Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence (Hardback)

The Sunday Times bestselling opening novel in a brand-new fantasy series from the author of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, introducing the brutal and mysterious world of The Academy of Kindness.

The Academy of Kindness is feared across the land. Beneath its name lies a place built to shape agents of vengeance, inspired by the ancient Furies known as the Kindly Ones. Its purpose is not mercy, but retribution against those who break the oldest laws.

Every year, one hundred girls are sold into the Academy.

Very few survive.

Those who endure spend years facing relentless trials within blood-soaked halls, deadly training grounds, and forbidden places filled with ancient knowledge and decay. The survivors emerge transformed into powerful enforcers bound to carry out justice without hesitation.

Most arrive through desperation forced upon their families.

Rue chose the Academy for herself.

Long after surviving its horrors, she has built a fragile peace far removed from the violence of her past. Age and distance have done little to erase what the Academy made her become, but she has spent years trying to leave that life behind.

Then war reaches her doorstep.

The return of conflict forces Rue back toward the world she escaped, confronting old memories, deadly skills, and the ruthless instincts buried beneath the surface. Those responsible quickly learn that disturbing her peace may prove a catastrophic mistake.

Blending dark fantasy, vengeance, and survival, this novel explores power, sacrifice, and the lasting scars left by violence and survival.