Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

129 reviews

themelleh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

It took me a while to read this because I was moving and hit a slump. Also the first half is pretty much world building and setting up the second half. But then I have been voracious and determined to clear the books in my still reading pile and I’ve manage to hack away at this over the last two weeks.

I was so invested to the point where my hand gripping my hair and audible gasps had my partner asking if I was okay (I was not). 

Very much looking forward to the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War

lifeinsilver's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Dementia

brittanyboston18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Outing, and Alcohol

cstein's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-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

Could benefit from additional and repeat explanations of various imagined words, a large cast of characters and their connections to one another, and the histories and geographies of several fictional countries. Some relationships and events (specifically, what should have been the climatic battle) were more or less convincingly fleshed out. Nonetheless, an engrossing escapist read that kept my interest for weeks.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing and Alcohol

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

kat__z8's review against another edition

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

5.0

This book is everything I look for in high fantasy, and more.

I read this book over the span of three weeks, which would usually guarantee a gradual loss of interest were it with any other book. But Priory is one of those rare books that just satisfy me whether I devour it in a few sittings or over a month.

It's a book that's at once immersive and jam-packed with actions and magical quests. It had been so long since I encountered a high fantasy world crafted with such care and details to every single aspect that matters. The countries? Splendid. The religions, myth and lore? Breathtaking. The people, the races and different creatures? Marvelous.

I said this book had more, and I seriously think this is where Shannon won compared to other old classics (sorry, LOTR!). The world here is just so rich and the characters and cultures so diverse, as is fit for our world. I could tell Shannon put so much effort in researching that much of the culture it's inspired from bled into the writing and I just felt so spoiled, the world building in this book was such a treat and feast for my senses! 

We have multiple POVs of characters who are all queer (Ead—lesbian, Tané—aroace, Loth—ace spec, Niclays—gay, and of course we have Queen Sabran, who is a prominent character even without a POV—bisexual). Shannon painted a world that's optimistically accepting and unapologetically feminist. Sure, there were still some sexism and heteronormativity left, but it's more closely tied to classism and there are constant fights by the characters against the system. There were also some small but very refreshing traditions like using a gender neutral term for one's spouse—a companion. Female characters were seen in position of power and it was no big deal. It's just a really refreshing and hopeful world despite the looming threat of the Nameless One. 

Finally, I just want to say that this book did take me some time to get into. The plot was clear from pretty early on, and like any other fantasy books, we get the typical quest to defeat the final enemy almost at the end of the book. In the meantime, I would just enjoy the trips and adventures these characters took me on, sometimes wide-eyed at certain plot twists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

zannayo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Not many of the main characters are immediately likeable but somehow without even realising it you'll find they've really grown on you by the end of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, and Deportation

smithreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Torture

khylababyla's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

A world with a rich history, political intrigue, religious war, and of course the sapphic characters that brought me to this story in the first place. Oh and did I mention dragons? 

This is by far one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. If you are trying to break into more adult fantasy rather then YA fantasy this is a great starting point.

Also do not let the size of this book intimidate you. It’s a much quicker read then I anticipated and is broken up into sections that make it easier to manage. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Homophobia and Religious bigotry

multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail