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A review by vermidian
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a 4 star read for me. A lot of people seemed to really love this book, so I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.
Let's start off with what I really loved about the book:
• I love the world building. It's absolutely incredible. Sure, a lot of it is rooted in obvious inspiration of our world's cultures, but the scope and the lore of the world was fabulous. I loved the lore of the world and how it evolves as more is learned about the sealing of the Great One. I loved learning about the different types of dragons and how they're a balance of one another on a cosmic scale. I loved the three trees of power and how they created their own bloodlines in different ways. If nothing else is taken from this book, it should be the beautiful world building.
• I loved that the author was clear about her characters being diverse in culture, race, and sexuality - which seems like a low bar, but so many authors like to dance around it to keep people comfortable rather than challenging their perceptions.
• Meg, who deserved better.
Here are the things I didn't like:
• Fucking Niclays. If he ever becomes flesh and blood, it is on sight. He did not deserve his "happy" ending. He did nothing to ever atone for anything he ever did wrong and took no accountability and I WILL fight him.
• I thought the pace, especially in the first half, was very slow and could have been reworked to some degree. By the time the book was over, I was very ready to be done with the pacing of the book.
• There were many times where I wish the way the characters spoke were more distinct because sometimes I had to recheck who was speaking because I couldn't tell, especially as they all started sharing scenes in later parts of the book. They were all a little flat for me, emotionally, despite making very different and important decisions. I also thought they could have used a little more character growth for how many pages this brick of a book had, but you definitely can't say they didn't grow at all.
• I was very aware of the fact that Samantha Shannon, who is white, had a lot of characters that were people of color. I don't think she necessarily did anything harmful, and I hope she had beta readers to check on things, but it's worth mentioning because I worried some parts felt a little appropriated.
I also have a pet theory, which I don't think was ever confirmed: I think the Golden Empress was the Lacustrine emperor's girlfriend that he broke up with.
All in all, I don't think this is a book I will likely keep on my shelf because I don't think I'm likely to reread it, but I can see why others would love this book. I would definitely recommend this book to others. This book is definitely geared toward adult readers and not children.
Let's start off with what I really loved about the book:
• I love the world building. It's absolutely incredible. Sure, a lot of it is rooted in obvious inspiration of our world's cultures, but the scope and the lore of the world was fabulous. I loved the lore of the world and how it evolves as more is learned about the sealing of the Great One. I loved learning about the different types of dragons and how they're a balance of one another on a cosmic scale. I loved the three trees of power and how they created their own bloodlines in different ways. If nothing else is taken from this book, it should be the beautiful world building.
• I loved that the author was clear about her characters being diverse in culture, race, and sexuality - which seems like a low bar, but so many authors like to dance around it to keep people comfortable rather than challenging their perceptions.
• Meg, who deserved better.
Here are the things I didn't like:
• Fucking Niclays. If he ever becomes flesh and blood, it is on sight. He did not deserve his "happy" ending. He did nothing to ever atone for anything he ever did wrong and took no accountability and I WILL fight him.
• I thought the pace, especially in the first half, was very slow and could have been reworked to some degree. By the time the book was over, I was very ready to be done with the pacing of the book.
• There were many times where I wish the way the characters spoke were more distinct because sometimes I had to recheck who was speaking because I couldn't tell, especially as they all started sharing scenes in later parts of the book. They were all a little flat for me, emotionally, despite making very different and important decisions. I also thought they could have used a little more character growth for how many pages this brick of a book had, but you definitely can't say they didn't grow at all.
• I was very aware of the fact that Samantha Shannon, who is white, had a lot of characters that were people of color. I don't think she necessarily did anything harmful, and I hope she had beta readers to check on things, but it's worth mentioning because I worried some parts felt a little appropriated.
I also have a pet theory, which I don't think was ever confirmed: I think the Golden Empress was the Lacustrine emperor's girlfriend that he broke up with.
All in all, I don't think this is a book I will likely keep on my shelf because I don't think I'm likely to reread it, but I can see why others would love this book. I would definitely recommend this book to others. This book is definitely geared toward adult readers and not children.