The River has Roots is a riveting novella about sisterhood, love and magic. The way magic worked was very captivating and unique.
I absolutely loved it! The writing style was gorgeous and an absolute delight to read. My only critique is that I wish this novella was a bit longer. I would have loved to dive a little deeper into the world. And I think the conclusion of the story could have benefitted from a bit more space.
Overall, I loved this and I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for a whimsical, emotional fantasy novella.

A lyrical and whimsical fairytale following two sisters and their lives adjacent to the faerie world. They sing morning and evening to two local willow trees, and the eldest sister is fielding off the advances of a local man while she enters a romance with a fae.

A book for people who love fairytales, the "use clever language around the fae" concept, sisterly bonds, and just really beautiful language.

Wish I had been able to read this in one sitting (started it late in the evening and got sleeby), it's barely 100 pages, it felt very immersive and definitely would have felt even more emotional.

The story has this concept of "grammar" as magic, (or sort of fae logic?), I'm not sure it fully worked for me purely because I couldn't get my head around it. A great concept though and maybe on a reread it will click more!

I can't wait to see a physical copy because there's clearly some really cool illustrations on a lot of the pages that my kindle was messing up the format of. Looks like it will be an absolutely gorgeous book though!

If you like short fairy tales/folk tales then I think this could be a good recommendation for you. Unfortunately, I don't tend to like those types of story, added to just how short this was (a lot of illustrations, beautiful, but used a fair bit of the page) left it feeling a bit underdeveloped. The writing was lovely, quite poetic with the grammar metaphors, but unfortunately just not for me.

La verdad es que había mucha expectación con la novela de Amal El-Mohtar en solitario, tras el espectacular éxito de ventas de This is How You Lose the Time War, gracias a Bigolas Dickolas y su celebérrimo tweet. Afortunadamente, The River Has Roots ha cumplido con lo esperado.


Esta novela corta vuelve a las raíces del folklore con un relato sobre las hadas y las personas que viven en las fronteras, centrándose en la relación entre dos hermanas que siguen con la tradición secular de cantarles a los sauces del río encantado que pasa por sus tierras.

Amal El-Mohtar juega muchísimo con el lenguaje, con acertijos y dobles sentidos. El traductor que se encargue de volcarlo al español, si es que tenemos la suerte de verlo en nuestro idioma, va a sudar sangre. La prosa de la autora siempre ha sido preciosista, aunque sin llegar a ser recargada, lo que convierte la lectura es un placer algo exigente.

El tono de ensueño de esta literatura fronteriza está muy conseguido también con ese aire místico y nebuloso que envuelve todas las interacciones con el mundo feérico, que parece estar cerca pero que continúa muy lejano de nuestra capacidad de comprensión. Es cierto que la escasa longitud de la publicación contribuye también a que no quede todo meridianamente claro, buscando un toque difuso como de acuarela muy aguada. El sistema mágico queda convenientemente ofuscado para que no se pueda definir con unas reglas estrictas, lo que le da manga ancha a la autora para su aplicación ad hoc.

Lo que más te marca durante la lectura es la representación del férreo amor fraternal entre Ysabel y Esther, capaz de superar todos los obstáculos. También el no conformismo con lo que te ofrezca el mundo, la búsqueda de algo mejor. Si bien es cierto que el final parece un poco precipitado, en general la lectura de The River Has Roots me ha gustado mucho.

The River has Roots is a novella that follows two sisters. The Hawthorn family lives in the small town of Thistleford on the edge of Faerie. There the sisters, Esther and Ysabel tend and harvest the enchanted willows. Esther and Ysabel adore each other but Esther ends up rejecting a suitor which puts both sister’s lives at risk.

This was written really well. This author has a real talent for writing lyrical stories. I appreciated this for what it was and had a pleasant time reading it. I could really feel the sisters bond even in this short novella. I would recommend this for fans of this authors previous novella and for fans of lyrical writing.

This was such a beautiful short story told in a very poetic style of writing. So unusual and different from anything else I’ve read. Really well done!

