The Priory of the Orange Tree

This story and world made me not care about the girth of the novel:) I immediately bought the prequel book when it came out.

This is absolutely the longest book I’ve read in my life. It’s an intimidating book, but the world was so immersive you almost forget that’s it’s a massive book.

There are twists and turns, love and loss, good v. evil, and so much more. Normally I can pinpoint a character as my favorite, but each character was so thoroughly developed and dynamic that it is impossible to pick just one.

In my year of reading fantasy, this was a perfect addition for the year at the perfect time. Had I read this book any sooner I know I would not have appreciated it as much as I do/should.

I was supposed to read this as a group read. Today was supposed to be the end of part 1... and I may or may not have already finished the book. It was really hard to put down. The only reason that it wasn't a 5 star for me is there was so much in here that my brain couldn't keep track. This was beautiful and I loved it though.

Hmmmm... I don't know where to start with this one! First things first, if you are a part of the Sapphic/Bisexual community, just go ahead and pick it up. You are welcome! :) I found myself feeling the proverbial steam waft from the book from time to time, blushing, slapping my knee, yelling "yaaaaaaaassssssssssss bih" multiple times, going "awwwwww :'"), and just overall really feeling all the romantic moments in the book. Very we're here and queer! Very fab, very gay. So yeah, 10/10 on that front. Now the storytelling can feel a tad bit long in the beginning; I felt that it lagged a bit to get to the overall conflict in the story, but when we got there, I was hooked from then on out. It's told from multiple viewpoints, so just hang in there until you get to the overall conflict. It was super gay, there was lots of engaging world building, witty dialogue and banter at times, and overall a great fantasy book. The fight scenes were a bit hard to interpret, but perhaps I should have just re-read it a bit to understand the technical movements being described. Idk. Good book, def try it out and see what you think!

A bit confusing in some small parts, a bit over long in others but overall a nice read.

Awful

3.5??

I’m glad I stuck with it but it took until page 300 or so before I really got into it.

Samantha Shannon has managed to write a fantasy world that feels so lived in and believable. I would read a history book just about this world. There feels like there are so many myths and stories that haven’t been told yet about the backstory of this world that I am eager to learn about.

This fantasy is heavy and complex and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. There is lots of exposition and world building that technically isn’t necessary to understand and enjoy the story being told in this book. However, I was so engrossed with the magic system and the world that I didn’t care and ate up every little bit of information Samantha was willing to give me. I am surprised this book is so popular on TikTok. It took me a long time to get through the first hundred pages with me referencing the map, glossary, and index to try and put together the politics and countries of this world. This is not an action packed fantasy. It is a political drama. There a handful of action scenes but they are not the focus.

I think the characters are very well written and I was emotionally invested in a few of them by the end. I think Niclays Roos is an excellent example of how to write a morally gray character who struggles to make the right choices when under pressure. There are a few romance elements to the story that are not the focus but feel meaningful because of the way they drive the main story and change the way characters react.

This took a shockingly long time for me to read. Started it in 26 August and didn't finished it until 17 September and it wasn't the page count. Some parts of it where good, it definitely had potential and I can kinda see why it's so bellowed. However I both found it too long and easily to forget while putting it down and it's been laying embarrassingly long on my nightstand waiting for me to finish it. I wanted more from the story, didn't felt like enough happened and wasn't able to fully get invested in the characters or plot. However it's not a bad book, it's written quite well but I had hyped it up so much in my head

Wow...a little over a week. Felt like longer. Huh.

This book is a little long in the tooth, but well written, with excellent character development, and mostly decent pacing. It makes a good stand-alone, too, and although there are loose ends, it's in such a way that the book wraps up comfortably.