Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

55 reviews

em815ily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and War

rubybastille's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

I don’t read a lot of epic fantasy nor do I tend to read gigantic books. I’m glad I made an exception for this one. It had a couple pacing issues and convenient coincidences, but I’d much sooner take an imperfect but still *really good and enjoyable* single volume over a strung-out (and possibly never completed) series. I loved the contrasts in religions and cultures and the way different POV characters learned key plot points at different times. I also loved how it felt like a completely new fantasy experience, from Roos’ character arc to Tane’s relationship with both her dragon and her nation to Sabran’s mental health struggles.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Incest, Infidelity, Torture, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Classism and Blood

emliza's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Hate crime

Moderate: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Abandonment, War, Torture, Infidelity, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Incest

lauramcc7's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Infidelity, Confinement, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infertility, Death of parent, Blood, War, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Homophobia, Grief, and Death

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Excrement

Minor: Cannibalism, Incest, and Abandonment

the_bees_books's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Grief, Violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Mental illness, and Blood

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Infertility

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, War, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Classism, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Animal death, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexism, Confinement, Torture, Medical content, and Sexual content

Minor: Incest, Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Excrement, Self harm, Vomit, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

Illness, epidemic.

emmacartlidge's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual content

caitonline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Grief, Death, Blood, Gore, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Animal death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol