Daughter of Crows

The Kindness Academy #1

by Mark Lawrence

Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.

The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies – The Kindly Ones – against whom even the gods hesitate to stand.

Each year one hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three emerge.

The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few who survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.

Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.

That was a mistake.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Academia, Adult, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Dark

384 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 24, 2026

About the author

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Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. Before becoming a fulltime writer in 2015 day job was as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science ... oh wait, it actually is'.

Mark used to have a list of hobbies back when he did science by day. Now his time is really just divided between writing and caring for his disabled daughter. There are occasional forays into computer games too.

Reviews

[Mark Lawrence]

I've written a DARK book here!

Currently there's a US giveaway going on: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...




And you can pre-order signed copies from Waterstones (UK) now! https://www.waterstones.com/book/daug...
note, these are limited in number and almost gone!


Here's the cover reveal, along with an interview with the artist!
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There are ARCs - you'd have to contact Ace (US) or Voyager (UK) to lay hands on one though.

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[ଘRory]

_A great cover,gods and academic vibes plz sign me up .

[Mitriel Faywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

What kind of heroine this book is about you might ask? “The kind that crawled from the grave spitting dirt and ready for vengeance.”

I beta-read this in 2023-24, chapter by chapter as it was written, and later edited, providing detailed feedback.

It’s a grimdark novel, blurbed as Squid Game meets John Wick, with an old woman as the main character. The story shows her at different ages (the trilogy’s original working title is Maiden, Mother, Hag—if that doesn’t mean anything to you, look up "Triple Goddess").

Needless to say following the blurb, it’s a very dark book. A LOT of people die and some in terrible ways. Some will then even come back for a while. But necromancy has never been written more beautifully before.

It’s a revenge story that is powerful, fascinating, grim and even creepy at times, with a seasoning of occasional dry humour and lumps of heartache.

Additionally, I’ve just seen the final version of the UK cover art and it’s so hauntingly beautiful I’ve got goosebumps all over!

It’s another triumph for HarperVoyager after the stunning Library trilogy covers. Cover artist Tom Roberts is definitely a keeper!

[Patrycja · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Now that was some VERYYY DARK fantasy.
My first book written by Mark Lawrence and already perfectly suited to my bookish taste. Can’t wait to read more!

"Daughter of Crows" is the first book in a new series written by Mark Lawrence. It tells the story of an older woman living in a very cruel and brutal world. It tells a story of an Academy, where each year a hundred girls are sent to become extremely dangerous and powerful, but only three of them can survive the process. It's a story about revenge, friendship and discovering the truth that lies within oneself.

Mark Lawrence created a very dark and dangerous world, where death is something that even kids have to get used to. The fact that described events concerned 12+ y.o. children made it even more grim and deeply sad. It's definitely not a book for someone who can't handle reading about violence.

Author creates characters that are very easy to like and to care about. Since at some point they are only children the only thing I wanted to do was protect them agains the cruelty of this world. The book is split into different times and we spend the majority of it in the Academy, which for me was both fascinating and absolutely terrifying to read about (which is a good thing!). Getting to know different point of views was extremely engaging and I really appreciate how intelligently Mark Lawrance interweaved the threads of the plot. All those secrets, all those plot twist, they were perfectly balanced and at the same time very accurate to what was going on.

The story is overall pretty sad. To see how many pain can one person suffer and see that this pain will never end is absolutely heartbreaking.
It ended with a plot twist which makes me wonder where will the author take as next and if we'll ever get back to the place we've been.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was my first time reading anything by Mark Lawrence. I actually planned to start with The Book That Wouldn’t Burn this year, but when I spotted an ARC of Daughter of Crows on NetGalley I abandoned all plans like a crow chasing something shiny. Zero regrets.

This book is chaotic in the best way. You’re thrown into the story with "a lot of characters" and shifting perspectives, and at first it feels overwhelming. But after a few chapters, everything starts to click, and suddenly the chaos makes sense.

Mollandra’s storyline at the Academy had me in a chokehold. That POV was my favorite by far, no competition. I was fully invested, emotionally attached, and absolutely not okay with everything that happened to her because let’s be honest, the girl did not get a single happy moment in this book. Not one. Zero. Just pain, trauma, and suffering on repeat. She was funny, loyal, and the kind of person you know you’d want in your life. The type who has your back no matter what. Which makes it even worse, because she deserved so much better than what she got. For her, I would become Kindness itself, just so I could get revenge and kill everyone who hurt her.

-"You told him to fuck off!"
-"I know what i did."
-"But he's the ferryman! He's Death with his scythe! He's the winged ones who take the warriors straight from the battlefield. He's-"
-"He's propably used to it. Dying's enough to give most people an attitude."

