Tangled at the Root: A Dark Sapphic Gothic Romance

by Viano Oniomoh

Instead of a home in need of cleansing, Rosemary finds a closed-off ex-best friend insisting she hadn’t called her and demanding she leave.

The last thing Genevieve wants is her ex-best friend poking her nose where it doesn’t belong and making Genevieve hunger for things she can't let herself want.

Then something in the old house traps them inside. Danger and proximity lead to buried, unaddressed feelings resurfacing, along with the reveal of a few shocking secrets.

What happens when your ex-best friend has the overwhelming urge to kill you?

Worse, what happens when you want to let her?

Genres: Romance, Queer

243 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

Viano Oniomoh is a passionate reader and writer, who was born and raised in Nigeria. She spends fifty percent of her time writing, forty percent reading, and the other ten listening to BTS. She may or may not use magic to get everything else in her life done. She also has no idea how to write about herself in the third person.

Find more about her at vianooniomoh.com

You can also connect with her on social media:

Viano Oniomoh on Facebook
@vianoniomoh on Twitter
and @vianoniomoh on Instagram.

Reviews

[Unpopmary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Venuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my!
It’s a very disturbing read—as expected of coursee, few things I couldn’t help but to skid over so definitely heed the content warnings. But it was also veryy intriguing and passionate, the lore of the characters and just the Nigerian folklore in general was really well developed and even highly piqued my interest to delve more into it myself after this read.

Viano Oniomoh really tackled everything that was needed to be tackled very well in only a hundred and something pages!

The plot twist was actually well done and wasn’t expected at all but the way it played out was very shocking and smooth. Our characters chemistry was so vibrating and what they had before their separation is wholly felt, even in the now as they attempted to deny it. A truly beautiful sick pair they were meant to be. They are literally yearning, acceptance, and hunger personified!! Self identification and how consuming something so long suppressed can be manifested, how deep love can go, be it if it was always acted on or when it’s finally freed!! I really enjoyed how these allegories played apart into the formation of this dark sapphic romance👏🏾👏🏾

I could’ve done without those last spicy scene, that’s just me personally because I felt it was really beautiful how they ushered the ancestor into the otherworld and coming to terms with how things will be for themselves and together just for it to go into that which didn’t really make muchsense..I feel it could’ve with a different execution or different time? Because I really liked the conversation after, exploring that vulnerability. Even with the grief of Rosemary’s mother, I know it’s supposed to be dark and erotic but I think I just really wanted to sit in that deep vulnerability of our characters a bit longer before getting flung into another feeling you know. But yeah, other than that this read was very gripping, and different to me and I think if anyone who enjoyed House of Rayne wants something more intense with a great intertwining of being both a plot and character driven story with BLACK SAPPHICS than you should definitelyyy pick up this one!

After Thoughts
- So since Rosemary can’t die, what was to the 18 minutes thing? And does she just not age either? What about the otherworld her ancestor and parents are in, can she choose one day to go there as well? #attachedthenovellacharactersbelike

[Laney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tangled at the Root really managed to capture my attention. I loved Rosemary and Genevieve, their chemistry and history with each other were intriguing as it went back and forth to how their feelings developed from a crush to love. It was tender to see those feelings develop when they were in college to scorching hot as they saw each other again after ten years. I loved the description and learning about Rosemary being an Oerhwu and Genevieve a Legbaju.

The epilogue did have me worry for a moment that Genevieve didn't live alongside Rosemary, but I was so happy to see that she did and the two got their happily ever after. My props also go to Genevieve for still trying to get her girl pregnant.

