Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

336 reviews

allymiranda's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

5.0

I have been yearning for a book like this my entire life. I need MORE!!! The characters felt so strong, and the imagery is so vivid. I want to live in these lands and be with these beautiful ladies fighting dragons (and loving dragons!). The only character I could never get behind was Roos -- I wanted to just skip his chapters. I didn't empathize with him and saw him as just a way to move certain plot points along. I almost wish I cared about him more, but he kept making such bad choices! But the Sabran and Ead chapters, I will be re-reading until the end of time. If the Great Kwiriki loves me this will become a movie and there will be more of Sabran and Ead!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Alcoholism

The only animal cruelty is dragons and (very minor) horses.

biobeetle's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring slow-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

zealandrc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

2.0

I was really confused most of the time. Now I know I shouldn't read high fantasy

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Miscarriage

silver_violet's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I won't lie - the first hundred or so pages can be a slog to get through, mostly due to dense world building. I'm glad I stuck with it because this is a beautifully written book filled with true high fantasy elements. Dragons, magic, court drama, and political/religious struggles fill these pages. 

The equality between genders was refreshing with the majority of the main characters being (strong, fierce) women, and at times surprising with there never being a doubt from any character that a woman can rule/fight/be on equal standing with men, especially in a medieval-esque setting. That same level of acceptance and normalcy with feminism extends to the beautiful LGBTQIA+ relationships.

I've read some reviews likening this to LOTR, which i can somewhat agree with for the epic feel and the characters' journeys to save their world. I'd argue that this could/should have been a duology or trilogy but still very much enjoyed this story! Don't let this behemoth daunt you - it's worth the read!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Death, and Infertility

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, and Torture

nesquik05's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, War, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Animal death, Ableism, Death, Grief, Blood, Gore, Pregnancy, Infertility, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, and War

georgialee01's review

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexual content, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, and Death

blackthornfaery's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

4.25

incredible!! i felt so immersed in the story the whole time, and the food!! the food descriptions nearly rival red wall feasts! I just wish it didn't toggle between quite so many pov and don't quite understand why da tan didn't eat any of the orange tané brought to heal ead... surely it would've helped their efforts for sabran to wield magic with them? i was fully expecting the fruit to be the reason for her fever in the days before the battle.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Medical content, Pregnancy, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

doodlin's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Incredibly rich and dense world, with a deep history which can be a lot to take in. The book moves quite slowly at first as it immerses you into its world and characters. It can be a little overwhelming at first but it does give you enough time to get acquainted before the real action starts. Each character brings a very different perspective to the world which gives you insight into how all these different parts of world work. My only complaint is the end did feel a bit rushed which is suppose was understandable since we were already 700 pages in but I think a bit of some middle fluff could have been cut down to allow more time for the climax and end. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Violence

I hope Sab and Ead eventually got their happy ending. The end of the book left them in such a bittersweet place. It was understandable because a girl bosses must girl boss (haha) but still would’ve loved to see their cute sapphic happy ending.

caoimhe9876's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Petition to make all high fantasy books 800 pages long 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Torture, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Suicidal thoughts