Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

72 reviews

yikeslou's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Samantha Shannon has done it again with a book I'll never be able to stop thinking about ever!!! I have too many screaming thoughts for a coherent review. But this was without question a 5 ⭐ epic with everything I've ever wanted in a fantasy novel: war, tragedy, comedy, found family, lesbian milf warriors, trans scientists, ace aro princesses with mommy issues, religious fervor, the SLOWEST BURN I'VE EVER READ... more to come as I wake sweating in the night thinking about the Roots of Chaos. I can never thank Shannon enough for making this into a series.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

I think it was a great followup. I don't typically enjoy prequels because they are inherently tragic, but I think it played with tragedy well while still giving us an interesting story. I also got really attached to the characters. It did drag a bit at parts, but I knew it would given the length. Overall I liked it and I really want a book about our three tree mothers. I need to know the full story. But if we ge the next gen story like she has been teasing that works for me. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

fayemh's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

this was super mega depressing and it took me quite a while to get into this as it was quite slow and focused on worldbuilding, but it was definitely still good

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

itsbexx's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.25

Like Priory of the Orange tree it takes a bit to get into it but especially the last 300 pages are so captivating it’s hard to put it back down! There are some amazing characters in this truly a joy to read. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

zoiejanelle's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

I WISH I COULD GIVE THIS BOOK TEN STARS. i dare say it was even better than The Priory of the Orange Tree, but only because it had such a fantastic book as a foundation. 
A Day Of Fallen Night built upon the lush and brilliant world of Priory and expanded upon the mythos and magic i fell in love with in Priory. the story was much faster in this book, with multiple viscerally real and flawed storytellers that made me fall in love time and time again. the plot was so deep, so intricately woven, and there was not a single point (past page 100) where i felt comfortable putting the book down for too long. 
although the audience somewhat knew the story that the book would tell, the devil is truly in the details. the characters and their arcs truly made this book worth reading and enriched the lore of the world tenfold. getting to know the players in the folklore intimately was just magical… i will never read Priory the same way. 
also… the romance in this book was NEXT LEVEL. i did not think Samantha Shannon could top Ead and Sabran, but i was very, very wrong. the two main romances in this story were sapphic, which i loved, and all mentioned partnerships were extremely three-dimensional and believable. i won’t put spoilers here, but the enemies to lovers was SERVING in this book and i wept MULTIPLE TIMES over one particular couple. and over other things as well.
this book simultaneously re-opened and healed some aching wounds inside me—wounds surrounding womanhood, motherhood, family, religion, love, duty, and identity. i was a complete sniveling mess for the last ~150 pages of the book, but i wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 
Samantha Shannon has done it again. A Day Of Fallen Night is truly a masterpiece. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ssellwood's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional 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

A book with epic scope and queer love stories, this was an emotional and breathtaking read. Spanning multiple regions each filled with well developed faiths and landscapes, Shannon weaves a story of the trials and joys of feminine power. She discusses the highs and lows of motherhood while exploring both young and mature queer relationships. I will say that the pace is quite changeable, but only due to the twists which keep the 800+ pages engaging. Would recommend to anyone looking for beautiful dragons and queer love with poetic, descriptive prose that reminds me of the Song of Achilles at times.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lady_valhella's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

It is great. If I didn’t have such a long tbr i would pick up the priory of the orange tree today and reread that book with all of the info i have now from this book. It is a big book but i think i probably read it faster than most short books. I don’t have all the words but the story is so well written. The web of story lines so well thought out and they all make sense as the interconnectedness becomes clear. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

crownoflaurel's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bergha1998's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I liked most of the plot lines in this one. It’s helpful that all except one are POVs of women. It’s just a long book, in a way that makes it feel like a long book. I think a more thorough editing could have made this book much more enjoyable. 

Multi-POV, LGBTQIA+, Romance Subplots, 1 🔥

“I bid you mind my heart. I leave half of it in your keeping.”

“Your pain is not my pain, but I know its shape. I am sorry for it.“

“‘Because you would not believe until you saw.’ ‘Is that so terrible?’”

“He saw danger in difference… Some people need to call others evil, so they can seem pure and righteous in comparison, or to purge contempt they hold in secret for themselves.“

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

meganpbell's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious 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

A glorious, epic, feminist, fantasy masterpiece !!! This prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree had me acting out scenes and saying lines out loud, it was that beautiful, badass, and moving.  

Expand filter menu Content Warnings