Honestly, in every book there’s usually at least one character I can’t stand, but not here. Somehow, everyone made sense. Every character had a purpose, and even when they were awful, it was clear they were like that because the world broke them first. The Academy, the system, the whole mess. No pointless villains, no “why are you even here?” characters, just deeply damaged people doing their thing.

If you’re into Greek mythology, this book will be right up your alley. The Furies (Erinyes) are basically the backbone of the story: ancient goddesses of vengeance pulling the strings, ruining lives. Fans of Squid Game should feel right at home here, too. It’s drenched in blood, death and gore.

Last but absolutely not least, the magic in this book is chef’s kiss. There are magical mixtures designed to unlock your inner rage, mess with your memories, or erase things entirely. And yes, there’s a talking crow. No, I will not explain. Just read the book.

[Morwen]

Pre-read
I was lucky enough to have received this book as an e-ARC. I've been meaning to read something by this author for like forever. Today is the day to stop procrastinating!

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being in my 60s it was refreshing to read a book where the main character was relatable (except the knitting) 😉 I have struggled with some previous books by the author but this book was a pure joy from start to finish
Well done sir, well done

[sophie ☁️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re only a couple of weeks into 2026 and this may already be a top competitor for one of my top books of the year.

Daughter of Crows is a dark, macabre and atmospheric first instalment to a new fantasy series. It revolves around the Academy of Kindness, where girls are sold to become powerful and bloodthirsty agents of justice to serve the gods. The world was immersive and the character development was a real highlight, Rue is our main character and takes on several forms throughout the different timelines we visit in this story, and she is GREAT.

Absolutely loved this world (despite how dark it is!) and I’m intrigued to explore more of it in the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the eARC!

[Jasminegalsreadinglog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughter of Crows is just wow! A dark epic fantasy that’s a true page-turner. The Academy of Kindness is a brutal world where girls are taught anything but kindness. No one wants to end up there unless they’re desperate, but once the girls are sold, there’s no way out.

I had such an amazing time reading this book. It’s grim, yes, but even in this grimdark world, there are friendships and relationships that shine through. There’s pain and trauma, without question, but alongside that comes survival and resilience. The Academy teaches retribution, revenge, and killing. But are those killings unjustified? That’s for the reader to decide.

At first, I was a little confused by the world, but as the story progressed, everything started to fall into place. Now my biggest challenge is waiting for the next book in the series 😁 One thing for sure is that this novel is going to be one of the best books of the year for me.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Ace Books for the digital galley of this book.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm out of superlatives because Mark Lawrence strikes again with an absolutely splendid story in Daughter of Crows!
The cover is exquisite, and I couldn't take my eyes off it from the moment I saw it😍
Masterfully weaving the story like a spider, perfectly using all POVs and times as threads that connect at some point or other, just enough to keep you hungry for more. Until it all collides into one intricate web, where you are familiar with all the threads representing the events and emotions that led you to that point where everything makes sense.
A merciless place, The Academy of Kindness takes girls who are sold and forges them into weapons of revenge against injustice. After ten years of bloody survival, only three will leave alive, with all the secrets they've learned there making them the perfect avatars of vengeance. Rue - one of our main characters - is one of the many girls there... but the difference is that while the others were sold by their families, she sold herself.
Gripping, bloody, and a brilliant take on necromancy that I loved.
It gave me John Wick vibes, especially that part with the pencil in the action scenes😂😈
I liked Rue and her complex character, a tender heart wrapped in tenacity, sharp edges, and unrelenting will.
But to be honest, Sharp, with her fiery temper and devil-may-care attitude, was my absolute favourite character.
I feel that the book only scratched the surface of the enormous potential of this world, and to say I'm curious to learn more about Rue and her world is an understatement.

[justine ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

THIS COVER OH MY GOD

[Lumley Little Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it too bold to claim you've just read one of your top reads of 2026 when it's only January? Because that's genuinely how I feel.

This is my first read of anything Mark Lawrence has written but it certainly won't be my last.

Everything about this book is captivating and disturbing in equal measure. It is not an easy read. It does not have a comforting, happy ending. It's the sort of book that will tear you apart but you somehow want more of it.

Think dark academia mixed with Squid Games mixed with something so beautiful it almost hurts.

We follow the grim survival of our main character - a woman in her 60s - through a mixture of present day events and her time at the Academy as a teen. Chapters that at first seem disconnected begin to seamlessly weave together to paint a raw and brutal image of an individual who has clawed her way through life and suffered trauma beyond what you could ever expect any one person to survive. Yet survive, she does. Her need for vengeance sustains her and propels her onwards. Her stubbornness even brings her back from death until her score has been settled. Like, literally back from death.

As in, she told Death to fuck off 😂

I don't want to say too much about what happens in this book because I believe it is best experienced without prior knowledge. The twists, the reveals and the poignant moments are best experienced without any hints about what to expect.

[Bibiane Schoofs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

I was not prepared for how dark this book turned out to be. Truly. I don’t think I’ve ever read something that descended into darkness quite like this—and that alone made for a striking reading experience.

The story, for me, unfolds in three very distinct parts.

The first part completely consumed me. From the prologue onward, I was hooked—heart racing, fully immersed, and constantly bracing myself for the next twist. The tension was razor-sharp, the atmosphere gripping, and I found myself genuinely in awe of how quickly and effectively the story pulled me in.
Welcome to the academy.

The second part slowed the momentum somewhat. At times, it felt drawn out, and the introduction of a new POV didn’t immediately capture my interest. That said, the payoff later on was undeniably strong. Once the reveal hit, everything snapped into place, casting this entire section in a new light and retroactively deepening my appreciation for it.

The **final part—the ending—**was where my enthusiasm dipped slightly. I was left with several unanswered questions that I would have loved to see explored or clarified within this book. While I understand this may be intentional groundwork for book two, I can’t help but feel that resolving some of these threads earlier would have made the story feel more complete and emotionally satisfying on its own.

The academy chapters were easily my favorites, and I sincerely hope this setting plays an even bigger role in the next books—it’s where the story felt most alive to me.

Despite a few pacing issues and a somewhat open-ended conclusion, I really loved the concept and the writing. This book was intense, unsettling, and memorable, and I’m very much looking forward to continuing the series. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next, and I hope it recaptures the relentless intensity of its opening.

[Emilie Margolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5!!

This book was such an amazing ride and I couldn’t predict a minute of it. First book by this author but will pick up many more of his books going forward!

[LambchoP]

Love the cover art! From the synopsis it sounds like Lawrence is going back to grimdark territory and I am all in! Hoping to get an ARC;)

[Thye DeForest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Ace for the digital ARC of this book!

This is my first review that’s not in like quippy letterboxed style commentary, so please bear with me…I’m a huge fan of grimdark, and any book involving deadly women seeking vengeance in a fantasy setting is a guaranteed three stars at least. And I want to say that I really enjoyed this one; I wanted to love it so bad, but it just kept falling a little short for me.

Mollandra and Edlest’s POV’s worked extremely well in how they built on each other and slowly revealed more backstory in interlocking chapters, but considering those were meant to fill in gaps in our understanding of Rue’s life, her POV just fell a little short. I thought the writing was superb on a technical level, and all of Mollandra and Eldest chapters had me turning the pretend pages of my Kindle so fast, but Rue’s just felt a little underbaked. I love the idea of a fantasy protagonist in her sixties or seventies going on one last quest to seek vengeance, but I don’t think we spent enough time with Rue before everything went to shit for her quest to feel important. But Mollandra and Eldest were SO GOOD!

Also, structurally, I didn’t feel like the climax really hit, and the cliffhanger and exposition revealed in the last few chapters felt like the reveals that should happen before a big battle or climax, not after. And speaking of battles, if each of them were just a little longer, I might not be writing this sentence at all. To be fair, though, I haven’t read any Mark Lawrence before, so it could be that I’m just not used to his writing. Or it could be that I read Nona the Ninth right before this, where the climax is genuinely the last 40% of the book, right up until the last page.

This is sounding quite negative, but I loved the world-building with the myriad of religions and the slow reveal of exactly what the Kindnesses are, and I hope we get to learn more about everything on the islands of Gog and Magog throughout this series. And every single character was deeply enjoyable to spend time with, especially Sharp and Senna. I can’t wait for the next book in this series and really hope Lawrence really dives into the Maiden Mother Crone of it all! The reveals at the end are an excellent setup for another book; I just wish that instead of another book, it was a great setup for act three of this book! Thank you for your time!

3.5 out of 5 Stars!

[Maëlys]

gorgeous gorgeous cover with an intriguing synopsis (and i do love to follow an older character!!)

[KnightsandFables · Rating 4 out of 5]

rtc

[Cassanova33 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read the description I thought to myself, “Again, Mark? But you already did assassin academy.” He shut me up real quick. This was a flex, and I am sat for the whole series.

[kyra ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪]

when i saw mark lawrence was dropping a new book i rejoiced

[cap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daughter of Crows is a welcome return to form for Mark Lawrence. I first encountered Lawrence with his Book of the Ancestor trilogy, starting with Red Sister. In that grimdark series, a nameless orphan girl named Nona Grey is brought up in an abbey on a dying planet that trains an order of nun-assassins. I was a huge fan, and was shocked at how well Lawrence, as a male author, was able to portray female adolescence and friendship (and even romantic relationships, while never seeming fetishistic about it), and above all female anger. I read and re-read the series, then got all my fantasy-loving friends to read it, and only heard good things from them, too. I think the Book of the Ancestor trilogy is immaculate.

