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brittshaw_p's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5/5⭐️ | 1/5🌶 | 1/3⚠️ | 16+
Genre: New Adult Epic Fantasy
Diversity: Sapphic & Gay MCs; loosely multicultural
Moods: epic, adventurous
Pace: medium
Device(s): multiple POV
Trope(s):
Notes: great bridge from YA to adult epic fantasy; fantastic world building - multicultural, political, religious exploration, isolationist, right level of complex
Spice was fade to black and very tender
Characters were flawed but not morally grey (with one exception), they were layered
Spice was fade to black and very tender
Characters were flawed but not morally grey (with one exception), they were layered
The magic system was philosophical and interesting, but not a huge part of the action
Really enjoyed the dual aspects of dragons and how that informed the world building And magic system
Only con - medium pace made the book drag a little, especially given the book’s length - but after the first 100 or so pages it definitely kept you hooked
Great book to bring a reader from YA fantasy into NA/ adult fantasy
# of pages: 804
AB length:
Took me ~ to read: didn’t time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
liaandersson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Where to begin?..
This could quite well be the best fantasy that I have ever read. There are tons of aspects which I adored and it is easier, for both you and I, if I take it in order.
Religion: Virtudom and the South have religions stemming from the same historical people, the differences being how these people are portrayed and what their acknowledged accomplishments were. These religious differences put a strain to the fragile relationship between the South and Virtudom. I think this is a terrific analogy of how for example, the real world has countries fighting over which is the one true religion, when the truth is there is no single right one. All of them are right, if they are right for a certain individual. I hope you will understand my sentiment once you have read it, I have a hard time conveying the message through writing.
Mislabeling: There are several instances where foreigners (in relation to the ethnic group discussed) call certain groups by derogatory terms or even slurs. It is, in my opinion, a well-executed representation of modern slurs as well as the misgendering of queer people. The reoccurring scenario where one 'foreign' individual calls another by a negative slur/term, which is then corrected as if someone was misgendered.
Queer: There is plenty of LGB representation among the main cast, as well as scattered information about historical figures and secondary characters. Still, there are no canon trans characters, even though I imagine some of them to be such. Other than the L, G AND B there is not much representation to see in regards of ace/aro, polyamory, intersex, trans and so on.
History: I loved how the history of the fictional world was incorporated as storytellings between characters, and other creative solutions. It took me a hundred pages or so to connect the dots between all the historical people and their relevance, but a bit of switching from the index back to the story here and there eventually solved all of those problems. It was all very much worth it before I even got halfway through the book.
Worldbuildning: Shannon managed to incorporate western, eastern and African fantasy. I loved to see how they all interacted with each other and enhanced one another. I don't believe I can have much to say about whether it was well represented or not, but I do hope it was done as best as could be.
A fair warning that this book, at least in my opinion, is more driven by the characters than by the plot. Due to this, I have heard the common opinion that the ending of the book is quite abrupt, while I think it is quite satisfactory, from the perspective of the character's developmental arcs.
Have a fun read!
Religion: Virtudom and the South have religions stemming from the same historical people, the differences being how these people are portrayed and what their acknowledged accomplishments were. These religious differences put a strain to the fragile relationship between the South and Virtudom. I think this is a terrific analogy of how for example, the real world has countries fighting over which is the one true religion, when the truth is there is no single right one. All of them are right, if they are right for a certain individual. I hope you will understand my sentiment once you have read it, I have a hard time conveying the message through writing.
Mislabeling: There are several instances where foreigners (in relation to the ethnic group discussed) call certain groups by derogatory terms or even slurs. It is, in my opinion, a well-executed representation of modern slurs as well as the misgendering of queer people. The reoccurring scenario where one 'foreign' individual calls another by a negative slur/term, which is then corrected as if someone was misgendered.
Queer: There is plenty of LGB representation among the main cast, as well as scattered information about historical figures and secondary characters. Still, there are no canon trans characters, even though I imagine some of them to be such. Other than the L, G AND B there is not much representation to see in regards of ace/aro, polyamory, intersex, trans and so on.
