The River Has Roots was ethereal. This leans heavily into folklore and feels more like a fable than a fantasy novel, which I really enjoyed. The prose was lyrical, but sometimes felt a little too purple and I kept having to rewind the audiobook to make sure I was processing the story. The magic system was a little difficult to figure out, but once I understood that didn’t bother me too much. I loved the symbolism of the river and how it transformed as the characters transformed. The sisterly relationship between Ester and Ysabel was so lovely and real feeling. The world building was pretty lush for such a short book, too. The audiobook was mostly really well done. The narration was incredible and the sound effects throughout added a nice touch. There were some unusually long blank spots between the chapters and I kept thinking my audio file was glitching. Overall, this was a very interesting read and has a super gorgeous cover!

Thank you so much to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another example of the beautiful prose that made This is How You Lose the Time War one of my favorite books (sorry, Max, I love you but I knew you weren't the one bringing that to the table 😉). A full experience audiobook, complete with music and sound effects that draw you into a beautifully drawn fairy tale world.