Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

El Priorato del Naranjo by Samantha Shannon

41 reviews

mscalls's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0


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acebooknerd_07's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Breaths in, there is so much to talk about this book so let's go... 

WORLD BUILDING: 
Okay the first thing I want to talk about is world building in this book. This was my very first high fantasy I have read till now and I still understood the world building well enough is a proof enough that it can be read by anyone. There is a significant amount of world building and I pretty much liked it. 

PLOT: 
This is one of the tastiest thing about this book there is so much intrigue, drama, politics, power struggle, thrill and adventure as well. Plot of the book took some time to grow on me but when it did, it became pretty hard for me to keep the book down. There were times when my jaw dropped on the floor because of some plot twists but there were also time when I was under whelmed as well because there were some points in the book where there was such a high build up but execution fell flat to me, but there is one thing about this books which was done exceptionally well was the romance between the two main main characters. It was so refreshing to see romance between two grown adult women who have their own fears, insecurities, principles. Best thing about the book was that romance didn’t overpower the plot rather it complemented it well and that was the best part about the book for me. 
 
CHARACTERS: 
This book is written in a multiple POV so there is more than one central character in the book which makes it even more interesting to see how these characters will come together and how they are all connected to one another. What I can say about the priory is that it’s heart lies with it’s characters, who are flawed, have their own insecurities and ambitions which makes them very much real and at times relatable as well. The only issue I had with this book was there were lots of characters in the book and not all of them got enough time for them to shine when book is already 800 pages long. My most favorite character from the book was hands down “Nayimathun” I love her so much and the dynamic between “ Tané and Nayimathun” was my favorite. After “Nayimathun” I loved “Eadaz uq-Nāra” for obvious reasons because she made me question whether I want to be her or be with her. I also liked the character development of “Sabran IX”. In starting of the book I didn’t fancy her much but by the end of the book I started liking her for more than one reasons. But the best written and most complex characters of this book were “Niclays Roos” and “Kalyba” they were the most interesting characters in the book. I could neither hate them nor love them, they were one of the best and most complex characters in the book and honestly they made the book so much interesting for me. 

WILL I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK:
We already know the answer, but let’s put it out out there YES I will recommend this book because what’s there to not recommend? It has love, drama, politics, adventure, magic, dragons some good plot and interesting characters and their dynamic. This book is not perfect but it’s still worth giving a time in my humble opinion. 

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imds's review against another edition

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

3.5


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_dina's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.75


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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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

3.5

Read For:
Dragons
Slow Burn
Fantasy Map
Sapphic Romance
High Fantasy (but make it queer)

I definitely have some mixed feelings about this book.  I wanted to love it but it fell more flat for me than anything else.  It was just kinda meh.  It wasn’t bad but I also just didn’t fall into the hype about it either.  I was a bit bored at times, honestly.

While the worldbuilding/setting was done really well the characters overall just lacked personality.  I found myself confused as to who was who for more than half of the book, which might be more of a me thing than anything else, but even then I just didn't really care for any of them.  I am much more of a character person than a world-building person.

Then there were some chapters that just dragged out, and while in the beginning, it was fine.  It's high fantasy and that's expected to get to know the world and everything but it was no better by the last chapter.

However, I didn’t totally hate this book either.  I really liked how the Queen was the one running things.  It was super nice to read a high fantasy without it being majorly sexist or borderline creepy.  Plus it had some queer relationships as well, a sapphic relationship being the main hype of the book besides the dragons.  And lastly the dragons, I loved how they were written into the story, how they interacted with their riders, and the bond they shared.

Overall, if you're a fan of high fantasy and want to see some queer rep within the book then I recommend this to you.  However, if you’re more like me, where contemporary books have taken over your tbr, then I probably wouldn't recommend it to you.

POV: Switching, Third Person
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rep: Queer MCs, Queer SCs, Sapphic (main), Achillean (side), Aspec MC

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navierreads's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

3.5


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questionable_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

4.25


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sea_sea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

This book is absolutely amazing! It’s like Lord of The Rings, just with more dragons, the gays and queens.  I seriously recommend this book to anyone who reads! Samatha Shannon literally transports you into the book. The words just vanish while you watch Ead, Sabran, Tané and Loth fight their own battles, that slowly merge into one. A song that I think describes the way this book feels is Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine. I could go on about this book for FOREVER, I strongly recommend it!!!!! >o< 

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theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

The size may look daunting at first, but the depth and wealth of this book is beyond that of many series, much less individual books. Priory is an epic fantasy that stretches across a world divided by their love or and hatred for dragons. In the West, a handmaiden to a queen protects her from a plot while nursing hidden secrets of her own, and a young man is sent on a dangerous mission to an enemy land. In the East, a young woman trains to be the next dragon rider of her people and an old alchemist in exile seeks eternal life in a foreign land. The story travels the length and breadth of the world, culminating in an epic battle to determine the fate of the world. My only gripe with this amazing book was that certain plotlines were solved a bit too quickly and handily in order to get to those end chapters, and everyone seems to be able to speak each other's language with very little explanation. Absolutely cinematic-quality descriptions, heart-wrenching moments, surprise reversals and twists of fate make this a book for every fantasy lover out there. 

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the_bees_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

My favourite book. 
This book is for the kids who didn't want to be princes and princesses, this is for the kids who wanted to be knights and dragon riders, royalty and sorcerers. 
This is a story for those who never felt they were enough and proof that you are, if you choose to believe it. 
 

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