Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was lucky and I got both the e-ARC and the audio ARC. This is definitely one that I am happy I got the audio arc because I think I would have had a harder time with it if I read it as just an eARC. Not because its bad but the prose in this book worked better in audio format.

I think it was a great novella filled with Slavic folklore and I am always a fan of a modern day fairytale. Overall, I definitely recommend this book, especially the audiobook because the narration was fantastic.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of When Among Crows by Veronica Roth. All opinions are my own.

My only experience with Veronica Roth’s writing was reading the Divergent series years ago. I absolutely loved Divergent, so I wanted to give this book a try. Plus, the synopsis for this story sounded super interesting!

That being said, this book just wasn’t memorable for me. The only parts that stand out to me a few days after finishing the book are the parts where there was gore. I remember these because they made me feel a bit queasy.

This isn’t a bad book, but I feel like there’s a reason that most fantasy books are not novellas unless they’re part of a series. I just didn’t get attached to these characters. They were fine, and maybe I would’ve loved them more if they were part of a longer book or series.

The setting was interesting, and I do feel like I could picture the world considering that this book didn’t have the length for elaborate world-building.

Overall, this book was okay. I think some people may really love it, but I don’t think I would really recommend it to a lot of people.

The narration for this audiobook was great! I liked the accents, and the fact that there were three narrators for the different parts.

While I love Veronica Roth, this book felt like trudging through thick mud. The writing was incredibly dense, and I found the descriptions of the fantasy world to be a bit beyond the reach of my imagination. I found it very difficult to read, and I wish it focused more on the romance and less on the fantasy creatures. A bit dull...yes, yes?

Veronica Roth's "When Among Crows" is an absolute blast! Picture this: Chicago vibes, Slavic mythology, a vibrant Polish community, and sprinkle in some LGBTQ+ magic—oh, and did I mention Baba Yaga? Sold, right?

Seriously, from the get-go, I was hooked. If I wasn't working or sleeping, you bet I was glued to this book. Roth's storytelling is like a rollercoaster ride through a fantastical cityscape, where every corner reveals something new and thrilling.

And let's talk about the characters—they're as diverse and lively as the city itself. The LGBTQ+ representation is spot on, seamlessly woven into the story without feeling forced. It's like catching up with old friends who just happen to be on an epic adventure.

But the real kicker? Baba Yaga. Roth brings this legendary figure to life in a way that's both terrifying and totally captivating. You'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, eagerly devouring every twist and turn.

So, if you're up for a wild ride through Chicago's streets, with a side of Slavic folklore and a dash of LGBTQ+, "When Among Crows" is your next read. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me listen to this book in exchange of an honest review.

Veronica Roth seamlessly melds Slavic folklore into a contemporary setting in a way that will keep readers hooked till the very last page.

I really enjoyed how this novella took the stories of Baba Yaga and brought them into a modern context while still keeping true to the core elements of the original Slavic folklore. For such a short story, I was surprised by the amount of world and character building that Roth was able to do. The plot has enough mystery and complexity to keep you engaged, while still being concise enough to have a satisfying conclusion by the end of the book.

Among the Crows by Veronica Roth

This is an Urban Fantasy book set in modern day Chicago. It follows the story of Dymitr, who has been raised to kill monsters by his family and is tortured by that pain. Ala, who is cursed because of her family, a curse that makes her see the horrors committed by others and will slowly drive her insane. The two of them make a bargain, find the Legendary Baba Jaga and Dymitr will help heal Ala. All in the space of one day.

This is a short story with a lot punched in. The story is heavily inspired by Slavic and Russian folklore, rewriting some parts of it but staying true to the original myths. I normally do not like Urban Fantasy, but I love Veronica Roth (or at least, love her writing. Still not over the Divergent series ending but whatever). I was pleasantly surprised with this book and enjoyed it immensely. As a kid, I was obsessed with Baba Jaga, and I really like how Roth portrayed her.

This is a fairly short (175 pages) novel/novella that takes place over a small amount of time. Those familiar with the Witcher series/games/books will recognize a lot of the mythology as well as Slavic fatality.

