Reviews with content warning for War - The Priory of the Orange Tree

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

354 reviews

hardcover_hazel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

It’s been 84 years… but I’ve finally finished this book!! This TOME 😂

Going into felt overwhelming - it’s so long, and there’s a million places and characters thrown at you. It is high fantasy after all. And Ms. Shannon definitely knew my weakness (names). Literally ask the people I love how many times a day I say “I forgot the name but” and continue to describe something so obvious 😂

But somehow, the Mother gifted me with enough brainpower to not only remember people (after writing down 7 names) but places too (after writing down 5) and less than a hundred pages in I was remembering everyone and everything and knew exactly what was going on and I was HOOKED.

So, go into it with a mindset of this is your textbook and you’ll be fine 😂

We have dragons, we have magic, we have pirates, we have politics, we have cultures, we have religions, we have POC, we have sapphics, we have gays, we have queers. In a whole ass fantasy world!

And what a world it is.

I understand why this is compared to Game of Thrones. Because I’d be winter if this got turned into a series (coming)

4.5 stars because this was an entire 800 book leading up to this massive battle… that was over in 30 pages. And also because of throwing so many names at me at first that I actually had to write them down without even knowing there was a whole ass glossary of them at the back 😂

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teresaelj's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

This may be the best fantasy I have ever read. Hands down. I was never big on reading a high fantasy- especially high fantasy written by men, so this was a stretch for me. I mean this book is everything; political, romantic, queer, passed the bechdel test multiple times, has incredibly fleshed out religions and societies all while not being hard to follow or too convoluted, beautifully created friendships, so many twists and turns; i can’t recommend this enough. There were so many moments I didn’t see coming and so many moments I held my breath. It should be studied - this is such an intensely written book. Shannon should be praised more than she is. Not only do you love our narrators but you learn to love other characters ; and that love is earned. There is true sacrifice and flaws and agh, it’s so beautiful. If I could rate this 10 stars I would.

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saskiahill's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

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goldenrodgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I listened to the audiobook for a lot of this and I do not recommend it. The narrator tries to give everyone a voice but many of the characters end up with odd accents like a southern drawl

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celesteskies's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense

4.0

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vikart's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

"The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon is, overall, an amazing high fantasy book that can be really easy to get through as long as you are paying attention and not rushing through it. The book itself comes with two maps that show you all of the kingdoms that come into play during the book, and it's not too difficult to orientate yourself through them. At the back of the book, there is a list of all the characters, in case you ever get confused as to who is who, and a glossary for all of the new magical words (priory being one of them.)

I found this book to have very good writing, and overall enjoyed it thoroughly. Although it's not a comedy book, I would say there were a few moments that made me laugh. As well as a few moments of surprise.

Overall, this is a good book for anybody who enjoys dragons, high fantasy, other worlds and their religions etc.

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thea_elise's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This is the largest book I’ve ever read, so now I’m quite proud of myself for finishing it:)

I liked the multiple povs, and my favorite one was Tané’s. At times I found myself irritated over it suddenly switching over to another, but I do understand that it’s an attempt at making the story as linear as possible.

I was a bit hard to get interested and invested in the story, and at time I struggled to keep my focus. But that does not mean that it was a boring book. Not at all. I think it was the most complex book I have any remembrance of. The world building was stunning and at time a bit overwhelming, I often found myself wanting to learn more and more, but that just the history nerd in me.

I mostly listen to the audiobook and the narrator gave both the story the characters a bit more dept. One of the few narrators I’ve heard, whose voice did not irritate me, but more catch my attention.

I did not like the inconclusive ending, mostly because it’s no talk of a second book (as far as I’ve heard), but I do look forward to reading the prequel:)

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