Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Priory of the Orange Tree

This book started off so well. Shannon’s world building is excellent and there is great excitement and some really cool scenes as the plot begins to unfold. You do have a love/hate relationship with some characters which I like (Sabran, Roos). Ead’s storyline is probably the most interesting and entertaining. I even found myself mildly charmed by Loth despite how annoying he is at times. Tane is the only storyline that 100% fell flat to me the entire time. The book as a whole falls apart towards the end. Some of the “character development” and changes of heart come out of nowhere and seem more convenient for the plot rather than natural. Many events building towards the climax feel very convenient too and unrealistic given the beginning. It starts jumping around a lot more seemingly just to slot things into place for the big showdown. You lose the sense of tension from earlier in the story because you start to realise there is no chance of the heroes losing. In the end the reveal and battle with the big bad is disappointing and really brief. I would still recommend this book as the world building is an excellent example for fantasy and it has some interesting and original takes. A good introduction to fantasy, but there are stories that deliver the pay off better.

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princessrory's review against another edition

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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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sarah_sedai_blueajah's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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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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