Ala is a zmora, a paranormal creature who feasts on the fear of others. She also suffers from a generational curse that has passed through the women in her family. Dymitr is a human, but he comes from a long line of hunters who track down and kill zmoras. When Among Crows tells the story of their journey together to find the Baba Jaga. It’s a story of revenge, atonement, and sacrifice.

There’s a lot to love in When Among Crows and longtime readers of Roth will recognize some of her well-loved tropes and elements. Chicago plays a part in most (all?) of Roth’s books, and When Among Crows is no exception. However, Roth makes a drastic genre shift in When Among Crows, trading in speculative science fiction for urban paranormal fantasy. I loved this genre switch for her and thought the tone of the writing was precise.

While I enjoyed the urban fantasy setting and world, I had issues with how Ala’s curse was handled. Ala’s curse is generational and has attacked the women in her family. In a lot of ways, the effects of her curse felt similar to some mental illnesses in our real world. It also just felt disability-coded to me. When Among Crows crossed a line I’m uncomfortable with in my books. I started feeling uncomfortable when everyone started discussing curing Ala of her curse. People more studied than me have discussed the issues around magical cures in literature.

So why did I keep reading once the curse-curing talk started? I hoped for a twist. While readers are given a twist ending in When Among Crows, it wasn’t the twist I hoped for. The twist had nothing to do with Ala’s curse and its cure. The story seemed more interested in curing Ala and having that plot point nicely tied up. I desperately wish Ala’s story had been told differently. While this isn’t the most egregious story I’ve ever read, I think it could have been improved.

Final Thoughts:
When Among Crows is well-written – there’s no doubt about that. I liked the paranormal world and the creatures who inhabit that world. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t say I like how the curse was handled. If Roth writes more in this world, I would consider reading it.

For what it's worth, I really enjoyed the audiobook of When Among Crows. It was extremely well narrated and produced. If you do pick up the novella, I recommend that format.

Such an engaging story! I like how dark it is but still had elements of friendship and hope. The audiobook is very well done. I was enchanted by all the narrators. They made the words come to life. I can't wait to also have a copy of the book on my shelves, Veronica Roth is an auto buy author for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan, and the author for an advance copy of the audiobook.
This novella has great potential. However, I think my issue was that it is a novella and not a novel. In modern day Chicago there is a whole other world beyond that of a mortal. But we get a snippet into that word through our three main characters while on their journey. The bones of this story are good. But it felt hard to connect with the characters with such a short story. However, there is some backstory but it left me with more questions about each character.
I love the mythology aspect within this story. It did remind me of Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. Writing style very different but still has that modern feel.
Overall, the narration was done fantastically between the 3 narrators. It helped give a little bit more personality to each character.
I would recommend this for someone who is just getting into the fantasy genre. Or even someone who knows fantasy and wants something small.

4.5 stars
The infusion of Slavic myths into urban fantasy was a very interesting and refreshing take on the genre. I enjoyed that very much. There are too few boosk centered on Slavic myths. Reading this felt effortless like I've been immersed in the story for hours already. The author did an amazing job at introducing us to the Slavic mythology and at the same time introducing us to new locations and characters. The characters, particularly Dymitir, felt well-developed and very likable. I appreciated the inclusion of queer romance. There was also just the right amount of backstory. Everything was explained easily without feeling like info-dumping. With this book being a novella, the author utilized every single word and space given. I loved it! It just felt too short like the usual with novellas and this is my only complaint. I certainly wished there were more and I hope we get to explore more of this world in the future!

This was such a fabulous fantasy novel set on Earth with monsters who walk amongst humans without the humans knowing. Knights of the Holy Order hunt down these monsters. Ala (an alleged monster) meets Dymitr who enlists Ala's help to find Baba Jaga in return for taking the curse off her family.
Honestly, I loved all the magical creatures in this novel, how they walk without notice among humans, and how a few beings come together and have their lives woven together without their knowledge. This was fast paced and action packed. Also as each beings story came out, I was shocked at how interwoven they all were. Talk about fate intervening!

With When Among Crows, Roth takes us into Eastern European / Polish myth and stories, and brings them into the modern world. Roth tells a big tale in an efficient manner - she is able to show us a world and characters without relying on long sections of exposition. Instead the action and dialog move the story rapidly, while keeping the reader in suspense. There are plenty of ‘monsters living in plain site’ novels but few of them tackle lesser known ‘monsters’ and even fewer do such a good job at entertaining the audience all the way through.

"When Among Crows" is a short urban fantasy novella that delves into Slavic folklore themes, exploring concepts of redemption and atonement through the characters. Dymitr is from a family of monster hunters and seeks the legendary witch Baba Jaga. Ala, a fear-eating zmora and who’s kind Dymitr has sworn to kill, joins him in a quest for a cure to her curse.

This short novella packs a lot in. Veronica Roth really knows how to evoke atmosphere and emotion. The strong characterization of the three main characters adds depth to the narrative, and makes them compelling and relatable. The novella explores the significance and potential redemption of pain, and poses some thought-provoking questions about identity and atonement. Overall, it’s a quick and enjoyable read.

Dymitr obtains a fern flower and goes in search of a creature to get to Baba Yaga. He meets Ala, a zmora who is plagued by a curse forcing her to witness the horrors that the Holy Order commits that the fern flower may be able to help lift, but the flower is only good for so many hours. Steeped in European folklore and set primarily during 36 hours in Chicago.

The audio book has three narrators that take chapters from Dymitr's, Ala's, or Niko's POVs. Overall I enjoyed all narrators. Sometimes the hops in perception or time are a little hard to follow in the audio format. This is a novella, so the length was brief but it worked for the timeline. I'm not well briefed in European myths and folklore, but some of the names I recognized from the TV show Supernatural and other pop culture. More might have been done with the setting of Chicago, but overall I liked the urban set fantasy. Mind the content warning, there's some gore that's not for everyone.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy on NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️This had interesting magic (Slavic magic creatures) and while I found it interesting , I think I would have appreciated this to be a bit longer to delve into the lore more. Took me a little bit to get into .

I thought this book was ok. I've realized this author just isn't my style. I think it would have done better as a series I felt like it was missing backstory and world building.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I honestly went into this not really knowing what to expect; I haven’t read Roth’s work since Allegiant came out, but the synopsis sounded interesting and so I figured there was no harm in trying.

I thought it was impressive that Roth fleshed out her story so well in such a short amount of space. I love novellas, but sometimes I find they want to breathe a little more than they’re able to. I really liked the amount of folklore present here and the way it blended with urban fantasy, and I thought Roth did a good job at telling a satisfying story. I did think the writing felt a bit dense and there were times where I thought that I had been reading for longer than I actually had. Still, When Among Crows was atmospheric and I didn’t mind getting lost in it. The characters were interesting and there was a fun little romance bit happening (this part could’ve been fleshed out more, though).

Overall I had a good time with this and I’m glad I picked this one up.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this when I started listening. I mostly request it because I saw Helen Laser was a narrator and I love her. It ended up being a fantastic story and all three narrators were absolute perfection.

Rooted in Slovic lore this novella had beautiful character development and emotional warmth I wasn’t expecting but very much appreciated. As with any fantasy world there are frightful moments, violence, and monsters but it was balanced so well with tenderness and understanding. It does end abruptly but I’ve come to expect that from novellas.

At just 176 pages or 4 hours and 36 minutes if you’re listening, this flew by! Definitely one I recommend to my fantasy loving friends!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley!

thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I read this novella in a state of confusion and then indifference. I have never read a book with slavic mythology before, and Roth's version had me trying to drink out of a fire house due to the lack of explanations for anything. as a result, I struggled to care about the characters, and then by the time I was getting the swing of things, the book was nearly over. I felt limited in my ability to build a connection with them or care about their dire straits.

I do not recommend the audiobook, as I found myself re-listening to entire chapters just to figure out what was going on and wishing I could physically read to internalize the words on the page. I would have then had the opportunity to research the different slavic mythological creatures and folklore.

I would recommend for fans of olivie blake, as the writing reminded me a lot of One for My Enemy. grab an ebook copy.

Pretty good, I usually don't listen to audiobooks that are this short but I liked this one. Well written, liked the characters and the plot. I was good but not great.

Neat worldbuilding but like with most novellas, it left me wanting more. I was having a good time with the characters and all three of those narrators are knock-outs.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio arc. This review in my own thoughts and opinions.

I was very excited to read this as soon as I saw Veronica Roth. I was in the peak times of teen dystopian and Divergent was one of my favorites. I did have a hard time getting into this story, but I think that is more because I am not as familiar with Polish lore as I am other countries like Greek.

This brings us to a very modern setting, in Chicago. Dymitr is a hunter whose job is to kill monsters. He has a blade along his spine that is also part of his soul. Ala is in a family of monsters, saddled with a curse that ping pongs down the family line to the next closest relative. Dymitr killed her cousin, and wanted to make reprimands and figure out how to stop being a hunter.

3.5 ⭐
0 🌶

Thank you so much for the approval, Macmillan Audio. It was amazing to have such a large cast for a smaller book. They did an amazing job, and I would say their performance was 4⭐.

This book is more of a novella, and very short. I think it was just over 4 hours of listening time at the regular speed.

This was a very interesting read. I don't think I ever read anything with Slavic Folklore, that I can recall but I really loved that side of this story. I had to google some of the types of creatures/names as I was listening to the book. There was some explanation like what we know as "vampire", "wraith", or "Banshee".

But in the end really wanted more from this book. I felt like we didn't get to really get that connection with the characters (Maybe a little bit of the Main character) and there were great side characters. There was also a hint of a possible romance (M/M) which was very intriguing, but because of the story being short. It was caught off.

Overall, the listen was very pleasant. It kept my attention, there was multiple POV's and flash backs to memories. There was action and violence and some very interesting scenes that kind of will blow your mind.

If you like Slavic Folklore, twist/turns, creatures living amongst humans, set in Chicago, quests, interesting abilities, you will really want to read this book.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley to review.
What a wonderful listen. The way the author interwove polish folklore with modern day was amazing. The story keeps you engaged as well as makes you feel compassion for the characters in the story and root for their success.
The story focuses on Dymitr, who is on a quest for redemption. Dymitr finds Ala presents her with a life changing offer she can't refuse. All while hiding a secret as to why he has made her the offer. With the help of Ala's friend Nico, the three are swept into a dangerous game of secrets, magic, and monsters.
The narration of this book was multi pov with narrators that are great at their craft from accents, flow, and heart-felt emotion.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys old-world folklore with a modern-day twists.

I just struggled to care about the characters, the book felt too short to really build a connection with them.

Also I found the world a bit boring, and this is mainly due to the length. I think this book could have benefited from being a full length novel instead of a novella, because novellas are so difficult to execute properly.

I

Thank you netgalley for the audiobook arc. I really enjoyed listening to this. Though I found it fairly easy to predict what was going to go down I enjoyed the worldbuilding and characters a lot. I wish this wasn't a novella because this could easily have been a much bigger book with all the secrets and journeys the characters take.