When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Summary:
Dymitr is born into a lineage of hunters who pledge their souls to vanquish monstrous threats. He is tasked with locating the fabled witch, Baba Jaga. Dymitr must make alliances with those he has sworn to eradicate to track her down. Ala has an unavoidable inheritance of a curse that will be her demise, but if she is willing to help Dymitr, he will give her the cure in exchange for finding Baba Jaga. Ala finds herself with no recourse but to accept. They embark on a desperate race against time and the evil forces of the Chicago underworld.

Review:
I know this sounds weird, but this reads like a movie. I felt like I was watching a gritty, dark, urban fantasy movie. The flashes in time and the harshness of the character's circumstances created an intense read. It was a short book, but it still delivers the story. I was left wanting more in developing the characters' back story, but it did not take away from the enjoyment. The melding of the folklore with the current day was done very well and did not seem clunky. I hope there is more to come.

This is my honest review based on an ARC copy of the audiobook from Netgalley and McMillan. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cannon Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

When Among Crows is an Slavic Lore Urban Fantasy set in Chicago. The narrators did a fantastic job. The leshy sounded just what I thought a forest deity would sound like.

My biggest complaint is that I wish this had been a novel and not a novella. I would have liked more of a backstory on the knights and the curse. The world building was good, but I just wanted more.

I want to mention how gorgeous the cover art is. The cover is what drew me into this book, more than the synopsis.

4.5 Stars

When Among Crows is a Slavic myth set in modern day Chicago. It is a story about monsters, some demonic and not so demonic ones. This story show us the grief that befalls a person who is tasked with unspeakable things and the cost to their souls. And that compassion can be found in unlikely places. This novella pack a lot in to such a short amount of time, yet nothing feels rushed or underdeveloped. While uniquely it's own it does have similar vides to American Gods. I would gladly read more in this world and with these characters.

The audiobook is excellent. The full cast really allows the story to come alive and for the listener to easily tell whose point of view the story is in. I would recommend consuming the book in this manner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cannon Macmillan Audio for early access to this title for my honest review.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed this novella; it has a lot of things that are really up my alley, including slavic mythology, thoughtful themes, and great character work. There were a few phrases that really hit me and that I keep thinking about. The idea that sacrifice creates a debt and a debt makes space for magic to flow in was great. I can't quite articulate why it hits me so deep, but it really does. There was a lot about sacrifice and the price of magic, power, etc. in this story, actually, and I often tend to enjoy that type of story. Redemption, atonement, the question of what counts as penance. When handled deftly, you can really thoughtful stories. And even though this is just a novella, it succeeded in giving a thoughtful story. I think it was exactly as long as it needed to be. It did what it needed to do for the characters.

Speaking of, I liked the characters a whole lot. They felt so human (even when they weren't, haha) and they had good chemistry together. I loved the revelations that came from each of them as they traveled together. While I absolutely knew what was going to happen and what two of the reveals were going to be, guessing them didn't detract at all from my experience listening. I waited for those reveals with anticipation. The worldbuilding of the creatures and how they fit into this story world was nice, and I absolutely loved the imagery of the Holy Order. Their swords and the staining of their hands was just 11/10, A+, just awesome.

I also appreciated that it was a story set in Chicago. I grew up nearby, so it was a setting that tapped into that understanding and familiarity I had. It used the history of the city well, in that there is a large population of Polish immigrants there. Extrapolating that Polish 'creatures' and gods immigrated along with the humans is an idea that I like a lot. I think setting it in Chicago rather than in Poland also allowed for some flexibility with the worldbuilding; it didn't have to be completely faithful to the legends/fairy tales. And tying in some themes of immigrant identity was great.

Just overall, I think this novella was wonderful. I am 100% going to buy it when it releases. (Also can we take a moment to just admire the coverart? It's gorgeous.)

I enjoyed the Polish culture references in this novella. My only gripe is that it was too short. I would have liked to have a full novel that really flushed out the characters.
Because I did like the story. Veronica Roth has a beautiful writing style. Oh and the cover is freaking gorgeous!!!

