
Member Reviews

Absolutely gutted with this installment but man was it so so good. I didn’t expect the layers the plot would take and the twists that would pull on my heart. Deeply hoping there will be more to come from these characters.

Fantastic installment in this series! It was enthralling and continued to build upon the well built world building in the previous book. The characters are great and the plot is fun and interesting. Overall a very solid fantasy and would recommend to readers to enjoy Roth's writing.

"When Among Crows" was a knife to the ribs, and its sequel, "To Clutch A Razor," is the twist. Shadowed by the weight of family, duty, and transformation, the second installment in this dark, magical series deepens. A mission that might just kill everyone involved.
Dymitr returns to his ancestral home for a funeral rite meant to ward off evil. He's there for more than this tradition; he plans to steal a cursed book that could settle his debt with Baba Jaga. This action causes the lines between family and enemy to become blurred.
What makes this book stand out is its emotional rollercoaster and the tension it creates. Every character is wrestling with a difficult choice, and no one escapes unchanged. Dymitr's inner struggle is torn between family and the man he's becoming. His partners, Niko and Ala, are standouts once again, sharp-witted and grounding forces where so much teeters on the edge of violence and betrayal. Their bond feels real, a rare kind of intimacy that breathes between the pages. No one is static. The cast shifts, fractures, and evolves under the pressures, each decision carrying consequences.
There's a beautiful brutality to this series. It's about what makes someone monstrous. It is a dynamically charged tale with roots in folklore and moral ambiguity. This story was just as exciting and expertly told as its prequel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group / Tor Books for the opportunity to review and provide my honest feedback.

Just finished To Clutch a Razor and wow—this one cuts deep. If When Among Crows was sharp and eerie, this sequel is even darker, digging into family, duty, and all the tangled mess in between.
We’ve got a funeral, a cursed book, Dymitr stuck with his very intense monster-hunting relatives, and Baba Jaga looming over everything. It’s tense and personal in a way that had me stressed (in the best way).
Dymitr continues to be my favorite—I love how complex and soft and strong he is all at once. Watching him try to hold onto his new life while facing his past? Oof. Loved it.
This one really leans into the folklore and family drama, and it absolutely delivers. Can’t wait to see where the story goes next.
Thanks again to Tor for sending me this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for sharing this ARC. This book was an enjoyable read and a step up from the first book. I enjoyed exploring the relationship of the characters more and seeing the action scenes play out. The influence from Polish mythology puts a great spin on this book that I don't see in a lot of other books, and makes it really fascinating to read. This book was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and I highly recommend it!

This continuation of Dymitr's story is raw and emotional. He returns to his homeland of Poland to participate in the funeral rites of his uncle, but there are complications. Baba Jaga has told him that in order to earn the return of his sword that was separated from him in his unmaking, he must kill one Knight for each of his vertebrae, starting with his beloved grandmother. His partner Niko has been sent on a different mission to assassinate one of the most dangerous Knights in the world, who happens to be Dymitr's mother. Dymitr doesn't want to carry out his task, but he wants to protect his friends, and after a heist gone wrong that leaves Ala and Niko in danger, he finally submits. He is even more of an intensely human character in this book than in the first. I want to give him a hug. We learn small details about him and his humanity, like that he leaves orange peels everywhere. The story of a "monster" who feels so deeply is really touching and will be on my mind for a while.

Thank you Tor/Forge for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Dymitr is changed, utterly, after the events of When Among Crows. But he doesn't have time to get settled, he has a debt to Baba Jaga to repay. When his uncle dies back in the old country Dymitr risks going home -- but not to mourn with his family. Instead he aims to steal a family heirloom that may satisfy the legendary witch, because he cannot fathom paying the price she demanded. Ala, for her own reasons, decides to help and Niko has his own family problems to deal with.
Dymitr knows that monsters are real -- and sometimes they're your family. As darkness falls, his new loyalties will be bent beyond breaking.
This book is a little longer than When Among Crows, which I was pleased by because that was my main complaint about the first: I wanted more. This gives the more I wanted: more about the Knights of the Holy Order, more Dymitr and Niko, more Ala, more messy family drama, more monsters and more monstrous people.
And yet I still want more.
#ToClutchARazor is out September 16, 2025. Plenty of time to read #WhenAmongCrows and become obsessed with bone swords, curses, mythic monsters and broody boys kissing, occasionally.

