Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence (The Academy of Kindness #1)

9/10

I've been a fan of Mark Lawrence for a while, but Daughter of Crows completely blew me away. It's a revenge story, sure, but what makes it so different is that the main character, Rue, is an elderly woman. Watching an older protagonist deal with the literal, physical aches of getting older while still being a total badass is just incredibly refreshing for a fantasy novel.

The book jumps between two timelines. On one hand, you get the backstory: a hundred young girls sold to a brutal academy where only three get to survive and become elite killers. On the other hand, you have Rue in the present day, forced out of her quiet retirement because trouble found her. It sounds like a typical assassin setup, but the execution is miles ahead of the usual tropes.

What really hooked me was how much heart the book has despite being so dark. The friendships between the girls in that horrific academy are genuinely moving, and Rue's internal monologue about her mind staying sharp while her body slows down feels so real.

The magic has this eerie, necromantic vibe to it, and the plot keeps you guessing the entire time. Every time I thought I knew where the timelines were intersecting, Lawrence managed to surprise me. It's dark, it's a bit poetic, and it's just a fantastic character study about what a lifetime of violence does to a person. If you're tired of the same old teenage chosen-one stories and want something with actual grit and maturity, you seriously need to pick this up. It's easily some of his best work.