This book. This. Book. I think I can safely say The River Has Roots is one of my favorites of 2025.

First of all, I just love Amal El-Mohtar, and I will read anything that she writes. I'll admit that when I first started The River Has Roots, I couldn't stop comparing it to This Is How You Lose the Time War, El-Mohtar's 2019 collaboration with Max Gladstone. Amal El-Mohtar has such a distinct authorial voice that shines through in her creative storytelling, and I haven't really read any other books that feel quite like The River Has Roots *other than* This Is How You Lose the Time War. The way the romance unfurls in this book is also reminiscent of Time War (especially the unique modes of communication between the love interests). But The River Has Roots is also very much its own story, and I encourage anyone who loved Time War to go into this book with no expectations and just soak it all in.

I cannot understate the absolute joy of listening to The River Has Roots on audiobook. If you are a reader who is able to listen to audiobooks (and enjoys them), audio is simply the way to go here. The narration is gorgeous. The production is perfect. There is music and singing, and for once I actually didn't speed the book up as I usually do because I just wanted to savor every second of the audio. Listening to this book felt like being a child again and having someone read me a fairytale before bed. It was so comforting and warm, and when it was over I wanted to start over from the beginning.

I don't think this book will be for everyone. As I mentioned above, Amal El-Mohtar has such a unique style of writing, and while this book spoke (sang) to my soul, I think you really have to be willing to go into this book without any expectations of how a story should unfold or be told.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for my advanced listener copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me listen to an ALC of The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar, narrated by Gem Carmella! I rated this one 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for this review.

This was a sweet and beautiful novella. It’s extremely lyrical and, with strong ties to music and sound effects, the audiobook contains extra audio features such as women singing, water running, crickets chirping, and more. While these features aren’t something I particularly want in an audiobook, I think this adds another layer of immersion to the story for many listeners. Aside from sound design choices, the narrator, Gem Carmella, brings the characters to life and has a timbre to her voice that makes it easy to listen to.

Readers follow the river Liss to two sisters, Ysabel and Esther, who are devoted to their sacred familial task of singing to the Willow trees in thanks for their magic and craft. Nothing can separate the two, not even when Esther falls in love with a fae creature from another realm, nor when one of the sisters is forced out of the realm and away from her sister. What triumphs over all? Their love for and devotion to each other.

Reading this story is like reading a slightly longer fairy tale with just enough information about the characters and the world to make sense of the story’s events. I would’ve happily read a full-length novel about these two sisters or the world to which they belong. It’s an enchanting and (literally) magical place. If you’re looking for a brief escape and into a quick read (or listen), I recommend this as a great place to start. El-Mohtar has a way with words, and I look forward to seeing what else she creates in the years to come.

Imagine a simpler time when our biggest life lessons came directly from an enchanting cautionary folklore or a magical fairytale with sweetness and principles. "The River Has Roots" brought me right back to those times.

The novella opens with one of the most stunning first chapters I have ever come across and introduces us to a world of prose and wit. Amal El-Mohtar suspends our disbelief by capturing the mundane magic of grammar in this fantasy tale of sisterly bond.

I urge you to try this book in its audio format because it has become one of my favorite audiobooks ever! A very well produced experience with ambience and singing and magic! I only wish it had lasted longer...

ANOTHER CONFUSING MAGIC SYSTEM BASED ON GRAMMAR!

This audiobook is absolutely perfect. The sound effects, music, and singing on top of the gorgeous lyrical prose. It doesn't need to make perfect sense to me, I adore this kind of book.

The audiobook also includes a short story (~1 hr long) from Amal El-Mohtar's upcoming collection and I loved that as well, though I didn't realize what it was aside form a new story and had to go look it up.

Perfection!!!

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.

A reread via audio was both gorgeous as expected, and also a little surprising! The narrator, Gem Carmella, performs songs where appropriate, but there is also background music performed by Amal El-Mohtar and her sister Dounya El-Mohtar. For those (like me) who typically listen at a faster speed, this one is absolutely worth slowing down for.

This is the most beautifully produced audio book I have ever read. I honestly don't know how to compare this to other audiobook performances. I started reading this novella as a physical arc, and admittedly was having some trouble following the story. Hearing the narrated story drew me into the world in a powerful and immersive way. Reading The River Has Roots in an audio format has made this one of my top reads of all time. Absolutely stunning!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

what a treat this book was, especially the audio! everything from the singing to the sound effects of nature and music was spectacular.

the river has roots is a beautifully lyrical magical realism novella about two sisters and how their bond perseveres death.

i absolutely devoured amal el-mohtar’s writing and cannot wait for the upcoming short story collection!

