There was a lot packed into this novella! I included the synopsis on the next slide, but I recommend going into this one without reading it for maximum impact. I did not know much about Slavic folklore before reading this, but the author does such a fantastic job of immersive world building which is honestly impressive within the confines of a novella. I loved the juxtaposition of modern day Chicago with the old magic lurking in the shadows. A note on the audio: the audiobook was very entertaining with multicast narration. Definitely a fantastic way to experience this novella.

Read this if you like:
🐦‍⬛ urban fantasy
🐦‍⬛ Slavic folklore
🐦‍⬛ action packed
🐦‍⬛ character development

*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for a gifted ALC*

An urban fantasy based on eastern European folktales? Yum. I was really enjoying this book until the midpoint - a nuanced monster society? A freaking FIGHT CLUB? Yeah, super fun! Then things started to drag a bit when we really began our hunt for Baba Yaga (despite my excitement over Baba Yaga being in a book). More than that, the audiobook played chapter 10 twice for no discernible reason. It was super weird and really detracted from the tension. And maybe it's because I'm not used to reading novellas, but all of a sudden it was OVER. Like the ending hit and that was it!? AGH. I really loved half of it, kinda meh about the other half, but it averaged out.

I was provided and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is told from three different perspectives, by three different narrators. That was a nice touch from the audio perspective as each of the characters is very different and plays a unique role in this fantasy novella. I always appreciate a multicast narration when there are multiple perspectives. I enjoyed each of the narrators and how they brought this little book alive.

This book isn't very long, the audiobook was about 4 and a half hours long, but it kept me engaged the entire time and told a full story. We follow along with three characters Dymitr, Ala, and Niko as they try to find the Baba Jaga to break a curse. This is filled with Slavic/Polish myths, lore, and magic, while being set a modern Chicago. Each one of our characters has secrets and trauma they have to sort through before the curse can be broken. They face monsters and creatures from the mythology that are well described so that the reader or listener can picture them. Our trio must quickly come to terms with their individual pain, fear, guilt, and mistrust of one another before the curse can be broken. They have to work together to unravel the puzzles placed before them before the Baba Jaga will grant them an audience and solve the riddles of the curse as well and find their own salvation

This is a fast paced, quick read. I didn't want to put it down, I always wanted to know what came next. I love anything steeped in myth and lore and this is no exception. I'm not well versed in Slavic lore, but Roth does a great job using the lore as allegory for other topics.

The novella, When Among Crows by Veronica Roth, combines Slavic folk tales with a modern day Chicago hiding a war between monsters and monster hunters and in a fairly small space, Roth has created a well realized world, one that grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept it until the end. The characters are mostly likeable and with enough backstory and diverse personalities to make the reader care about them. If I have any criticism of this tale, it would be that I wished there was more so that I could spend more time in this world with these characters but, overall, I can say I enjoyed this novella very much. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Helen Lazur, James Fouhey, and James Campbell who all did an excellent job of bringing the world and its occupants to life.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I did enjoyed this audiobook. Not as much as some of Veronica Roth's other work. This was a shorter story and the different narration was okay to me. Thank you netgalley!

If the stunning cover art wasn't enough to pull me in, the combo of Slavic folklore and urban Chicago sealed the deal. Veronica Roth blends the two worlds beautifully in When Among Crows, allowing the reader to believe that there are fear feeding demons and the hunters sent to slay them walking amongst us.

Being novella length, the author runs the risk of losing the emotion connection the reader has to the characters or skimming over details too quickly. This was surprisingly not an issue for When Among Crows. I cared about the characters while reading. I could empathize with the pain of when your personal values conflict with the job you have to do. Roth also was detailed enough to help the reader understand the folklore they may not be familiar with.

I was excited to read When Among Crows as an audio-ARC, as it's become my favorite & most efficient way of reading lately. The novella is written in multiple POVs and has a separate voice actor portray each. For the majority of the novella, this was great. Our main character, Dymitr, had a Polish accent as he arrived in Chicago from Poland. Ala is an American born young woman, and her voice matched. During Dymitr and Ala's POVs, when Nico would speak, both voice actors gave him a Polish accent. The problem is that during Nico's POV chapters, the voice actor spoke with an American accent. It actually threw me while reading, completely removing me from my suspension of disbelief. I actually rewound the audio to confirm Nico had a Polish accent in Ala's chapters. This was a major miss for me and I wish it could be changed.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to read/listen and review this ARC!

This one didn't really get my attention like I wanted it to.. I was a huge fan of the Divergent series in school. I didn't notice it was a novella until it ended.. I did like the story, i just wasn't SUPER interested. I might try a reread later.

