I was attracted to this book by the cover and title and haven't read any of the author's previous work so had no prior expectations.
The beginning was a little confusing as I thought it was going to be a straight forward angel/demon style book. I had to come back to netgalley to find out what the idea was behind the book and once I re-read the premise I understood it was an homage to Arthur Conan Doyle.
The original Sherlock Holmes stories are incredibly tense and exciting, but there was little of either in this book. What there was though was much more endearing characters, with lots of surprising revelations along the way. It is very 'world' driven too and so you are swept along by this very clear and quite interesting interpretation where the characters dominate and the plots/mysteries are almost incidental.

I have never read anything like this before, but towards the end I was really quite gripped and I enjoyed it enough to consider reading The Goblin Emporer. I would recommend this book, but cautiously.

Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is set in Victorian London and centres around Sherlock Holmes stories, with a modern, magical twist. With Crow, the Angel of London in the starring role, despite being written from his sidekicks perspective. His obsession with finding Jack the Ripper is the heart of the main plot, with sub stories told around it (many of which readers will recognise the themes from Arthur Conan Doyle canon).

This is a fun twisty historical fantasy for fans or murder mystery and tales from Sherlock Holmes.

I really loved the idea of combining Fantasy (Angel’s) with 19th century Sherlock Holmes. It really brings the characters alive and makes them so much more interesting.
This is a great take on some of Sherlock Holmes most famous cases with the introduction of Vampires and Hellhounds and keeps you wanting more till the very end.
I would love to read more stories with Crow and Doyle.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately I did not.

This is a fantasy reimagining of Sherlock Holmes with Jack the Ripper thrown in for good measure and I think it could have been spectacular- a London filled with the supernatural and Holmes as an Angel. But it felt like there was no THERE there.

The start, where a novel taking on this level of creativity needs to build the world you will be inhabiting and giving a feel for the characters within was, sadly, messy- also often incoherent. There was some promise though with wars being fought with Fallen Angels in lands far away.. our Dr Watson (here called Dr Doyle) being affected by his battles there in peculiar ways. Sadly nothing much happened with that wider act and we ended up jumping from one case to another until finally...Well not a lot really.

The writing was technically good but the plot lacked focus and definitely lacked charm. It was just...ok.

I probably wouldn't read any more if this becomes a series, I've been spoiled by wide sprawling epic reimaginings and this was just not my bag.

A most excellent idea though points for that and I'm sure it will get just as many cheerleaders as it will thoughts like mine.

I devoured this book as fast as my other commitments would let me- this has become one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes retellings. it's compassionate and witty with writing as precise and satisfying as the tick of a clock. Set in an alternate Victorian England where magic and the occult are regular parts of everyday life, The Angel of the Crows uses its fantastical elements to breathe new life into the Sherlock Holmes stories, making this not simply a retelling but a wonderful story in its own right. If you enjoyed Aliette de Bodard's fantastic The Tea Master and the Detective, you'll enjoy this.

This is a fantasy book set in an alternate London with supernatural beings and it is Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. I really enjoyed this book, although it felt more like a series of stories than one flowing story at times. I thought the writing was great, the characters were well written and I enjoyed the plot lines. Overall this was a great read and I would recommend if it sounds interesting to you.

Thank you to Rebellion and Netgalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed this fantasy steampunk Victorian Sherlock retelling! :D

Imagine the original Sherlock, but the names are changed, so Watson is now Dr. J. H. Doyle, and Sherlock is an angel called Crow. This Victorian London also boasts of werewolves, vampires and other supernatural creatures, mostly living in peace. Not only that, but they're also investigating Jack the Ripper!

I really enjoyed the angel lore in this universe, it was completely different to anything I've read before! It was great reading about the various categories, and always wanted Crow to share more information, especially about how he didn't really fit with either group.

Embarrassing, but I don't remember a great from the original Sherlock stories, so I can't say how well they were utilised here, but they all had mysterious and supernatural elements. Well, except the Jack the Ripper case, which showed what Scooby Doo has always told us, that sometimes humans are the real monsters!

There were two small things I didn't like; one - the novel could be just a slightly bit shorter (no need to describe in detail the return trip if it's not relevant to the plot), and two - the relationship between Crow and Dr. Doyle. Listen, I thoroughly enjoyed the gender non-conforming (I think I fist pumped at one of the reveals), but I feel like this relationship stagnated, when clearly, CLEARLY, they would not be averse to more, especially Crow, I think (there were quite a few hints from him). Yes, they become best friends and know each others secrets, and are detective partners, but there was definitely subtext at more.

One more note from me: Dr. Doyle has a great, subtle sense of humour, and I found myself snickering several times! Also loved all those Easter eggs (like one of the stalkers being called John Watson XD). Love those things!

All in all, a cool fantasy Sherlock rewrite with gender non-conforming characters, and awesome angel lore!

There are some mixed reviews on Goodreads and I can see why some readers were disappointed in this. The description doesn't really give you much of an idea of what it's actually about and I think some went into it thinking it would be on the same level as the Goblin Emperor. However I went into knowing it was originally a Sherlock Wingfic and as a big Sherlock Holmes and fanfiction fan I was excited to read this one, so much so that I read it even though I have 4 arcs that I should be reading first.
I ended up enjoying this a lot. I even liked the changes she made to Crow's (Sherlock) personality, Crow is much sweeter and caring than the original and actually giggles (adorable) a few times. Doyle (Watson) is much grumpier as well and I think they make a great pair, my favourite parts were when they were between cases and were just finding out about each other. We, through Doyle slowly find out more about Crow and angels in general so it doesn't come across as info dumpy.
I'm not as big a fan of vampires and werewolves as I used to be so I liked that other creatures like ghouls and hellhounds were also added to this world. I also liked the politics involved in humans and supernatural creatures living in (relative) peace along side each other.
There are problems I had with it, I really think it would have been better if she had either focused on the retellings of the original cases or the Jack the Ripper case. The way it's described in the description you would think that it was all about catching Jack but his case is pretty much just a subplot that is briefly covered between the retellings and sometimes mentioned in passing during them. There were a couple of other real-life crimes mentioned but they don't really go anywhere (sequel material maybe?). The closing of the Jack case is anticlimactic in my opinion with how much build up there was. I think she tried to cover too much, I would have been happy with the retellings and parts between being a time to explore the differences in the world and developing Crow and Doyle's relationship. I was also slightly disappointed that Crow and Doyle's relationship didn't turn romantic but their friendship is pure sweetness so I'm not too disappointed. I'd be more than happy to find out this was going to be a series, I'd love to read more.
Overall as long as you pick this up knowing what you're going into you'll enjoy it for what it is.

Without sounding like a heather I will admit to never having read a single Conan Doyle book about Sherlock Holmes but having seen enough adaptations on tv and In film I can see where the author has retold the story but in a world of magic and fantasy, I enjoyed this book quite a lot, more than I originally thought I would after the opening chapters which failed to engage with me, it reads well and has a tale to tell, it is a pleasant read on a sunny afternoon

I have never needed a 3.5 star option more. This is a very clever book, and enjoyable to read, but I'm not sure it quite diverged enough from its source material to stand up as a separate novel.

The premise is simple: a retelling of Conan Doyle's Sherlock, in Victorian London, if the supernatural also walked the Earth. Angels, vampires, werewolves, hellhounds, clairvoyants, curses - all part of everyday life. Dr Doyle - this book's Dr Watson - has just returned from Afghanistan where he was grievously wounded by the Fallen, a band of fallen angels. Seeking somewhere quiet to live, he bumps into Stanford, an old friend from medical school, who happens to know of someone else seeking shared lodgings. Enter the angel Crow - somewhat ostracised by his fellow angels and looking for a flatmate for a certain 221b Baker Street. From here, the stories proceed as we know them, with the addition of certain supernatural elements.

The writing felt uncannily like Conan Doyle's style, which was very clever of Addison - I actually went back and reread A Study in Scarlet for a direct comparison. I completely believe that this is how Conan Doyle would have written had he chosen a fantasy version of his stories. Similarly, the characters of Dr Doyle and Crow were much like their counterparts - although Dr Doyle was noticeably smarter and more perceptive than Dr Watson, and Crow, ironically, much more human than Sherlock Holmes. There were cameos from several other notable characters from Conan Doyle's stories, and they too felt mostly authentic - with one exception, who I hope is developed further should this ever get a sequel.

I loved the supernatural element. The mythology of the angels was clever and well-explained, with tidbits dropped in throughout. Each new being was introduced subtly, without a great deal of explanation, but it worked in making their presence seem entirely normal. It would be interesting to see how their presence changed the development of London - and, indeed, of the world - but that wasn't the intent of this novel, and it wasn't required. I did wonder why there was so much discrimination against certain creatures - especially hellhounds - when few of the creatures seemed inherently 'evil', but then prejudice in the 21st century is still, illogically, present, so this was hardly unbelievable.

My main issue with this book was the choice to use the first few Sherlock Holmes stories as the plot. They were cleverly rendered, staying very close to their source material with just a few adaptations to give a supernatural spin - but those stories have been adapted so many times it made the book predictable. This was an exceptional new setting with the scope for far more interesting, fresh mysteries in the supernatural sects of London. I kept finding myself wishing that there'd be a new story, and the only one included was capturing Jack the Ripper - itself something that has been extensively written about. From an enjoyment perspective, this book is a strong four stars - but from an originality perspective, it's closer to a three.

Those who enjoyed Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, the BBC's Sherlock (or at least the first two seasons), Lucy Liu's Elementary, or any other adaptation will likely enjoy this. Similarly, those who have never dived into the Sherlock universe but like a good urban mystery or urban fantasy will probably love this. It's a very well written, strong addition to the adaptations out there - I just feel like there was potential for it to be more than that.