Story: Dymitr has one goal left in life: to achieve it, he will have to obtain a fabled flower and then use it to barter with a dangerous supernatural creature to find the famous witch Baba Yaga. It is a dangerous path but he has long since given up on fearing death.

The synopsis would lead you to believe that this is about an idealistic young man and a woman he is thrown into meeting in order to achieve a quest. It isn't: the main characters feels very much like a Geralt from the witcher: burned, jaded, and single minded. Ala, the other POV, is a means to an end for Dymitr and not a love interest. Indeed, the love interest here may just surprise you. This is very much an adult urban fantasy and not a YA novel.

The book takes place in a perpetually dark Chicago in seedy areas - you almost expect blinking neon lights and dumpster fires to be described in the background. Dymitr is almost an antihero in his single mindedness and ability to take pain as long as it achieves his purpose. Ala is brash and kind of stupid - just there to survive while she deals with a curse. I never really got into her character and felt she should have played a smaller part.

The story is compelling enough that you want to see it through to the end. Think of it as a Witcher side story set in modern day Chicago. There are several twists/surprises and certainly it doesn't overstay its welcome at the short length. Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrators did a decent job with the Polish. It gave the book much more atmosphere to have the accents/language in place. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

A journey into a world filled with magic and mystery. I loved the Slavic folklore elements, which were new to me and added to the story's appeal. The paranormal parts were also really cool! The narrator, Helen Laser did a great job narrating the audiobook, especially with the different voices. It made the characters feel real and added to the immersion.
A must-listen for anyone who enjoys fantasy and adventure.

I loved the nonlinera timeline and I kept guessing what was actually happening through the first two parts. I figured it out by part 3, but I think that was the point. Overall engaging story!

This was such an interesting blend of different Slavic myths and creatures. And I really enjoyed the narrators as they brought the world to life. I would highly recommend this to people who are fans of darker fairy tales

I will be honest, I was a little nervous at first on how the complex setting, characters and mythology would come together in this short novella. But it did somehow. The author was able to really set the stage and tell a compelling story.

Fantasy is not my normal genre so at some point, I didn’t resonate with the different species of monsters and it was hard to keep it sorted. Even with that though I had a nice time reading this story and certainly would recommend for anyone who gets intimidated by chunky fantasy books. This could be a good introduction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this novella.

I was so stoked for this one from Veronica Roth. I will admit to being a little put off by yet another Baba Yaga retelling. This seems to be a trend over the past couple of years, no? I shouldn't have been worried. I finished this book in one go. The characters felt real and raw without being melodramatic. I love that the ending felt finished too.

This was not for me, and I can't quite put my finger on why.
I like the premise, the characters are likable, but i think the names of our characters and all the creatures were a bit too much to continue following in such a short story. There are many layers, many characters, and many magical and cultural elements added very, very quickly, and it became a bit hard to find my rhythm with this book.
The world building and descriptions are very well detailed. There are unique elements in this fantasy that are well done for a novella, it's takes a different path than her other books, but overall, I did not develop enough buy in for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An urban fantasy set in Chicago, When Among Crows follows Dymitir who is trying to find the infamous Baba Yaga. Along the way, he receives help from some unexpected monsters.

I enjoyed this quick novella! It was engaging even when I didn't fully understand what was happening in the book. There were some classic quest elements and some unexpected violence. There's a lovely little romantic story line on top of the quest. I am not familiar with slavic folklore but I don't think that hindered my enjoyment.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio narration, though I do think this is a book that I personally may have absorbed a little bit better by reading with my eyes instead of my ears. I'm always glad when a book with multiple POVs has the same amount of narrators and we get that here through the narration from Helen Laser, James Fouhey and Tim Campbell. I think the accent work was particularly well done and felt that this helped make the story more immersive for me.

#Macaudio2024

I’m always leery when picking up novellas that the story won’t feel complete. Thankfully Roth does not stumble into that pitfall. I was pleasantly surprised by how well developed and executed the plot for When Among Crows was. There was plenty of intrigue, suspense, and twists to keep my attention. Additionally, the characters themselves went through plenty of growth and revelations to make you forget that you’re reading a novella as opposed to a full length novel. I also appreciated the Polish lore woven into the story. I had the audiobook for this, and it featured one of my favorite things, multiple narrators. It was narrated by Helen Laser, James Fouhey, and Tim Campbell. Having distinctly different narrators helped my enjoyment and consumption of the story. I felt they all did a really great job but particularly the narration for Dymitr and Ala. I definitely recommend checking out the audiobook for this.