However, I had a lot more trouble getting into Lawrence's subsequent books, including The Girl and the Stars (which is set in the same world as Red Sister) and the Library Trilogy. I didn't finish the series of The Girl and the Stars, and I didn't even finish the first book of The Library Trilogy. I just wasn't sucked in, didn't like the characters enough, and didn't feel pulled to push through.

It did take a while for me to get into Daughter of Crows and connect with the characters, but in the end I was relieved that I enjoyed it a lot. Part of that equation is probably just how much it resembles my old favorite of Lawrence's, Red Sister, while also bringing in new and fresh flavors. Like in Red Sister, the main character of Daughter of Crows is brought up in an all-female institution of badassery, though this one is far worse and far more ruthless than the nunnery ever was. The Academy has the explicit mission to eliminate its students, whittling down each starting class of 100 to just three graduates. Called Kindnesses, these few survivors embody and enforce the divine justice of the Furies (a.k.a. Kindly Ones) of Greek mythology. The only way to leave before graduation is to die. Like in Red Sister, this environment fuels plenty of anger in our protagonist, and creates nuanced friendships out of the pressures of circumstance, loss and shared scars. Also, magic powers, in this case necromancy.

But Daughter of Crows isn't solely a regurgitation of Red Sister's greatest hits: its freshness comes from the fact that we don't just see the protagonist at the beginning of her life, nor even her prime, but towards the end. Her story is told in a dual timeline between her childhood and upbringing at the Academy and her senior years, after she's retired from her life of violence to a random backwater village and found a decade of peace. A peace which is broken when a company of mercenaries shows up and massacres the entire town, setting her on a quest for revenge. Have you ever read a fantasy novel about a killer grandma out for blood? Didn't think so. It's genius and I love it. If you've read Helene Tursten's An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, imagine that granny wielding a knife. And necromancy. Did I mention the necromancy? (Side note: if you haven't read An Elderly Lady, you should. It's hilarious.)

This book is the first of a trilogy, so it leaves off with plenty of loose threads still to explore. A genre-savvy reader will probably be able to anticipate the direction of some of these threads. But knowing the general direction doesn't mean there will be no surprises. I was definitely surprised by some of the reveals in this book, and I often was with Red Sister, so I'm sure Lawrence will have some twists and turns up his sleeve for this one. I'll definitely be picking up the sequels when they come out. Overall I'm just glad to be enjoying Lawrence's work again!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc.

[Below are a few minor complaints that nobody should pay attention to, except maybe the publishers:
I think I noticed a couple of (what seem like?) continuity errors, e.g. at a couple of points it is mentioned that the Academy has existed for ~200 years, but at one point I remember someone mentioning the Kindness have been around for several (or maybe seven) hundred. Maybe the order of the Kindnesses predated the establishment of the Academy? By a lot? But that doesn't seem to match up with the timeline of this world. I don't know. Maybe this will be explained later.
Also, I just have to put this somewhere, I'm sorry, but Lawrence's use of commas has been bothering me since I first read Red Sister. He uses too few and I don't know why it's never been fixed by proofreading, and it's confused me a fair few times when trying to decipher long sentences, including in this book, and it just bothers me and please fix the commas please please please.
I am fully aware of how obnoxious this nitpicking is and I'm sorry. Rant over.]

[Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never actually read anything by Mark Lawrence before, despite having heard a lot about him and this book was certainly a good introduction to his works! Daughter of Crows is split across two timelines. One is set in the titular Academy of Kindness, though that name is obviously oxymoronic to the actual truth of the place. Each year 100 girls are sent to it and, a decade later, three emerge to become the Kindnesses: avatars of divine retribution and mirrors of the legendary Furies. The other follows Rue, former Kindness, now elderly. But the old skills have never left her and, when violence is brought to her small village, she carves a path of vengeance.

Daughter of Crows is the start of a new Grimdark series, and it's certainly dark! Mark Lawrence pulls absolutely no punches in immediately establishing that this world is a grimy and brutal place. Despite the ‘magical school where students murder each other’ being a surprisingly common trope, this book felt really different to what else is out there. There's necromancy, character death all over the place and bloody, realistic violence without it feeling too gratuitous. The atmosphere created was immaculate. The pages just oozed gloominess and no character felt safe. I really liked how Lawrence played with my expectations during the first half. I don't want to give spoilers so I won't say exactly why, but there were so many plot twists and bait and switches that made reading this rewarding.
As well as the darkness, I really enjoyed the undercurrent of humour that ran through the book. Yes, there's necromancy and horrific violence but there are also snarky talking crows, wonderful found family and an old lady who takes shit from nobody. I often found myself horrified at what was happening and then, moments later, grinning! The prose was also absolutely lovely (or perhaps not so lovely when describing necromancy and corpses!), which just added even further to the brilliant atmosphere.

