4.5 stars

Thank you @torbooks for the complimentary copy.

I’m always a little nervous with novellas. Will it be too much packed into too few pages leaving me feel like I’ve been in a whirlwind? Or will I be left needing more substance and feeling unfulfilled? I can confirm that neither was the case here. I can’t believe how much world building was included in so few pages, as well as the strength of the friendships forged. I was even surprised by some of the revelations. While I did love the ending, at the same time I’d be thrilled if there was a sequel.

I struggled to get through this book. The first couple chapters were extremely confusing and heavy on the world building and terms I did not understand. About 25% I finally got a grasp on what was happening and was able to enjoy it. However, at about 65%, I found myself just wanting to skim the long paragraphs and mostly just read the dialogue. There seemed to be too many descriptive words and paragraphs that were unnecessary and only seemed to add to the word count. Overall, the storyline was somewhat interesting but I found it hard to follow. I just may not be the right target audience for this book.

I haven't read a Veronica Roth book in a long time but liked this one a lot more than the previous books I read of her. I found that the characters were more dynamic and the story/world building was solid. For a book that is shorter than I had originally expected it went by so quick and the pacing worked wonders for the story. It was great read

I’m a sucker for a Baba Jaga story, so I was in on this one immediately. It is a packed novella steeped in Slavic folklore that begins with Dymitr on a quest: first to retrieve a guarded plant that might cure Ala’s curse and next to bargain with her for a hint on how to seek an audience with Baba Yaga herself. It’s an at times painful and fascinating but ultimately hopeful urban fantasy set in Chicago.

This had such strong factors from the writing style to the characters to the fantasy elements, however it really needed more room to really grow into its potential. With the story being cut so short, the pace felt very off at times with super intriguing action sequences getting less time than acquiring a flower, the relationships between the characters felt very rushed and therefore, awkward and unrealistic with where they are by the end, and there was hardly any worldbuilding for the inclusion of all these inspired myths. The ending was also predictable due to there not being enough time to make the foreshadowing less obvious.

While I enjoyed the overall premise of the book, I thought it took too long for the characters to be developed. I was confused for the first portion of the book, and I was not engaged with the story until well through halfway.

I loved this book! for a novella I felt like the characters were well developed and the storyline was as well. I feel like with a stand alone (?) novella it can be so hard to fit in everything you need vs a regular book. and i have read some novellas in the past when they fail to hit the mark. this book did not. I enjoyed the folklore that its inspired from is wonderful and I loved reading it. the world building and character development was not affected by this format and it truly was a fantastic read

2.5⭐️

I had no idea this was the same author as the divergent series. What drew me to read this was the cover. Look how stunning the cover is because I've honestly spent at least 15 mins looking at it.

Now was for the actual book review. I didn't know this was a novella until I was about 25% into the book. I was so confused because you're just dropped into this world without any story build up really. There were a lot of words that I had to stop reading to google just so I could understand and pronounce what I was reading. That messed with the flow of the overall book.

I wished it was a normal book so we could more of a background on the characters so we can connect with them better. I felt so detached and didn't really care about them or what they were going through. That said I'm glad it was a short book because it just dragged for the first 60% percent. It did pick up a little towards the end but again if a book is only 176 pages shouldn't they all be well written to maximize reader engagement?

This novella was such a delight!!!

Veronica Roth is such a talented writer. Thank you so much Tor Books for an early copy!

Veronica Roth is truly within the realm of her Renaissance and this novella proves to be exceptional and demonstrates her ability to tell a complicated and complete story in less than 200 hundred pages. It re-imagines Slavic myths and entities within the urban fantasy setting of Chicago; a world where monsters feed on emotions and knights create their blades by splitting their souls. It places a mysterious protagonist, Dymitr at the center as he takes the reader on a journey into this world.

It all starts with a fern flower and leszy, who guards it. Dymitr arrives and through a slightly horrifying action proves himself worthy to carry the fern. With it tucked into his pocket, Dymitr sets out to seek Baba Jaga, the most powerful witch in existence. However, as a mortal, Dymitr requires a creature to find passage to the witch. This leads Dymitr to Ala, who is dying from a curse, and they strike a bargain: Ala will help Dymitr find Baba Jaga in exchange for the flower, which will cure her. However, the fern flower only blooms for so long and the two have to find the witch before it dies.

Somehow Roth packs this novella full of complicated nuances on campaigns driven by holy purpose and the eradication of culture and lives as the direct result. There are creatures in this book and in the shadows lurk, those who seek to destroy them out of fear and belief that they are evil. However, it is revealed slowly through the book that the creatures have done nothing to warrant these extreme measures and peacefully exist in their world. The ending packs some powerful and emotional punches on this topic, which ties the story together beautifully with all its themes and threads.

It also helps that the trio of characters are complex and compelling. Dymitr takes the reader into this unfamiliar world and acts as a guide as he navigates toward Baba Jaga. His perspective gives the reader free rein to explore this lush setting that Roth has constructed. Their different natures as mortal, zmora, and strzyga gives a threefold perspective on the world, their struggles within this setting, and the interpersonal conflicts between their species. It gives a full taste of the Slavic lore and demonstrates how they co-exist in Roth's urban fantasy setting making it a multi-layered and dynamic novella. Roth accomplishes so much and I hope she does not leave this world behind!

When Among Crows is a modern fairy tale mashup that includes some of the most well-known monsters in world folklore and tales. I love the general idea of the hunt for Baba Jaga and the amazing details given about the holy order. The descriptions were amazing but the story did drag on a bit. For a novella it felt more like a trek through information to get to the meaty bits. All in all, a great read if you loved Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher or The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed.

Novellas are usually a hit or miss for me, and this one, unfortunately, fell a bit short. I loved the plot but felt it didn't meet its full potential. It took me a while to get into the story and route for the characters, which I wouldn't usually mind, but since the book is only 176 pages, this was a major flaw for me. The second half, however, was more enjoyable and made the book worth the read. It wasn't until the last couple of chapters that I liked the characters and their dynamics and could connect to them emotionally. I only wish I felt this way from the beginning.

Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Books, for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thankfully this was only 150 pages, because it was a struggle to get through. It felt all over the place to me.

It had great roots though. I just couldn’t get into it.

Veronica Roth has good stories, and this one is what I think is her best. I just wish that it were a full novel, because there's so many characters and creatures, and backstory, that the plot gets bogged down, and the characters get muddled together. Overall, GREAT vibes, fun time, I just with it had been given like 150 more pages to breathe.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an ebook for this from NetGalley to review..

Thoughts: This was a quick read that I somewhat enjoyed. Now that I am sitting down to write this review though I find myself struggling a bit to remember it. It's fairly forgettable. I did enjoy the inclusion of Russian folklore/mythology throughout. Previous to this I had read Roth's Divergent series and somewhat enjoyed that as well (I loved the first book but was struggling by the last book in the series).

Dymitr gets an enchanted flower and hopes to cut a bargain with Ala. He will help figure out to use the flower to cure Ala's curse if she will help him find Baba Jaga.

This is a shorter book and you can tell. I never engaged well with the characters and the world was hard to picture. The world was modern Chicago but with other races and a Holy Order that hunts down and kills those other races. It reminded me a lot of the world in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series.

I just now read the synopsis as I was putting together this review and it reveals what is a huge plot twist in the book. I am so happy I didn't read the synopsis before reading the book. That huge plot twist is one of the things I really liked about this story.

There are some good action scenes in here and I did really enjoy how the races are based off Russian folklore and mythology. I just felt like the whole book was a quick and unfinished glimpse into this world. Novellas can be written that really pull the reader in and this was not one of those for me. I finished it, I vaguely enjoyed it, and it is completely forgettable.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was decent. I liked the Russian mythology and it is a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the idea of the Holy Order and their painful swords and I always enjoy it when different races of cryptids are hidden in the modern world. The whole thing felt unfinished to me though. The world-building was incredibly thin and the characters were hard to engage with, they felt very stiff. I did enjoy some of the twists and turns which are completely spoiled by the synopsis (so happy I didn't read the synopsis until after I read the book). I think for now I will skip Roth's books. As much as I liked the first book in the Divergent trilogy, I just have found the other books I have read by her to be so-so.

This book was a DNF for me.

From the first chapter I had trouble keeping everything (plot and characters) straight and the book just seemed to bounce around more than I liked. I found myself confused and even though this book was short, I simply didn't want to spend so much time trying to keep everything straight. This book will definitely be great for some, but it was not for me.

What a quick and captivating read centered around regret, repentance and responsibility.
I enjoyed the romantic relationship and the way in developed organically. I admired the story of each of our three main characters and their drive.

Dymitr is a man with a heavy burden, and he hopes that by procuring a legendary flower and helping a cursed woman escape that which weighs her down, he'll also be able escape what troubles him. Set in Chicago and filled with the creatures of Polish folklore, this short book sets Dymitr and the cursed woman, Ala, on a one-night quest to save them both. There's not much more I can say about the plot without major spoilers, but I will say that it's an intriguing urban fantasy featuring creatures with which I wasn't previously familiar. It's definitely enjoyable, though I wish a few things had been fleshed out a bit more.

I was very excited to read this as I love reading lore from other cultures. However, I feel like it was just too short. We were dropped into the story and then it just felt like the scenes were rushed. I did like how all the characters were intertwined and the growth and internal battle we saw within Dymitr. I wish that certain points had been expanded on. If you are looking for a quick fantasy with slavic lore this would be a good read though.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this digital arc copy, all opinions are my own.

What a gorgeous cover! This is my first by Veronica Roth since reading Divergent many years ago, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. This has some really lush lore inspired by Slavic folklore, but the story itself wasn't as gripping as I was hoping it to be.