⚠️Trigger warnings⚠️
● Child endangerment ● Murder of a pregnant woman (spoken of/ remembered, not shown) ● A character wonders if babies have been murdered and briefly imagines it happening ● Multiple murders by blade, including throat slashing ● Blood ● Burning alive ● Cults/ cult-like behavior ● Matricide (killing one’s mother) ● Loss of one’s mother ● A character is drugged against her will ● Family trauma

"Fear began to prickle the back of Deirdre’s neck like a series of keys typing one phrase over and over into her mind: Get out, get out, get out."

"The seeds scatter, but the roots remain.”

📖 If you like:
💀 Fast-paced grief, folk and cultish horror
💀 Dysfunctional family / Mother-daughter relationship trope


This story reminds me so much of an episode from one of the local horror TV series: 'Shake-Rattle-And-Roll'.
Generational killings, sinister secrets and trauma. A story of a family's homicidal legacy, murderous rituals, slaughters and sacrifices.
Twisted...tragic...thought-provoking and also a tad frustrating.
For the most part, I liked it. Interesting concept and plot but I had minor issues with some of the characters and storyline - like I just couldn't comprehend some of the decisions made by both Harriet and Deirdre and the ending felt rushed.


Thanks to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the arc!

3✨

Interesting premise and solid writing. In Errant Roots we have Deirdre who’s unexpectedly pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby. Despite being no contact for the past 24 years Deirdre’s mother decides to bring the soon to be parents to meet her creepy backwoods family.

This is a folk horror that had a solid vibe and interesting premise. I appreciated the cyclical nature of the book, but struggled understand the motivations of almost every character. Perhaps this is impacted by my own lack of relationship with my biological family, but I just couldn’t comprehend some of the decisions made.

The characters were distinct but I struggled to keep up with the familial connections between all the characters plus any dead characters mentioned. I also had some plausibility issues which made it harder to get absorbed into the story.

Conceptually this was a neat story but it struggled to commit to supernatural versus human evil with all the added rules. I’d be happy to read more from Taylor in the future but this one didn’t fully hit the mark for me.

Horror is not my typical genre, but it's October, and I'm trying to expand my reading horizon a bit. Sonora Taylor's "Errant Roots" looked and sounded intriguing to me.

"Errant Roots" is a dark and disturbing story about an incredibly cult-like family of women with a strange form of beliefs and traditions.

I was pleasantly surprised at how Taylor could pack as much background into the past generations as she did in this short novella. However, a few more pages would have helped me understand some of the characters and motives a little more.

Overall, Taylor's writing kept me intrigued and captivated until the very end. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you, #NetGalley, #SonoraTaylor, and #RDSPublishing, for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #ErrantRoots

This was a very enjoyable vignette about generational cult shenanigans. I really don't think Deirdre's final response was proportional to the damage done to her, but she's probably just a kinder and more understanding person than I am.

It doesn't matter how far we stray, our roots will always lead to home. Deidre's home going was not at all what she expected. She learned things about her mother and her mother's mother she probably could have never dreamed of. This was a quick but very interesting tale about family and the lessons we pass on.

I couldn’t finish this one. I got insanely busy and then lost interest in the story. I will definitely go back and reread it to give it a fair chance.

A wonderful short folky horror story!

I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this book! I enjoyed learning about the pods, roots and leaves. I read through the journal chapter twice to make sure I was following the family history correctly and was piecing the puzzle together as I went along.

I still have questions and would have loved to have an extra hundred pages to explore more of the ghostly aspects and lore. I don't mind wondering though, I think leaving a little space for a readers imagination to run keeps a book present in your mind for longer and I'll definitely be thinking about this one for a while!

Aunt Sarah was a curious character and without adding spoilers I'll just say I'M BOTHERED!!! The character's and family tree are well thought out and all pertinent to the story. I think the biggest complaint I have is that Deirdre's reactions to events were quite muted so it was difficult for the tension and emotion to build. The horror content was there but more occult/folk horror (which I love).

I was hooked throughout and always engaged wondering what would happen next!

Will definitely be watching for what else comes from Sonora Taylor!!

I loved the premise - a line of women who believe they must preserve the main branch of their female-centric family tree, whatever it takes, and the pregnant young woman who finds out how far they will go.

This could have been so much more powerful if Deirdre, the young woman unexpectedly expecting, had not been so incredibly passive. She is suddenly introduced to the family she has never known and both she and the reader know immediately there is something sinister at work, but even with evidence showing her bad things are happening, she just . . . stays with them.

Between there being not enough background for the family's belief system responsible for their actions, and a main character I couldn't root for, or even understand, the execution of this set up fell apart for me.

Arrant Roots by Sonora Taylor is a quick hora novella about family bonds absolute feminism in the things we can make our children believe. When Harriet became pregnant at 24 she fled her family but when her own daughter Deidre and her partner Tom are expecting a baby she decides to go back and bring Deidre and Tom with her and I can honestly say no one has a homecoming like the Croft family, there’s even a gender reveal lol! This was a great book I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to those who love great horror and they quick read you will definitely enjoy this book. It will also absolutely make you love your own dysfunctional family more.#NetGalley,#RDS publishing, #SonoraTaylor, #ErrantRoots,

“Blood is memory, and our memory and the memory of us—be it trauma, triumph, or that strange place in between—is the collective sum of who we are.”

I loved everything about this story except the main characters. An estranged family with bizarre cult-like beliefs and rituals, murders and sacrifice, betrayals and spilled blood, birth and so much death…
However my hate for Harriet and Deirdre honestly ruined my enjoyment of this book.

A young woman’s unexpected pregnancy changes her life in terrifying ways when she tells her mother she’s expecting. Her mother who once fled her home, now wants to return, bringing her daughter and unborn grandchild into the fold.

“Without our family, there is no us. But what then, when family becomes a plague? A terror one can only hope to someday escape? Is such a thing possible when errant roots may yet still linger?”

Deirdre’s narration, inaction, lack of self advocacy, and so much more just made me want to slap her. SO MANY TIMES, she ignored her instincts and just stayed at her family’s house when no one was stopping her from leaving.
She just met Yvonne and saw her do horrible things, yet calls her “Grandma” anyways???!

Harriet was also extremely annoying and I did not at all understand her motivations for what she did after finding out she’d be a grandmother.

Maybe if this story was a bit longer readers could get a better sense of the minds and inner workings of these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Raw Dog Screaming Press for a copy.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

You can't go wrong with a book from Sonora Taylor. Fans of all genres will enjoy this one.
It's got the perfect amount of suspence and twists in it to keep you invested until the end.
Every family has secrets.

Another great read in this series, Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena. This is probably my favorite in the series so far. First time reading Sonora Taylor, and will definitely be reading more from her. This was a fantastic story/plot, with great characters and great pacing. #ErrantRoots #NetGalley

Errant Roots by Sonora Taylor is a thought-provoking novella about the strength of familial roots and dark traditions. This is very well written and kept me engaged throughout the whole horrific tale of Deirdre’s family history. If you’re looking for a quick twisted tale about family traditions, this is for you! Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was wild! Anyone who reads this is in for a ride. It really did not disappoint. The family dynamics are like nothing I have ever heard of or read before. The ending will have you questioning what just happened.

I found this book to be very interesting.

The main character was very likable, as was Sarah. (Who was probably my favourite character.) The storyline was riveting and I found the history written in the book to be intriguing. The writing was also really good and well-paced and I found myself eager to find out what happened next in every scene.

If I had any complaint, it would only be that there was some room to expand upon things and so I'm sorry that I didn't have more to read. I would happily recommend this book to anyone interested in cult-like horror or family-related horror.

Errant Roots by Sonora Taylor is a tale of family, tradition, and bloodshed that will leave readers exhausted from the thick tension! What a tale!

Content warnings: Child endangerment, child death, blood, family trauma, and more. Check out the last page of this book for more information!

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Errant Roots by Sonora Taylor –
When Deirdre learns that she is unexpectedly pregnant, she turns to her mom for guidance. With her mother’s love and support, she begins to get excited about her future with her little family. But when her mother suddenly wants her to go meet the family she had never known or even heard her mother talk about, she’s apprehensive.

Of course, that little voice telling her not to go? She should have listened…

Think you’ve read some intense family trauma? Buckle up for this one!