The worldbuilding was another highlight. The magic was really interesting and atmospheric. It struck that perfect balance between capturing the wonder and power of it but also setting rules so that it didn’t feel contrived or overpowered. I also liked the variety of it. Too many fantasy books nowadays have just one type of magic in the world where it would make so much more sense (and be way cooler) for there to be multiple. Though we only got a small glimpse in this book, it feels like there's so much more depth to explore that we'll see throughout the rest of the series.

Despite loving the atmosphere and world building, the characters were absolutely my favourite part of Daughter of Crows. They all felt so real and distinct and I just wanted to give them all a hug. The characterisation meant that I really felt it when there was a character death. No-one felt like they were created just to be killed off (as can sometimes happen in these kind of ‘deadly school books’). However, I did end up feeling a lot more invested in the side characters than our protagonist, Rue, purely because her backstory was held back to the second half which meant we didn’t spend as much time with her as I would’ve liked.

I think the plot probably was the weakest part of the book for me, and the reason it’s not quite 5 star even though I did enjoy it. It felt like there was just something a bit missing from it. It took a long time to get to the wider narrative and was instead mostly set up, which can be fine (and I did really appreciate that Lawrence took the time to establish character, so we really cared when there were deaths) but I feel like it wasn’t always the right kind of set up. We were then launched into the wider plot towards the end and I found it difficult to get invested in it. I would have preferred the ‘Cruelties’ plotline to be set up much earlier instead of halfway through so it felt less randomly shoved in. The beginning with Rue also felt a little repetitive at times, with Rue doing the same thing over and over for several chapters without much result.

However, in conclusion, I did enjoy this book a lot overall. While arguably very trope-filled (though let’s be honest, it’s hard not to be), I really enjoyed the fresh spin it put on a lot of them. My expectations were constantly subverted, it was filled with heart and humour despite the darkness and I had a lot of fun overall even if I did struggle to get invested in the wider plot a little. I’d definitely recommend this to people looking for something dark and gritty and a new spin on the ‘magic school’ trope.

[Lysandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity of reading this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This book interested me a lot upon first seeing its summarised description a few months ago. It sounded exactly like my sort of grimdark fantasy. Meanwhile, I also read Mark Lawrence’s “The Book That Wouldn’t Burn” and I realised that his world-building and lore development was done pedantely in the best way possible — well-researched and thoroughly explored and explained in a way which twists the original concepts we have in reality into a fantasy version which borders realism itself. I am glad to say my judgement was confirmed by “Daughter of Crows”.

The lore and world-building are interestingly thought of — an amalgam of mythological references, religions, and esotericism which ultimately tie to one another in a well-constructed lore. I will not dive in much, as I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but I just have to say I terribly enjoyed the leitmotif of the number three which haunts the narrative from the very start. Three Furies, three Kindnesses, three sisters, three daughters. Furthermore, our main character Rue does not escape this leitmotif — we get to know her to an extent from all three “traditional” roles. Maiden. Mother. Crone. The leitmotif was brilliantly executed, even more so that it is done in a perfect circle. I already have high expectations of how it will further haunt the narrative in the next books!

The storytelling is done through several perspectives, but the division is clear through past and present. We experience Rue’s life in the present (in her state as Crone), but also see her time at the Kindness Academy and before (her life as Maiden), with bits dropped in between of her life as a Kindness/Mother (I expect we will see more of that in the following books). The fact that we experience so much of Rue and her character throughout different ages in one book is what pushes the plot forward, both in the past and in the present, for she presents not only character development but also the state of having to deal with the consequences of one’s actions, and how ghosts of the past can haunt one throughout the ages.

The plot is relatively slow paced, but this is completely normal for the first novel of a series. However, the story remains engaging through its dramatic twists and reveals. There is a constant tension, centred on how everything connects and how it will unravel, a puzzle solved neatly by the end. The thrill still remains as the cliffhanger simply dives into more dramatics. Without revealing too much, the story revolves around found families of different levels of toxicity — you can count on it being quite entertaining from that perspective. This is also a very nice touch, taking a concept which is stereotypical to cosy fantasy, and turning it dark. I enjoyed this twist.

The atmosphere is very eerie and, upon finishing, I would say this novel leans towards the more grim side of the grimdark fantasy spectrum. It is less horror and more macabre. The prose mirrors that perfectly, sometimes through language and other times through sinister descriptions. If one is not into the genre, I suggest they read this at a time when they are in the right mood for this specific sort of story.

