Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

86 reviews

stephhaigreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Suicide

thea_elise's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This is the largest book I’ve ever read, so now I’m quite proud of myself for finishing it:)

I liked the multiple povs, and my favorite one was Tané’s. At times I found myself irritated over it suddenly switching over to another, but I do understand that it’s an attempt at making the story as linear as possible. 

I was a bit hard to get interested and invested in the story, and at time I struggled to keep my focus.  But that does not mean that it was a boring book. Not at all. I think it was the most complex book I have any remembrance of. The world building was stunning and at time a bit overwhelming, I often found myself wanting to learn more and more, but that just the history nerd in me. 

I mostly listen to the audiobook and  the narrator gave both the story the characters a bit more dept. One of the few narrators I’ve heard, whose voice did not irritate me, but more catch my attention. 

I did not like the inconclusive ending, mostly because it’s no talk of a second book (as far as I’ve heard), but I do look forward to reading the prequel:)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

sarasbookmark'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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Torture, Dementia, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dalek_caan'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? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much. I wasn't sure what to expect with how much hype it got, but I'm so glad I went in not knowing what to expect. For a book this big, the fact that it kept me engaged the whole way through is amazing. It was so worth it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

gabbyeleene's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infertility and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Death of parent

dreadspawn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

i find this book so hard to rate. on one hand, this is probably the best fantasy book i’ve ever read, and i immediately want to read the prequel. on the other hand, i did find some issues with this. anyways im gonna break my thoughts down & maybe that’ll edge me into a decision:

- i loved ead. i would marry ead if she was real. i love her. her overall characterisation was sublime, and although her ending is bittersweet, it is overall good.

- sabran underwent one of the best arcs i’ve read. going from a mean, arrogant, stubborn women to a

forgiving, understanding and someone open and actively causing change

was amazing to read. her ending was perfect, as was her dialogue. no notes

- i found myself getting… bored at times with tané. i like her sure. but compared to ead’s main story, not as much happened here. her story only really felt as though it picked up like 65% into this book. which for a book that is 800 pages….. that’s too long

- loth was ok! like it was written well, but i didn’t grow beyond anything to just liking him, and found his story often to be a waste of time

- roos can go choke. i don’t care. i don’t even care if the intention was to have a main character so insufferable. i hated him & his chapters and i wish him pain and suffering even though he’s not even real.

i would say the overarching plot was so intriguing. it felt perfectly paced, and had plot twists galore. so much kept changing, so i was constantly on the edge of my seat. i saw a review saying this book rambled a lot and honestly, i disagree! this book absolutely needed the pages it did. it would not be as good of a book as it is. i mean yeah it could’ve been split into multiple books but i felt like it defo needed all its pages. 

but, it wasn’t perfect. for one, so much was going on all the time, meaning i would forget shit. like this is the first book ive actively had to note take just to grasp. that also ties in with the fact nothing is explained!!!! i mean obviously a lot is explained, but many crucial foundations to this story are not explained, and either thrown into the glossary & timeline. that is all fair & dandy, but i should not have to search ur book to remember who crucial characters are! sure if they’re random side character A ok u don’t need to explain them, but when you don’t explain what the fuck virtuedom even is, or the dukes court (i don’t even remember the name oh my god). like i still could not remember who was the duke spiritual, a crest, a goldenbirch, or combe. like please set some foundations. ur big bad should not be explained in the fucking glossary!!!!!!!!!!!! also come on not explaining simple things like what an ichneumon is. (edit: google is confusing me as to whether these are even real. but seriously what happened to death of the author. i should not have to consult anything BUT the text to know what’s going on imo).

that is the biggest “issue” imo holding this book back for me. it just expects you to be aware of how its world works. like yes should i have glanced at the glossary & timeline before beginning? yeah. did the glossary & timeline also have a shitload of spoilers? YEAH. like ??????

i very much did love this book, i would literally die for ead, sabran & tané, and wanted to cry when i realised i was done. but idk the lacklustre worldbuilding foundations were infuriating. goinng further with the worldbuilding e.g. the story of cleolind, the priory, etc. was great! the layers needed to build up to that though were…. lacking. 
edit: i lied even tho i said this book did flop in parts i actually don’t care because this book made me so emotional & it feels wrong not having this as a 5-star based on how much it made me feel

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Dementia

nic3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

The world building and mythology in this book are immense. The different countries feel different and made sense. On the other hand the pacing of the various stories was inconsistent, with some areas laboured and others skimmed. Overall the plot was compelling, but there were some technical aspects that let it down. I would still recommend it to others however. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

iammmartina_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail