Book Review: ‘The River Has Roots’ by Amal El-Mohtar
Years and years ago I read a baffling, beautiful little book called ‘This is How We Lose the Time War’ and the second I found out that one of the authors of that book was bringing out a novella about sisters and the fae? I needed it immediately.
I’m a big fan of stories about sisters and I really love fae, especially when they’re treated under the magic, whimsy, dark and dangerous fairytale style and it makes a fun difference to the romantasy style fae.
Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.
'Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath.'
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.
There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family's latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.
But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters' bond but also their lives will be at risk...
While I didn’t love ‘The River Has Roots’ in the way that I did ‘ This is How We Lose the Time War’, I really did enjoy my time in Thistleford with Esther and Ysabel.
El-Mohtar’s writing is absolutely beautiful. It’s ethereal, dreamlike and straight out of a fairytale, woven with magic and folklore, love and sisterhood, and I really loved how the setting and atmosphere of Thistleford and the Liss river were evoked.
The magic system of “grammar” is rooted in riddles and music and was a little confusing at first, but I eventually got as much of a grasp on it as I could; it’s a very fluid and changeable, difficult to get a firm hold on. I wanted more from it. I wanted a deep dive into how the magic system works and how it weaves around the town from Arcadia and that wanting for more is a feeling I carried throughout the novella.
The richest part of the novella, and the heart of the story, is definitely the relationship between Esther and Ysabel. There was tension between them, but mostly love and affection, and while a love story (a queer love story with a non-binary fae love interest!) was my initial focal point in ‘The River Has Roots’, Esther and Ysabel ending up taking centre stage.
‘The River Has Roots’ is beautifully written and a magical escape from the world, but it was lacking the depth and richness of a fully developed novel; I wanted more from this world and these characters.
Thank you to Arcadia and NetGalley for the review copy.
Written by Sophie