Publisher's summary
We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword.
Pain is Dymitr’s calling. His family is one in a long line of hunters who sacrifice their souls to slay monsters. Now, he’s tasked with a deadly mission: find the legendary witch Baba Jaga. To reach her, Dymitr must ally with the ones he’s sworn to kill.
Pain is Ala’s inheritance. A fear-eating zmora with little left to lose, Ala awaits death from the curse she carries. When Dymitr offers her a cure in exchange for her help, she has no choice but to agree.
Together they must fight against time and the wrath of the Chicago underworld. But Dymitr’s secrets—and his true motives—may be the thing that actually destroys them.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this book.

When Among Crows
By: Veronica Roth
Narrated by: Helen Laser, James Fouhey, Tim Campbell
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: 05-14-24

I enjoyed this audiobook. Not as much as some of Veronica Roth's other work. But the short story set with characters we are familiar with, but in new light is an all around good listen. The narrators do a great job telling the story.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for providing me with an alc to honestly review.

I dnfed 16% in.

I couldn't get into the story and that plus me not connecting with the narrators and also the accents feeling inconsistent and distracting in how they were used in the story made me accept defeat. I think this would be better as an actual book/ebook for me as it was mainly a narrator issue that caused me to stop listening to this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the review copy, my opinions are my own.

This novella is a fantastic story about a monster hunter and a cursed “monster” on a quest to break a curse and find Baba Jaga in the streets of Chicago. The narration is amazing, with the three narrators bringing Ala, Dymitr, and Niko to life. The narration makes it easier to understand the various pronunciations for the Polish sprinkled in the book as well as the names of the mythological beings. I read along with the narration. I really enjoyed the narration but I can see that it may be hard to listen to if the reader is not all that familiar with eastern European myths.

Read it if you enjoy:
Old world magic
Enemies working together
Secrets
Curses
Mythological beings from all over the world
Queer characters

I loved this novella and was entranced by the story telling, reminded me of the Russian and Polish fairytales I read and heard growing up, a lot darker than the Disney tales that were so sanitized as to not even remotely resemble their origins. This story involves guilt, fear, sorrow, and regret.

Highly recommend!!!

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A trend I'm absolutely loving in books lately is the use of Polish folklore. When Among Crows takes Slavic folklore and creates something modern and wonderful that I couldn't put down.

We follow a trio of characters in Chicago as they search for a way to break a curse. At least, that's how it starts. It's fast paced, I breezed through it in a single morning, but as much as I loved it, there's not much action. We get more of the characters internal struggles vs action, however the action that's there is amazing.

The three narrators for the audiobook do a fantastic job bringing everyone to life. Fantastic performance.

I am extremely obsessed! This is an urban fantasy with Slavic mythology, set in Chicago. It's a novella, and I really wish it was longer because I want to be in this world forever! It's a story about an unlikely group on a quest to destroy a monster, but they all have their own paths and conflicts to overcome. The pacing of this story was done so well, and it packed a punch.

The worldbuilding was amazing. It was atmospheric, and you could feel the vibes. There were monsters among them. It's a world hidden in plain sight. We get lgbtq rep! It's dark, paranormal, and a magically beautiful story.

I had the pleasure of listening to this on audio, and it was perfection. It was a multicast narration. They did an amazing job making the characters believable and come to life. I will for sure be listening to this again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook of When Among Crows by Veronica Roth and narrated by Helen Laser, James Fouhey, Tim Campbell. I think this novella is a wonderful blend of urban fantasy and of Slavic folklore!

This is such an engaging story, especially considering it's short length. I think it's a masterclass of pacing! My attention never wavered. It's a really good story with an enjoyable quest. I'm really impressed by how well developed the characters were for a novella. I had doubted there was enough time to make me care, but I was wrong to worry. When Among Crows absolutely delivered!

I appreciate that each of the three POVs has it's own narrator, and I appreciate even more how talented these narrators are! The novella is well-written for sure, but I love how well-performed this audiobook is! I felt very immersed in the story & the world, and I attribute that most strongly to how the narrators could bring the characters to life for me. What was almost 4 and a half hours of an audiobook absolutely flew by! I will say in the very beginning I had to take a second to get my bearings. I thought then that I'd prefer to read the text version of this book. That might have helped me follow along at first, however the audiobook is such brilliant performance that I think a reader only experiencing this story as the written word would be missing out!

The narrators for this audiobook were amazing! The accents, especially the Polish accents and name pronunciations, were spot on! Having specific narrators for the two male main characters and the one female main character helped with transitions and to see the story unfold from different angles, especially because they were each a different species. The story was fascinating and took place over a short span of time, Veronica Roth was masterful in establishing the personalities, history, and relationships of each character very quickly. The author did a great job of mixing the supernatural world into everyday life. I enjoyed the inter-species interactions. As the back story of each character unfolds, you see the underlying point of the story. A story of overcoming prejudice and biases, which are both very powerful messages.

Four stars were given due to the prologue feeling like it had a lot of moving parts about the world that the story takes place in.This made it hard to understand. I had to listen to it twice to feel like I was ready for the start of the story. This review is based on an ARC of the audiobook and all opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this opportunity.