History: I loved how the history of the fictional world was incorporated as storytellings between characters, and other creative solutions. It took me a hundred pages or so to connect the dots between all the historical people and their relevance, but a bit of switching from the index back to the story here and there eventually solved all of those problems. It was all very much worth it before I even got halfway through the book.
Worldbuildning: Shannon managed to incorporate western, eastern and African fantasy. I loved to see how they all interacted with each other and enhanced one another. I don't believe I can have much to say about whether it was well represented or not, but I do hope it was done as best as could be.
A fair warning that this book, at least in my opinion, is more driven by the characters than by the plot. Due to this, I have heard the common opinion that the ending of the book is quite abrupt, while I think it is quite satisfactory, from the perspective of the character's developmental arcs.
Have a fun read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Abandonment, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Vomit, Colonisation, and Confinement
Minor: Confinement, Torture, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Cursing
gracewiley'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Violence, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Miscarriage
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Incest
storykath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I ended up having very mixed feelings about this book, but overall I enjoyed it enough to give it a high rating.
Things I loved:
Dragons!! Good and evil dragons! Yes! Any story with dragons is going to capture my imagination, and I loved the variety of dragons and the characters' attitudes towards them, which felt real and engaging.
Multiple POVs: with this being such a long book with so many things happening, it was refreshing to cycle through multiple characters/locations/plots. This also meant that it took longer to feel like I had a good handle on all the moving parts in the novel, but it came together seamlessly enough as I went on.
Going along with that point, I found the pacing to be smooth and engaging. I've seen mixed reviews about the pacing of Priory, but it all felt natural to me. Of course the pace varied depending on what was happening, but it rarely felt out of control.
I have mixed feelings about:
The worldbuilding. Some aspects of the worldbuilding had wonderful nuance and ingenuity; I loved the concept of the dragonriders and the division of the East from the rest of the world. Other areas came across as more hastily put together. While kingdoms like Yscalin, the Erysr (really anything that wasn't Seiiki or Inys) are less relevant to the story, we only really learned surface-level details about them, and it often felt like they existed in service of the more central locations. The naming of places and characters was a mixed bag for me too - there are wonderfully unique names like Eadaz and Sabran alongside names like Margret and Arbella that jarred me with their similarity to real-world names. Additionally, the themes of politics and religion swung from 'insightful and nuanced and thought-provoking' to 'simplistic and rushed and unrealistic', although I will say that they fell into the former category more often.
On a similar worldbuilding note, the queer representation was a mixed bag, in my opinion. I was very much looking forward to reading a queer-inclusive fantasy, and we did get established M/M and F/F relationships. Minor spoilers ahead in my issues with these relationships. I was disappointed that both queer romances fell into a 'forbidden love' trope. If Shannon wants to establish that queer relationships are normalized in this universe, it would have been effective to have at least one character in a current, non-secret, same-gender relationship. I think there was one nobleman who made a passing mention to his husband, but I can hardly count that. I often found myself getting confused about whether it was the power difference between the partners that was the issue, or if it was the queerness, since the latter is a more accessible example in the real world. The relationship between Ead and Sabran was wonderful to read and very sweet, and while I know the book wasn't focused on the romance, I wish that more time could have been spent developing their relationship beyond just being romantic/sensual together. I feel like we missed out on seeing them just...being people in a relationship in the everyday sense.
The writing style itself. There was some absolutely beautiful prose in this novel, and I generally quite enjoyed the descriptions of architecture, nature, sensations, etc. At other times, especially in the description of emotions or characters, the writing felt clunky and tell-y (as opposed to show-y). I was immersed in the narrative one minute, and the next I was completely removed by a sentence or description that felt glaringly juvenile or simple. In a novel as long and complex as this one, there are a lot of opportunities for inconsistencies in character behaviour and writing style to come in and cause issues, and I feel that Priory fell victim to this at times.
Deaths for the purpose of other characters' development. I can understand that character death was inevitable in this novel, given the events of the story. However, many of the deaths of supporting characters felt like they occurred purely as a device to advance the plot or provide some kind of fuel for a main character. See Arbella dying to free up a spot among the Ladies of the Bedchamber, Kit dying in a random avalanche to harden Loth up, Susa dying to weigh Tané with guilt. Before their deaths, I had interest in these characters, where they'd go, what they'd do, but their deaths felt out of place and made me feel as though those characters had little purpose in the actual narrative.
