BOOK REVIEW: Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

3.5 Stars

This is a tough short story to review as in many aspects it is brilliant and really intriguing but in others it fell short.

Tread of Angels in based in a world where there are two sides to society, the fallen who are seen as kin of the Devil and the Elect who are from Angels. The Elect rule the city of Goetia.
The world was really interesting but I felt because it is such a short story at 200 pages, there was a real lack of worldbuilding and I was left with so many questions that I want answered. This is frustrating as Rebecca Roanhorse has an incredible imagination and so if this was a full novel I know it would have been an excellent read.

The characters were really interesting and although they didn't really have the time to mature, there were still some decent developments. Again I think with more time I would have felt more attached to them whereas in this time we only got the basics of their personalities.

The writing was brilliant. Rebecca Roanhorse is always an amazing author and her imagination and creativity is so unique. I adored her duology Black Sun and highly recommend any fantasy lovers to that series.

Overall, an interesting read with some great ideas but I needed more time for the worldbuilding and characters to mature. Despite this, I still recommend it as an interesting short read.

Please note that I was #gifted this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Roanhorse's work has always intrigued me, the way she creates these worlds with intense detail and intriguing elements and drops you as a reader into the middle of everything. The same can be said for Tread of Angels which, as a shorter book means you have to do even more filling in various gaps. The strange angelic and demonic energies at work in this world were fascinating. I'm also a person who loves a mystery, particularly a murder mystery, and this book did not disappoint. I was surprised by how much investigating was packed into such a short work. While I might have liked a bit more meat on the bones and perhaps fewer quick jumps and skips in the story I still think the plot as a whole was well-rounded and I liked the story's resolution.
I thought that Celeste was a really interesting character and I enjoyed how her relationships both romantic and familial were explored throughout the book. There's sisterhood and there's also some saucy demon stuff going on for those interested in that.
I would recommend this to people who are already fans of Roanhorse's work and also those who, like me, have no small amount of religious...stuff going on post-Catholic school. I look forward to reading more from Rebecca Roanhorse in the future though I'd be grateful for something a little more long-form.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

3 STARS

A quick, easy read to introduce you to a new fantasy word - essentially a novella. Whilst the world building in a short space of time was well done; I couldn't really connect to the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for the ARC.

This a fantasy Novella with many components packed in not so many pages, it has angels and demons, a bit of romance and a murder mystery that needs to be solved.

The writing is very atmospheric and get drawn into the tale since page one, so you just have to keep reading. the problem is that Celeste is not a very likable characters and the plot twits were quite predictable.

Overall, I think it's a nice quick read in which you get to know a new fantasy world.

So obviously this is a novella and hence different to review. While this format isn’t my usual choice, I did really enjoy Tread Of Angels.

It was very immersive for such a short book, I loved the characters which had great range and depth, the setting was great (would love to have this explored further) and the romance was hot.

Therefore my only complaint lies within the length of this book - being so short the plot was over-simplified at points. Personally, I also found the ending frustrating, though understandable.

A western fantasy with fallen angels, demons and humans.

Celeste is forced to play advocatus diaboli, the devils advocate, to defend her sister, Mariel, against a crime and Celeste finds help from her demon ex, Abraxas.

I liked the premise behind this novella but Celeste put me off, I really didn't warm to her at all. She was rude and spiteful to everyone, everyone who was trying to help her apart from her sister who she idolised at the expense of even herself. She was a fool!

I hate it when I don't like a main character but maybe the message here is look past what you see? 3.5 stars

thank you to NetGalley, & Rebellion Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review

i've heard great things about rebecca roanhorse, and when i saw tread of angels, i was intrigued. it is a novella and if anything, i wanted this to be longer, to draw out the mystery and the characters.

tread of angels is set in a western-style mining town and pulls from the steampunk genre. celeste, our main character, finds herself playing detective, trying to save her sister, mariel, who has been accused of murdering a virtue (a type of archangel). for a bit of backstory - the 'fallen' are descendants of those who rebelled against heaven (demons - bad, criminal low-lives), and the elects are the virtues, (aka the good, incredibly controlling and very biased angels who run the city). since celeste doesn't bare the 'mark', she can 'pass' as a virtue, and grew up as one with her father.

the commentary on race, class, discrimination and prejudice is not at all subtle but makes it point - while talking of just punishment, many of the virtues commit common crimes daily, and are not too inclined to allow free speech.

because it is so short, i do think the story had a lot of aspects that felt very surface level, all the side characters ceased to exist, what was the point of the knob in the beginning, the big reveal felt anti-climatic, and the main character was somewhat one-dimensional. with limited time, it can be difficult to create a character that has more than one quality, and unfortunately celeste succumbs to this issue. she's so hell-bent (mind the pun) on saving her sister, i didn't really get much more from her personality, except that she's very protective.

the world-building and descriptions were what saved this for me. vivid imagery and an incredibly immersive world created by roanhorse. everything was so detailed, and it was really easy to imagine myself in this town, among these people.

the pacing was also good - it allowed a sense of urgency, while not rushing anything so i was intrigued throughout. i liked the murder mystery aspect in the sense that while it might have been slightly obvious, i was sitting with my popcorn, waiting to confirm my suspicions.

