Amal El-Mohtar has written a lyrical story about the bond between sisters. It's very hard to describe this without giving every twist and turn away, and for a novella, El-Mohtar packs quite a few twists in.

It is sweet, diabolical and winds its way to a happy ending. Recommended for older teens and up, while familiarity with traditional ballad forms will add a frisson while reading, you don't have to be.


I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Absolutely enchanting! This story swept me away like a lullaby sung through ancient trees. The Hawthorn sisters, Esther and Ysabel, are the kind of characters that feel carved from folklore—tender, fierce, and beautifully bound to one another. The world of Thistleford is rich with magic, mystery, and just the right amount of menace. I was completely hooked by the haunting atmosphere, the deep-rooted family legacy, and the tension between duty and desire. It’s part fairy tale, part tragedy, and entirely mesmerizing. I didn't want to leave the willows—or these sisters—behind.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the digital galley of this book and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of the audiobook.

If you read This is How You Lose the Time War, then you’re familiar with Amal El-Mohtar. If you haven’t, turn off your phone and go do it right now.

Anyway. El-Mohtar’s newest book, The River Has Roots, is no less poetic and turns its focus on two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, who honor an ancient pact to sing to the trees. Esther falls for a citizen of Faerie and rejects a persistent suitor. This sparks an incident that will put the sisters’ bond (and their lives) at risk.

I loved this story in different ways than Time War. The love story was beautiful, but the sisters’ bond was even better. I loved their characterizations and the love they share. It stretches across the lands of their world and Faerie. Extra points for nonbinary rep and the many folktale elements. As expected, the poetic prose is beautiful. It was a quick read, but one I will be revisiting.

The River Has Roots is a lyrical and quietly powerful novella that feels like a whispered spell. Amal El-Mohtar tells a story rooted in English folklore, where songs are sacred, love is complex, and language is a form of living magic.

Set in the town of Thistleford, which borders Faerie, the story follows sisters Esther and Ysabel Hawthorn, keepers of enchanted willow trees and caretakers of an ancient song-bound tradition. Their bond is deep and tender, creating emotional depth that anchors the story, even as both mortal and magical forces start to pull them apart.

El-Mohtar’s writing is poetic and immersive. It has a musical quality that fits the themes of memory, transformation, and the significance of words. The novella explores the relationship between love and responsibility in a way that feels both mythic and personal, especially as Esther’s forbidden connection with a fae being named Rin slowly unravels the world the sisters know.

What stood out most to me was the idea of magic as a grammatical act—conjugation as transformation and language as alchemy. This narrative device adds originality, even if the details of the magic system remain unclear. However, the prose can become dense at times, requiring patience and rereading to understand certain metaphors or symbols.

Although the novella isn’t long, it encourages slow reading. Each word feels carefully chosen for rhythm as much as for meaning, and while this enhances the atmosphere, it may alienate readers who prefer a straightforward narrative. Still, the emotional rewards make the effort worthwhile.

Overall, The River Has Roots is a haunting story about sisterhood, sacrifice, and the power of language to connect or divide us. It is a rich, folkloric read that lingers like a half-remembered song, echoing long after the story is complete.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar is a lyrical novella set on the edge of Faerie.

I followed along in my gorgeous physical review copy (the illustrations are STUNNING) while listening to the audiobook, which I borrowed from my local library. I highly recommend doing a blended read for this one!

The audiobook is wonderfully produced. The narrator does a phenomenal job, especially when she's singing! The author and her sister also sing and play the harp and flute throughout the novella. It truly transported me to the edge of Faerie myself.

This novella is apparently a reimagining of a 17th century murder ballad, which totally makes sense. I loved it so much.

There's lovely rep here as well--the main relationship we follow throughout the book is a queer one, and our MC's love is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Said love is also from Faerie, so their looks are ever-changing like the landscape.

I really can't say much about this book since it's short--but it packs a mighty punch. I definitely cried a few times, and it's only 133 pages! The music really affected me, and I was truly here for the ~*~vibes~*~.

If you like fae, music, or language, you should absolutely pick this one up!

The River Has Roots is eerie and mesmerizing with excellent and intriguing worldbuilding. Amal El-Mohtar knows how to set a mood.

The River Has Roots is a dark, beautiful novella about two sisters dedicated to their family lands. But when one sister rejects an unwelcome suitor and chooses her love in the land of Faerie, it puts their lives and everything they love at risk. Novellas are a tough genre, and El-Mohtar does an excellent job of giving making this story feel rich and detailed even with limited space. Fans of This is How We Lose the Time War and authors like T. Kingfisher will devour this great read.

Cannot properly review this book as Netgalley has made it difficult to review anything. This is an accessibility issue now going from ASCM to LCPL.

"Now where were we. Ah yes." (I love a rambling narrator)

I am sooo on board for short stories lately. Grammar as a magic system? Incredibly original!

I think this narration style would be best served as an audiobook honestly, so if you enjoy those then give this a whirl.

CW: Drowning, Body Horror (Mild)

This novella was a marvelous mix of word play, love, and murder ballads. Two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, carry on a family treaty to sing to the trees that border Arcadia, aka land of the fae folk. The deep sisterly bond they share is one of the highlights of the novella. Esther has a non-binary fae lover, Rin, and a would-be human suitor greedy for her land, not her heart. If you like word play, fairy tales, riddles, murder ballads, and true love (familial and romantic), then I’d highly recommend this novella.