My thanks to Quercus Books and Net Galley for a free eARC of "The River Has Roots" by Amal El-Mohtar.
A charming tale of a human land near the Faerie country.
Two sisters that love to sing and how there is magic in their songs and what role that magic plays.
There was one component that managed to take me out of the story evey time it was mentioned: grammar.
Grammar is a type of magic in this land, but it felt that was a forced concept. It did not make any sense to me and it violently contrasted with the whimsy atmosphere.
Recommended for fans of Cosy Fantasy and Farytales.

Amal El-Mohtar's writing is as beautiful as ever and I'd highly recommend this to people who love themes of fae and translation with a fairytale-esque style. However, it didn't do much for me and I didn't have much to say about it by way of critic.

Thanks so much to Quercus and netgalley for this e-arc.

4.5 stars

Amal El-Mohtar’s The River Has Roots is a stunning poetic novella that weaves magic, love, and sisterhood into an unforgettable tale. Set in the enchanting town of Thistleford, where the human world and Faerie collide, it follows Esther and Ysabel Hawthorn, sisters devoted to the care of mystical willows that anchor an ancient compact. Their bond is tested when love and tradition collide.

The characters are richly drawn, with Esther and Ysabel's relationship at the heart of the narrative, illustrating the unbreakable bond between siblings. Their journey through the trials of love and duty is both unique and universal, resonating with anyone who has ever grappled with the balance of personal desires and familial obligations

El-Mohtar’s writing is breathtaking—every sentence feels like a spell, pulling you deeper into a world where the line between the ordinary and the magical is beautifully blurred. Her portrayal of Thistleford is vivid and enchanting, inviting readers to lose themselves in its lush, magical landscape.

The themes of familial love, sacrifice, and the power of song are explored with emotional depth and complexity, making this story both heartfelt and haunting.

The novella is very concise making every word and scene even more poignant. However, I would have loved for it to be a bit longer to fully explore the magic system and the world’s lore.

Happy belated pub day toThe Three Lives of Cate Kay!

Tis an unapologetically queer and messy story about identity, spanning years and characters that all intertwine and come together surrounding the titular character. Though titular character feels strange to say, because is it really Cate Kay’s three lives we go through, someone else’s? Anne Marie Callahan’s, perhaps?

The synopsis states that Cate Kay is on the run, and perhaps naively I believed it to be a more thrilling run than the one depicted. In the end, this novel is more meandering than tense, and when tense, it’s because characters are doing stupid things that, while they make sense, the reader knows are going to blow up in their face.

While writing this review I’m reflecting on my initial thoughts, which were some of boredom and frustration. Now, though, I’m noticing I’m reflecting a lot more on what the book has to say about identity and the masks we wear in different situations, the different lives we live and how that culminates in where we end up. It’s a strange feeling to not be very engaged in the story while reading it, but then to have many thoughts upon finishing it. Additionally, I think I'm just not into reading about fame, so that's on me. Hence, I’m torn on my rating so I’m placing it somewhere in the middle.

For interested readers, make sure to go into this knowing that it is more character study than anything else, tracing the lives of Cate and Amanda and how, in the end, they were connected at all times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written fairy tale about sisterhood and transformation told in a wonderfully folkloric storyteller's voice. Loved the language and magic parallels, loved (and felt) the deep bond between Ysabel and Esther, loved the descriptions of Rin and Arcadia and loved the poetry and songs woven jnto the story. A magical short read.

P.S. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in return for an honest review.

A dreamy retelling that reminded me a bit of Stardust at first glance, though on deeper reading that comparison is purely superficial. This is a story very much about women, and women’s voices, and the cost of magic and how it changes you. I found it very lyrical, heartbreaking in places, though sometimes a bit too high concept to really convey the emotions of the moment.

All in all, an enjoyable read, and over far too quickly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Amal El-Mohtar is such an incredible novelist and I think I will always feel drawn to their works and writing style, so I was VERY excited for this!

This was a beautiful story following the magic of sisterhood, nature and time. I loved so much of this ~ it felt at once, so incredibly unique whilst carrying that nostalgic feel of fairytale and myth. I adored reading from these characters and there was such eloquence in the way Amal El-Mohtar used concepts of time, nature and instruments to serve the plot. If it wasn't for the slight rush of the ending, this would've been a much higher rating... I so badly wish that this book was expanded to a full length novel (I fear it would've become a favourite)

I wished this was longer! I could stay in this world with the sisters forever.