Final thoughts
This is a beast of a book (approx. 16 hours of reading for me), and while it didn't meet all of my expectations, it was an accessible fantasy with an engaging premise, diverse characters, and a dynamic plot. I couldn't always totally lose myself in the story as a result of some of its shortcomings, but it's one that I would read again in order to pick up on more details and see more clearly how the strings of the narrative pull together.
Things I loved:
Dragons!! Good and evil dragons! Yes! Any story with dragons is going to capture my imagination, and I loved the variety of dragons and the characters' attitudes towards them, which felt real and engaging.
Multiple POVs: with this being such a long book with so many things happening, it was refreshing to cycle through multiple characters/locations/plots. This also meant that it took longer to feel like I had a good handle on all the moving parts in the novel, but it came together seamlessly enough as I went on.
Going along with that point, I found the pacing to be smooth and engaging. I've seen mixed reviews about the pacing of Priory, but it all felt natural to me. Of course the pace varied depending on what was happening, but it rarely felt out of control.
I have mixed feelings about:
The worldbuilding. Some aspects of the worldbuilding had wonderful nuance and ingenuity; I loved the concept of the dragonriders and the division of the East from the rest of the world. Other areas came across as more hastily put together. While kingdoms like Yscalin, the Erysr (really anything that wasn't Seiiki or Inys) are less relevant to the story, we only really learned surface-level details about them, and it often felt like they existed in service of the more central locations. The naming of places and characters was a mixed bag for me too - there are wonderfully unique names like Eadaz and Sabran alongside names like Margret and Arbella that jarred me with their similarity to real-world names. Additionally, the themes of politics and religion swung from 'insightful and nuanced and thought-provoking' to 'simplistic and rushed and unrealistic', although I will say that they fell into the former category more often.
On a similar worldbuilding note, the queer representation was a mixed bag, in my opinion. I was very much looking forward to reading a queer-inclusive fantasy, and we did get established M/M and F/F relationships. Minor spoilers ahead in my issues with these relationships.
The writing style itself. There was some absolutely beautiful prose in this novel, and I generally quite enjoyed the descriptions of architecture, nature, sensations, etc. At other times, especially in the description of emotions or characters, the writing felt clunky and tell-y (as opposed to show-y). I was immersed in the narrative one minute, and the next I was completely removed by a sentence or description that felt glaringly juvenile or simple. In a novel as long and complex as this one, there are a lot of opportunities for inconsistencies in character behaviour and writing style to come in and cause issues, and I feel that Priory fell victim to this at times.
Deaths for the purpose of other characters' development. I can understand that character death was inevitable in this novel, given the events of the story. However, many of the deaths of supporting characters felt like they occurred purely as a device to advance the plot or provide some kind of fuel for a main character.
Final thoughts
This is a beast of a book (approx. 16 hours of reading for me), and while it didn't meet all of my expectations, it was an accessible fantasy with an engaging premise, diverse characters, and a dynamic plot. I couldn't always totally lose myself in the story as a result of some of its shortcomings, but it's one that I would read again in order to pick up on more details and see more clearly how the strings of the narrative pull together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Medical content
grets_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Such an epically amazing book. It was a lot easier to get into the flow on second reading. And I found so much more depth and detail too. Absolutely loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Grief, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Dementia, Miscarriage, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
mollyfour's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Murder, Violence, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Dementia, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Torture, and War
strange_little_ranger'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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Miscarriage, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit
offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really wanted to love this book - Sapphic high fantasy that’s not YA sounded like my dream.
Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, but I didn’t fall in love with it.
The world building and character development were well done and the political story was intriguing.
My biggest complaint is that the book should have been split up into a series. It was super long and it felt like so many different things happened that would have been better absorbed over more than one book.
I was hoping for a bit more spice, given that it is not YA but alas.
I quite enjoyed the morally grey development of Niclays
Spice level: 🌶🌶/5
Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, but I didn’t fall in love with it.