As far as my personal recommendation goes, if you enjoyed the concepts of Bene Gesserit, Aes Sedai, Amazons, the Brendok Coven or other similar female-led organisations, I strongly recommend this book. Furthermore, to me, Rue was, at times, reminiscent of Fitzchivalry Farseer, Kaladin Stormblessed and Feyre Archeron, so if you enjoyed their journeys, Rue’s is definitely a must as well.

[John Mauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review of Daughter of Crows is published at Grimdark Magazine.

Mark Lawrence plumbs the darkest depths of grimdark fantasy with Daughter of Crows, the first book in his new Academy of Kindness trilogy. Now an elderly woman living quietly in a remote town, the retired assassin Rue spends her days knitting and trading small talk with neighbors. Rue has outlived her enemies, but can she outlive rage itself? When violence arrives, the implosion of her tranquil life feels like an inevitable plight for this erstwhile killer.

Darkly amusing and emotionally reflective, Mark Lawrence’s unmistakable voice grabs the reader from the book’s opening prologue. Daughter of Crows bears the ferocity of Lawrence’s earliest work (viz., Prince of Thorns) while benefiting from the maturity and nuance that the author has developed across his formidable career.

Greek mythology takes center stage in Daughter of Crows, even more prominently than in Lawrence’s earlier Book of the Ice trilogy (viz., The Girl and the Moon). The all-female Academy of Kindness serves as a training ground for the Furies, i.e., the Erinyes, chthonic goddesses of vengeance euphemistically known as the Kindly Ones. Each year, one hundred girls are sold into the Academy. After ten years of education, only three survive, remade in the image of the Furies’ unholy trinity.

Lawrence deftly guides the reader across multiple timelines, showing Rue’s personal transformations resulting from both her own violence and the violence brought upon her. Flashbacks to her childhood reveal a horrific mansion that makes the manor of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feel positively cozy. For fans of Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy (starting with Red Sister), the Academy of Kindness will feel like a hellish distortion of the Sweet Mercy convent, a perversion of the nunnery concept stripped of mercy and drenched in necromancy. Altogether, Rue represents Lawrence’s most compelling exploration of identity in years: a figure defined by what she has tried to bury but what others force her to exhume.

Stylistically, Daughter of Crows is Lawrence’s best work to date. Longtime readers will recognize the author’s familiar edge, which feels sharpened (almost paradoxically) by a sense of restraint. The narrative voice is measured, deliberate, and confident, delivering its blows with precision rather than excess. Lawrence’s dry sense of humor cuts as fiercely as ever, although he uses it more sparingly than in much of his previous work (e.g., Prince of Fools). The scenes of violence are some of the most visceral of Lawrence’s career, but without ever feeling gratuitous. Knitting needles, apparently, can be just as effective at making scars as scarves.

Daughter of Crows is grimdark to the core, but with a sense of literary maturity that the genre rarely sees outside of Anna Smith Spark. Daughter of Crows is saturated with venom, vengeance, and violence, while also serving as a deeply emotional commentary on age, guilt, memory, and survival. Altogether, Daughter of Crows stands as a powerful reaffirmation of Mark Lawrence’s position at the forefront of grimdark fantasy.

[Luke Scull · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my eleventh Mark Lawrence novel. After hearing from the man himself how it was going to be a return to grimdark (or at least both grim and dark) and reading an early draft of the opening chapter, I was eager to get hold of the finished book. I'm pleased to say it's one of his best!

If I had to describe DAUGHTER OF CROWS in a sentence, it would be "Prince of Thorns and Red Sister had a baby, and they named her Granny Weatherwax." Our heroine, Rue, is the embodiment of the retired badass. A distant graduate of an academy of super-assassins in which only three in every hundred survive, Rue has resigned herself to living out the rest of her days in a sleepy village. When bloodthirsty mercenaries show up and put the place to the sword, leaving her for dead, it takes the intervention of a goddess to restore her chosen servant and set her on the road to vengeance.

The story that follows alternates between Rue's current-day quest for revenge and her early years at the academy. Mark Lawrence expertly weaves the past with the present, telling a story that is rich with interesting characters and twists and turns. Themes of ageing, friendship, and the nature of self are explored with a deft touch between surprisingly violent action scenes that pull very few punches. This is a brutal, brutal book: in many ways darker even than PRINCE OF THORNS. The chapters in the mansion, set before the Academy, are like something from a nightmare - psychologically terrifying in the same way the various "exams" at the Academy are constantly nerve-wracking. It's a testament to the author's versatility that he's able to nestle a horror story within a dark academia story within a grimdark revenge story and pull it off so convincingly.

