Reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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lydia_peart's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

3.0

awahl's review against another edition

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I wasn't vibing with the writing style or story. And when a book is over 1000 pages long, I'm not going to suffer through it unless I'm loving it.

soupqueen's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

An epic story of love, magic, and dragons. Set in a fantasy world that seems to follow 16th century real-world customs and fashion, this book weaves a tale of hope and despair, balance and chaos.

This story spans continents, with countries inspired by real cultures. I think it’s generally respectful of real cultures, drawing inspiration from them rather than trying to be perfect 1:1 representations.

However, it’s obvious that one storyline in particular was the author’s darling, and much more thought and care went into the development of the country and history of the surrounding environment. With such rich worldbuilding in one plot, it left the others feeling rather underdeveloped, which was kind of disappointing.

That being said, I do think the story as a whole was cohesive, with the various plot lines weaving in and out of each other well. I also appreciate this story being contained in one book, as massive as it may be. More authors should do this, particularly in the fantasy genre.

I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to others.

carfin2528's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Great story that follows 4 main characters. While for the first part, the book seems like 4 completely separate stories, they all become interwoven. I really enjoyed 3/4 of the main characters!