The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

TL;DR: A beautifully written and imaginative fairy tale about sisters and being broken apart.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!!

Plot: The Hawthorn sisters keep the willows between Faerie and the Mortal lands till a persistent suitor change everything.
Characters: Lovely characters, though mostly used for the point of the story.
Setting: The setting was beautiful, Amal El-Mohtar can really paint a picture with her language.
Romance/Fantasy: The romance was subtle, but necessary and I enjoyed it. The magic of the world was the big sell though, I’d love to see more of it.

Thoughts:

The River Has Roots reminds me of the old stories and wives tales my Mamaw used to tell me as a kid. That is impressive as I’d completely forgotten about many of them but after finishing this I recalled several. Both the novella and many of those stories feature around rivers and what is within or beyond, especially in regards to magic or mystery. This short novella follows two sisters who sing to the willows who stand between the mortal and the faerie realms.

There is love and greed in the story, making it feel very much like a classic fairy tale. A persistent suitor tries to take what isn’t his, something that has to be freely given, and the sisters have to find a way back to one another. It was a sad, but then lovely story about the bond of sisterhood. How they will find themselves back to one another no matter the cost.

If you love fantasy romance novellas this is a great pickup. The language and writing is stunning, if you’re prepared for the overly purple feel of it. The story is engaging and fresh, while also mimicking old fairy tales you’ve likely heard. All and all a pickup I don’t think you’ll regret.