Reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

tashawallace95's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

acatbirb's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

ohyes_that_girl's review against another edition

I tried too hard to finish this one. DNF at 30%. Not the right time in my life to attempt a high fantasy 700 page book.

dianuhhh's review against another edition

4.0

As succinct as an ~800-page high fantasy can be. Scrupulous, vivid, and specific.

In love with the concept of three gigantic, magic-blessed trees, two felled and lost to the ages, and the “bloodlines” of all dwindling or lost. The magic and lore revealed and obfuscated in a perfect balance. I keep coming back to the final glimpse at Tané, the white butterfly, and fresh blood.

meanstoakenz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

3.5

Priory's pace is sluggish for near 300 pages, with only a handful of moments which provide some reason to keep going. However, the back half of the book is quite a fun read, with action and compelling character moments aplenty. If anything, I'd say the last 1/8th of the book is a bit rushed.

The "West

/ South

" plot is far more interesting than the "East" plot, with the characters from the East

spending most of the book in an anime tournament arc then only being relevant to the larger story out of a bizarre coincidence (Tane), or only being tangentially related to the overall plot (Niclays)

. But Ead's story and arc (as well as

Sabran

) are compelling enough to make the novel worth the read.

twomoonia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

itsclau_medina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging fast-paced

4.25

ktaylor123's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.0

dana37's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

parisereads's review against another edition

4.0

LOVED IT GONNA RE-READ PARTS OF IT FOR SURE AHHH TOO SLEEPY FOR REAL THOUGHTS YAY LESBIANS AND FEMALE-CENTRIC FANTASY !!!!!