Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Priory of the Orange Tree

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

329 reviews

indigo_fox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.25

I didn't fall in love with this book immediately but I'm glad I stuck it out. It took a few (I think 3 or 4) chapters to get into the groove of this book. Once I started to learn more about the world things started to get interesting. The author does a great job with worldbuilding. I love the inclusion of myths, stories, traditions, and food. The food part especially speaks to me since it is such a huge part of culture. Its neat to see the staples of each section of the world.

The characters were great. Their personalities stood out in a way that gave them life. There was a range of personalities too, which seemed very realistic in a group of randos banding together to defeat a great evil.

I love the way this story is structured. It takes on various POVs and it is fun to see how everything connects in the end.

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hardcover_hazel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful 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

4.5

It’s been 84 years… but I’ve finally finished this book!! This TOME 😂

Going into felt overwhelming - it’s so long, and there’s a million places and characters thrown at you. It is high fantasy after all. And Ms. Shannon definitely knew my weakness (names). Literally ask the people I love how many times a day I say “I forgot the name but” and continue to describe something so obvious 😂

But somehow, the Mother gifted me with enough brainpower to not only remember people (after writing down 7 names) but places too (after writing down 5) and less than a hundred pages in I was remembering everyone and everything and knew exactly what was going on and I was HOOKED.

So, go into it with a mindset of this is your textbook and you’ll be fine 😂

We have dragons, we have magic, we have pirates, we have politics, we have cultures, we have religions, we have POC, we have sapphics, we have gays, we have queers. In a whole ass fantasy world!

And what a world it is.

I understand why this is compared to Game of Thrones. Because I’d be winter if this got turned into a series (coming)

4.5 stars because this was an entire 800 book leading up to this massive battle… that was over in 30 pages. And also because of throwing so many names at me at first that I actually had to write them down without even knowing there was a whole ass glossary of them at the back 😂

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periodblood's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I'm extremely relieved to have read this book and finish it. It's wonderfully written and contains many elements I value while reading. I really love many of the characters and love the reflection of their personality. One of my greatest joys is learning about the history and customs of the worlds I read, which is greatly reflected in this book.

Ead and Sabran's relationship has become deeply engraved in my mind and I will forever love them. They're greatly represented.

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teresaelj's review against another edition

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

5.0

This may be the best fantasy I have ever read. Hands down. I was never big on reading a high fantasy- especially high fantasy written by men, so this was a stretch for me. I mean this book is everything; political, romantic, queer, passed the bechdel test multiple times, has incredibly fleshed out religions and societies all while not being hard to follow or too convoluted, beautifully created friendships, so many twists and turns; i can’t recommend this enough. There were so many moments I didn’t see coming and so many moments I held my breath. It should be studied - this is such an intensely written book. Shannon should be praised more than she is. Not only do you love our narrators but you learn to love other characters ; and that love is earned. There is true sacrifice and flaws and agh, it’s so beautiful. If I could rate this 10 stars I would.

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