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Blood Roots
Drawn to her ancestral home, a young woman uncovers a dangerous legacy
Olivia always wanted to be part of a big family, but all her life it’s been only her mother and her. As Olivia grew into a young woman, her mother’s erratic behavior turned to madness, with fits of rage and despair over her childhood home, the grand plantation Devereaux House, which Olivia never knew. During her mother’s dark rages, Olivia dreamed of going to her family home and reclaiming her legacy.
After her mother’s death, Olivia yearns to find her roots and meet the grandmother she never knew. Keeping her identity a secret, she travels to Devereaux House, where she is hired as a member of the household staff. At last, the doors to Devereaux House are opened. But Olivia can sense that something is not right, and soon she is drawn into a world of dark secrets, and a poisoned legacy of lust and desecration.
Olivia always wanted to be part of a big family, but all her life it’s been only her mother and her. As Olivia grew into a young woman, her mother’s erratic behavior turned to madness, with fits of rage and despair over her childhood home, the grand plantation Devereaux House, which Olivia never knew. During her mother’s dark rages, Olivia dreamed of going to her family home and reclaiming her legacy.
After her mother’s death, Olivia yearns to find her roots and meet the grandmother she never knew. Keeping her identity a secret, she travels to Devereaux House, where she is hired as a member of the household staff. At last, the doors to Devereaux House are opened. But Olivia can sense that something is not right, and soon she is drawn into a world of dark secrets, and a poisoned legacy of lust and desecration.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
22 people are currently reading
661 people want to read
About the author
Richie Tankersley Cusick
50 books798 followersRichie Tankersley Cusick is the bestselling young adult author of over 25 titles, including two adult horror titles, Scarecrow and Blood Roots. Her popularity grew at the height of the horror/YA boom in the late '80s/early '90s, particularly with books like Lifeguard , Trick or Treat and Teacher's Pet, just to name a few, allowing her to keep company on the bestseller paperback lists with the likes of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Her fan base expanded about the time she changed publishers to Archway/Pocket Books with titles like Vampire and Someone at the Door.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 31, 2020
Y’ALL. All I did was go looking for a haunted house book. A little YA, a little gothic horror — something like we all read sitting in the back of 7th grade science.
What I got? Was Flowers in the Attic meets Angel Heart.
I am so confused. I have read many Richie Tankersley Cusick YA books and they loosely follow the Scooby Doo model of Gothic horror: someone does something spooky, everyone gets chased through mysterious hidden passages and the villain turns out to be the high school principal. This is a formula.
And yet.
This book felt like Cusick got so tired of having to pull her punches with those Scooby books that she bottled up all those punches and, after a mimosa brunch with Ms. Ruby Jean Jensen, she decided to just LET FLY with this completely over the top totally-not-at-all YA novel, which you could apparently order at a Scholastic Book Fair.
(If you are not familiar with Ms. Ruby Jean Jensen, check out House of Illusions or Wait and See. Or just know that it seems like Jensen’s authorial monologue is consistently something like, “…Child homicide? Demon doll? ...Why not both, Ruby Jean? Why not both? With CARNIES.” 90s horror has a lot of explaining to do and a lot of therapy bills to pay, is what.)
Anyway, I am willing to swear that the result of that boozy, citrus-soaked brunch was this book.
Basically, if it seems too over-the-top for a regular 90s YA novel, you will find it right here.
So. Content warnings: *deep breath*
But that plot tho.
(More spoiler spoilers):
Here is the thing, though: with all this going on (*gestures at, well, all this and a yard full of family mausoleums*) this book still passes the Bechdel test.
I am as shocked as you, although possibly less shocked because after reading this book I am not sure I will ever be shocked again. Do not go into this expecting a nuanced reflection of the roots of family or slavery or inter-generational trauma. This is none of those books. This is a wild horror hootenanny 1992-style. And as long as you're able to look past the kind of Dynasty: Unleashed shenanigans and super-gross ending, it's a decent haunted plantation book.
Did I mention it's not a YA?
What I got? Was Flowers in the Attic meets Angel Heart.
I am so confused. I have read many Richie Tankersley Cusick YA books and they loosely follow the Scooby Doo model of Gothic horror: someone does something spooky, everyone gets chased through mysterious hidden passages and the villain turns out to be the high school principal. This is a formula.
And yet.
This book felt like Cusick got so tired of having to pull her punches with those Scooby books that she bottled up all those punches and, after a mimosa brunch with Ms. Ruby Jean Jensen, she decided to just LET FLY with this completely over the top totally-not-at-all YA novel, which you could apparently order at a Scholastic Book Fair.
(If you are not familiar with Ms. Ruby Jean Jensen, check out House of Illusions or Wait and See. Or just know that it seems like Jensen’s authorial monologue is consistently something like, “…Child homicide? Demon doll? ...Why not both, Ruby Jean? Why not both? With CARNIES.” 90s horror has a lot of explaining to do and a lot of therapy bills to pay, is what.)
Anyway, I am willing to swear that the result of that boozy, citrus-soaked brunch was this book.
Basically, if it seems too over-the-top for a regular 90s YA novel, you will find it right here.
So. Content warnings: *deep breath*
But that plot tho.
(More spoiler spoilers):
Here is the thing, though: with all this going on (*gestures at, well, all this and a yard full of family mausoleums*) this book still passes the Bechdel test.
I am as shocked as you, although possibly less shocked because after reading this book I am not sure I will ever be shocked again. Do not go into this expecting a nuanced reflection of the roots of family or slavery or inter-generational trauma. This is none of those books. This is a wild horror hootenanny 1992-style. And as long as you're able to look past the kind of Dynasty: Unleashed shenanigans and super-gross ending, it's a decent haunted plantation book.
Did I mention it's not a YA?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2022
Trigger warning: Rape and incest
Look, I grew up on Flowers in the Attic and this book was TOO MUCH! I maybe screeched a few times. I have usually enjoyed all of Tankersley Cusick's young adult horror books, but this was just a bridge too far for me. Maybe because the main character was Too Stupid to Live (TSTL). Maybe it was because the secondary characters practically held up "We are Bad People" signs were being ignored by TSTL main character and were also cliche as hell. It could also be because the writing was painful to wade through after a while. Or it was the whole Black people did this shit plot that I could have done without.
"Blood Roots" follows I think 18 year old Olivia to her mother's home. Olivia we find out is kind of a mess. We don't know what happened to her mother, but it didn't sound good. It also didn't sound like her childhood was any great shakes either. But Olivia decides to go back to where her mother came from because she's all out of ideas. She arrives at Devereaux House, a plantation in I don't even know what state. The south. Let's go with that. But Olivia overhears something and even though every sense should have been like let me leave, she fakes being ill and lies to the people present (one who is her grandmother) and asks for a job. Because Olivia is TSTL she ignores the fact that there are portraits around with a dude that she later finds called Jesse. And then another dude, named Skyler. Skyler is sadistic and seems to be stalking her and wants to abuse her, but you know...TSTL.
Honestly the book just goes on and on forever with Oliva playing peekaboo with the mess that is the Deveraux House. I get what Tanksersley Cusick was trying to do, trying for some Southern Gothic YA horror. But it just doesn't work in the end. The writing was not good and the flow was just awful. I started getting so frustrated I started just skimming at one point. The book feels endless.
And then the ending with the reveal had me going yuck maybe a thousand times. So there's that.
Look, I grew up on Flowers in the Attic and this book was TOO MUCH! I maybe screeched a few times. I have usually enjoyed all of Tankersley Cusick's young adult horror books, but this was just a bridge too far for me. Maybe because the main character was Too Stupid to Live (TSTL). Maybe it was because the secondary characters practically held up "We are Bad People" signs were being ignored by TSTL main character and were also cliche as hell. It could also be because the writing was painful to wade through after a while. Or it was the whole Black people did this shit plot that I could have done without.
"Blood Roots" follows I think 18 year old Olivia to her mother's home. Olivia we find out is kind of a mess. We don't know what happened to her mother, but it didn't sound good. It also didn't sound like her childhood was any great shakes either. But Olivia decides to go back to where her mother came from because she's all out of ideas. She arrives at Devereaux House, a plantation in I don't even know what state. The south. Let's go with that. But Olivia overhears something and even though every sense should have been like let me leave, she fakes being ill and lies to the people present (one who is her grandmother) and asks for a job. Because Olivia is TSTL she ignores the fact that there are portraits around with a dude that she later finds called Jesse. And then another dude, named Skyler. Skyler is sadistic and seems to be stalking her and wants to abuse her, but you know...TSTL.
Honestly the book just goes on and on forever with Oliva playing peekaboo with the mess that is the Deveraux House. I get what Tanksersley Cusick was trying to do, trying for some Southern Gothic YA horror. But it just doesn't work in the end. The writing was not good and the flow was just awful. I started getting so frustrated I started just skimming at one point. The book feels endless.
And then the ending with the reveal had me going yuck maybe a thousand times. So there's that.
October 5, 2015
No words can express the quality of this book. BLOOD ROOTS is such an underrated piece of literary genius. It has elements of voodoo, family secrets, incest, terrible lies, and ghosts of the past...literally! Richie Tankersley Cusick of one of the best young adult authors of all time...hands down. She's able to bring stories to life like no other. She's so devoted to her characters, her plot lines, and the authenticity of her tales, that everything she writes comes out perfectly. Read her ONCE, and I swear you will paw through every single book she's ever written. You will literally never be able to stop until you've read each and every book she has ever written. I read The Mall first, and by the time I got to Scarecrow and Blood Roots, I was a diehard, lifelong fan. Which, if you read my other reviews--most of them scathing and critical--is saying A LOT. I have super high standards when it comes to authors, but Richie maxes out and exceeds all expectations. Read Blood Roots, and you will NOT be disappointed.
August 19, 2022
Brutal. This struck me as a cross between Dark Dance and the movie The Skeleton Key. So atmospheric, so inevitable, so disturbing.
January 26, 2022
A haunting, disturbing, disorienting gothic fever dream soap opera.
The good:
- The prose! The decaying plantation is its own character. Such lush, detailed descriptions.
- A cleverly conceived and imaginatively written plot about generational trauma.
- Decent horror story with a good dose of spookiness, mystery, and gore.
The bad:
- Ugh. Lots of problematic themes going on here: rtc glorifies sexual assault (rape, incest) and there’s some distasteful racist stereotypes (magical negro trope)
- Our main character is a bit of a dumdum damsel in distress. All she seems to do is run around the grounds, run away from people, and get lost in the dark.
All in all, gothic horror vibes x VC Andrews wtfness.
The good:
- The prose! The decaying plantation is its own character. Such lush, detailed descriptions.
- A cleverly conceived and imaginatively written plot about generational trauma.
- Decent horror story with a good dose of spookiness, mystery, and gore.
The bad:
- Ugh. Lots of problematic themes going on here: rtc glorifies sexual assault (rape, incest) and there’s some distasteful racist stereotypes (magical negro trope)
- Our main character is a bit of a dumdum damsel in distress. All she seems to do is run around the grounds, run away from people, and get lost in the dark.
All in all, gothic horror vibes x VC Andrews wtfness.
March 13, 2024
what the fuck
October 25, 2021
This was such a good book. It was a little confusing but in a good way. It made me want to read more and find out the mystery of it all. This book reminded me a lot of V.C. Andrews but with a supernatural twist. This is the 2nd book that I have read by this author and I'll continue to read more by her. Ms. Richie...thank you!
February 2, 2014
This is a very dark and disturbing read.
It has adult themes.
In some places it borders on porn/erotica.
While reading this all I could think was what the hell.
There were some parts of the story that made me sick to my stomache.
I did like the location of the story it took place in the deep south.
This book is also pretty gory.
It has adult themes.
In some places it borders on porn/erotica.
While reading this all I could think was what the hell.
There were some parts of the story that made me sick to my stomache.
I did like the location of the story it took place in the deep south.
This book is also pretty gory.
August 6, 2018
I gave up on this at 8%, which is probably a record for me. The prose was so over the top I just couldn't read another word. It's balls-to-the-wall gothic horror all the way, and racist besides.
December 16, 2023
On another edition of "Am I crazy or is Amazon just not ok?":
I click on one link for the used paperbacks for this book and they are all being sold by independent book sellers for $45 to $150 dollars and then on another link they are being sold for $12 to $15 dollars by legit places like Goodwill and Thritfbooks. However, I can only get to the legit page by Googling the book and clicking on the listing. Weird.
Wish I could put a screen shot for everyone to see. Just to prove I'm not crazy.
Update 12/16/2023:
Ok so later I found out it was due to selecting a different "edition" for this book, but the $45/150 is a scam, don't buy it. I usually only buy used editions from reliable sellers like Goodwill or Thriftbooks, which are selling the $7/8 used editions.
I really enjoyed this book. Cusick writes really good horror stories, and the case of her adult novels, erotic horror. I really like this genre, as can be seen from one of my favorite books this year: Raise the Blood by Nenia Campbell. This also gave me similar vibes to The Curse of White Oak Grove by Heather Crews, which I really liked as well.
I'll be interested to see if Scarecrow, Cusick's other Adult horror novel, is just as good as Blood Roots.
I click on one link for the used paperbacks for this book and they are all being sold by independent book sellers for $45 to $150 dollars and then on another link they are being sold for $12 to $15 dollars by legit places like Goodwill and Thritfbooks. However, I can only get to the legit page by Googling the book and clicking on the listing. Weird.
Wish I could put a screen shot for everyone to see. Just to prove I'm not crazy.
Update 12/16/2023:
Ok so later I found out it was due to selecting a different "edition" for this book, but the $45/150 is a scam, don't buy it. I usually only buy used editions from reliable sellers like Goodwill or Thriftbooks, which are selling the $7/8 used editions.
I really enjoyed this book. Cusick writes really good horror stories, and the case of her adult novels, erotic horror. I really like this genre, as can be seen from one of my favorite books this year: Raise the Blood by Nenia Campbell. This also gave me similar vibes to The Curse of White Oak Grove by Heather Crews, which I really liked as well.
I'll be interested to see if Scarecrow, Cusick's other Adult horror novel, is just as good as Blood Roots.
July 15, 2013
Totally screwed up and twisted. I honestly don't know if I liked it or not, but it definitely kept my attention the whole time.
Read
February 8, 2011Nophoto-f-25x33 This book was a total mind fuck. I don't know if I hated it or liked it. It was like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I Just had to finish it.
It had so much atmosphere. Though this wasn't as good for me as some of her other books it was undeniably captivating. And Skylar was hot and disgusting all at once. I have never read a book that I didn't want to read with so much inability to stop. I know that doesn't make sense but read it and maybe you'll feel the same way.
It had so much atmosphere. Though this wasn't as good for me as some of her other books it was undeniably captivating. And Skylar was hot and disgusting all at once. I have never read a book that I didn't want to read with so much inability to stop. I know that doesn't make sense but read it and maybe you'll feel the same way.
September 21, 2015
Disturbing.
Do not read if you are easily disturbed.
Clarification: This book may be disturbing for some members of the human race.
Do not read if you are easily disturbed.
Clarification: This book may be disturbing for some members of the human race.
July 1, 2014
This is the book that started my love for reading. I first read it in high school and loved it. A girl alone wants to find out who she is, her roots. Her mother went crazy and couldn't give her all the details except the house she grew up in. The girl travels there and finds an eclectic group of people who she knows to be her family. She keeps her past a secret so she can find out more about them but what she finds is the biggest secret she never knew was possible.
March 20, 2015
Couldn't put it down. I loved it. There were a few times I was disturbed and by the end I felt an epic love/hate for it. What I mean is when I closed it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. But the entire time I was reading I was completely enthralled. Her characters are complex and so are your feelings toward them. I love this author, but she took this to a whole new level of creeped out.
