Thank you for an eARC of "In the Hour of Crows" from Dana Elmendorf, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley.

"In the Hour of Crows" immerses readers in the eerie world of Appalachian folklore with its dark and moody atmosphere. Dana Elmendorf skillfully captures the mystique of witchcraft and magic in the South, promising a haunting journey that aligns with its captivating cover.

While the novel excels in creating an atmospheric setting, its characters and plot fall short. The characters lack depth and connection, and the plot suffers from confusing shifts in time and a resolution that feels contrived.

I did found myself captivated from the first chapter before confusion set it, it does give “Where the Crawdads sing” vibes & I did not like that book either. Overall, "In the Hour of Crows" offers a compelling read for fans of southern gothic and atmospheric charm, despite its narrative flaws.

Weatherly drew me in quickly. Her inner thoughts and narration make her relatable and I thoroughly enjoyed moving through this mystery alongside her.

From start to finish I found myself thinking… this is giving Nancy Drew vibes - a compliment to the writing style. I attribute this to Weatherlys curiosity and her constant drive to uncover more, to dig when others suggest she let it go, and her ability to observe small details and piece together clues and nuggets of information along the way.

If you enjoy…
⁉️ Mystery
✨ Magical realism
🔎 Clues and riddles
🕵️💪🏼 Determined and driven FMC
…then please read this book! You won’t regret it.

Thank you Dana Elmendorf, Harlequin Trade Publishing, NetGalley, and all involved for the opportunity to review this book!

As part of a family that for generations has daughters with a "gift", Weatherly is a Death Talker. She can save the dying by calling the death into her body and then expelling it to become part of a spell. Dana Elmendorf has done an excellent job of building this small town in Georgia and wrapping it around this cast of women who live apart but are integral to the community's well being. It's very easy to "see" Weatherly's family and the community that needs them yet is afraid of them. You're pulled into the daily conflicts that come with a life on the edge of poverty and suspicion. Start this one early in the day, you'll quickly find yourself unable to break away.

In the Hour of Crows is a Southern gothic tale set in the Appalachian region known for mysticism and folk tales. Weatherly is a Death Talker who can talk death out of a person, her grandmother is a town witch, and her cousin Adair is a Scryer who can see visions of the future. When Adair dies in a car/bike accident, Weatherly starts to suspect that her cousin was murdered because she discovered a dangerous secret in one of her visions. She decides to investigate Adair's death with the help of her friends.

I love spooky books and gothic mysteries, so I enjoyed the premise very much. The author did a good job delivering on dark and atmospheric feels. I struggled a little with the whimsical writing style, especially in the beginning. I had a hard time understanding what was happening at first. I thought the narration had a dreamy quality to it when things are fuzzy, and you don't quite grasp everything. It only added to the eerie vibes. I did enjoy the murder investigation and how the mystery was solved. The ending was very satisfying. Even though I struggled with the beginning of the book, I ended up enjoying it in the end. If you are a seasonal reader, In the Hour of Crows is a perfect book for the Fall/Halloween season.

This was a perfectly atmospheric witchy read. I am obsessed with books set in Appalachia and all the folklore that comes with this setting. I absolutely ate this book up! I can't wait to read more from this author!

In the Hour of Crows was very good at describing the atmosphere of Appalachian folklore while being dark and moody. I did have a harder time connecting with the characters and plot. I do really love the cover! Thank you to Dana Elmendorf, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.

When this book promised magic, witchery and suspense in Appalachia; I was immediately on board.

I ended up being frustrated and confused for the majority of the book. The characters are underdeveloped and unlikeable. The plot was difficult to follow and left me unsatisfied and confused. The story would also go back in time with little to no indication that it was happening.

My biggest issue with the book is that the motive that the murderer has, doesn’t make any sense. It was not believable, and the buildup was for nothing.

Was there southern witchy vibes? Yes! If you want to read for vibes only and don’t really care about the plot making sense, then maybe check this one out.

Just as the synopsis illustrated, it was Crawdads meets Practical Magic! I enjoyed the premise of the story, but I am bummed with how long it took me to connect to Weatherly. At no fault to the story, I feel as though I would have enjoyed it more if I had picked it up in the dawn of fall or spring. It would have had the essence of the seasons!

Love the character names and the setting. That ending did warm my soul! Cheers to magical realism.

In the Hour of Crows is a dark masterpiece of an Appalachian Gothic tale. Weatherly, the protagonist, is a death eater. She can bring a person back from the brink of death with a gift that was passed onto her by her grandfather. Weatherly lives with her grandmother as he mother abandoned her as a young child. Her grandmother is a type of a witch. The towns people look down on them but they still call on them when they need the help of Weatherly or her grandmother. When cousin Adaire, a scryer, dies in an accident, Weatherly thinks foul play is involved. Will her gift (or is it a curse) help her to find the truth? And just how much more will she discover about her family along the way?
The character of Rook is a guide who helps the dead to cross over, but he is also Weatherly's friend. The storyline of how he came to be is both fascinating and just a bit sad.
I found this book hard to put down once I got into the story.

