for me. The backstory of the "Professors" was lovely, and I could picture myself standing in their shade with a slight breeze on my face while watching the water flow down the river. I adored the love shared between sisters Esther and Ysabel, and I wish I could listen to them harmonize for the "Professors." 

I enjoyed the riddles, the songs, and I loved that Ysabel preferred murder ballads most of all. I was glad Esther didn't want to settle for Pollard, because he succeeded at being terrible, and that Ysabel wanted Esther to be happy. I adored Rin's lines and their magic, and how above all they wanted to make Esther happy, regardless of the outcome. 

Ultimately, I wish this was longer so there would have been more time to better understand the Grammar world which always left me confused, have more time in Arcadia, and have a less rushed ending. I think the world could have been magical without Grammer being part of it - every time this reentered the scene it pulled me out of the story.

I believe many El-Mohtar fans will love this, I fell a little shy of loving it. I am looking forward to reading more from El-Mohtar.

My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this novella about two sisters, their ties to the Earth, the magic that they sing, and how nothing can stop them from being who they are, not even death.

Fairy tales were something that never really interested me when I first started reading. They were easy to find, Disney made plenty of films, but I really had no interest. Maybe it was the way they were bowdlerized to make them safe for young eyes, even with the darkness many of these stories still had. As my reading expanded I found that fairy tales and folk lore made up much of my favorite stories. Reading Grimm's stories, unsanitized, was a revelation, mostly at the increased amount of violence, but also the sexual undertones, that I had never thought about. No at the time cared about. Recently quite a few authors have used these tales as as a base for their own work, creating tales that reflect the modern world, making once upon a time more once in this modern world. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar, is one of these books, calling on the idea of fairy tales, with a hint of magic, telling a story of sisters, enchantments, love, and maybe a happily ever after.

Thistleford is a small town close to the River Liss, and even closer to the world of Faerie, called Arcadia. Near this town is the Hawthorn family. The Hawthorns live in a glade filled with willows, laden with enchantment. The Hawthorns have a ancient compact, sing to the willows, and all things will be good. The youngest Hawthorns, the sisters, Esther and Ysabel, sing with a sound that is like rain, and love to sing to the trees as much as they love being around each other. Things take a turn when Esther is approached by suitor looking for a marriage. Esther though loves someone else, and this rejection is not taken kindly. And soon the sisters, find themselves testing the bounds of their love, and the magic around them.

This is a novella so to ruin more of the story would be a sin, as there is much to unfold and learn as one reads. There is a hint of fairy tale, with enchantment and magic, called the Grammar. I won't go into that, but it is dark, mysterious and left intentionally vague, which in a longer book would be a detriment, but in a novella works well. In fact the novella length is the best way to present this story. There is a feeling at first of distance, like one is being read, or sung a tale that would be familiar from many a campfire setting. However as the story starts moving, this distance ceases, and the characters become not people in fable, but people dealing with a world that has changed, in many ways forever. El-Mohtar has a real gift for writing, for putting words that shouldn't fit in a passage, but together create a scene, or a moment that really makes the story shine, and sing.

Fans of El-Mohtar previous work will like the change in style and ideas, and appreciate again the gift for writing that El-Mohtar has. Readers of T. Kingfisher will also like this, as both can take a classic tale, and make it ring with the problems we face as citizens of an increasingly ugly world. One I hope someday has a happy ending.