Reviews with content warning for Death - When Among Crows

Set in Chicago, with a layer of Polish and Slavic inspired mythology, this contemporary fantasy was a quick and intriguing read. Dymitr has a plan and he needs to find Baba Jaga if he's going to succeed. He also needs an enchanted flower that only lasts for on day once picked, giving him a very specific timeframe.

This is the first fantasy story I've read from Roth and I really enjoyed it. The character dialogue was great and I enjoyed the Chicago setting with a fantasy twist.

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shadowspinner's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ceruleanseas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Dymitr is man on a mission. What exactly that mission is, he's not saying, but as he makes his way through the hidden parts of Chicago, filled with creatures from Slavic folklore that feed on human emotion, it becomes clear he's looking for Baba Yaga's help with it.

This is a fast-paced novella with excellent world-building and character development. The author reveals Dymitr's secrets one by one as he gets closer to his goal, sliding in perspectives of the other characters along the way,

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book.

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gondorgirl's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lush, ethereal and utterly unputdownable! Veronica Roth’s Slavic folklore infused Urban Fantasy was a gorgeously crafted novella exploring themes of family heritage, sacrifice and redemption that I couldn’t get enough of.

Set in modern day Chicago, we follow a human (Dymitr) who convinces Zmora (Aleksja aka ‘Ala’ ) to find help him find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. In exchange for an enchanted flower that can cure the curse placed upon her bloodline by the monster-hunting group known as the Holy Order.

But time is of the essence as the flower— once picked— only has 36 hours before it dies… and all of their hopes along with it.

I don’t read novellas very often as, usually, if they aren’t connected to an already established story or series, they can sometimes fall flat for me- especially when it comes to the worldbuilding and character development. But, I’m glad to report, that was absolutely not the case for Veronica Roth’s newest work.

Despite its only 170-ish page length, Roth weaves quite a vivid and compelling narrative with an endearing cast of characters that I found soo easy to immerse myself in.

I liked all three of our POV characters (Ala, Dymitr and Niko) but it was Dymitr who fascinated me the most with his mysterious backstory and reasons for wanting to meet Baba Jaga kept secret from us for the majority of the story. His with detailed knowledge of monsters also makes him an enigma to Ala and Niko who were desperate to figure him out just as much as I was.

Having grown up in such a multicultural part of the UK, I love learning about different cultures so enjoyed getting to explore Chicago’s Polish immigrant community in such an intimate and unique manner.

With reference to the November uprising, as well as scenes exploring Slavic and Polish traditions (one of my fave being when Dymitr translates an old lullaby Ala’s mother used to sing) Roth’s descriptions felt rooted in experiences of real diaspora communities and the varying degrees of connection (or disconnect) that can arise over time.

My only real complaint is that it wasn’t longer! I’d adored the world-building and characters, and hope that Roth will someday take the chance to revisit in future projects.

If you love Urban Fantasy, The Witcher or Slavic folklore, then you should definitely consider checking this out. Just check TWs beforehand.

Also, thank you Titan Books for the proof.

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bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of When Among Crows by Veronica Roth. All opinions are my own.

My only experience with Veronica Roth’s writing was reading the Divergent series years ago. I absolutely loved Divergent, so I wanted to give this book a try. Plus, the synopsis for this story sounded super interesting!

That being said, this book just wasn’t memorable for me. The only parts that stand out to me a few days after finishing the book are the parts where there was gore. I remember these because they made me feel a bit queasy.

This isn’t a bad book, but I feel like there’s a reason that most fantasy books are not novellas unless they’re part of a series. I just didn’t get attached to these characters. They were fine, and maybe I would’ve loved them more if they were part of a longer book or series.

The setting was interesting, and I do feel like I could picture the world considering that this book didn’t have the length for elaborate world-building.

Overall, this book was okay. I think some people may really love it, but I don’t think I would really recommend it to a lot of people.

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btwnprintedpgs's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Now I need a printed version of this book on my shelf. Atmospheric, emotional, and fantastically woven together, I need this novella injected into my veins.

In such a short time, this story built a rich, paranormal underbelly within modern-day Chicago; made me care immensely about its characters and get emotional over them; and tied together the fates of three people who seemingly have nothing in common other than being relative outsiders within their communities. I loved the writing and the depth we got from the characters despite the format of the story (or because of the format of the story?). The mythological depth was also well done - not too info dumpy, but enough that you understand each class/race so that you care and you can follow.

Am I back in my Veronica Roth era? Who knows. But I am now a huge fan of this book.

TW: death, mutilation, violence, murder, injury detail, alcohol, blood; mentions death of a parent, death of a child

eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Tor Books in exchange for an honest review.

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devynreadsnovels's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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