The world-building, too, is fascinating: the Furies, the trio of sisters from Greek mythology who punish the most heinous moral crimes, sponsor the Academy and buttress much of the worldbuilding, but they are joined by gods and goddesses from other mythologies who, after a cataclysmic event that destroyed much of the known world, have cross-pollinated among the survivors as they fled to two great islands. History and mythology buffs will enjoy the various references hidden and not-so-hidden. There are even hints that this story takes place in the same world as that of THE BROKEN EMPIRE and RED QUEEN'S WAR, though this may be a case of wishful thinking on my part!

DAUGHTER OF CROWS is a book that will likely unify a huge proportion of fans of Mark Lawrence's various earlier books, all of which are rather different. It has a kickass female protagonist, one of the deadliest schools ever committed to paper, dark necromantic magic, true friendship, found family, and the author's usual razor-sharp humour. It is also unflinchingly brutal and will likely end up near the top of the author's very own Grimdark Scale. It's yet another excellent addition to one of the most impressive and diverse bodies of work in fantasy, and something tells me book 2 will be even better. I don't know how he keeps doing it, but he does!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daughter of Crows is the first book in a new series set in a brutal world shaped by retribution, ancient laws, and vengeance. The story follows Rue, an assassin forged by the Academy of Kindness, a place where girls are trained to become instruments of punishment. Now in her 60's and long removed from her violent past, Rue is pulled back into conflict when war arrives at her doorstep.

The novel unfolds across 3 timelines and multiple perspectives: Rue in her present life, her years training at the Academy of Kindness, and her early childhood as the Eldest. One of the book’s strongest aspects is its worldbuilding. The political intrigue between the Royalties, Kindnesses and Cruelties, the magic system involving necromancy, the Elixir and the Ingredient, and the concept of girls being trained as assassins I thoroughly enjoyed. I also LOVED seeing an older female protagonist, which still feels far too rare in fantasy.

Interestingly, my favourite chapter POV was the Eldest. I went into this book expecting to have Rue's chapters be my favourite, but that wasn't the case. The Eldest chapters stood out to me because of how unsettling and mysterious they were. Her early childhood was genuinely disturbing to read but that only left me wanting to understand more about her family, particularly the motives behind her parents and their strange behavior. I don't normally like horror/thriller but there was this quiet and creeping sense of DREAD in those chapters that was just so compelling for me. I would honestly love to see more from that POVV, even in the form of a short novella.

Where the book struggled for me was in its opening. The multiple POVs, particularly during the Academy timeline, made the beginning quite confusing. Before Rue’s identity becomes clear, the narrative moves between several young girls, which made it difficult to track who would eventually become the present-day protagonist. I’ll admit I struggled early on and was close to setting it aside, as the identity wasn't revealed around the 30%. The pacing in the early sections also felt awkward. I wanted more focus on Rue at the beginning, and the Academy chapters moved slowly because of the fragmented perspectives. While the narrative eventually became easier to follow, I still found the Eldest chapters far more engaging than Rue’s present-day storyline.

Overall, Daughter of Crows is an ambitious and immersive story with strong worldbuilding and a compelling premise. The opening may take some patience, but the payoff at the end made the reading experience feel worthwhile for me.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Thank you to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for this ARC!

[Hacen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.75

I’m a huge fan of Mark Lawrence and was so excited to read this new series that sounded like it was going to go back to his darker roots and it definitely followed through.
Daughter of Crows has 3 different timelines which slowly come together.

The book starts with Molly/Rue who after the killing of her two friends, herself and most of her village is brought back from the dead and goes on a journey of revenge. I enjoyed Molly/Rue as a character and her back and forth with the crow Senna but wish there’d been a little more of a lead up so I would care more about what was happening. We learn that Molly/Rue has only been in this village for 10 years and used to be an assassin known as a Kindly One which leads us to the second timeline which covers part of her years at the Academy.

This was my least favorite of the timelines which was disappointing because it was what I was most looking forward to learning about. The Academy of Kindness takes in 100 girls every year and over 10 years narrows them down to 3 while training them to be assassins that represent the three fold goddess know by multiple names (the Furies, Morrigan, etc). There is a lot of interesting things happening but because we spend so little time with these characters I didn’t feel any emotional investment in them so their deaths and struggles didn’t really matter to me.

The third storyline, Eldest, was the one I enjoyed and felt most invested in. A bunch of kids are trapped in a dark mansion, being fed a strange food that affects their memory and hunted by a Jekyll/Hyde father and monstrous mother in the basement. I would have been happy to spend more time fleshing this story out.

