The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
The River has Roots
by Amal El-Mohtar
Fantasy | Folklore
133 Pages
Released March 2025
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
Yes, this 100% a cover buy. And, in this case, it was 1000% worth it.
This book follows two sisters, Esther and Ysabel Hawthorne who grew up along the edge of the Faerie realm, along the River Liss. Esther has fallen in love with a member of the fae-folk while actively being courted by a man in her town. Enraged that Esther has rejected his advances, he violently lashes out at her. With Esther’s life in the balance, her only hope lies in her bond with Ysabel.
There’s not many books I end up re-reading but this will definitely be one of them. I devoured this book in a single day and there are so many things I absolutely adored about this story. So, please forgive me if I gush about it a little bit.
The magic system was wonderfully refreshing - a type of language magic that I haven’t come across before in a book. It centers around language, like grammar, word conjugation and the double-meanings of words. It was such a surprising and different concept that I was immediately intrigued by the story (though I had to reread parts to fully grasp what was happening).
The writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous. El-Mohtar has such poetic writing that evokes all sorts of emotions and imagery. It’s enchanting and otherworldly and because of the unusual magic system, a lot of the language in this book is a play on words. It also feels a bit folklore-y, so there’s a timeless quality about the story as well.
The characters in this book are all fantastic as well. This book is a multi-faceted love story, between that of lovers and sisters and the bond that ties them all together. It’s ambitious for a novella but successfully so. My only complaint is that I wanted to stay in this world longer. If this book was re-written to be longer, or another book was released from the same world, I would devour that as well.
This is a book I see myself re-reading over and over again, which is not something I can say often. If you love fantasy, stories of sisterhood, or are just looking for a short and wonderful read, please do yourself the favor and pick this one up.