April 13, 2016
This book was very disturbing and I was confused about half the time I was reading it. I loved it though and it still has me thinking about it and wondering and I might have to reread it to completely get the whole story. It was just so odd and I have to admit, I had a little crush on Jesse, up until the end of course when everything happened and I was appalled that I had one on him. :p
dnf
March 24, 2024Dnf without prejudice, no rating. I may come back later.
I'm struggling to stay engaged with the haunted house setting. Totally a 'it's not the book, but me' thing. I also struggled with Bledding Sorrow by Marilyn Harris, which many of my Goodreads friends enjoyed. I may not be in the mood for the gothic genre right now.
I'm struggling to stay engaged with the haunted house setting. Totally a 'it's not the book, but me' thing. I also struggled with Bledding Sorrow by Marilyn Harris, which many of my Goodreads friends enjoyed. I may not be in the mood for the gothic genre right now.
September 5, 2010
This is a fun, easy read that kept me interested the whole time. The ending is quite disturbing and totally not what I expected.
November 20, 2020
Disturbing, dark and twisted. Couldn't put it down! Man, 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love every second of this book!
P.S. Skyler was disgusting but also sooo damn hot! 🔥
P.S. Skyler was disgusting but also sooo damn hot! 🔥
January 12, 2026
BLOOD ROOTS was an impulse buy for me because I've read and really liked Richie Tankersley Cusick's Point Horror novels. This book-- this book is quite another type of beast. First, people are shelving it as young adult-- a danger whenever a YA author branches out into genre fiction. This is NOT YA. It is an incredibly disturbing, genre-defying book that I would probably classify as erotic horror. It's a haunted house story, a doomed family story, and a coming of age story, wrapped in the rotted, maggot-crawling shroud of a crumbling Southern Gothic. The best way of describing it, I think, would be saying that it's like a cross between Tanith Lee's DARK DANCE and Amy Engel's ROANOKE GIRLS.
The plot is deceptively simple. Olivia returns to her family's Louisiana mansion after the death of her crazy mother. But once she gets to the mansion, she's creeped out and has second thoughts. Too bad that the cab driver is a jerk and drives away, with her purse and wallet no less, leaving her there with literally nothing but the clothes on her back. Once inside, she meets the family matriarch, Miss Rose, an uncomfortable matronly Black servant stereotype named Yoly, an evil Black voodoo seductress stereotype named Mathilde, and two guys named Jesse and Skyler. Skyler is a cruel and sadistic rake, whereas Jesse plays the role of the consummate gentleman.
Instinct warns her not to tell them who she is, so she pretends that she was just an innocent tourist who was taken advantage of by an unscrupulous cab driver. She gets a job as a servant and does light housework while exploring the grounds, and I literally cannot convey to you how brilliantly done the swampy, claustrophobic backdrop of the house is, and how utterly smothering it makes the story. The stereotypes date the book, but I did kind of wonder if it was meant to be a parodying homage. Even if it wasn't, it certainly reads that way, replete with all of the melodrama that made Cusick such a popular teen horror author. This is honestly my favorite type of horror-- the kind that's psychological and leaves most of the real horrors to the reader's imagination. I think this is a keeper. Just don't get it for your kid.
4.5 stars
The plot is deceptively simple. Olivia returns to her family's Louisiana mansion after the death of her crazy mother. But once she gets to the mansion, she's creeped out and has second thoughts. Too bad that the cab driver is a jerk and drives away, with her purse and wallet no less, leaving her there with literally nothing but the clothes on her back. Once inside, she meets the family matriarch, Miss Rose, an uncomfortable matronly Black servant stereotype named Yoly, an evil Black voodoo seductress stereotype named Mathilde, and two guys named Jesse and Skyler. Skyler is a cruel and sadistic rake, whereas Jesse plays the role of the consummate gentleman.
Instinct warns her not to tell them who she is, so she pretends that she was just an innocent tourist who was taken advantage of by an unscrupulous cab driver. She gets a job as a servant and does light housework while exploring the grounds, and I literally cannot convey to you how brilliantly done the swampy, claustrophobic backdrop of the house is, and how utterly smothering it makes the story. The stereotypes date the book, but I did kind of wonder if it was meant to be a parodying homage. Even if it wasn't, it certainly reads that way, replete with all of the melodrama that made Cusick such a popular teen horror author. This is honestly my favorite type of horror-- the kind that's psychological and leaves most of the real horrors to the reader's imagination. I think this is a keeper. Just don't get it for your kid.
