I went into this book with zero expectations, which can be good sometimes and others not so much. This novella was interesting to say the least, but I finished it feeling like I got nothing out of it in any way.

The whole thing felt like we saw a bunch of stuff happen but everyone was worse off in the end. The characters were wholly unlikeable. I found myself rooting for the demon lord and the demon lord only. The antagonists were excruciatingly awful which was intentional and I didn’t mind. But the main set of characters, who were on the opposition to the stand ins for the white supremacists and religious fanatics, were pretty cruddy people.

I will never relate to the dynamic of one sibling sacrificing everything good in their life to protect their mediocre sibling from any discomfort or hardship. The display of that relationship in this book was annoying because we never even got to see their relationship. We only saw the one sibling basically being a terrible person to save her sister.

Same for the love interests. We don’t see any of the chemistries in the different couples, we’re just told about their past or told that they’re into each other.

The writing style was well done and the pacing was nice. The narrator chosen for the audiobook, Dion Graham, was an amazing choice. 

me and rebecca roanhorse’s world building are like this 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

because let’s get into it!!!! the descendants of angels MINING divinity from their fallen ancestors bodies???? Weaving the biblical into the western aesthetic so seamlessly??? HELLO??? AHHHH, HOW’D SHE DO IT!!!! WHAT A MIND WHAT A MIND WHAT A MINDDD <3333

ok gushing aside, my gripe with this novella is that it’s better suited to being a whole novel. The characters and plot were interesting, but the story was too rushed + unresolved for me to really get invested in these relationships and revelations. What could’ve been!

that being said, thematically she still had plenty to say + critique, and I’d love to see roanhorse revisit this world in the future.

I really like Rebecca Roanhorse’s writing, especially her worldbuilding. I liked the fantasy elements of this story and the parallels to our very real corrupt justice system. I loved how casually queer this was as well.

I was drawn to this because I love fantasy stories that incorporate religion (be it a real religion or fantasy, I just like religious themes in books… despite being very agnostic lol) and because I really like the Between Earth and Sky series and wanted to read more from the author. I also wanted to try something new, since I’ve never read a western-adjacent story before, but unfortunately I’m not sure it’s for me. I’m not typically a fan of murder mysteries either.. which I didn’t realize this was. I struggle with flawed/unlikable main characters, so I wasn’t really a fan of Celeste. None of the characters really grabbed my interest, sadly.

So 3 stars for the writing, world building, ideas and social commentary, but not really a story for me.

Unfortunately a very disappointing departure from Roanhorse's other works. Much of the novella is spent info dumping lore instead of developing the characters beyond single traits or plot usefulness, and it makes the climax unbelievable at best. 

While I'm a big fan of flawed MCs, and love the way Roanhorse has written others, this one crossed a point of no return where I was actively rooting against her, which also made for an unpleasant experience for the last quarter of the book. 

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. 

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