Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for an advanced readers e-book in exchange for an honest review.

"When among crows, you must caw as one."

1. For a novella, the amount of detail in this book was incredible but still easily digestible
2. The lore written into this story was so great.
3. The cover is STUNNING

A beautifully written novella by Veronica Roth. When Among Crows brings you to Chicago where demons and other lore live and walk among humans. Dymitr, an ordinary human, strikes up a bargain with Ala- if she helps him get to Baba Yaga, he'll help cure her. And thus, adventure ensues. For any mythology, fantasy, and folklore lovers, this is a perfect read.

As a long time Veronica Roth fan, I was thrilled to receive a copy of "When Among Crows". Fans and new readers alike will love this book.

This is a beatifully wrought fairy tale steeped in Slavic myth. I didn't know what to expect but
I was immediately transported to this new world. Set in the United States, the humans walk among the demons and other lore. Dymitr, a virtually unknown human has asked Ala for help - a bargain even.

The two step forth into a brilliant adventure. I would love to read more from this world - Roth is a superstart!If you love fantasy, myths and mythos, this is a book for you! #tor #whenamongcrows #veronicaroth

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a fun little read! I was really interested to see something new from this author, especially in adult fantasy, and it didn't disappoint. The only thing I wished for was for it to be longer! Who knows, maybe it's a taste of things to come, but I'd be interested in following the characters in a full novel.

I picked up "When Among Crows" based on the lovely cover art and the intriguing description. The story that I found was beyond what I expected. It was refreshingly original with a beautiful prose that pulled me in and filled my mind with dark and whimsical imagery. I love a good urban fantasy and this book had just the right amount of fantastical realism that it immediately felt natural to imagine our world full of creatures beyond our understanding. I come from Polish heritage so I especially loved an original take on creatures above and beyond the typical Celtic-based fae. This is a book I will absolutely stock in our store and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy to share. I also intend to feature this title as an option in my Fantasy Book Club that I run from the small indie bookstore I manage.

When Among Crows was an interesting novella that centered around an Eastern European Fantasy world in Chicago. While this fast paced novella keeps a tight plot line that feels fully flushed out, I did not feel it resonated with me. I wanted more from this story. With it being a novella you are thrown into the world but I felt like there were so many elements that I found myself questioning without the world building you would see in an established world for a traditional book.

Definitely read this a bit too fast which may have taken away from my enjoyment a little bit, so overall an okay read. I really liked the concept, especially the *sword is made from your body and it costs you to use it* concept, that absolutely rules, but the fact that I entirely missed what the plot was about until I reread the blurb was disappointing. I also didn't connect with the characters a whole lot, and part of that is due to the short length of the novella, but I have read work just as short that hooked me more. I thought the writing was good, but not super engaging. I did appreciate the gay parts, which I wasn't expecting. Extra points for that.

2.5/5 stars

I loved the Divergent series. For whatever reason, I did NOT like this. It felt .... rushed? I dont know, but I coudln't get through it. I read about a quarter of it, enough to know some of our customers that will love it, but it wasn't for me sadly.

I find novellas to be a bit of a hit or miss, and the last few books I read from Veronica definitely didn't hit with me personally, but this book blew me away and really had me in awe of how well and improved the writing became from other novellas she's written.

This book has fantasy, it has incredible world building in the length that it was, and it really made me feel like I was there, in the world exploring these things alongside the characters. This book was truly fascinating and Veronica blew me away with When Among Crows!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was beautiful, of course, but the world building was slightly thin and, when all was said and done, I was left feeling like I missed something.

I will admit I have not read any Veronica Roth books before! I know she became extremely famous for her well received Divergent series so I was excited to experience her writing. This absolutely blew me away 🤯!! This isn’t her post-apocalyptic dystopian style of writing. Instead, she dove into a fantasy world full of mythological creatures.

Aside from The Witcher, I am not too familiar with Slavic mythology. I did have to do some quick googling whenever a creature was mentioned but that didn’t take away from my experience. If anything, I loved it more for showing me this world! This was a fully fleshed out story with amazing characters written at novella length. I wish it was longer! Not because it’s missing anything but because I greedily want more of it. 🤩

When Among Crows was so beautifully written. She has me hooked and I will be impatiently waiting to see if she continues in this fantasy direction. It felt super unique and super well written… fingers crossed she does! 🤞🏼🤞🏼

👉🏼 This is an easy 5 star must read for all fantasy lovers!

The writing does some cool things. I stopped after chapter 2 (17%) but I see this going over well with the target, easy three stars and four to five for the right readers. It's well-written and the voice is strong.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

I really tried to enjoy this book, I was so excited about the premise, and the description was so promising. However, this books writing style and storytelling felt far too all over the place and disconnected. It was hard to keep up with the storyline and which characters were doing what. I had to do a lot of googling things to figure out what was going on but i finally dnfed the book around 40%. I just wasn't enjoying it anymore. Thank you for the opportunity to read this though!

Whispers* This was my first Veronica Roth novel.
I loved this… I think this was more of a character and world-building novel with some plot. I was very impressed with this story. I hope my fantasy lovers pick this up on release day. May 14, 2024. Thanks, Tor, for the E-ARC review.

Love the cover and it's the first Roth I've read in a while. The pace kept things moving and I loved the depth of the characters. Visiting old tales in a new setting is always insightful and this title was no different.

I enjoyed this Eastern European-inspired fantasy tale by Veronica Roth. I didn’t have any expectations going into it other than I liked the cover and the author and was pleasantly surprised. It was a quick read for me and I flew through it. I thought the writing was great and the pacing was perfect. I was never bored. The ending surprised me but I thought it wrapped up the story really nicely. It didn’t blow me away, but overall I give it a 4/5. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Title: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Publication Date- 05/14/23
Publisher- Tor Books
Overall Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth is roughly 176 pages and packs the punch of a full book in a short amount of time. I really appreciated this aspect. The writing is descriptive, engaging, and thought provoking. It takes place in Chicago with a lot of references to the 20’s which I found myself rolling in. There’s something about that older feel in a modern book that my brain loves. I honestly had no idea what this book was about going into it and I would highly recommend that. Really all you need to know is it’s an imaginative, personal, dystopian with a damn good twist and ending to top it off with. I found myself smiling at the last page.

One of my favorite things was the worldbuilding. Its a world that’s both beautiful and frightening. I also found so much wisdom and myself highlighting a lot of quotes. Because it’s an early copy, I am unable to share those quotes until they have been checked against the original. Just know there are things you’ll want to remember and sit with.

This is an emotional story with characters you will love and believe in. I recommend it. It’s beautiful.

This was definitely not quite what I expected! It's actually more of a novella, than a novel. It's very contained - everything takes place within the course of one night. It's a redemption story most of all, set in a Slavic folklore tale that takes place mostly in Chicago where a knight from a monster-killing family teams up with two mythical beings in order to fulfill a quest. While each of the three main characters is keeping secrets, they end up forming an unlikely bond and partnership.
Veronica Roth has grown as a writer and a storyteller. The writing is excellent, and my bar for good writing is whether it keeps you in the story without those sort of jarring moments where a description feels forced and if the story is clear in my head as I'm reading. When Among Crows felt smooth, with a balanced amount of descriptive writing, but without slowing the pacing.
The folklore is interesting, as well. Not really a typical urban fantasy and definitely a bit on the darker side. The characters were all adequately fleshed out, as much as they could be in a shorter story. My main complaint, however (without spoilers, so I'll be a little vague) is that the ramifications of the main character's choices regarding his family are sort of glossed over. What felt like a momentous decision was glossed over a little, possibly because we only know our character in one night rather than the years that drove him to his quest. There's possibly room for a sequel, although not totally necessary, as the storyline does wrap up.
All in all, I'd recommend it to people who are looking for something a little different and a quick read. It was something I read as a break between the typical 500+ page typical fantasies.

I have not read any of Veronica Roth's books in a long time, and When Among Crows was a nice way to return to reading some of her work. I'm always a fan of urban fantasy set in the Midwest, it's one thing to be in a dystopian hypothetical city somewhere. It's another to be following the characters through Chicago on streets you've been on, overlooking sites you've seen.

The story is a novella, so slightly different deviation from other works, and I think the author did fairly well at finishing her story arc in such a short timeframe. I felt the overall work left the ending open to other books, and feel like maybe we haven't seen the last of these characters (no spoilers there, complete supposition on my part). Roth did a great job at massive world building in a very condensed manner. There were some side characters too that I would like to hear about their stories at another point. Some of the pacing was a little different throughout the book, but overall it all came together and sucked the reader in.

Regarding the overall themes of the novel, one of my favorite trilogies incorporates Slavic lore (and no, it's not Shadow and Bone which I've seen others reference), and I do like to see what other authors do with the genre. There seems to be a resurgence of Slavic characters making their way into mainstream fiction right now, and this book is adding to that current area of fiction. I'm a fairly voracious reader, and have a soft spot for returning to lore, myths, and legends. While it's hard to tell where this would rank based off of such a short novella, it definitely can hold its own in the genre and I would definitely read more if there were more books written in this world. I rate this book on the higher end, specifically because it is a novella and it is so hard to write a fleshed out story in such a short book.

Please be advised I received a free advanced reader copy of this novella through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Among Crows is a short story following a modern Chicago filled with magic. It follows two characters: Dymitr, and Ala as they are forced to work together so that they can each get the thing that they search for. Ala needs Dymitr to help break her family's curse, and Dymitr needs her to help him find the mysterious Baba Jaga. As a fan of Divergent, I hadn't read any of Veronica Roth's other books, but was excited when I received this arc. It definitely has less of a dystopian feel and more of a dark academia fantasy type. It reminded me of something I could imagine for fans of Leigh Bardugo, VE Schwab, or Chloe Gong.
The book itself, given the size, is great for people looking to get out of a reading slump. I found myself drained after finishing my first semester of college but was still able to get into the story and read it quickly.
Overall, I recommend this to those who like classic fantasy. It wasn't heavy on romance at all, so if that's what you're looking for in a story, maybe skip it. I think that was the best choice for the story though because in under 200 pages I don't think a romance could have been properly developed.