Scan barcode
A review by emilynied
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
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
3.75
This was... a BOOK. First of all, this thing is 800+ pages, which, I've tackled long books like this before, but none as mature and complex as this one (no offense, Sarah J. Maas). I do wish I had chosen a different time to read this, rather than stressing about finishing it before leaving on vacation but I am so glad I finally got to it. Because I wanted to finish it within the week, I think I was focused a bit too much on reading quickly rather than fully absorbing the rich and complex world that I was immersed in. So, take this review with a grain of salt because I really do think I would have enjoyed it more with more time (so I can for sure see a re-read in my future).
Anyways..this book was really, really great. It bounces between of POVs with a lot of action and world building. We have Ead Duryan, a lady-inwaiting at the court of Queen Sabran the Ninth and The House of Berethnet. I really liked the dynamic here and it was wild to me to feel time pass through the pages. I loved their relationship and the maturity of it - they had such a mature relationship that felt pretty refreshing considering I mostly read YA fantasy.
We also have Tané, who has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, though she lives on the other side of the "world," on the opposing side. I really, really wish we got more of the training side - as we mostly deal with the ramifications of a decision Tané makes early on in the book. I would have loved to read about more dragons :) There are a couple other POVs, with characters who circle around following their own paths. None of the characters are fully good or fully bad, and I also thought that was interesting - I love my morally grey baddies.
The ending was action packed and exciting and I loved the conclusion of each characters story - just thinking about it makes me want to reread lol. Despite my slight disconnection with the story as I rushed to finish it, I actually teared up a little at the ending between Ead and Sabran, I love them so much. Writing this review makes me just want to pick the book up again lol as I've mentioned like five times in this review so far, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later, tbd. So... I'm leaving it with a placeholder of 3.75 stars because I can see myself really loving this book, I just have to revisit to get there.
Anyways..this book was really, really great. It bounces between of POVs with a lot of action and world building. We have Ead Duryan, a lady-inwaiting at the court of Queen Sabran the Ninth and The House of Berethnet. I really liked the dynamic here and it was wild to me to feel time pass through the pages. I loved their relationship and the maturity of it - they had such a mature relationship that felt pretty refreshing considering I mostly read YA fantasy.
We also have Tané, who has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, though she lives on the other side of the "world," on the opposing side. I really, really wish we got more of the training side - as we mostly deal with the ramifications of a decision Tané makes early on in the book. I would have loved to read about more dragons :) There are a couple other POVs, with characters who circle around following their own paths. None of the characters are fully good or fully bad, and I also thought that was interesting - I love my morally grey baddies.
The ending was action packed and exciting and I loved the conclusion of each characters story - just thinking about it makes me want to reread lol. Despite my slight disconnection with the story as I rushed to finish it, I actually teared up a little at the ending between Ead and Sabran, I love them so much. Writing this review makes me just want to pick the book up again lol as I've mentioned like five times in this review so far, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later, tbd. So... I'm leaving it with a placeholder of 3.75 stars because I can see myself really loving this book, I just have to revisit to get there.