The River Has Roots is a whimsical experience. If you love stories that feel like fairy and folk tales. That transport you and give you that nostalgic feel while being unique, this is for you. There's elements you can recognize and El-Mohtar breathes new life. It's a world of musical magic and I love the idea of grammar and magic - how it shapes the world. The world building and premise are enchanting.

This was beautifully written! A great fairytale and the illustrations complimented the story perfectly. The pacing was pretty good it was a good length.

An absolutely magical book. Mohtar is a literary force and one of the most talented storytellers I’ve ever read.

This was absolutely incredible. I feel like a lot of people don’t know that Amal El-Mohtar is first and foremost a poet. That is why she’s able to craft this lush, elegant, provocative prose which just happens to be perfectly suited for this kind of fairy tale.

I have such a deep respect for poets, because they understand language on a molecular level. They have to in order to make language their playground the way they do, to coax out these surprising turns of phrase and combine wordsmithing with imagery and sensory experiences to make connections that we just don’t think of on a day-to-day basis. Poetry surprises, it evokes. And I say all of that because this author’s prowess as a poet is a huge part of why I think this story is such a success.

The magic system in this story is deeply fascinating, because it’s based around grammar, which I love. And again, is something only a poet could dream of. And it’s all connected to how grammar and sentence structure inherently changes meaning, changes context. And that’s why grammar is the basis for this transformative magic. I thought that was lovely and used so brilliantly and effectively in the story.

Not only is the writing style deeply evocative and transportative, but I also love that this is very much a story about the love, loyalty, and devotion between sisters. Yes, there is a queer romance happening in the background, which is also really beautiful, but this is very much a story about two sisters putting each other first no matter what and doing whatever it takes to fight their way back to each other even as the world tries to force them apart.

I think it’s a powerful homage to the fact that even as both of them seek either love or marriage and their lives begin to diverge, that love they share as sisters—that deep platonic, familial love—deserves to be honored, because it’s the foundation upon which all their other forms and expressions of love are built.

The fact that this story is so short and yet is so incredibly beautiful and made me feel so much so deeply in a short span of time speaks volumes to Amal El-Mohtar’s talent. There’s also a sample in here from her upcoming short story collection, which I also *cannot* wait to read! This was an easy 5 stars.

“But that is not the truth of grammar. There was a time when grammar was wild— when it shifted shapes and unleashed new forms out of old. Grammar, like gramarye, like grimoire. What is magic but a change in the world? What is conjugation but a transformation, one thing into another? She runs; she ran; she will run again.”

i believe that amal el-mohtar is one of the most talented authors that i have ever had the privilege of reading. i am talking just earth shattering, heart destroying, beyond words beautiful prose. and this novella was absolutely no different.

this is a story about two sisters and their life growing up together with two willow trees on either side of the river liss. their family has always worked, and sang, with the willows, being stewards of the land, because under the right circumstances (or maybe the wrong ones) it can lead to the land of faerie.

the fae in this word are musicians, not singers, so esther and ysabel’s songs make an impact with all around the river. and esther even has a bit of a romance with a fae from arcadia. but as most tales go, a man, who can’t comprehend the word no, forced the story in a different direction. and magic ensues, and heals, and makes me cry… a lot.

you all know i am always going to be a sucker for a sibling tale with unconditional love portrayed. and this story really did feel a lot like healing magic while reading. also, if you are able to read a physical copy of this, please do so, because truly this is such a beautifully created book, and will extra immerse you into this world. i am very tempted to give this five stars, and i highly recommend it to everyone, but especially if you’re a big sister.

trigger + content warnings: assault (unwanted touching), blood, drowning / murder

A gorgeous, gorgeous story. I only wish it had been longer, but I also appreciate that El-Mohtar ended the story where it needed to be ended, preserving its beauty. I do wish I had realized one of her short stories is included at the end, only because I thought I still had a lot of novella left and it ended abruptly according to my Kindle percentage! The story was also fantastic, though, and I'll definitely be reading her story collection when it publishes.

This book was a beautiful one sitting read for me.

It was a solid follow-up to This Is How You Lose The Time War. I do love Time War a little more, but this one was still beautiful. I would have loved for it to be twice as long, just so that I had more time to love the characters and their dynamics. (also more of the beautiful writing!)

It's easy to love or hate some of the characters in this book. Others, you go back and forth in a way that felt like these characters were real, and out there in the world somewhere.

Zero Regrets. Go Read It Please and Thank You!

Overall, an excellent contemporary fairy tale with language, time, and family as its key themes. I appreciate how brilliantly El-Mohtar uses her own beautiful language to demonstrate how language can, in turns, be seductive and dangerous, cunning and sheltering, and beautiful and bonding. I imagine some might wish the characters were a little more developed, but their relative sketchiness lends itself to the fairy tale atmosphere, in which every event always already belongs to tradition, to nature, to eternity. I also appreciate the brevity of the book, more novella than novel.

A gorgeous, elegant story steeped in folklore and myth. I read it in one night, and finished in tears at the sheer beauty of the writing, the world, and the love stories. The River Has Roots immediately became one of my favorite books of the year, and quite possibly of all time.

When I saw that one of the co-authors of This is How You Lose the Time War (an absolutely amazing book, go read it now if you haven't) was releasing a new book, I jumped at the chance to read it. And boy, did it not disappoint.

This story had a very old folktale vibe - the kind you'd find in a large volume of them in a dusty corner of the library. The woodblock illustrations only added to the authenticity. The prose was beautifully written without being overly purple, adn the plot was engaging. As short as it was, you still really felt like you got to know the characters pretty well, which is a testament to the author's writing abilities.

Overall, this book has definitely been one of my favroites of 2025 so far, and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.