This beautifully written novella follows two bonded sisters who sing to enchanted trees as part of an ancient family deal with the fairies. Their idyllic life, however, is threatened though by both love and hate: will the sisters' bond survive?

It's easy to get lost in the author's lyrical style of writing, which perfectly compliments the story's musical themes. While the setting will feel familiar to fairy tale readers, the author introduces unique elements and a creative take on magic. The magic itself is not explained in detail, which I thought enhanced the story’s sense of wonder.

The audiobook features music, singing, and sound effects that align well with the story’s tone. The sung passages are particularly effective in conveying key moments. However, at times, the background sound effects and music made it difficult for me to hear the narration, which I personally found frustrating (though this is more of a general issue I have with sound effects in audiobooks rather than a flaw in the production itself).

At it's heart, this is a love story. Watching the relationships unfold was captivating, and while the ending felt abrupt, it was ultimately satisfying. I highly recommend this book to fairy tale lovers, and the lyrical prose is best experienced through the audiobook format!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the most beautiful experiences I've had in the book world is listening to the audiobook for The River Has Roots. The narration by Gem Carmella is wonderful, but there is music and gorgeous singing that transports the reader into the world of the story.

I loved Esther and Ysabel, and Rin, and thoroughly despised the villain - and the way the book is written makes it very much feel like a fairy tale.

What a journey - look forward to reading more by Amal El-Mohtar.

The River Has Roots
Amal El-Mohtar
Narrated by Gem Carmella

ALC courtesy of MacMillan Audio and NetGalley.

Enchanting novella about sisters Esther and Ysabel, in the small town of Thistleford. It has magic (here called grammar), faeries, fantasy and wonderful world building. It is lyrical and musical, qualities best appreciated in this audio version, which I found quite enjoyable.

That being said, this novella is not for everyone. It is not plot driven. If you are looking for hard facts and clear explanations, this may not be for you. It is not “to the point.” If you like to take the long, scenic route rather than drive from point A to B, then yes, you will appreciate this. It is like listening to a symphony. You do not say, what was Bach trying to say. This is literary. It is artistic. It is about the magic of words and music. It is about feeling. It is ethereal and dreamy - even the narration evokes the world of Tolkien.

3.5 stars for the novella, and 4 stars for the narration.

Wow I loved it. This was an absolutely beautiful, lyrical, fascinating story. This novella was ethereal and felt like a dream. The story of a bond between two sisters and the magical realm at the edge of their world. Any fairy tale and fantasy lover will find something to like about this story. The writing in this story is gorgeous and complete. I often find myself wanting to return to Thistleford.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

3.5/5 stars. The writing here is gorgeous - the opening paragraphs about grammar took my breath away. In terms of plot, this somehow feels like it is doing both too much and not enough for its length. For the most part I was fine being swept along with the imagery and language, but the abruptness of the ending really took me out of it. This story was reminiscent of Seanan McGuire's "Wayward Children" series in many ways, and I hope the world is similarly expanded.

I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy of <i>The River Has Roots</i>, and wow, it was a wonderful little surprise. It was already an anticipated book, given how much I liked <i>This Is How You Lose the Time War</i>, but it managed to surpass my already high expectations. It is haunting and beautiful, a lyrical exploration of love, grief, and transformation wrapped in a timeless folktale narrative. Every element of this book: its language, its music, its very essence is steeped in beauty.

<b>What Worked:</b>

Amal El-Mohtar’s prose is nothing short of magic. Lush, poetic, and brimming with an ethereal quality that adds to that timeless feel. It reminds me of old myths where transformation is both salvation and imprisonment, like Daphne turning into a laurel tree or the Selkie stories where regaining one's true form means leaving something behind.

There are a lot of comparisons to be made. It has echoes of R.F. Kuang’s <i>Babel</i> in its magic system, rooted in grammar and translation. But where Babel condemns the act of translation as an act of betrayal, El-Mohtar sees the change in language as just that. Change. <i>"There is always something lost in translation, but also something gained."</i> The way wordplay, riddles, and the prose itself are woven together speaks to language as a form of magic. The way tense shifts are used to denote progress is particularly clever: <i>"She ran, she runs, she will run."</i>

It is also reminiscent of <i>Stardust<i> and </i>Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell</i>, with Arcadia (or Faerie) as this strange, darkly beautiful place, its logic and rules existing just beyond human grasp. Fans of Susanna Clarke, or Erin Morgenstern would be very well served.

The audiobook, too, felt wildly personal, with the author and her sister performing the harp and singing. The production quality was incredibly high, layering in the sounds of nature, adding to the already stunning narration (and song) of Gem Carmella.

