Curse Bearer Series by Veronica Roth

“That kind of sacrifice creates a debt, and there’s nothing magic likes better than the great hollow of a debt. And so magic nestled here, heedless of what the adherents of this particular religion would think of it.”

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

I have not read a book by Veronica Roth since her Divergent series when they first came out. And as much as I enjoyed those, I sort of lost track of her for a few years. Needless to say, I was very intrigued by the storyline of When Among Crows and its sequel, To Clutch a Razor. Both of these novellas are part of her Curse Bearer series set in an otherwordly Chicago, and I’m in utter awe of them.

Dymitr was born his whole life knowing the world is divided into men and monsters, and it has been his family’s job to fight them and take them out of this world. But his Knighthood has never sat well with him. He sympathizes with the non human creatures, knowing they have lives and families of their own.  Dymitr acquires a rare flower in an attempt to give it to a zmora in the hopes that she will lead him to Baba Jaga, someone he desperately needs to make a deal with.

Ala is a zmora who feeds on fear, but for her entire life, she has been plagued by visions of her kind dying at the hands of people like Dymitr’s family. She has her own reasons for wanting to be free of her bloodcurse, so when Dymitr asks for her help, she knows she must agree.

I don’t want to spoil the rest of the book as these are short novellas, and book two picks up right where the first one leaves off with even higher stakes and more rich lore and worldbuilding. The Curse Bearer series is urban fantasy at its finest. Veronica Roth weaves Polish folklore into every page, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the lives and magic of these characters. I hope that there are a lot more books in this series because I am ready to keep diving back in. When Among Crows is already available, but To Clutch a Razor releases in September, so you still have plenty of time to catch up. Massive thanks to Tor for sending these my way!