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brittshaw_p's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5/5⭐️ | 1/5🌶 | 1/3⚠️ | 16+
Genre: New Adult Epic Fantasy
Diversity: Sapphic & Gay MCs; loosely multicultural
Moods: epic, adventurous
Pace: medium
Device(s): multiple POV
Trope(s):
Notes: great bridge from YA to adult epic fantasy; fantastic world building - multicultural, political, religious exploration, isolationist, right level of complex
Spice was fade to black and very tender
Characters were flawed but not morally grey (with one exception), they were layered
Spice was fade to black and very tender
Characters were flawed but not morally grey (with one exception), they were layered
The magic system was philosophical and interesting, but not a huge part of the action
Really enjoyed the dual aspects of dragons and how that informed the world building And magic system
Only con - medium pace made the book drag a little, especially given the book’s length - but after the first 100 or so pages it definitely kept you hooked
Great book to bring a reader from YA fantasy into NA/ adult fantasy
# of pages: 804
AB length:
Took me ~ to read: didn’t time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
liaandersson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Where to begin?..
This could quite well be the best fantasy that I have ever read. There are tons of aspects which I adored and it is easier, for both you and I, if I take it in order.
Religion: Virtudom and the South have religions stemming from the same historical people, the differences being how these people are portrayed and what their acknowledged accomplishments were. These religious differences put a strain to the fragile relationship between the South and Virtudom. I think this is a terrific analogy of how for example, the real world has countries fighting over which is the one true religion, when the truth is there is no single right one. All of them are right, if they are right for a certain individual. I hope you will understand my sentiment once you have read it, I have a hard time conveying the message through writing.
Mislabeling: There are several instances where foreigners (in relation to the ethnic group discussed) call certain groups by derogatory terms or even slurs. It is, in my opinion, a well-executed representation of modern slurs as well as the misgendering of queer people. The reoccurring scenario where one 'foreign' individual calls another by a negative slur/term, which is then corrected as if someone was misgendered.
Queer: There is plenty of LGB representation among the main cast, as well as scattered information about historical figures and secondary characters. Still, there are no canon trans characters, even though I imagine some of them to be such. Other than the L, G AND B there is not much representation to see in regards of ace/aro, polyamory, intersex, trans and so on.
History: I loved how the history of the fictional world was incorporated as storytellings between characters, and other creative solutions. It took me a hundred pages or so to connect the dots between all the historical people and their relevance, but a bit of switching from the index back to the story here and there eventually solved all of those problems. It was all very much worth it before I even got halfway through the book.
Worldbuildning: Shannon managed to incorporate western, eastern and African fantasy. I loved to see how they all interacted with each other and enhanced one another. I don't believe I can have much to say about whether it was well represented or not, but I do hope it was done as best as could be.
A fair warning that this book, at least in my opinion, is more driven by the characters than by the plot. Due to this, I have heard the common opinion that the ending of the book is quite abrupt, while I think it is quite satisfactory, from the perspective of the character's developmental arcs.
Have a fun read!
Religion: Virtudom and the South have religions stemming from the same historical people, the differences being how these people are portrayed and what their acknowledged accomplishments were. These religious differences put a strain to the fragile relationship between the South and Virtudom. I think this is a terrific analogy of how for example, the real world has countries fighting over which is the one true religion, when the truth is there is no single right one. All of them are right, if they are right for a certain individual. I hope you will understand my sentiment once you have read it, I have a hard time conveying the message through writing.
Mislabeling: There are several instances where foreigners (in relation to the ethnic group discussed) call certain groups by derogatory terms or even slurs. It is, in my opinion, a well-executed representation of modern slurs as well as the misgendering of queer people. The reoccurring scenario where one 'foreign' individual calls another by a negative slur/term, which is then corrected as if someone was misgendered.
Queer: There is plenty of LGB representation among the main cast, as well as scattered information about historical figures and secondary characters. Still, there are no canon trans characters, even though I imagine some of them to be such. Other than the L, G AND B there is not much representation to see in regards of ace/aro, polyamory, intersex, trans and so on.
History: I loved how the history of the fictional world was incorporated as storytellings between characters, and other creative solutions. It took me a hundred pages or so to connect the dots between all the historical people and their relevance, but a bit of switching from the index back to the story here and there eventually solved all of those problems. It was all very much worth it before I even got halfway through the book.
Worldbuildning: Shannon managed to incorporate western, eastern and African fantasy. I loved to see how they all interacted with each other and enhanced one another. I don't believe I can have much to say about whether it was well represented or not, but I do hope it was done as best as could be.
A fair warning that this book, at least in my opinion, is more driven by the characters than by the plot. Due to this, I have heard the common opinion that the ending of the book is quite abrupt, while I think it is quite satisfactory, from the perspective of the character's developmental arcs.
Have a fun read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
tieflingkisser's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gore, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
storykath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I ended up having very mixed feelings about this book, but overall I enjoyed it enough to give it a high rating.
Things I loved:
Dragons!! Good and evil dragons! Yes! Any story with dragons is going to capture my imagination, and I loved the variety of dragons and the characters' attitudes towards them, which felt real and engaging.
Multiple POVs: with this being such a long book with so many things happening, it was refreshing to cycle through multiple characters/locations/plots. This also meant that it took longer to feel like I had a good handle on all the moving parts in the novel, but it came together seamlessly enough as I went on.
