Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - When Among Crows

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When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

4 reviews

vaguelyredhead's review

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dark 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

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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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pewterwolf's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

In modern day Chicago, Polish folklore is alive. Monsters feast on human emotion, knights split their souls to make their weapons and witches always take more than what they give.

Pain brings Dymitr and Ala together. Dymitr’s pain is the monsters he and the other Knights of the Holy Order slay and split his soul into two to create his sword from his own spine, while Ala’s is the family curse she has inherited to see visions Of the horrors that the Holy Order committed.

One fateful night, the two meet and agree a bargain: if Ala can help find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. In exchange, Dymitr will give her an enchanted flower that might cure her.

But Ala doesn’t know who Dymitr is and what he truly wants and with less than 24 hours before the flower dies, killing her hopes of the curse being broken, the two need to move fast. But others want the flower and Baba Jaga’s location and they aren’t afraid to hurt and kill to get them…

It’s been a long time since I read Veronica Roth, but there was something about this that got me excited.

I will admit that this does have a slower start as this does throw you at the deep end. There is a lot of world-building at the start of the novella to explain the folklore, the urban fantasiness. Because of this, I did struggle to find my feet and to keep all the creatures straight in my head (if you know Polish folklore, it will help you get you on a even heel).

However, once this story gets over the world-building and the story/characters find their feet, the story runs and it fits an urban fantasy (though the cover doesn’t scream urban fantasy, but something a little more gothic).

It grows into a gripping read though I do feel that it could be a tad longer (not a full blown novel, but an extra few pages to flesh out ideas as I do think some readers will find that some aspects of the premise needed to be more fleshed out). Plus, I would have loved more pages to read the gentle and sweet M/M romance.

Might not be every urban fantasy readers cup of tea, I really liked this and feel that we could have more novellas in this world, very similar to Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series (if this does happen, I will be all over it!)

***eProof gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***

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tinumorien's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.5

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