I enjoy Veronica Roth's books. This one was a bit of a miss for me. The storyline had promise (reminded me a lot of Constantine or Shadow Hunter vibe) with hidden monsters/world amongst us. But the way this was written was confusing with the multi-POVs and frequent flashbacks. It was just hard to follow. I wasn't invested in any of the main characters. Each of their back stories were discussed in detail but somehow I still felt like I didn't know enough about them to care. Ultimately, this was just ok but not memorable.

I had such a great time reading this book! I love Veronica Roth's writing, and this sounded like a really great read, and boy, it was! The synopsis had me intrigued, and I had to know what was going to happen next-especially since there was the time crunch of the life of this flower!

This world of various monsters from folklore, especially Slavic, was really interesting, that they were known to the world, which is why people could call in the Holy Order to deal with monsters. I hope this becomes a series because I want to see more!

Oh, man, Dymitr and Ala. They both have things weighing them down, Dymitr that he's a knight, but he wants the destruction of one knight, Ala that she has this family curse. I loved reading about them, getting to know them, they were tortured and I had to follow along with their story!

I loved that reveal of what the plan was, that was just amazing! And how things actually went down, that was just so fantastic to read! I loved how it turned out, though I would've loved to see a bit more of the aftermath, because I always want more!

This was such a good book and I can't wait to read more by Veronica Roth!

3.75 Stars

The cover really drew me in on this one. Gorgeous.

This story has a lot going for it. An urban fantasy set in Chicago, polish folklore/mythology, multi POV SHORT story.

Because of how short it is, I am really impressed with how well Veronica Roth was able to build the world, establish the characters, and set the tone.

There wasn't anything that I disliked about the story, and I didn't feel as though it was missing anything, but there were just a few elements that weren't quite to my taste. I will still absolutely recommend this to customers.

“When Among Crows,” by Veronica Roth

Dymitr’s family have been sacrificing their soul to slay monsters for generations. Now he’s on a mission to find Baba Jaga, but in order to accomplish it he needs to ally with someone he’s sworn to kill. Ala is a fear-eating Zmora and is just waiting till she can die and be done. Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help to find Baba Jaga.

This was an interesting short book. It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be from Veronica Roth, but it was good. I liked the abundance of lore and creatures that I don’t usually see in books. It was on the slow side for me. 3 out of 5 stars.

-Multi POV
-Magic and Magic Creatures

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I love when authors use folklore in their novels. @veronicaroth uses Slavic folklore as inspiration in her newest fantasy novel, When Among Crows. The story is set in Chicago but features Baba Jaga. I found this depiction to be unique since the witch, Baba Jaga, is typically seen in a forest instead of an urban setting. I also loved the characters, Dymitr and Ala. I highly recommend checking out this audiobook especially if you love modern folklore books. The narration is top notch.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

(This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website)

When Among Crows is a standout novella. I typically struggle with novellas, as I feel like we don't get enough of the character and world building. But Veronica Roth puts so much character depth, imagery, and world-building into this story that I felt truly invested and enthralled. Because I typically like longer stories, I'm going back and forth between wanting *more* and loving how the story stands on its own. I'll definitely be thinking about it for sometime.

Thank you to TOR & NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

The gorgeous cover and author drew me in but this is a deeply boring book.

I don’t care about the characters or their quest and it’s dragging. Not for me.

I really didn’t know what to think about this one. It was so different from what I expected. I thought the Slavic myth roots of the story were cool and unique. There were parts that were hard to follow because there was no backstory. Ultimately. Not having that backstory made me realize I didn’t deeply care about the story or characters, though it was unique and interesting.

This was an excellent story, taking inspiration from Slavic folktales. Being very familiar with Baba Jaga, thanks to Polish ancestors, I was thrilled to read/listen to this book. I liked how the story is set in Chicago, which has a big Polish community outside of Poland.
The book was well written, and it left me questioning who the real monsters were. I would have loved fort the book to be longer and expanded on the legends and get more about Dymitr’s back story.
The narration was very good. The voice actors did a great job.
Now I’m left wanting more! If you like fantasy/folklore you should give When among crows a try.