An amazing urban fantasy novella!

The setting was incredible. Even though it takes place in Chicago the Slavic Lore made it feel otherworldly. Knights Of The Holy Order, witches, and monsters who feast on emotions what more would you ask for?

The characters were AMAZING. Ala suffers from a curse passed down from her family. Dymitr with his secrets has what could cure Ala so they embark on a quest to find the oldest of witches. You find that each turn brings more to light and in the end maybe redemption and atonement can be found.

The narration by Helen, James, and Tim was incredible. Their voicing made the story come to life! The accents were 🤌🏻 each character was easily distinguishable.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

A special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. The most important aspect of this review is that this is a novella. Like with most novella’s this feels like an appetizer instead of a full meal. My inclination is to give this three stars because of what it could be instead of what it was. I’m giving it four stars because it was a story with solid characters and great world building. The writing was excellent and pacing was spot on. Even through the scope of a novella the feeling of incompleteness was enough to knock it from five stars to four.

A novella set in the urban modern Chicago and the journey of redemption, monsters will keep you turning the page.

Going in I knew that this was a novella and the first line from the blurb, "Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give." and that's all I feel you need to know about 'When Among Crows'. So, I won't be talking too much about the plot because I feel that if you like dystopia-ish, monsters-driven stories, Urban Fantasy.

The characters go on a quest and during the quest we get to know, learn, and understand the characters more. There's a witch, forest spirit, shapeshifter, demon-like creator, and more. There are some interesting dark elements like demons that can suffocate you when you are sleeping; that's trafficking. I read online that this is inspired or drawing from Slavic myths and from the little bit I know it felt well done.

I've read so much by the author, Veronica Roth, from Divergent, Carve the Mark, and I feel her writing has improved. It's not the best fantasy writing I've ever read, but it's well done. A good balance between strong character development and plotted out well. For a 179-page long book, it's good, without feeling rushed or choppy. I hope that she writes more about this world. I would like to learn more about the world overall, even if we are following new characters. I listened to the audiobook. I felt that it was good. It has a full cast and was narrated by Helen Laser, James Fouhey, and Tim Campbell. I enjoyed the voice and tones, it helped flush out the world and story.

A compelling adventurous quest of the unexpected crew, a dash of queer romance, in a dark urban fantasy.

The narration was incredible. I normally prefer single narration, but dual narration is just as engaging and both of these narrators knocked it out of the park. As someone who listens to books at 2.0-2.5 speed, their cadence and speech rate were perfect.

Veronica Roth has an incredible way of depicting imagery and allowing readers to be fully immersed in the story. I greatly enjoy the way that she writes, but I believe the biggest downfall for this story is how short it is. From start to finish, the overall plot felt rushed. The romance that was added didn’t have a satisfying payoff and felt unnecessary.

Roth explores grief and redemption throughout this novella, taking us on a beautiful arc towards acceptance and forgiveness.

My confusion during my read stemmed from a lack of clear transition when getting to flashback scenes. The transitions back to the present were better.

All in all I think the story has great potential to be a favorite for anyone who loves urban fantasy with Slavic folklore set in the modern day.

This would have been great as a prequel to a set of books set in a universe that was established and loved. Then we would know these characters and be interested in their origin story. As it is, it felt like a lot of stuff just thrown together and then the beginning and end were cut off so we were just sort of dropped in the middle. I felt like someone was on their laptop looking up and shouting out supernatural creatures while Veronica Roth was writing this. Others loved it. I just missed whatever it is that caused them to love it. None of the characters are really distinct. The story kind of meanders around for such a short story.

**Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)**
What a pleasant surprise *When Among Crows* is! Like many, this book caught my eye as someone familiar with Veronica Roth through her work on the *Divergent* series (a series I thoroughly enjoyed until an ending I will never get over). I was hooked when I saw this was a more novella-length work based in Slavic folklore *and* set in my hometown of Chicago, so I eagerly snatched up the audiobook to see how Roth’s work translated into an adult fantasy space.

>>❤️What I loved: The details about this story are what make it great. *When Among Crows* is a beautifully written modern fantasy, set in Chicago, that feels fresh through its use of Slavic folklore as its source material. The exploration of pain as a theme and through its many forms was thoughtful and thought-provoking, and also impressively done considering the length of this book. I was invested in both MCs—Dymitr and Ala— as characters, and I enjoyed seeing their journeys develop individually as well as how their relationships with one another developed throughout the course of the story. There was even a sweet, small romance side-plot! The audiobook narration was excellent, and did a nice job bringing this story to life!
>>💔What I didn’t love: Honestly, I just wanted more!

I would highly recommend *When Among Crows* to fantasy lovers looking for a unique and short read. If you enjoyed books like *One for My Enemy* by Olivie Blake, I think this is definitely worth your time. I hope this is the first of more work that she‘ll produce set in this world, and I eagerly await more!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Veronica Roth, and Macmillan Audio, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.