4.5 stars
March 2, 2024
🤩🤩🤩
What an absolute banger of a book, just a good old-fashioned atmospheric moss-encrusted creepy entrail squirting cannibalistic dirty and depraved romp.
5 stars for hypnotic pull
5 stars for a bayou with more personality than some people
5 stars for dirty, scary claustrophobia
5 stars for a great reveal
5 stars for an unforgettable setting
My only quibble was I do like an obsessed man. Skyler had sooooo much potential: immoral, unscrupulous, clever. But he did not have that sleekly obsessed edge I require from my gothic MMCs and spent most of the book more into Matilde. I give him a C+ for indiscriminately spreading his penis around instead of being obsessed with Olivia, which he ought to have been.
However, an easy 5 stars!
What an absolute banger of a book, just a good old-fashioned atmospheric moss-encrusted creepy entrail squirting cannibalistic dirty and depraved romp.
5 stars for hypnotic pull
5 stars for a bayou with more personality than some people
5 stars for dirty, scary claustrophobia
5 stars for a great reveal
5 stars for an unforgettable setting
My only quibble was I do like an obsessed man. Skyler had sooooo much potential: immoral, unscrupulous, clever. But he did not have that sleekly obsessed edge I require from my gothic MMCs and spent most of the book more into Matilde. I give him a C+ for indiscriminately spreading his penis around instead of being obsessed with Olivia, which he ought to have been.
However, an easy 5 stars!
September 7, 2022
This book...... This is twisted Xfiles, VC Andrews stuff right here. It could not be more Gothic Horror if Mrs. Rochester and Pinhead were living in the attic. It's a dark story wit a kind of dark ending. Read it if you want, but you can't say I didn't warn you.....
I also read this in high school and I didn't remember the story. I probably blocked it out. I feel like I need to take a shower, but you can't shower your soul. I need chocolate.
I also read this in high school and I didn't remember the story. I probably blocked it out. I feel like I need to take a shower, but you can't shower your soul. I need chocolate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2023
I read this book as a tween/teen and the plot always stuck with me - though I blame Vampire Diaries for really stirring up the memories. Thanks to the folks at r/whatsthatbook, my vague memories of a girl goes to a plantation, there are hot brothers, and magic helped me determine it was in fact this book.
In reading this, I suddenly had a strong understanding of where my interesting in dark, bully, why choose romances came from 😂
In reading this, I suddenly had a strong understanding of where my interesting in dark, bully, why choose romances came from 😂
July 5, 2018
Childhood
I cant believe i read this as a child. Most of the story was good just like you were actually living in the nightmare but the sex bit and the threesome personally no need for it and ruined the book for me. Thats why it only got 3 stars
I cant believe i read this as a child. Most of the story was good just like you were actually living in the nightmare but the sex bit and the threesome personally no need for it and ruined the book for me. Thats why it only got 3 stars
February 26, 2020
This book....where do I begin. It was a great read, although it took awhile to understand what was going on. Then there are parts of this book that are truly messed up and disgusting, but I had to keep reading to find out what happened in the end.
April 23, 2020
This was supposed to be an adult book? I don't see how... unless it was because it was over 300 pages. I like RTC's young-adult books better. It just seems like the main character kept overhearing things from the other characters, which was the basic plot line.
May 1, 2023
The story is just bad. I could pick it apart easily but just leaving it at bad provides about as much effort as it deserves. I’m only awarding it two stars because at least the setting made for some vivid mental imagery; I am overly fond of gothic southern settings.
January 28, 2018
Holy what! That was one heck of a twist XD
March 31, 2020
I loved this book it has it all drama sexual tension suspense and horror a must read.
May 23, 2022
So different from ALL her other books. Creepy and gory. Now I know why I couldn't find it in bookstores as a kid (in the bible belt). But I liked it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews