One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a bargain: her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees. But they only have one day before the flower dies, and Ala’s hopes of breaking the curse along with it.
Tangled up in Chicago with polish folklore, When Among Crows is probably the most interesting and intriguing thing I’ve read for a while. A novella that delivers a plot that drops you into it fast, this book really for me cements how good Roth really is at fantasy and how she can weave it into a city so brilliantly.
Though I feel the place is a character in of itself, When Among Crows is a fantastic story because of it’s characters. Each one as they appear has their own story to tell, and even though we don’t have many pages, they are developed well, their lives unfolding with perfect timing throughout this book (in fact, I wish the blurb told us less about these characters, let the book tell you).
Our plot jump starts in this book, with the Noonwraith scene (not for the faint of heart) and really makes for a read that pulls you in from the beginning, it doesn’t have much time to do anything else, however it’s done so well here – the illusion scenes are perfectly done and they don’t feel like they jar in this story at all and allow the emotion of the story to really shine through.
I really enjoyed the writing, the characters come to life in this book so well and in scenes feel almost cinematic in their telling – like I think this should be a show, to be honest.
I want more from this world for sure.
(thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc for honest review).
I just kinda like books. 