Novellas! The next best invention after double-stuf Oreos. Both are short, sweet and (usually) satisfying.

I'm not a Roth die-hard since I missed the whole Divergent craze, but maybe that's for the better. I didn't find this novella interesting. It was bland. With novellas, there's a short time span to grab a reader's attention and develop a good plot and characters. Roth missed the mark with all three.

When Among Crows is an urban fantasy quest following Dymitr, Ala, and Niko. While I enjoyed the setting (monstrous Chicago underworld) it was the only thing I paid attention to. Despite all three characters having distinct origin stories, they all read similarly in tone and personality. Their character arcs weren't developed enough for my taste, so I didn't care about their epic quest.

This isn't a bad book. It's short, so even though it wasn't my favorite, it wasn't a waste of time. If you like Slavic folklore and look for a palette cleanser between chunky fantasy novels, this one is a good option.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was a good read but a little deeper than I expected. I loved the intertwining of the Lore. I also just read where the dark stands still, which is also a story about the moonflower and the Leszey so it was confusing me to read them so close together.

Dymitr has been raised to kill monsters, but he is now working and offering to save the life of the creature he has been trained to kill.

I am not familiar with Slavic Folklore, so I was excited to start this one.
It started off strong, but it lost me just as quickly.

I listened to the audio book and Nicos, there one minute, gone the next accent really started throwing me off.
I felt like the writing was really slow, which, in my opinion, doesn't always work well with a short story. And when the story did pick up, it picked WAY up, and I found myself lost and confused as to what was going on.

This book reminded me of something that might come from Neil Gaiman. That is very much a compliment to Roth. She very seamlessly interweaves Polish folklore and urban fantasy together. I don't think I have a negative thing to say about this book, except that I wanted more. I fell in love with the characters, especially Dymitr and Ala, and the world building. The book was short. I feel that there was so much Roth could have expanded on.

When Among Crows is a standalone novella based mostly in Slavic lore. Dymitr is on a quest to find Baba Yaga. To do so will take the help of some of the creatures he has grow up knowing as monsters. But there is one that may be swayed to help if for the right price. Dymitr is walking a dangerous road, but is it his road to redemption or destruction?

Ana is cursed. The curse has been passed down through different members of her family and she has watched it burn through them one by one. When Dymitr shows up with a special flower that might be able to save her, if she helps him find Baba Yaga it is a bargain she has to take. However, she doesn’t really know where Baba Yaga is. Ana and Dymitr will have to journey through the underground magic world she is a part of, in order to find the legendary witch. Time is ticking as the flower is only good for 24 hours before the magic in it fades away.

I was on the fence about ever reading another Veronica Roth book after the end of the Divergent series. However sometime when you give an author a second chance they surprise you and you discover something else really great. I really enjoyed the lore of this book and the journey. I did guess to Dymitr’s reasons for seeking Baba Yaga but that doesn’t really diminish from the enjoyment of this strange world full of creatures that feed on pain, sorrow, despair and more. I enjoyed this brief journey in this world; I thought the ending was fitting.

Overall a fun novella set in an interesting world. The magic might be a little under developed but this is a story of families and how sometimes you eventually chose the one you want over the one you have.

Narration:
I always appreciate when I book has multiple PoVs that there are multiple narrators to capture the feel of the story. Helen Laser, James Fouhey and Tim Campbell cover the three different PoVs we listen to in the story. Tim Campbell is an accomplished narrator and I can pick out his voice in a story anytime he narrates. He has a wonderful tone and I always enjoy his performance. James Fouhey also falls into a category where I have listened to him before but couldn’t specifically remember where. Still with over 400 titles to his name, he is a strong narrator and did a great job in his PoV conveying the emotion and magic of the story. Helen Laser is a new to me narrator but she held her own against Tim and James doing Ana’s PoV proud. I was able to listen to the story at my usual 1.5x speed.