[bree ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

viano oniomoh, the writer that you are. i haven't read a single bad thing by this author yet, but genevieve and rosemary's story is easily my favorite. i wanted a dark sapphic gothic romance, and i got that and more. this is black sapphic yearning. it's dark, lush, gory, disturbing and transfixing. i felt the passion and chemistry between genevieve and rosemary beneath my skin. the vivid imagery that was genevieve left me horrified with goosebumps for multiple reasons. 🥵🌶️ there is a very thin line between fear and lust, as made excruciatingly clear in tangled at the root. i loved the uniqueness of rosemary and genevieve's history, all this was new to me. 10/10, honestly no notes. if i had to complain about anything, it's that this ended way before i was ready.

i want this book removed from my brain so i can have the pleasure of experiencing it for the first time again. my place as an erotic horror lover has been solidified by tangled at the root & i hope everyone is prepared to be sick of me, because i won't be shutting up about this book anytime soon. if you're considering reading this, DO IT!!

sn: is this cover not the most gorgeous thing you've EVER seen? 😍

[kelisliveshere˚₊⋆ ʚɞ ⋆₊˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

How sweet of you to dedicate your book to me!!!

Every time Genevieve called Rosemary “Magical girl” my heart just about melted. As a horny horror connoisseur myself, I loooooove a book where a grotesque monster finds love, and I’m very far from disappointed despite being slightly unprepared for how graphic it was. There’s not a single doubt in my mind that Rosemary and Genevieve are made for each other.

The Nigerian folklore is my absolute favorite part about this. I’ve previously said (in a completely unrelated review) that I use every opportunity to express how tired I am of reading about vampires, so when I manage to find something brand new (to me AND to most) I genuinely get so giddy. And so I even further appreciate the attention to detail when providing descriptions of the setting, the atmosphere and the characters. I sort of wish there was a bit more focus on this portion of the plot and maybe less sex scenes? I won’t dock points for delivering what was promised, I mean this is horny horror! I just wanted the history of the house and the eshé to be a bit more fleshed out throughout the novel.

I’m no stranger to these themes but like I said, this author knows how to paint a picture! So please please please heed the content warning and adequately prepare yourself, then prepare yourself some more.

[Eros Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a dark, sapphic romance:

-bisexual FMCs; fem/stud
-plus sized fem FMC
-dual POV
-ex best friends to lovers
-gothic horror elements
-dual timeline (memories of the past)
-complex maternal dynamics
-generational curses & ancestry
-demons, magic & spirituality
-multilayered characters
-opposites attract
-vivid descriptions
-strong ending
-double epilogue
-check your trigger warnings

This was the 1st time that I’ve read spice that blended horror and erotica in this way. It was horrifyingly satisfying to read.

I adored both MCs for different reasons.
They blended together effortlessly. I couldn’t help but root for them separate and together.

This was unapologetically Black, disturbing, erotic & well paced. I often say how hard gothic horror is to execute. I had no doubt that Viano O would deliver effortlessly. If they’re writing it, I’m reading it.

[Josephine Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lush, haunting, gruesome, and steamy Gothic romance rooted in Nigerian folklore!

The sapphic yearning - being both a literal and figurative hunger - is absolutely god-tier in this book😮‍💨🙏

(Also OBSESSED with the cover)

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wild ride! Rosemary and Genevieve had complicated lives and many many secrets. They were both lonely, but they didn’t reconnect initially with open arms. Being trapped in a sentient dangerous house together forced those secrets into the open and they both confronted all aspects of themselves and each other. It was dark and gory, with forbidden desires and Nigerian folklore. Very well done.

Spice: 4/5

Content Notes: Animal death; animal abuse; mentions, references, and descriptions of child physical and emotional abuse; mentions, discussions, and depictions of murder, including the murder of a child; mentions, discussions, and references to kidnapping and imprisonment (of a side character, as a past event); PTSD; blood drinking; violence; gore; cannibalism (kinda); and explicit sex scenes, which include (but are not limited to) primal play, blood play, monster sex, dubious consent, and/or consensual non-consent

[SpiceofLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

This was my first sapphic goth romance and my first book by this author... I'm gagged!!! Definitely adding this author to the list of favorites.