I absolutely loved the world and magic of this book. For the first time I'm disappointed that this ISNT a series. I could easily ready more book continuing the stories of these characters and how they move forward and how they possibly continue to work together. The book was short and very fast paced but keeps you drawn in the entire time.

Veronica Roth's "When Among Crows" surprised me with its immersive world-building and vivid imagery, and the audiobook experience enhanced these qualities even further. The narrators, Helen Laser, James Fouhey, and Tim Campbell, did an exceptional job voicing the characters, adding an extra layer of depth to the story. Their portrayal of the different languages added authenticity and richness to the narrative.

The audio mixing was done perfectly, with no issues regarding volume differences or popping noises, ensuring a seamless listening experience. Despite the novella's brevity, the audio adaptation made the most of every moment, drawing listeners into the atmospheric world of Slavic myths and urban fantasy.

Overall, "When Among Crows" is not only a captivating read but also a fantastic listen, especially for fans of myths and urban fantasy. I highly recommend it, and kudos to the narrators and production team for bringing the story to life in such a compelling way.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with the opportunity to experience this wonderful audiobook.

3.75 stars. Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy!

This was a great story of Slavic folklore mixed with urban fantasy, and I am absolutely befuddled by the choice to make it a novella. Why did Roth pull back? Why did the editor not give back the manuscript and tell her to expand it? It's a shame, really. It could have easily been a full length novel, and a really great one at that! There were many things could have gotten more detail and backstory and made the book that much richer. Choosing to make it a novella didn't give us quite enough with the characters to really get a true feel for them, and as a result the story didn't have quite the impact that it could have.

I still really enjoyed it, which is why I rounded it up to a 4 star rating. And because it's a novella, it's a quick read, so it's great if you're looking for something short. But it could have been so much more.

I shouldn't have read this so soon after my failed The Bear and the Nightingale reread. Two books in a row with interesting Eastern European rep are two too many. I will say this was probably made worse on audio, as the attempted accents were atrocious.

The juxtaposition between creatures and religion is prevalent, and could've been interesting. However, this is done so much better in other books that it isn't really anything to write home about.

I enjoyed the story overall, but it felt underdeveloped to me. This was across the board: the setting involved multiple countries, three main characters, and a mythology and magic system I am unfamiliar with. Other reviews have mentioned Slavic mythology as a basis for the creatures here. I wish there was a more thorough explanation of the mythology and creatures. It was mentioned a few times that one of the creatures is like a vampire, but I couldn't follow which one. A glossary of terms would have been helpful. The idea that the creatures feed off of human emotions is very interesting. My favorite scene of the book was the opening scene. It was beautifully done, layered with lore and mystery. The rest of the book did not deliver on the same vibe.
This audiobook features 3 different narrators, but I found the different male narrators confusing. There wasn't enough of a shift in focus of the third person POV to account for a different narrator for each chapter. I thought all 3 were good narrators, but because of the confusion, I found myself annoyed when the switch happened having to adjust to the different voices and accents more frequently than I liked. While all the narrators did a good job, it was jarring to listen to such a short book with so many changes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the audiobook to review!

This is such a beautiful novella with amazing characters and emotional depth. For such a short book this was incredibly captivating and felt complete. The 3 characters we follow have very complex emotional, familial and cultural stories. I really enjoyed the nuanced commentary on immigration, family trauma and social and religious order and prejudices. It's a beautiful look at modern urban Slavic folklore that is both action packed and emotionally devastating.

If you have a love of dark folklore, this is such a perfect short read. Often times I leave novellas feeling like something was missing or incomplete, that was absolutely not the case here. The world building, character development and plot lines were all fully fleshed out.

10/10 would recommend! Thank you NetGalley for ARC audio.