<b>What Didn’t Work:</b>

While the prose is beautiful, and I will certainly come back to examine the sentence composition, at times it felt indulgent. Like the author wanted to let herself get lost in the words and only eventually return to the point at hand. For such a short story (the book is a novella, and the audiobook is about four hours), it felt a bit meandering.
I did mention that the tale itself feels timeless, and that’s because it isn’t charting new territory. It is fantastic at telling the story it wants to tell, but you know every major beat before it happens. This is absolutely a <i>journey before destination</i> kind of tale, and you must be willing to get lost in the woods with Ysabelle and Esther.

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>

I had read <i>This Is How You Lose the Time War</i> and loved it! I wasn’t sure how Amal El-Mohtar would top herself. With this debut, she didn’t just make an entrance. She broke the door down and commanded everyone’s attention. This is a literary work the likes of which you don’t see often.

If you’re looking for a fairytale bedtime story, this is it! The music and soothing sounds of nature were so ethereal and added such a richness to the story that I wouldn’t have found in a physical copy. I often struggle to find audiobooks where I truly love the narration and don’t feel like I’m missing out on actually reading the book, but this was a rare gem!

This story was so beautifully crafted. Lovely writing. A celebration of the written word and the natural world, woven with love and magic. Soothing and healing. I loved it.

Amal El-Mohtar makes her solo debut after previously co-writing the viral "This is How You Lose the Time War". In this novella with hints of faerie influences, two sisters are bonded by their magic, that is more powerful than love interests and curses. El-Mohtar packs an incredibly complex, compelling magic system based on grammar and linguistics into this novella.

This is a gorgeous fairytale focusing on the love between two sisters. The prose is lyrical and captivating.

I feel that this novella works especially well as an audiobook. It harkens back to the traditions of oral storytelling, and the sound design of this work only heightens the plot, themes, and feelings of this tale. Very beautiful!

There is no doubt that Amal El-Mohtar is a fabulous writer. Her prose emerses the reader in an intricate and beautiful world. The magic system developed is easy to understand, but by calling it grammar and tying it to riddles in the story, along with the highly descriptive poetic language seems a little highbrow and I feel that this is where they may loose readers because of the shallow plot.

While the narrator, Gem Carmella, does a good job in giving these characters life, I think the effort to create an immersive audiobook experince was distracting and it was difficult to understand the prose when the music was playing because the music was too loud on the audio. I believe that reading this instead of listening to the audio will be a better experience.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

An intricate fairy tale of sisterhood and song that is lyrical and imaginative.

I’ve read loads of praise for Amal El-Mohtar’s writing. It took me two seconds to decide to push play on the audiobook when I received it. I highly recommend going with the audio as it brings the sounds of nature and music to life. It elevated the entire experience. Gem Carmella narrates and gives a vibrant portrayal. I loved how this was a fairy tale in novella form because it was the perfect length. So often stories with fantasy elements get bogged down with heavy detail, but the plot develops at an excellent pace here. The prose borders on flowery at times, but it resists going over the top.

The magic system is called “grammar” and is loosely explained. However, I felt like I got the gist of it from the story, but if you’re all about hard facts and loads of super clear explanations this one may come up short in that regard. The characters and their bonds are the heart of this story. The foreshadowing woven through with the lightest touch made for intriguing turns. I found the ending heartwarming without being saccharine.

Despite being otherworldly, family is at the heart of this fairy tale. An enchanting escape that kept me entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an Advance Listening Copy for review. All opinions are my own.

This is a must-listen audiobook for a must-read book!

Gem Carmella - with the help of the stunning sound effects and music - brings Amal El-Mohtar’s beautiful prose and story-telling to life in this short but mesmerizing audiobook.

The story follows two sisters and their path to love - and each other - as they navigate a magical land, fae, and dangerous suitors.

What already reads as a beautiful faery tale is elevated in audiobook - almost as if Gem is telling you this story as you huddle around her and she’s able to conjure the sights and sounds that being this story to life.

Absolutely recommend this book - especially the audio!

3.5/5

This book was just so pretty.

The cover is so cool, it's simple but effective and just works so well. It really is so unique, I really don't think I've ever seen a cover that looks anything like this. Although, I do have to say this...it doesn't give fantasy. But I don't care. It's pretty.

The writing style is also so pretty, it's lyrical and whimsical but not convoluted. It's balanced and works so well.

This is a very short story about magic and siblings (of the magical variety) and how they have to navigate the world. This is also a story about being different as well as consequences of your actions. I would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.