ewaterman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
adanisan's review against another edition
4.0
Rich, epic fantasy, could even be called a feminist game of thrones? I enjoyed this world and the characters and hope to see more stories set in this world!
tashalou's review against another edition
5.0
This book. Was amazing. Seriously, I think this is actually my new favourite of all time. Dragons, badass assassin priestesses, magery, a queendom instead of a kingdom! I love fantasy, but I've had the hardest time finding one that I really like because they're all based on a bedrock of misogyny and homophobia, which I simply can't read anymore- I've had enough. This book was diverse, female-driven, all the things we've been waiting for in a fantasy for our time. And the story-telling was beautiful, rich, and detailed. I just loved it!
limeade's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.5
lorireads2much's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
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
socks_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
I read this book a couple months ago, so take this review with a grain of salt as it has been a while and my thoughts on it aren’t super fresh.
I enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree, don’t get me wrong, but I had a few gripes with it. Here are my thoughts as a whole:
1. I felt like the plot itself wasn’t groundbreaking. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the romance and the fantasy, sure. But at its core the plot felt like a typical dark fantasy. I was waiting for the twist at the end or the giant incredible fight, but that part fell a little flat for me. However, I read this book over the span of months, only reading a couple pages a night, so keep that in mind. Obviously the way the author paced the book over the span of hundreds of pages is rather groundbreaking, but I still had hoped for something incredible for the plot as it has been so hyped up. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the plot, I just had expected something a bit less conventional story wise.
2. The slow burn romance I felt was well done. The pacing made sense and felt natural.
3.
I dunno… I can’t think of anything else right now.
Overall, I still recommend it! It’s a good read if you like fantasy and complex world building and like to read something for a long, long time. I just think that you should go into it realistically and not hype it up to a standard it just doesn’t meet. It’s a good book, a great book even! Just don’t hold it to a almost unattainable standard like I did I suppose.
I enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree, don’t get me wrong, but I had a few gripes with it. Here are my thoughts as a whole:
1. I felt like the plot itself wasn’t groundbreaking. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the romance and the fantasy, sure. But at its core the plot felt like a typical dark fantasy. I was waiting for the twist at the end or the giant incredible fight, but that part fell a little flat for me. However, I read this book over the span of months, only reading a couple pages a night, so keep that in mind. Obviously the way the author paced the book over the span of hundreds of pages is rather groundbreaking, but I still had hoped for something incredible for the plot as it has been so hyped up. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the plot, I just had expected something a bit less conventional story wise.
2. The slow burn romance I felt was well done. The pacing made sense and felt natural.
3.
Spoiler
The nameless one wasn’t that cool. The characters described him like a world eater who could destroy anything and so on and so forth, but then he was just like… kind of bigger than the other dragons?? I expected him to be the size of mountains and if I remember correctly he wasn’t really that big. The fight with him also felt very quick in comparison to the preparation for it.I dunno… I can’t think of anything else right now.
Overall, I still recommend it! It’s a good read if you like fantasy and complex world building and like to read something for a long, long time. I just think that you should go into it realistically and not hype it up to a standard it just doesn’t meet. It’s a good book, a great book even! Just don’t hold it to a almost unattainable standard like I did I suppose.
rosecott's review against another edition
I feel like o should love this book as it ticks so many boxes for me but I just don’t find myself wanting to pick it up. I really like the plot and everything about the story, I just don’t feel connected to the characters. I don’t know why! I’ve tried 3-4 times now to read this but it’s just not grabbing me
reidkelsea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.75
nico001's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
naanaa's review against another edition
Audiobooks are not for me, I'll be buying it and reading it instead.