After reading the synopsis of this book I was very excited to pick it up but unfortunately, I feel a little bit let down by the execution of the premise. The complexity of the worldbuilding elements was the main thing that stopped this book from having compelling characters or interesting plotline. While I think the magical elements were intriguing, there were too many of them crammed into approximately 200 pages and that didn't allow me to settle into the story and familiarize myself with the world without constantly having worldbuilding information dumped on me. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters because they weren't developed well. Most of the interpersonal relationships were told about rather than shown to the reader. I found the murder mystery plot to be uninteresting and quite predictable. However, I have to say that the plot twist made sense in the societal context that was described in the book.

The one thing that kept me mildly enjoying this book was Rebecca Roanhorse's prose. Her writing style has this unique quality to it that I had no trouble picturing all the scenes and landscapes that were described in this story. While the worldbuilding wasn't done to my liking, the setting and the atmosphere were impeccable.

Tread of Angels is a wonderfully rich, addictive novella with characters I loved and an immersive world I’d like to spend a whole series with.

It’s hard to describe this one, because there is *so* much going on in this novella, and so much backstory woven in and hinted with. Celeste is a card dealer and a half-breed, partially descended from fallen angels. Her sister Mariel is accused of killing a man on the side of the Virtues, those who inherited power from the angels who won the war between heaven and hell. Celeste has always protected her sister and knows she’s innocent, so she agrees to act as her advocate. Celeste is also haunted by a past relationship with a demon (one of my favourite characters).  

The world Roanhorse created in Tread of Angels is so fascinating.  I loved this look at privilege defined by whether you’re descended from angels or demons, and the questions it asks about loyalty and virtue. The way science works in this world (similar to a steampunk feel) is so cool.  And there’s so much rich history in Celeste’s relationships with her friends and family.  I was amazed at how Roanhorse wove in worldbuilding in a way that feels effortless to the reader. 

I read and enjoyed Roanhorse’s Black Sun earlier this year, but I found it hard to connect with the characters.  Tread of Angels, however, completely drew me in.  Celeste, her Fallen sister, and her demon ex-lover are all complex, morally grey characters who I couldn’t help but like.

Tread of Angels is a very quick read but by the end I felt like it had affected me as much as a long novel. It’s a perfect standalone but I also desperately want to read more from this world.  This one was so, so good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for my review copy of this book

Tread of Angels reads like a western murder mystery but it takes that premise and goes so much further. The themes of family, blood and other bonds, run deep here. I very much loved the relationship between Celeste and her sister Mariel. Especially when Celeste began to realize that she had been protecting a sister that had been chafing under the limitations Celeste had set for Mariel’s own safety.

Filled with complex and nuanced relationships, Tread of Angels really shows off Roanhorse’s understanding of her flawed characters in a way that still makes you root for the best possible outcome. Also, in this novella length story, Roanhorse has created a fantastical western world that is entirely enthralling and fascinating.

I really do hope that there are plans to have more stories come from this really cool new world! I would devour them all.

*I received an eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada, Gallery / Saga Press, & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

In Goetia, a mining town where there are angels and demons, Celeste and her sister, Mariel, work at a bar. When Mariel is accused of murdering someone, Celeste must work to defend her and prove her innocence in the court of Arch angels. Will she be able to succeed?

Tread of Angels is a short, but complex book – just over 200 pages. I really liked it! The world building could have used a bit more background, but I loved the mysterious elements of this historical fantasy book, I’m a sucker for the combination of those two genres. It was dark and gritty, but still tender in some ways, while being a great metaphor for colonialism and racism – at least that’s how I read it. This book was engaging and interesting and I want to read more by Roanhorse in the future, particularly Black Sun and its sequel.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Roanhorse has written a fast-paced novella helmet by a heroine who is tenacious, loyal, brash, and vulnerable. Celeste will stop at nothing to help her sister even after finding out that she might not know her as well as she thinks.

This is in the vein of P. Djeli Clark's A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015 where there is always something lurking behind the more obvious crime. Here, a sister must become sleuth and advocate, if she has any chance of proving her sister's innocence. But in Goetia, their Fallen heritage already counts against them.

The world-building, characters, and plot are all well done and made the reader not want the story to end. The hints of the complexities of this world pointed to a very immersive fantasy if it had been developed further and surely would have satisfied as the ending came too abruptly, wrapped up too neatly. Even as it hinted at a continuation if the author so chooses.

It is still a read I recommend.

