Daughter of Crows, Mark Lawrence
Daughter of Crows, Mark Lawrence
List: $27.00 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.50

Daughter of Crows

Author: Mark Lawrence

Series: The Academy of Kindness #1

Narrator: Olivia Dowd

Unabridged: 14 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 03/24/2026


Synopsis

The survivor of a brutal academy must exhume her own past in the first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of the Library Trilogy and the Broken Empire series.

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—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.

The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that 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.

About The Author

Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. After earning a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London, he went back to the US to work on a variety of research projects, including the “Star Wars” missile-defense program. Since returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He never had any ambition to be a writer, so he was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, The Broken Empire, has been universally acclaimed as a groundbreaking work of fantasy, and both Emperor of Thorns and The Liar’s Key have won the David Gemmell Legend Award for best fantasy novel. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shauna on March 10, 2026

Mark Lawrence is back… and with Daughter of Crows we must acknowledge the Return of the King (of grimdark). The world that Mark has painted here is bleak – almost as dark as the ink that describes it. Are you ready to suffer? If so, read on… I have to say, even after decades of reading fantasy, no on......more

Goodreads review by Patrycja on January 15, 2026

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......more

Goodreads review by Book Library on March 27, 2026

This book makes a milestone in how many books i read so far, and what an incredible book it is to hit with. Mark Lawrence became one of my most favourite Author after reading Prince of Thorns,and if you liked his dark books (didnt read the library trilogy) you will 10000% love this book,dont let your......more

Goodreads review by ฅ^•⩊•^ฅ on January 12, 2026

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 chaot......more

Goodreads review by Scott on March 28, 2026

What a tangled mess of deliciousness is this? It take a while to fit the pieces together as 3 timelines finally merge into one of comprehension. The facts are doled out in such infinitely small fragments that the revelations are eaten up like a missed meal. The truths about Rue/Mollandra/The Eldest a......more


Quotes

"An elegant, consuming epic."—Entertainment Weekly

“Told in multiple viewpoints and flashback chapters, this story is one of reclamation and survival, family and friendships, and the power of memory retained and lost.”—Library Journal (starred review)

"This is just one of those books you wish you could enjoy again for the first time. From page one the action kicks off and ratchets up with every chapter...Daughter of Crows is already a contender for best read of 2026."—SFF Insiders

"Glimmering grimdark fantasy...Lawrence draws from several different mythological pantheons to build this surprising new world and keeps readers guessing how the dangers detailed in the flashbacks will play out, sparing none of his characters from gruesome fates, deserved or not...Lawrence’s fans will be eager for more."—Game Vortex

Praise for Mark Lawrence and the Library series


“The most tightly plotted novel I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.... It’s truly magnificent.”—Book Riot

“This tale of knowledge and its cost flies by, thanks to the gripping mystery and beautiful world-building. . . . Readers will be desperate for more.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Gripping, earnest, and impeccably plotted.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“An excellent writer.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin

“Mark Lawrence is the best thing to happen to fantasy in recent years.”—New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett