Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

213 reviews

meesha_mo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So many villains. So many heroes. So many pages.

I mostly enjoyed this book. The character arcs and the things that prompted their growth was interesting. Except Tame. She just always felt flat/the same to me and I couldn't tell you exactly why. I know she's a very important character but every character of the West felt more important than her. It's like the story was only originally meant to be about Ead/the West and the author added Tane as an afterthought. 

There were some world building things I didn't understand, like the Abyss, but I probably missed some details in all the pages or it was just meant to be mysterious.

Also, Niclays' abrupt about face

- not sure how believable it is in the context of the whole story, but it was a necessary plot device I guess.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent

princessrory's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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? No

5.0

“I would live alone for fifty years to have one day with you.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Incest, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, and Suicide

Minor: Dementia, Vomit, and Torture

kiwij96'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

4.0

This book was genuinely captivating in a lot of ways. The storytelling and worldbuilding were beautifully written. Yes, it can be a little heavy at times but it is so worth it. The characters are mostly well-developed throughout the story too and you begin to understand what makes them tick and feel their range of emotions through the events that take place. I loved the interconnectedness that slowly took place between each of the characters' individual stories and how their experiences made them grow as characters.

This said, my main criticisms would be that after many chapters of build-up to a conflict, the conflict is over in 2 pages. This happens often and it feels a bit lacklustre for a story of this scale. As a result of this, it oftentimes felt like it was trying to achieve too much and that the conflicts were quickly solved to move onto the next one. Another criticism is that the romance felt massively out of place in the story and wouldn't have changed the plot any if it wasn't there at all. Every other character was fleshed out effectively in the sense that they all had things that made them independent but work well as a part of a team when needed, they each had ambitions and they felt real. I couldn't get a feel for Ead because of this. Of all the characters she was the one with the least development, despite the story following her the most.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Infertility, Murder, Violence, Miscarriage, Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Incest, Pregnancy, and Suicide

amschelly153's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

Good read overall, the pacing is a bit slower than its prequel though. I really enjoyed the character development and look forward to more journeys in this world!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Violence, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

filipa_maia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book just made its way in to my all time favorites.

Despite the heavy world-building, the long list of characters, the very different settings that are described, this book is extremely easy to read. You can easily fall in love with these characters even though you are constantly aware of their flaws.

In the end I was so scared that my favorite characters were going to die that I didn't want to finish the book. That's how much I started to like these fictional people (and non-people too).

I can't wait to read more stories in this world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, War, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Classism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Vomit

Minor: Infidelity

shottel's review

adventurous emotional 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

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, War, Miscarriage, Incest, and Dementia

mscalls's review

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Gore, Vomit, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child death, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, and War

emmahe's review

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, War, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Grief and Sexual content

Minor: Incest and Infidelity

fairyollie's review

adventurous inspiring slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

this is a stunning, beautiful novel. many main characters are queen, and a sapphic relationship is at the center, but they are not the driving focuses of the story. Priory starts off slowly, but the world built, history explored, and characters nurtured makes up for the slow pace. it's a beautifully-written, lyrical ode to motherhood, feminine power, politics, religion, culture, and history; Priory is complex and classic and quickly became one of my favorites. it was a great way to end 2023 and start 2024!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Animal death, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Confinement

imds's review

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Torture, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Religious bigotry, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Body horror, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Xenophobia