"Celeste found their company a bonus rather than a burden. It was no exaggeration to say she preferred to spend her time with the damned, no matter what her blood might let her pass for"


Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The fact this book was written by Rebecca Roanhorse had be instantly, I almost didn't read the synopsis because I love the Black Sun series so much. However I did read the synopsis and it left me excited to read it.

Although I did truly enjoy this story, I can't give it five stars because it needed ... MORE.
I found myself confused at the beginning with the lack of world building and understanding, though I gained more knowledge as I went. Also at some parts the story felt almost rushed. I would have liked to see a longer book to give us that world building and to slow down the story a bit.

I've enjoyed Rebecca Roanhorse's Sixth World series so far, so I was excited to check out this new Western fantasy novel of hers.

The book is 208 pages, which is perfect if you're looking for a quick fantasy read! I myself would have been perfectly happy if the book was twice as long because I really wanted to learn more about the world she was building. (I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that she publishes more books in this universe.)

I think the length of the book affected the plot a bit as things wrapped up quite quickly, but overall I would still recommend this book to Rebecca Roanhorse fans, and also fans of Brandon Sanderson's Wax & Wayne series.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an e-arc of this book on NetGalley!

Didn't hate this book but also did not love it. It was a weird mix of western mining town meets angels and demon meets fantasy. This thoroughly strange mix just did not land for me. Additionally, the MC was so naïve making it hard for me to like her.

Thanks Simon and Schuster Canada for the chance to review this arc.

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse is a novella following sisters Celeste and Mariel in an intriguing setting. Mariel is accused of murdering a Virtue, a high status individual in this world system while the sisters are of low status. Celeste must solve the mystery of this murder and save her sister from being executed for a heinous crime. What follows is a quick and fast paced puzzle, a high stakes adventure and an aching love story with just the right amount of tension. The setting and writing in this story are fantastic but the best part is the morally grey characters. If you’re looking for a short and sinister mystery, look no further!
Thanks Simon & Schuster, Rebecca Roanhorse & NetGalley for the ARC! Tread of Angels is out on November 15, 2022!

I never thought I would enjoy reading a western, let alone a fantasy western. But Rebecca Roanhorse has such a unique storytelling ability that you are just drawn in. This story of the Fallen and the Virtues show how society treats the downtrodden. I thoroughly enjoyed this novella.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantasy western quest to save family in a world with angels and devils. Lots that I loved but the religious aspects didn't work for me. This could work either as a standalone novella or the start for a series.

The worlds created by Rebecca Roanhorse are unequaled. Her writing so succinct that you envision the setting and connect with the characters as you read. This is a wild west world of Angels and Demons, Elite and Fallen. When a murder is committed Celeste and Mariel find themselves in the middle of it. Are the Angels good and Demons bad or do they all have their own agenda? This is a fantasy novella that will keep you enthralled for just a few hours.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press Simon & Schuster for the ARC

Like all of Rebecca Roanhorse's works, I really enjoyed this. My biggest gripe? It's not long enough!

I really enjoyed the world Roanhorse built in this novella. The Angel vs. Demons world, the societal commentary layered in, the political intrigue. Honestly everything about this book was as perfect for me as it could have been besides the ending being too quick. It did feel like there was a lot build up for a very quick resolution to the big finale.

The world building is amazing, especially for how short a time Roanhorse had to immerse the reader in the world. It shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise I guess, considering the world building she's done in her Sixth World and Between Earth and Sky series. Another reason I was sad this wasn't longer, as I would have loved to see the world continued to be fleshed out in a longer novel.

I enjoyed the characters as well. I wish I had been able to spend more time with them, Celeste in particular though Zeke and Abraxas were a close second. Abraxas as a character was so intriguing to me, and I think it would be so interesting to read about his years right as he decided to stay to watch over Abaddon.

All in all, I hope Rebecca Roanhorse continues to write in the world at some point.

Rebecca Roanhorse continues to be a "will pick up and read everything they write" author for me, she has yet to fail me, and I thank her for that.

Thank you for the ARC! Can't wait for this to publish so I can purchase a physical copy for me shelves.

A young adult fantasy with extremely quick yet familiar world building. Celeste is eager to do anything to save her sister Mariel from being accused of murdering an elite. Could have delved into things a bit slower to get a more rounded sense of the world and society there.