Since this author's book Black Sun was one of my favourite reads last year, I jumped on this book as soon as it became available for request on Netgalley. I didn't realise it was a novella, at least until I was suddenly about 30% of the way through it very quickly, and possibly wouldn't have requested it if I'd realised. That's more about my ongoing issues with novellas leaving me unsatisfied.

The basic premise of Tread of Angels is that it's set in a world of fallen angels, some more obvious than others, where our protagonist (Celeste) chose her half-sister over a well-padded life with her father - now that sister is in trouble, arrested for the murder of an illicit lover, and Celeste is left floundering as she tries to investigate.

Like all of this author's books, the world-building is nicely done and the plot moves on at a good pace. I found this one a little disappointing as it kind of petered out - some things don't really get resolved and Celeste's ideas of how things are get thoroughly trampled along the way. There's also a former romantic relationship to complicate things and this was a bit half-baked for me. So, all in all, I think I'll stick to getting my hands on a copy of Fevered Star next and hope it lives up to my previous experience.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Tread of Angels' by Rebecca Roanhorse.

I love Rebecca Roanhorse and I would do anything for her but this book upset me: because this novella was way too short for me. The concept and characters instantly drew me in and I wanted to know more and read more and when I got to the end, I still craved more of Roanhorse's writing.

My thanks to Net Galley for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.
"Tread of Angels" is a Stempunk Urban Fantasy novella with inspiraton from the mythology of Judeo-Christianity.
A subtle commentary on class, justice, discrimination, prejudice and the effort to find one's place in a diveded world, forced to coexist, all wraped under the cloak of viruous or fallen angels and demons.
In my oppinon this would have flourished as a full lenght novel in wich the characters abd themes could heve been explored in more depth.
It took me while to get immersed into the story's setting and grasp more about the worldbuilding, but once I passed the 30% mark I got invested in the plot. I could see it heading towards a complex crime-mistery with a wide scope, but I gues it had to be concluded.
Speaking of conclusion, it is so difficult for me to say if I was mildly satisfied about it or vaguely dissapointed.
Loving Rebecca Roanhirse' s "Between Earth and Sky" novels I feel heartbroken to give this novel only 3 stars as it had great potential and the Stempunk elements were extremely crative, but my rating reflects my general enjoyment of the book.
Please give this novella a try. It might work better for you if you set up to it with lower expectations and the understanding that the author tried for a different genre than her usual.

4.5 stars.

One of my favourite reads of the year for sure. From the very first page, I found myself immersed in the world crafted by Roanhorse - a fresh take on the age-old angels and demons trope. The steampunk, 19th-century Wild West setting was supported by atmospheric writing which made the town of Goetia and its stratified society feel all too real. I equally loved the characters, and had a soft spot for Celeste, whose determination to save her sister powered her throughout. The relationships between her and the more minor characters were interesting and complex, and the mystery kept me hooked throughout. There were some loose ends left at the end but I didn’t mind as the novella length lends itself well to this kind of ambiguity. I really enjoyed reading this novella and would gladly devour another set in this world.

This was something really special. Set in a western-style mining town with angels and demons, it had elements of noir fantasy, steampunk, and a murder mystery, all rolled into one.

Celeste, a card-sharp, is forced to stand up in her sister's defence when she is accused of murdering a Virtue (a type of archangel). Both sisters are Fallen (descendants of those who rebelled against Heaven), but Celeste can "pass," while Mariel cannot. There is guilt and resentment and a demon ex-lover who longs to possess Celeste body, heart, and soul. Celeste will have to decide what matters: sister or soul, because choosing wrongly could damn them both.

I didn't release when I started reading it that it was going to be a novella. Roanhorse sets a breaktaking pace and there was no lag in the story at all. It was rich and exciting and very different. My only disappointment was that it wasn't a full-length novel. Although Roanhorse excels at world-building, I definitely wanted more here. I really wanted to wallow in this world and meet other people and dig into the culture. It was a teasing glimpse and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we may see more books set in this world.

For me, the other thing that set this book apart was the "twist" towards the end where Celeste makes her choice and the fallout that comes from that. (I'm calling it a twist to try and avoid any spoilers.) It was unexpected, but at the time same time, understandable. I think that's perhaps the best compliment that you can give to a writer in the creation of their character. I didn't see it coming, but it feels realistic to the character and the world you've created.

Tread of Angels is a novella told in third person. The novella follows Celeste in the mining town of Goetia. The world is divided, there is The Fallen which are demons or descended from demons as well as The Virtues who are the winners in an ancient war. Celeste has a sister; Mariel and they grew up in different parts of Goetia. Celeste lived a life of privilege with their father but Mariel stayed with their mother in Goetia's slums. Celeste has to save her sister after she is arrested but has to turn to a demon ex-lover for help. This is my first book by Rebecca Roanhorse and whilst I did enjoy it I don't think they are the author for me. This was a novella so the story moved very quick and you are dropped right into the action. The writing was easy to read and the world was easy to follow. I liked the vibes of this story and recommend it to fill a craving for urban fantasy. Overall, I am giving this three stars as I did enjoy it but it wasn't very unique.

Thank you to Netgalley & Rebellion for this arc in exchange for a review. I thoroughly enjoyed this! I liked Roanhorses take on a Wild West setting with fantastical elements and a diverse cast of characters. The only thing I would’ve liked is a smidge more world building but I can understand why this was lacking as it was just a novella. Overall a great read and think this could either remain a standalone or continue as a series.