A review by juliannareads
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

4.25

When Among Crows is a gorgeous fantasy novella from Divergent author Veronica Roth. I don’t normally love novellas, but this one managed to pack an incredible story in less than 300 pages. 

 

It’s an urban fantasy based on Polish folklore featuring creatures with magical powers who feed on things like fear and sorrow. There’s an opposing group of enforcers who find magic through pain and have decided they must hunt down these creatures. 

 

When Among Crows is fully immersive from the first chapter, not sparing any time for info dumping but moving quickly along with the action. It did take me a minute to fully understand what was going on! 

 

But once I did, I was sold. I adore the characters in this book. Listening on audio, the main characters are played by different voice actors and it was perfection. Everyone starts out mysterious, but I quickly fell in love with Ala, Dimitri and Nico. 

 

The story is dark and gritty, but from the darkness emerges a quest for redemption, and an offering of, if not forgiveness, a respite from the violence. I loved the beautiful ending of the story. My only complaint is that I want MORE. I need Veronica to please write me a thousand more pages of Dimitri, Nico and Ala! 

 

Huge thanks to @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copy.