The River Has Roots

eBook, 144 pages

English language

Published March 4, 2025 by Tordotcom.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-34109-9

“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…

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters …

“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…

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. 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.

3 editions

ju reviewed The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (duplicate)

Short with a beautiful atmosphere

4 stars

I had high expectations after "This is how you lose the time war", and even though this is completely different, the writing is beautiful and poetic. The story is quite short, I wouldn't have minded if it had been a full novel actually.

enne📚 reviewed The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (duplicate)

4 stars

A solid fairytale story of two sisters, songs, and a murder. Amal El-Mohtar's writing here is excellent as always, and the world and characters felt fresh.

(This is unrelated to the writing itself, but a general gripe about book length meta expectations and publishing choices. I would really prefer if half of this ebook was not filled with a preview of other works. The murderer in this story was unmasked """halfway""" through the book and I was suddenly wondering about the pacing and where the story was going to go from there, but it just ended instead. If anything, my expectations left me with some bonus disappointment. It would have been a worse story for sure had it not ended where it did, but I was intrigued by the possibility.)

A solid fairytale story of two sisters, songs, and a murder. Amal El-Mohtar's writing here is excellent as always, and the world and characters felt fresh.

(This is unrelated to the writing itself, but a general gripe about book length meta expectations and publishing choices. I would really prefer if half of this ebook was not filled with a preview of other works. The murderer in this story was unmasked """halfway""" through the book and I was suddenly wondering about the pacing and where the story was going to go from there, but it just ended instead. If anything, my expectations left me with some bonus disappointment. It would have been a worse story for sure had it not ended where it did, but I was intrigued by the possibility.)