The River Has Roots is a magical novella about the bond of two sisters as they age and change and take care of their willow trees on the edge of the edge of Arcadia. As one falls in love, one wishes things would not change.

The writing style, while jarring at first, is quickly spellbinding. You’ll find yourself floating on it as the novella runs across the page.

I just loved it, and I’ll be thinking about the riddles every time I sing.

*Note to the editors - the file was slightly corrupted on kindle due to the large images. It was difficult to read as they broke across multiple pages. Not all of them, the linocuts were fine.

a beautifully poetic and slightly bittersweet novella about the unbreakable bond between sisters. I loved it a lot!

I would have loved to know more about the grammar-magic! Though what was there was certainly enough to be fascinating. And the fey realm - though the sort of incomprehensible nature of it does add to the story, and the succinct narrative works pretty well for it, I think.

I don't know how I feel about this book. I like the story of the two sisters, and Rin and even the miserable influence of Samuel Pollard, but the style of the writing made this book difficult to read, and made it difficult to understand what was going on without re-reading every package. This felt like an exercise in flowery writing more than anything. It may be for others, but it wasn't really for me.

The River Has Roots is an absolute triumph in short story writing!

I adored its whimsy and magic with a slight tinge of darkness. It’s certainly not a twisted fairytale, but there is something so nostalgic about this story.

The dynamic between Esther and Ysabel was wonderful! The deep love between siblings is such a unique gift and the author conveyed their bond in a way that was so believable. I will say that Esther made me laugh with her vehement dislike of Pollard: “Bel, he’s like a bit of bread that’s been dropped in a pond! If the bread could also beg a duck to eat him!”; “demand better than to be worshipped by a crumb.”

The romance was absolutely perfect! The riddles peppered throughout were such a fun addition to their relationship, but I do wish we could have had more time with Rin.

The characterisations are incredibly strong for such a short story, but the prose is the real winner here. It is beautiful and lyrical with genuinely subtle foreshadowing expertly woven throughout. I also loved the addition of the illustrations; it just added to the nostalgic feel of this tale.

I would highly recommend this!

"The River Liss runs north to south, and its waters brim with grammar" – it's clear from the first line that this is a poet's book, one which delights in taking the old reminder that grammar, glamour and grimoire share a root, and then running with that, magic described in terms of conjugation and translation. But once we're told that the course of the Liss runs through Faerie, "and everyone knew it, even if nobody spoke in words so plain", well, that also puts us in the territory of Lud-in-the-Mist, and the whole lineage of English villages a little too close to the other place for some of their inhabitants' comfort – Stardust, Dunsany, Lychford. Almost every sentence sparks with associations as El-Mohtar weaves her predecessors into new shapes, noting how folk tales can be entirely too negative about the likely dynamic between two very different sisters, but that murder ballads too often have the right idea about spurned suitors, even the ones who only seem a bit wet. And it all unfolds on beautifully designed pages which set the story fully among the willows of Thistleford – though I'm in two minds about filling the volume out with a taster for her forthcoming short story collection, which beefs up the page count but dents the unity of what would have made a perfectly satisfying object. When This Is How You Lose The Time War became a surprise bestseller, it seemed a little unfair that Max Gladstone had so many books in place to pick up reflected sales (especially since the last one I'd attempted was the dire Empress Of Forever), and El-Mohtar so few; I'm glad that balance is now being redressed, and hope that plenty of the people who fell for that strange and shifting romance love this one too.

(Netgalley ARC)

This was a perfect little novella all about sisterhood. The magic system was so clever, it uses grammar and the way the author created it was so interesting and intricate. I also really enjoy this authors writing style so I flew through this one!

This was a wonderful story that I was able to consume in a single sitting. The author has used the most lovely prose and it read like a fairy tale. In some moments the story was heartbreaking but ultimately it was beautiful and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much to Arcadia for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts on this book.