The world building and character development were well done and the political story was intriguing.
My biggest complaint is that the book should have been split up into a series. It was super long and it felt like so many different things happened that would have been better absorbed over more than one book.
I was hoping for a bit more spice, given that it is not YA but alas.
I quite enjoyed the morally grey development of
Spice level: 🌶🌶/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
drachenreiter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, War, and Confinement
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
annabelle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Wow what a journey!! I buddy read this with two friends and that was definitely the right choice. This book is so massive that I don’t think I could’ve read it by myself.
The world building was amazing. The world was expansive and so incredibly detailed. I would really love to see more books or short stories set in this world. Specifically, I want a prequel of everything with Cleolind, Galian, and the founding of Virtuedom. We did find out the truth, but I want more!! Also, I want to see more of the other countries (especially the Empire of Twelve Lakes!!!). I need more books set in this world!
The characters were likable and complex. Each character’s perspective was strong and I enjoyed each of their arcs. I even got teary eyed when Niclays visited Jannart’s grave at the end. That really hurt 😭💔 However, this was not a character driven story, so I didn’t feel very connected to the characters. I liked them, but I was not deeply invested. I’ve realized that I enjoy character driven books a lot more, and I need to be invested in the characters to love the book.
The plot was very interesting, the set up was good, but the pacing was all over the place. The beginning was so slow, and it took a long time in this already very long book for any action to occur. When the action did start, the story moved along very quickly and a lot of things happened off-page. I was okay with that sometimes (I’m glad we didn’t get multiple chapters of Loth trekking through the mountains and being depressed over Kitston’s death... that would’ve been torture), but we skipped over some of my favorite elements of fantasy books (like the training and strategizing for the big battle). This led to the ending feeling very rushed and somewhat anticlimactic. Things just worked out because we had 200 pages to get the characters together, fight the last battle, and wrap up 4 POVs. Most of this book was set up and the action was very limited. Looking back, the set up was very necessary and every chapter was important. I just wish we had more time for the climax. Am I saying this 800+ page book needed to be longer? Yes. Maybe it should’ve been a duology or even a trilogy.
The magic in this world was so interesting, but a bit underdeveloped. It was one of the vague magic systems where you aren’t sure what the all rules and limitations are. The magic just did what it had to do to service the plot. I had so many questions by the end. How did Tané master siden so quickly? How did she not run out of her siden during the battle? How did the jewels work? How did Ead and Tané know what to do with the jewels when there is very little written record of the jewels even existing?! What did they do with the jewels at the end of the book?!!??!!!! How do all the different types of magic work?? I need answers!!!
I think a lot of my criticisms could have been avoided if the story was longer. I can’t believe I’m saying that when this book is already massive. There was just too much going on to cram into one 800 page book. Even with my criticisms, I enjoyed the book, and I’m glad I read it. The world was stunning, the characters were complex, and the plot was interesting. If you’re a more of a plot person then I think you’ll love this!
The world building was amazing. The world was expansive and so incredibly detailed. I would really love to see more books or short stories set in this world. Specifically, I want a prequel of everything with Cleolind, Galian, and the founding of Virtuedom. We did find out the truth, but I want more!! Also, I want to see more of the other countries (especially the Empire of Twelve Lakes!!!). I need more books set in this world!
The characters were likable and complex. Each character’s perspective was strong and I enjoyed each of their arcs. I even got teary eyed when
The plot was very interesting, the set up was good, but the pacing was all over the place. The beginning was so slow, and it took a long time in this already very long book for any action to occur. When the action did start, the story moved along very quickly and a lot of things happened off-page. I was okay with that sometimes
The magic in this world was so interesting, but a bit underdeveloped. It was one of the vague magic systems where you aren’t sure what the all rules and limitations are. The magic just did what it had to do to service the plot. I had so many questions by the end.
I think a lot of my criticisms could have been avoided if the story was longer. I can’t believe I’m saying that when this book is already massive. There was just too much going on to cram into one 800 page book. Even with my criticisms, I enjoyed the book, and I’m glad I read it. The world was stunning, the characters were complex, and the plot was interesting. If you’re a more of a plot person then I think you’ll love this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent