The Dark Lord's Daughter
#6033.97 adjusted 3.96 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Ongoing 2023–present Reading commitment Low Patricia C. Wrede Last reviewed 2026-11-01
Overview
The Dark Lord's Daughter is a middle grade portal fantasy by Patricia C. Wrede, published by Random House in September 2023. Fourteen-year-old Kayla Jones learns at the Minnesota State Fair that her late father was a Dark Lord. She, her brother Del and her mother are taken to the kingdom of Zaradwin, a land of magic without technology, where Kayla is offered her father's place as Dark Lady. She must learn magic to get home and decide whether to accept the role. The publisher lists it as book one of a series, but no second book has been announced, so it currently stands as one novel.
Portal fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Dark Lord's Daughter Patricia C. Wrede
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Dark Lord's Daughter | 2023 | 1 | core | 3.97 (1,086 ratings) |
A portal fantasy in which a teenager from Minnesota is offered her late father's role as Dark Lady of Zaradwin.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Dark Lord's Daughter? The Dark Lord's Daughter's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Dark Lord's Daughter finished? Ongoing (2023–present).
- How much reading does The Dark Lord's Daughter take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Dark Lord's Daughter ranked? #603 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,086 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #603?
Ranked #603 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,086 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #602, Lord Darcy (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Ongoing · 1k ratings · Ranks #603 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment portal fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what The Dark Lord's Daughter and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- A Game of Fox & Squirrels Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- The Sheep-Pig Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.06
- The Princess and the Goblin Fairy-tale retelling / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.04
- Mary Poppins Comic fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.00
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 1,086 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 27 universes; 5 candidates ruled out; older open items closed accepted 2026-11-01
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Publishers Weekly Tier 2
- Penguin Random House Tier 2
- Kirkus Reviews Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-01
Rule: Core Canon = The Dark Lord's Daughter (2023).