Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

129 reviews

drewett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Torture

cstein's review

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

Minor: Alcohol and Cursing

writer_a_fox's review

adventurous challenging tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Torture and Blood

alibookedup's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, War, and Torture

auderp's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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? No

5.0

It goes into the perspective of one character that I really don't like, but that's was probably one of the theses this book was trying to get into, and I just wasn't receptive. The end felt "rushed" even though it wasn't
 There was so much precedence for depth in the first half that when things got much wider in the latter half (or even just the last 200 pages), it felt I didn't get to know those characters as well at all. The story wasn't about them though.

----Spoilers-Not-Spoilers (Meta spoilers?)----
It scratched an itch I was looking for. Something wide, spanning the entire globe, where everything is interconnected, and everyone has a point and purpose (for the most part).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Torture

zannayo's review

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

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

amobrien's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Torture, Xenophobia, and Blood

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Infertility

ezwolf's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Well it took me nearly a year from the first day I cracked it open, but I've finished it! 

I will admit that the beginning is a bit slow but I put that on the sheer amount of world building that's needed and once you're past that it really picks up speed and off we go. 

Ead and Sabran's stories (and story as a couple) and Tane's were really what interested me the most. I enjoyed Loth's POV as well but honestly was not interested in Niclays at all and every time we circled back to him I was ready to move on again. I am not usually a fan of alternating POVs but the way they all worked to tell the story was really fun to watch knit together at the end.

The way Shannon handles having a matriarchy, religious bigotry, politics all in a fantasy setting was beautifully done. 

I will also admit that the way this ends is not the way I like my (mostly) stand alone books to end, but this really only applies to Sabran and Ead. This is only a spoiler for anyone who has seen The Untamed, but it reminded me of the way that the show ends for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji and I just like a bit more of a solid "and they lived happily ever after" for my couples and would love to see if we ever get anymore with them.

I eagerly await A Day of Fallen Night even though we'll be going backwards in time, it will be interesting to read about events already knowing how the future plays out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infertility, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

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

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

Minor: Gun violence, Torture, and Infidelity

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Violence, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Rape, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Infidelity, Dementia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Torture