When Veronica Roth published "When Among Crows" I had loved it for its succinct and layered plot. I genuinely did not expect a sequel, so I was delighted when this popped up in my recommended stack. And I can honestly say this book is just as good as the first, it builds on the characters and the lore; slowly answering more of the questions we have as readers. I love Dymitr as a character, I think he's very relatable (even though most of us cannot claim to be a supernatural entity feeding off our fellow humans' fear). And I will eagerly be awaiting the next installment in this surprise series.

I was already hooked after When Among Crows, so I went into To Clutch a Razor with high hopes—and Veronica Roth absolutely delivered. This second novella dives deeper into the world she introduced so vividly in the first, and I found myself completely immersed all over again.
The stakes are higher, the emotions sharper, and the exploration of what makes someone monstrous is handled with nuance and heart. Roth has such a talent for blending folklore with real, grounded emotional weight, and this story proves that in spades. I especially loved how the relationships evolved, and how much more we get to see of the characters' inner struggles.
It’s rare to find a novella that feels this full, this satisfying, and still leaves you wanting more. I loved every second of it and can’t wait to see where this series goes next.

Loved it and would highly enjoy recommend for any library collection. Diversity in any collection is a must and this would add to it.

I just finished To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth, I received a free eARC from NetGalley.
This is the second installment in Roth's Curse Bearer series that pulls heavily from Polish folklore. After the events of When Among Crows, we pick back up with Dymitr, who is transformed. After making a bargain with Baba Jaga in the first novel, he now has to live with the consequences of that decision. Separated from the soul sword that was until Book 1 an essential part of him, he must once again strike a bargain with Baba Jaga to be whole. The only problem, nothing comes without a price, and that price may tear him apart.
I really like these novellas by Veronica Roth. The pacing is great, and there's no downtime or wasted chapters. Every word propels the story forward. Once again we have our band of unlikely friends, and we get more of the relationship between Dymitr and Nico. The ending also left it open that we will be getting a book 3. I always love when fantasy series work within the legends of different cultures, and this one is no exception. Great series so far!

Honestly, I am just as obsessed with this as I was with When Among Crows. I remember being so upset when the first book was over and it wasn't a full length novel. I felt the same way with this one.
The relationships are complex. The characters are well rounded. The folklore and culture is rich.
These novellas are gripping, devastating, and wholly imaginative.
There's not much more to say beyond if you haven't read When Among Crows, and To Clutch a Razor, you are genuinely missing out. These are stunning, and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for a gifted eARC of this book (That I dropped everything else for and immediately read) All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an unexpected sequel I didn't know I needed. I enjoyed When Among Crows, but didn't necessary feel invested in any of the characters, which To Clutch a Razor managed to change in the first 20% of the story. It made me feel like I actually got to know the characters despite them being immediately sucked into a whirlpool of events that made for a considerably faster pacing than I expected.
This was a very quick read that left me wanting for more. I would especially like to see more Elza in the next book, and I have a feeling we will. A pronunciation guide for some of the Polish used throughout the book would be helpful too. Maybe it would even help me remember Dymitr's mother's name to add here that I want her backstory as well.
I had a great time and can't wait to see how the events of the next book play out - the setup certainly sounds promising.

Dymitr, my sweet, soft-hearted boy you do not deserve the pain Miss Veronica Roth puts you through. Saying that, I thrive on pain and I enjoyed this immensely.
With only a few hundred pages, Roth expands on an already very solid and comprehensive magic system in this sequel to When Among Crows. Dymitr's incredibly nuanced relationships are given the right amount of attention and growth while not sacrificing the fast moving plot.
My only criticism is that the timespan of the novel felt a little too short. It happens over the course of a week which felt a little unbelievable.
So glad the author decided to make this a series and I can't wait to read the rest of them, especially after that ending! Thanks so much to Tor and netgalley for this arc of one of my most anticipated reads of 2025.

*To Clutch a Razor* is a razor-sharp, atmospheric novella steeped in dark folklore, simmering tension, and twisted family ties. Veronica Roth masterfully blends horror, heist, and heritage in a tale where every moment feels haunted and every relationship cuts deep. Dymitr is a magnetic protagonist—flawed, conflicted, and caught between blood ties and bargains with legendary forces like Baba Jaga. With vivid prose and a relentlessly eerie pace, Roth plunges readers into a night where curses, betrayals, and buried secrets threaten to consume everything. This is a brutal, beautifully crafted descent into familial horror and the cost of legacy—and it absolutely delivers.

I don't remember a lot about the first book other than I liked it while I was reading it but I LOVED this one. I loved all the characters and their dynamics and the plot was so good!

I really enjoyed When Among Crows when I read it last year, so I went into To Clutch a Razor expecting to also enjoy it. What I didn't expect was to be so thoroughly blown away by this book. To Clutch a Razor does everything that When Among Crows did--great worldbuilding, fleshed-out characters, memorable scenes--but considerably ups the ante in pretty much every way. The stakes have always been high, and here they are even higher. Where When Among Crows had to dedicate time to introduce the world and its characters to us, To Clutch a Razor picks up from where we left off and immediately gets going. There's a lot that's new here--new characters, new story, new places--but that's not to say that there's no development for the characters we already know, because there is: we learn so much more about Dymitr's family in particular, their dynamics and of course his complicated feelings growing up as a Knight alongside them. Dymitr has always been such a compelling character--still waters run deep, and his waters have long been still--and here he becomes all the more so. To see him with his family only makes his story more poignant, his development all the more earned.
When I first read it, what especially struck me about When Among Crows was Veronica Roth's ability to write these big, standout scenes, linchpin moments that the story leads up to and after which the characters are fundamentally changed. In To Clutch a Razor, Roth gives us more of these scenes, and let me tell you she spares no punches. The characters have always had to stare down the barrel of impossible situations without flinching, and so do we: Roth's writing makes sure of it. It's what make these novellas stand out to me, these unforgettable centerpiece scenes that are so viscerally striking that they just become etched into your memory.
I really was not expecting to be so blindsided by this novella. I always thought it was going to be good, but I didn't think it would be as emotional as it was, and move me as much as it did (I definitely cried). This novella series has been such a gem and I really hope a third book is coming because I would love to see where this story goes next.

To Clutch a Razor begins right where the last left off. Dymitr must now deal with the consequences of his choices and decide where his loyalties lie.
Just like the first book, this is another short novella type read. I highly enjoyed it as much as the first. It was wonderful seeing a bit more World Building in this one as well as more of the back story for our main characters. There were also some added point-of-views. Baba Jaga is definitely becoming one of my favorite characters from this series. The author has even left room for a 3rd book in the Curse Bearer series, so I am looking forward to seeing where it could go next.
Thank you so much to Tor Books for the NetGalley widget.

When Among Crows has become a comfort book that I often come back to when I want to experience masterful storytelling and beloved characters. This author has once again managed to not only continue the story in a meaningful way through To Clutch a Razor but has successfully made my love for the series grow even deeper. I am amazed at just how much this novella was able to pack such a punch in such a short time and without any wonky plot issues. The pacing is perfect, the emotion seeping from the pages was perfect, everything about this was perfect! I can't wait for more.

To Clutch A Razor by Veronica Roth is the compelling second installment in the Curse Bearer series, weaving Slavic folklore into an urban fantasy that explores the burdens of family, cultural expectations, and personal guilt. This time, Dymitr is summoned back to the old country following his grandfather’s death, setting the stage for a journey that tests his loyalties and forces him to confront difficult choices.
The mythology in this novel is richly detailed, and while I am not particularly familiar with Polish folklore, I found its integration into the story fascinating. Roth builds on the world and characters introduced in the first book, making it essential reading to fully appreciate the depth of this sequel. The narrative presents Dymitr with a formidable task set by Baba Jaga, leading him to wrestle with questions of morality, duty, and love.
The ending is deeply satisfying, and I continue to enjoy both the world Roth has crafted and the nuanced struggles her characters endure. To Clutch A Razor delivers a gripping, emotionally layered tale that reinforces the strength of this series, making it a rewarding read for those who appreciate folklore-infused fantasy.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.