Love that mashup of fantasy and murder mystery. And the epilogue! Weatherly is steadfast and determined, making her a character to admire. Rook's great too - he's got this sense of being a little lost, which I kinda love.

In the Hour of Crows follows an Appalachian hill girl whose family uses their old magic and holds to the old ways. Weatherly has inherited the role of Death Talker. She has the ability to save a person from death…but only once. The gift must be passed to the opposite sex before death and cannot be used to save any of your kin. Weatherly draws out death as a black mucous and saves it in a jar which her grandmother then uses in her potions. Her grandmother uses her potions to punish people, or sometimes to help. The family is looked down on by the town’s residents because they are poor and because of their old, witchy ways. Weatherly has good friends, though.
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this story at first, but in a very short time, I was totally hooked. There are mysteries, romance, and magic all told in a gothic style. The style of writing draws you in and weaves all the elements together.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a pretty cool book. Lots of twists and turns that kept me turning pages. Loved the Appalachian folk lores added in also

In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf is a deeply atmospheric tale suffused in Appalachian folklore and magic. I loved the deep bonds, especially the family bonds between the characters, and was instantly drawn in by the author's depiction of small-town life. The murder mystery plot was well developed and the magical elements were woven into the narrative seamlessly. Since completing my read-through of the e-arc I have acquired a finished copy and the book also has absolutely lovely end papers. This book will be a great read for fans of authors such as Alice Hoffman.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I received this book from The Hive.

I really enjoyed the whole story of this book. It gave me mystical smalltown vibes. The story is about a family that has special abilities they special. I don’t want to say witches, but they have abilities. It also revolves around a murder investigation of one of the family members because she found out something that another family was trying to keep hidden. Their abilities are so different than anything. I have read the female main character Weatherly how’s the ability to talk the death out of dying and the way that she does it is so interesting not like anything I have ever read and the cousin that ends up being murdered has the ability to see the future reflected back on dark surfaces. The whole entire investigation had me on edge. I was not expecting it to go the way that it did. I thought the book ended perfectly. The end line! The end line had me shook!

This story encompasses Appalachian folkore and a Southern gothic atmosphere. So it’s part historical, set in the 1980’s and our main character is a death talker and she has saved many peoples lives with this ability she has because she can literally talk the death out of the dying. Well a mysterious murder happens and it’s up to our death talker to uncover the truth behind her death. This was soooo interesting and definitely had a lot of unique elements

I was given an arc of IN THE HOUR OF CROWS by Dana Elmendorf in exchange for an honest review. When Weatherly loses her cousin and best friend in a questionable accident, she vows to find the truth about how and why her cousin died. Small town politics, crooked law officers and even her own grandmother are obstacles to Weatherly’s mission. But Weatherly has the truth and her mystical gift on her side as she refuses to give up her fight. Part fantasy, part murder mystery IN THE HOUR OF CROWS is poetic, heartfelt and fascinating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #netgalley #inthehourofcrows

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝑬𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒇

Release Date: June 6, 2023

5⭐️0🌶

This book is perfect for all fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, The Coven, Practical Magic, and Fried Green Tomatoes. This book brought me to the wilds of the Appalachian mountains, where the magic of the deep mountains runs strong in Weatherly Wilder’s family. Her grandmother is a local Granny Witch, and she spends younger days making house calls with her Aunt and Granny to remove the bad magic from people's souls. Souls sing to her when they're dying, and she is able to pull the death from them before they die. She's can also see spirits and souls who haunt the Appalachian mountains. The house calls don't make them much money, but it keeps them out of poverty.

They are well and good living the simple life until Weatherly's beloved cousin is hit by a car. The man driving the car gets away with it, because he is family friends with the judge.

Weatherly is determined to get justice for her cousin.

A big thank you to @netgalley for approving me for this ARC!

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It took me a little bit to get into it. Once I read a few chapters and got passed the confusing part (to me) it was a pretty good read but not one for me.

This was a good read. It took me a little bit to get into because it was slightly confusing in the beginning. Once I got a few chapters in it was a good book, had some twists and turns you definitely didn’t expect.

I really enjoyed this book! It brought back a lot of fond memories from my childhood. I grew up in Appalachia and heard a lot of these old tales like this book. I could almost hear all the dialogue between the characters. The character are very real and just jump right off the page. The plot was excellent! Great read!