Tanya Pell cultivates a world that is both beautiful and unnerving in Her Wicked Roots, a gothic novel that blends horror, mystery, and queer romance into one darkly enchanting read. Blooming with gothic atmosphere, Pell’s debut novel is truly magnificent.
Cordelia Beecher is on the run. In search of her missing brother Edward, she has fled the oppressive charity school she was raised in, desperate to find the only family she knows. Using clues from his past letters, she sets off for the sleepy town of Farrow but everyone there claims to have never heard of Edward—not even the man he was supposedly working for as an apprentice.
With nowhere to go, Cordi turns to Lady Evangeline, a local botanist who owns the magnificent Edenfield estate. The benevolent lady of the manor has made it her mission to take young, often traumatized, women into her employ and protect them from man’s world of wicked desires and deceits. Hired as a maid and companion to her enigmatic daughters, Prim and Briar, Cordi quickly settles into Edenfield. Even as her relationship with Briar blossoms, Cordi can’t help but suspect that there are secrets in the estate…and when she stumbles across evidence that Edward was once there, she’s determined to find answers.
After falling in love with Tanya Pell’s writing with Killer VHS: Cicada, I was drawn to reading the upcoming novel, Her Wicked Roots. Beyond being a talented author, Pell is also a genuinely wonderful human, which made me even more eager to immerse myself in a world created by the storyteller. I went in with high hopes and in the end was not disappointed. What Pell has created with this gothic horror is something truly beautiful, yet terrifying.
Her Wicked Roots has plenty of mystery and horrifying moments, but it’s also filled with family devotion and heart along the way. I am one of three boys in my family, and if I am being honest I am not sure how far I would’ve gone to track down my brothers should this have been my story. At the first sense of unease at Edenfield, I likely would’ve been running for the door, letting my brothers be as it may. However, Cordi fights through the unsettling moments to find answers to her nagging question of what happened to Edward?
Pell strikes an impressive balance throughout Her Wicked Roots. The lush descriptions and eerie atmospheric feeling of the Edenfield estate contrast perfectly with the horrors that life inside. The story also explores a range of romantic emotions without overshadowing the darker moments. This balance along with a fairly steady pacing, until the final fifth of the story where shit start hitting the fan, made for a fantastic experience. Seriously, that last part of the book was surprising and deeply emotional.
Her Wicked Roots establishes even more that Tanya Pell is a rising voice in horror we’ll all want more from. This gothic, atmospheric mystery is both stunning and unsettling. With stunning descriptions of beautiful settings, this tale pulls you in and lets your imagination run wild while keeping you on edge, wondering what’s coming next. Pell’s Her Wicked Roots is an absolute must-read.
Her Wicked Roots hits bookstores everywhere on October 7, 2025 from Gallery Books. The audiobook, narrated by Fiona Hardingham, is available for preorder via Libro.fm! Check out Tanya Pell on the Capes and Tights Podcast for Episode 251 on October 29.