This tale has a perfect slow burn that suddenly ignites as the horrors set in. But as terrible as the first scene of bloodshed is, the action is just getting started…

My Favorite Passages from Errant Roots –
Because it was something Deirdre could feel in her gut, a tiny worm that burrowed deeper with each moment. Deirdre couldn’t ignore her intuition. Her mother had raised her to trust it.

It was late afternoon, and while the sun was still bright and vibrant, it dipped closer to the horizon and began to glow gold threatening to leave like a party guest who had their coat on but still made their way from person to person for one last chat.

My Final Thoughts on Errant Roots –
Only Sonora can write such bleak and raw content that made me terribly sad, but also itching for more from this family.

Grief horror fans who love twisted families, you need this one!

Is legacy inherited or created? This tight little novella explores not only what it means to have secrets buried in your family’s past but to be the living embodiment of your family’s secrets. The writing is tight and propulsive, and the atmosphere is chilling. In keeping with the streamlined approach of this novella we don’t spend too long developing most of the characters, it feels like we know them through a few snap shots of important moments in their lives. I wouldn’t have minded a little more depth to the characters, but there was enough to feel that our main character and a few of the supporting characters were complete, interesting people. The story itself started out really great, and I thought the first half moved at a blistering pace, which was really compelling, advancing the story faster than I expected. The events of the first half’s crescendo aren’t wildly surprising, given the forecasting done earlier in the story, but they did still feel earned and a little shocking in how immediate they were, without preamble or lengthy discussion. It was a really wonderful bit of writing, in that way, giving us something we expected but in a way that was still gripping. The second half of the story didn’t feel quite as tight, with the stakes feeling muddled for most of it. There are questions of agency that come up, and so it felt appropriate for our story to happen around our main character without too much direct action or influence on her part, but there was something about this that felt a little looser, not as intentional. That didn’t bring the story down, I finished it in two sittings in a single day, because the plotting and intrigue was handled well enough that I didn’t want to put it down.

It brings up interesting questions about how we relate to our families, and what we inherit from them. Sometimes it is impossible to run away from family legacy, because it will haunt us, stay in the corner of our mind’s eye, an itch we can’t quite scratch, until it blossoms into its own horrifying splendor. Taylor asks us to question our presuppositions, especially the presupposition of care and affection, and offers us the chance to explore what it might mean to turn your back on harmful inheritance and try to sprout something new.

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher Raw Dog Screaming Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Errant Roots is that girl of a book! So so good omg!!! Loved everything about this story and I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good.

As far as twenty-four-year-old Deidre Croft has ever known, her only family has been her mother Harriet. Any questions Deidre has posed to her mother about other relatives has always elicited the response that they are enough family for one another. So when Deidre finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is even more surprised at her mother's sudden insistence on rediscovering her roots and introducing her daughter to her extensive family tree. Expecting a warm family reunion, Deidre isn't prepared for the bloody legacy that the women of the Croft family seem intent on passing down to her.

The novella is a tricky format, it would seem, often leaving the reader with what is essentially an overblown short story, or a full length novel crammed into the confines of a limited number of pages. Errant Roots is a good example of the latter. I really wanted to like this story more than I did, because the ideas were there, and while the writing could be more refined, it was still a promising start.

I think part of the appeal of folk horror, at least for this reader, is being able to grasp the basis of reason (however faulty) behind beliefs and superstitions which so often result in brutality; the cause and effect that leads to a system of belief which can condone and revel in such apparent ruthlessness. We don't get the time to understand much of the lore behind the Croft family's belief system in Errant Roots, and therefore the effect and the horror of the story is dulled because it just doesn't seem to make any sense as to why it's all happening. In other words, the foundation for the action here is very flimsy. Questions that should have been answered are not, and the motivation of certain characters remains mystifying. I also must say that Deidre's reactions to some of the events she is faced with in this book were weirdly subdued and unbelievable. There are some other very specific problems I had with this story, but I won't go into details to avoid spoilers.

I wouldn't rule out reading more from the author in the future, but unfortunately, this was a disappointing folk horror tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the digital advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Errant Roots will be published on October 15th.