For a ~120 page novella there sure manages to be a lot packed into this small, but mighty story!
Full of biblical references and has the feel of a Western but full of angels and demons. The multitude characters are well fleshed out and the amount of world-building that happens in such a short story was incredible. Overall it was very enjoyable but I was left just wanting more, more of the world, more about the characters, more digging into the central conflict of the world beyond the trial/mystery that centers this story. I hope this isn't just a one off and Roanhorse returns to this world with a larger series!

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

What I’ve come to expect from any Rebecca Roanhorse novel is incredibly fresh and extraordinary worldbuilding. The town of Goetia does not disappoint as the setting for our mystery. A town where the Virtue mines divinity, a necessary resource to power technology. The powerful rely on the Fallen, the descendants of those who followed Lucifer as he rebelled against God.

You do not need any prior knowledge of Christianity or the divine to appreciate the characters or events in the novel. In fact, the only biblical reference (at least to me who has never read the Bible) was the concept of the war amongst the angels itself as well as some characters and their roles in the corresponding events. This is primarily a mystery set amongst several generations of those descendants the political and social climates that were created as a result of Lucifer's descent. It reads at times like a fantasy novel.

Celeste and her sister Mariel are a part of the Fallen. Mariel stands accused of murdering a Virtue and faces a death sentence. Her sister will stop at nothing to set her Mariel free and finds help in the most unexpected places.

Although the overarching mystery was obvious to everyone but Celeste, I still found myself engrossed to the end of the book. There were a few added elements, including corruption, politics and the fallout from a bad break-up, that kept me intrigued. A testament in itself to Roanhorse as she manages to accomplish this in 200 pages.

If this was to become a series, whether it would be following Celeste or other individuals in Goetia, I’d definitely pick them up.

My thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounding up. *Tread of Angels* follows Celeste, who must struggle to free her sister who’s been imprisoned for murder. In this Western-inspired world of angels, demons, and their human descendants, classic Western characters like the sheriff, the saloon keeper, the corrupt landowner, and the outlaw are given a new spin that feels feminist — this is a decidedly women-centered narrative — and contemporary even amidst the 1883 slightly steampunk-infused setting. Much of what I liked most about this novella are what I think Roanhorse does best: the complex world-building, the moral complexity and ambiguity of the characters, and the trajectory of the protagonist’s character development. There are a *lot* of themes here — ends and means, corruption and the desire to challenge it without becoming corrupt oneself, dogmatism and moral policing, loyalty and betrayal. While I enjoyed the novella, I do think this story would’ve benefited from more room to breathe — this could’ve easily been a full length novel and would’ve felt less rushed if it were. The universe Roanhorse has constructed is interesting enough that I hope she returns to it in future stories.

*Content warnings:* animal cruelty, injury detail, murder, poisoning, violence, religious bigotry

*Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for providing an ARC in exchange for this review*.

A short story with a long prolog

My reaction on beginning to read Tread of Angels was "Wow! Roanhorse just leaps right into the action without any exposition. That's an unusual way to begin a new fantasy novel." In truth I was a little disoriented at first.

However, I soon noticed that the plot was designed so as propel Celeste, our heroine and first-person narrator, around the town of Goetia, and to meetings with the most important and colorful of Goetia's citizens. So then I realized I had been mistaken: Roanhorse didn't leap into the action without exposition -- this was the exposition. Unfortunately, as plot it was pretty dry. I literally found it difficult to stay awake through this part. (One advantage a kindle has over a paperback is that you don't lose your place when you doze off and drop it.)

So then, I thought, "This is the introduction to a new series. I'll probably have to read the next book to get to the good stuff." OK, fine. But then, at about the 85% mark, I was startled when things suddenly got much more interesting. At that point, with 15% left to go, Roanhorse leapt into a story. It's a very good story, in which lots of interesting and unexpected stuff happens that deepens ones understanding of the characters. Staying awake was no longer difficult. Since Tread of Angels is short, a novella, really, and the really satisfying story is only 15% of it, it's basically a short story.

It is not uncommon to begin a novel with a short chapter describing events that happen before the main story and set it up. That short chapter is called a prolog. The first 85% of Tread of Angels seems like a long prolog for the short story with which it ends.

Thus, Tread of Angels is a three-star vanilla sundae with a four-star cherry on top.

I still have a question about Tread of Angels. Is it the start of a new series, or is it a standalone? It certainly feels like the start of a series. It introduces a new world and new characters and leaves them in ambiguous, unstable positions, with lots of open questions. If there's a sequel, I will read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance reader's copy of Tread of Angels.