
The River Has Roots
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Narrated by:
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Gem Carmella
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By:
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Amal El-Mohtar
About this listen
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.
This program features music performed by the author and her sister, Dounya El-Mohtar with Amal and Dounya on harp, flute, and vocals; and songs sung by the narrator, Gem Carmella. It also includes the short story "John Hollowback and the Witch," from the author's upcoming collection.
"Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story."—Holly Black • "An absolute must-read."—T. Kingfisher • "Every sentence sings!"—Sarah Beth Durst • "Utterly enchanting."—Fonda Lee • "A story that outlasts itself."—Alix E. Harrow • "Truly exquisite."—Zoraida Córdova • "A beautiful, musical, and loving story."—Emma Törzs
“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…
“Musical effects combine with Carmella’s singing at key moments…A stunning performance.”—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com.
©2025 Amal El-Mohtar (P)2025 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story, Amal El-Mohtar transports us to Faerieland so seamlessly it seems as though she just stepped out of it."—Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"El-Mohtar’s solo debut (after cowriting This Is How You Lose the Time War with Max Gladstone) is a heart-wrenching fairy tale about the bonds of love and family. It’s a murder ballad in book form that will linger long after the final page is turned."—Library Journal, starred review
"El-Mohtar’s ethereal prose paints a clear picture of the unbreakable bond between her worthy heroines."—Publisher's Weekly
Editorial Review
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- Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.
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Meh
- By MannyandJess on 04-29-25
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Once Was Willem
- By: M. R. Carey
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Eleven hundred and some years after the death of Christ, in the kingdom that had but recently begun to call itself England, I, Once Was Willem, rose from the dead to defeat a great evil facing the humble village of Cosham. The words enclosed herein are true. I speak of monsters and magic, battle and bloodletting, and the crimes of desperate men. I speak also of secret things, of that which lies beneath us and that which impends above.
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Huge fan of Carey's books.. not this one.
- By StaceyCMcc on 05-05-25
By: M. R. Carey
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Wild Dark Shore
- A Novel
- By: Charlotte McConaghy
- Narrated by: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.
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Please speak up!
- By Sarah on 03-12-25
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Blob
- A Love Story
- By: Maggie Su
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel where she greets guests, refills cucumber water samovars, and tries to evade her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. Little does Vi know her life is about to be permanently transformed when she agrees to a night out with Rachel. In the alley outside the bar, Vi discovers a strange blob—a small living creature with beady black eyes.
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really different
- By Jeannie Bench on 02-24-25
By: Maggie Su
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A Gentleman's Gentleman
- A Novel
- By: TJ Alexander
- Narrated by: Harrison Knights
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The notoriously eccentric Lord Christopher Eden is a “man of unusual make” and even more unusual habits: he prefers to live far from the prying eyes and ears of the ton, and would rather have the comfortable company of his childhood cook and his aged butler than the swarm of servants and hangers-on befitting a man of his station. But Christopher’s pleasant, if occasionally lonely life is upended when he receives word from his lawyers that, according to his late father’s will, he must find a wife by the end of the Season if he intends to keep his family’s fortune and the Eden estate.
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Beautifully written
- By Beverley on 04-02-25
By: TJ Alexander
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Tin Heart
- A Novel
- By: Shivaun Plozza
- Narrated by: Katherine Littrell
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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When Marlowe gets a heart transplant and a second chance at life, all she wants to do is to thank her donor’s family. Maybe then she can move on. Maybe then she’ll discover who she is if she’s no longer "The Dying Girl". But with a little brother who dresses like every day is Halloween, a vegan warrior for a mother, and an all-out war with the hot butcher’s apprentice next door, Marlowe’s life is already pretty complicated. And her second chance is about to take an unexpected turn....
By: Shivaun Plozza
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Retreat
- A Novel
- By: Krysten Ritter
- Narrated by: Krysten Ritter
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Liz Dawson weaves through a crowd with the ease of a tropical breeze; she’s clever, smooth, and confident—qualities that make her a brilliant serial con artist. Isabelle Beresford is strikingly beautiful, obscenely wealthy, and the new owner of Casa Esmerelda, a fabulous villa on the Mexican coast—attributes that make her the perfect mark. When she offers Liz a job handling the installation of a piece of art in her otherwise vacant home, Liz can’t resist the allure of a beach retreat. But when Liz is mistaken for Isabelle herself, Liz can’t help slipping into the socialite’s identity.
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I listened to the whole story but not gladly
- By JuDi on 04-06-25
By: Krysten Ritter
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Murder by Memory
- By: Olivia Waite
- Narrated by: Blair Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
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Hope This Series Takes Off!
- By Katrina on 04-16-25
By: Olivia Waite
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Nothing Serious
- A Novel
- By: Emily J. Smith
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Edie Walker’s life is not going as planned. At thirty-five, she feels stuck: in her career, in her love life, and in her tiny San Francisco studio apartment. It doesn’t help that her best friend, Peter Masterson, is basically the über successful male version of her—and she’s hopelessly, unrequitedly in love with him. But when Peter breaks up with his girlfriend of seven years, Edie thinks her life might finally be turning around. He’ll discover how toxic dating app culture is and realize that Edie has been right for him all along.
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Character development
- By Jason M. on 03-18-25
By: Emily J. Smith
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Liquid
- A Love Story
- By: Mariam Rahmani
- Narrated by: Mariam Rahmani
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The unnamed Iranian-Indian American narrator of Liquid has always believed herself to be the smartest person in the room. And from an early age, she and her best friend—a poet-turned-marketer named Adam—have turned their noses up at other peoples’ riches. But two years after earning a PhD from UCLA, the narrator is no closer to the middle-class comfort promised to her by the prestige of her fancy, scholarship-funded education and the successes of her immigrant parents. Jokingly, Adam suggests she just "marry rich."
By: Mariam Rahmani
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When the Moon Hits Your Eye
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.
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Buyer's Remorse
- By Amy on 03-31-25
By: John Scalzi
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Ravensong
- Ravensong, Book 1
- By: Cayla Fay
- Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Neve has spent lifetimes defending the mortal world against the legions of hell with her two sisters. Unfortunately for Neve, in this lifetime, she is the only one of the Morrigan—a triad of Irish war gods—still stuck in high school and still without her full power. She's been counting down the days until her eighteenth birthday, when she finally gets to shed the pretenses of humanity and grow into her divine power.
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I LOVED THIS!!! READ IT!!!
- By Dandelioness on 07-29-23
By: Cayla Fay
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Stone Angels
- By: Helena Rho
- Narrated by: Greta Jung, Helena Rho
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Angelina Lee feels like she doesn’t belong. Newly divorced, and completely unmoored by the sudden and tragic death of her mother, she hopes studying Korean will reconnect her to her roots, but nothing about Seoul feels familiar. Further complicating matters is the resurgence of an alluring man from Angelina’s past, and fellow classmate Keisuke Ono, an irritatingly good looking Japanese American journalist who refuses to leave her alone. What she’ll barely admit, however, is the true reason behind her trip. She’s convinced the key to understanding her mother’s suicide lies in Korea.
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Wow! Just wow!
- By Elizabeth Morris on 05-05-25
By: Helena Rho
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Dallas Noir
- By: David Hale Smith
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Jennifer Van Dyck, John McLain, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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My favorite line in my favorite song about Dallas goes like this: Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes / A steel and concrete soul in a warm heart and love disguise... The narrator of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's perfect tune Dallas" is coming to town as a broke dreamer with the bright lights of the big city on his mind. He's just seen the Dallas cityscape through the window of his seat on a DC-9 at night. Is he just beginning his quest?
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Mixed bag
- By Raised by Wolves on 01-25-19
By: David Hale Smith
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Lightfall: Book One of The Everlands
- The Everlands Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Ed Crocker
- Narrated by: Shakira Shute
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave. Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood.
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Wow
- By SinnaPomme on 01-21-25
By: Ed Crocker
What listeners say about The River Has Roots
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nada Jovicin
- 04-18-25
Fantastic production!
Great narration, music, background noises. Overall one of the best audiobooks ever, congrats to the narrator!
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- Pam Lord
- 05-09-25
truly beautiful
the persistent play on words and their meanings and the way the story was woven together with song is amazing
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- Marie S.
- 04-17-25
Poetic and Lyrical Fairy Tale
I loved “The River Has Roots” by Amal El-Mohtar.
It’s a very short novella (133 pages in print or 3 hours and 53 minutes in audio) and is written by the author of one of my favorite books, “This is How You Lose the Time War” (Amal El-Mohtar co-wrote it with Max Gladstone). Her new book has the same ethereal writing style as Time War.
It’s a fairy tale about two sisters who care for and harvest enchanted willow trees and they thank the trees for their magic by singing to them. One of the sisters is a lesbian who falls for a non binary fae, but the story is centered more about the connections between sisters.
“The River Has Roots” is a poetic and lyrical fairy tale wrapped in folk songs. What makes the audio version special though is that it’s a book whose themes are sisterly bonds and the audiobook has background music which is performed by the author and her sister. The narrator, Gem Carmella also sings the songs.
“The River Has Roots” is a beautifully written fairy tale and I do recommend listening to the audio version. The narration is excellent.
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- David Dubbert
- 03-22-25
A balm for the soul
A truly lovely novella, and the audio performance makes it markedly better. I’m grateful to have listened to this.
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- Arlene Allen
- 04-30-25
A lovely retelling of an old folk song
So beautiful! Swept me away into an enchanted land where two sisters sing Magic Songs to the willow trees. Each word is a gift. This is my favorite fairy tale, alongside Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. Absolutely loved this.
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- Joella Berkner
- 03-22-25
Rich and lush and ode to language and love
An astonishingly beautiful piece of work. The audiobook in particular is spectacular because of the inclusion of singing. This is murder ballad. It’s also a fairy tale, and a riddle song. It contains multitudes. The language pulls you in with its intimacy. It is the story of two sisters and their unshakable love and bond. There is murder, there is also justice, and in the end a happiness of sorts. This is a book that should be remembered forever. Do stick around to short story at the end, it is poignant and for me at least painful. Amal El-Mohtar has a gift with words and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Do not hesitate to buy this. As final praise I cannot help but love a story that has a pun as an essential part of its story.
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- Sam K
- 05-02-25
Poetry and murder
These stories were beautiful and strange like new age fables. I look forward to the next one.
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- thisrogue
- 03-04-25
Narrative poetry
There's something about Amal El-Mohtar's writing that sounds just like magic is supposed to be. and somehow the audiobook managed to elevate that with the sound production and music.
This story marked me in the best way possible.
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- Miranda
- 03-31-25
Really excellent!
Reminded me of some of Neil Gaiman's short stories. Narrator was absolutely fantastic and I loved listening to another delightful and imaginative story from El-Mohtar!
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- R Schumann
- 04-10-25
Great performance, beautiful fairytale
The narration was absolutely beautiful, and the narrator’s singing was the cherry on top.
These are lovely modern fairytales!
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