Reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

lexusluther's review against another edition

so. long. so. dry. turns out i was NOT made for this many character POVs.

caitgray's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mothsages's review against another edition

5.0

wow. this book took me forever to read. not because it wasn’t good (it was phenomenal actually. it’s my new personality), but because i was so busy and i also didn’t want it to end. a lot of times, books that are this long have too much world building (i.e crescent city, which i love but those first 80 pages were hard), but it’s not the case with priory of the orange tree. from the beginning you’re sucked into a fantasy world of different regions that focus on specific religions and the realization that these religions are frowned upon in other areas of the world. because of this, we get several different points of views, which eventually coincide with each other towards the end (which is always such a lovely thing to watch happen), and we get the big fight. i love how samantha doesn’t dwell on certain scenes for longer than necessary. there is a perfect amount of dialogue, a perfect amount of plot and a perfect amount of the friendships/relationships that blossom in this story. i genuinely couldn’t put it down when i got the chance to read it, and if i hadn’t had to work constantly, i probably would have finished it in a couple days. truly fantastic work

bookishmomo's review against another edition

5.0

4.5/5 stars

This review might actually be a mess and kind of shorter where my review for A Day of Fallen Night wasn't mostly because almost every single thing I actually want to talk about goes back to events from the prequel which I can't talk about since it isn't released until February 28th.

But I will say that Samantha did it again! I don't know how she does it but the world of Priory has me in a chokehold that I never want to leave. Her world building, again, is just fantastic from the settings, to the histories, to the mythologies, to the religions, magic, and different cultures that encompass this world. Honestly it reminded me of why I love fantasy so much.

The characters, while not always liked, were again unforgettable. Especially Sabran and Ead, I loved them and never wanted to say goodbye to them and their romance had my whole heart. There's actually so much more I'd love to say about the characters but everything feels like a spoiler so I might come back at a later time.

Not to mention the character development for several characters I originally disliked was perfect!

One thing, however, that is a Priory only spoiler...

Spoiler

I'm very upset with how Tane's last chapter ended and am confused whether I take it as she is dead or alive. I literally needed more than that for her last chapter! Because if she isn't alive I'll be extremely upset.

My one and only negative for Priory is that the world building and characters, especially connection wise, weren't as balanced and strong throughout the whole book. There were times, especially in the beginning, that I wasn't always happy with the POV switch. But this got way better as the story progressed.

I also will say that if you have not read Priory yet I highly recommend picking up A Day of Fallen Night first as there is this almost seamless connection between the two though they're set 500 years apart. I can't say much but I feel like reading ADOFN first made me enjoy, and sometimes rage, about the events in Priory that much more.

A Day of Fallen Night ARC Review | ★★★★★

x_xlian's review against another edition

adventurous

4.5

sapen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

9.3/10

brittanylikesbookies's review against another edition

4.0

I don’t know how to eloquently write a review other than this is basically a very yearning, lesbian, not as hugely twister game of thrones. And i loved every second of it! Some sensitive/triggering topics, but wow this was fantastic! I love slow burn and yearning, especially between women and this gave me that. It’s a big, thick girl but worth the read!

jnl_dayton's review against another edition

1.0

Meh. This isn't as good as the reveiws made it seem. At least, I'm not interested in reading any more of it and my loan from the library is over, so I'm done.

iggydawesome's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

teethwhitener7's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0