So while overall I did enjoy Daughter of Crows I do think certain aspects kept me from loving it. I think the academy timeline was rushed and kept me from being as invested as I would like in the characters in that timeline and Rues present timeline. I also wish there was a little more explanation of the magic/powers being used.

I’m hoping that since this a series we will delve more into these things in book two and I’m looking forward to it.

Received from NetGalley

[Erik Hilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into this book, I thought this was going to be about a teenager from the title reminiscent of an YA novel, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the book only to find out that the main character was in her 60s. I just want to say that I’m a huge fan. I haven’t seen an old person complete with grey hair, wrinkles, and a knitting hobby as a protagonist in fantasy/scifi before, and I thought it was very refreshing to read about. Molly has a very interesting life behind her, and it’s fun to read about a character with more life experience in a fantasy world. She’s also really cool in my opinion.

I enjoyed this nonlinear format of storytelling. The story jumps between 3 different points in time: Rue as an old woman, Mollandra in the academy, and her childhood. Also, the dialogue is great in this book. The characters also acted believably in my opinion and made decisions that make sense. I also thought the friendship between the girls was great.

While necromancy doesn’t feel like the most unique power for a protagonist to have as someone who has read solo leveling and a bunch of copies of it, I like how it is executed in this book. The main character can’t just raise an army of dead people to fight for herself most of the time, and she still has to be good at hand-to-hand combat and doesn’t have a huge advantage over base humans.

I liked the magical elements of the book: the elixir and the Ingredient remind me of the spice in Dune, and I’ve always preferred stories where magic is acquired rather than being innate. I also thought the triple goddesses were really interesting.
However, the nonmagical aspects I found meh for me. I like that the author took inspiration from Greece, but it felt too generic to really pique my interest.

Anyway, I thought this was a good fantasy novel and definitely recommend it. Excited to see what the author has in store for the other books of the series.

[Dima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this one down. As the author notes, this is a truly dark book—among the darkest I’ve read—his clearest venture into horror within a fantasy setting. Mark Lawrence is no stranger to bleak fiction, but what sets this one apart is the stark, unflinching portrayal of violence and abuse. The recurring theme of child abuse, and the capacity of some children to endure it, is explored here with an intensity I’ve rarely encountered, alongside the destructive force of obsessive revenge.

The story unfolds across three timelines. Rue, now in her seventies, lives quietly in a remote village until it is attacked by mercenaries, dragging her back into a past she has tried to escape and awakening old, brutal instincts. Mol, a twelve-year-old girl, enters the Academy of Kindness—an institution designed to forge vengeful warriors out of young girls. Over years of inhuman physical and psychological trials, only three of every hundred survive, their anger sharpened into a weapon. Eldest, meanwhile, lives in a literal nightmare, trapped with dozens of other children who each night endure horrific violence and torture for no apparent purpose. As the book progresses, the connections between these three narratives become clear, revealing the wider world’s complicity in the horrors inflicted on its children.

I have only praise for the novel. Beyond the strong writing and sharp plot construction, it grapples with psychological trauma, child abuse, resilience, friendship, and the corrosive nature of revenge. There is something here for readers seeking action and brutality, as well as those looking for deeper thematic reflection. It is, however, not for the faint-hearted—easily as dark as the most violent work I’ve read by Tamsyn Muir, Jeffrey Thomas, or Lawrence himself.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ahead of release in exchange for an honest review.

[Robin Hobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caveat! Mark Lawrence is a friend. I received this free advance reading copy from the publisher. I do not think either of these things affect my rating of the book.

A couple or three more things. I really like crows. I am fascinated with memory and what we recall or don't recall. And I identified strongly with Rue.

I've been reading Mark Lawrence's books for years now. The first one I read, Prince of Thorns was sent to me by our mutual editor. Several chapters in, I was wondering, "Why would she send me this book!?" But before long it was, Aha. This book is for me.

Mark's books are not, perhaps, for the faint of heart. Harsh things happen. Characters experience things we don't like and take actions that may be hard to understand in that first moment. But trust me and trust Mark. These are books you will remember and keep on your shelves.

The cover blurb gives away this so I don't mind mentioning it. Our main protagonist is a student in a harsh Academy of Kindness. The training to become a Kindness will weed out those who are weak, lack the required talents or are simply unlucky.

This is not your usual Fantasy Academia book. We follow our protagonist both as a student, flashing back to her early life and then venture on with her as an old woman (one I very much identified with!)

Although this is the first book of a trilogy, I think he has selected a good stopping space. I will wait a year (or more!) for the remaining two books.

And I will mention here a very different trilogy of books written by Mark that I absolutely love. It has been very hard to keep them in my house as offspring keep borrowing them. If you have ever enjoyed D&D, they might be for you. Or even if you haven't. One Word Kill, Limited Wish and Dispel Illusion.