eBook, 144 pages
English language
Published March 4, 2025 by Tordotcom Publishing.
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.
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…
There was a bonus short story at the end... 5 ⭐!
I was extremely excited to read El-Mohtar’s solo debut. After reading “This Is How You Lose the Time War”, and loving both concept and prose, I was a little disappointed to see that neither had really carried over from that collaborative novel to this novella.
It’s absolutely fine writing, and the story is a lovely fairy tale which I’m sure most people will thoroughly enjoy reading. It’s simply not for me, I don’t particularly enjoy fairytales in general, and found this one a little simple for my tastes.