Going along with that point, I found the pacing to be smooth and engaging. I've seen mixed reviews about the pacing of Priory, but it all felt natural to me. Of course the pace varied depending on what was happening, but it rarely felt out of control.
I have mixed feelings about:
The worldbuilding. Some aspects of the worldbuilding had wonderful nuance and ingenuity; I loved the concept of the dragonriders and the division of the East from the rest of the world. Other areas came across as more hastily put together. While kingdoms like Yscalin, the Erysr (really anything that wasn't Seiiki or Inys) are less relevant to the story, we only really learned surface-level details about them, and it often felt like they existed in service of the more central locations. The naming of places and characters was a mixed bag for me too - there are wonderfully unique names like Eadaz and Sabran alongside names like Margret and Arbella that jarred me with their similarity to real-world names. Additionally, the themes of politics and religion swung from 'insightful and nuanced and thought-provoking' to 'simplistic and rushed and unrealistic', although I will say that they fell into the former category more often.
On a similar worldbuilding note, the queer representation was a mixed bag, in my opinion. I was very much looking forward to reading a queer-inclusive fantasy, and we did get established M/M and F/F relationships. Minor spoilers ahead in my issues with these relationships. I was disappointed that both queer romances fell into a 'forbidden love' trope. If Shannon wants to establish that queer relationships are normalized in this universe, it would have been effective to have at least one character in a current, non-secret, same-gender relationship. I think there was one nobleman who made a passing mention to his husband, but I can hardly count that. I often found myself getting confused about whether it was the power difference between the partners that was the issue, or if it was the queerness, since the latter is a more accessible example in the real world. The relationship between Ead and Sabran was wonderful to read and very sweet, and while I know the book wasn't focused on the romance, I wish that more time could have been spent developing their relationship beyond just being romantic/sensual together. I feel like we missed out on seeing them just...being people in a relationship in the everyday sense.
The writing style itself. There was some absolutely beautiful prose in this novel, and I generally quite enjoyed the descriptions of architecture, nature, sensations, etc. At other times, especially in the description of emotions or characters, the writing felt clunky and tell-y (as opposed to show-y). I was immersed in the narrative one minute, and the next I was completely removed by a sentence or description that felt glaringly juvenile or simple. In a novel as long and complex as this one, there are a lot of opportunities for inconsistencies in character behaviour and writing style to come in and cause issues, and I feel that Priory fell victim to this at times.
Deaths for the purpose of other characters' development. I can understand that character death was inevitable in this novel, given the events of the story. However, many of the deaths of supporting characters felt like they occurred purely as a device to advance the plot or provide some kind of fuel for a main character. See Arbella dying to free up a spot among the Ladies of the Bedchamber, Kit dying in a random avalanche to harden Loth up, Susa dying to weigh Tané with guilt. Before their deaths, I had interest in these characters, where they'd go, what they'd do, but their deaths felt out of place and made me feel as though those characters had little purpose in the actual narrative.
Final thoughts
This is a beast of a book (approx. 16 hours of reading for me), and while it didn't meet all of my expectations, it was an accessible fantasy with an engaging premise, diverse characters, and a dynamic plot. I couldn't always totally lose myself in the story as a result of some of its shortcomings, but it's one that I would read again in order to pick up on more details and see more clearly how the strings of the narrative pull together.
Things I loved:
Dragons!! Good and evil dragons! Yes! Any story with dragons is going to capture my imagination, and I loved the variety of dragons and the characters' attitudes towards them, which felt real and engaging.
Multiple POVs: with this being such a long book with so many things happening, it was refreshing to cycle through multiple characters/locations/plots. This also meant that it took longer to feel like I had a good handle on all the moving parts in the novel, but it came together seamlessly enough as I went on.
Going along with that point, I found the pacing to be smooth and engaging. I've seen mixed reviews about the pacing of Priory, but it all felt natural to me. Of course the pace varied depending on what was happening, but it rarely felt out of control.
I have mixed feelings about:
The worldbuilding. Some aspects of the worldbuilding had wonderful nuance and ingenuity; I loved the concept of the dragonriders and the division of the East from the rest of the world. Other areas came across as more hastily put together. While kingdoms like Yscalin, the Erysr (really anything that wasn't Seiiki or Inys) are less relevant to the story, we only really learned surface-level details about them, and it often felt like they existed in service of the more central locations. The naming of places and characters was a mixed bag for me too - there are wonderfully unique names like Eadaz and Sabran alongside names like Margret and Arbella that jarred me with their similarity to real-world names. Additionally, the themes of politics and religion swung from 'insightful and nuanced and thought-provoking' to 'simplistic and rushed and unrealistic', although I will say that they fell into the former category more often.
On a similar worldbuilding note, the queer representation was a mixed bag, in my opinion. I was very much looking forward to reading a queer-inclusive fantasy, and we did get established M/M and F/F relationships. Minor spoilers ahead in my issues with these relationships.
The writing style itself. There was some absolutely beautiful prose in this novel, and I generally quite enjoyed the descriptions of architecture, nature, sensations, etc. At other times, especially in the description of emotions or characters, the writing felt clunky and tell-y (as opposed to show-y). I was immersed in the narrative one minute, and the next I was completely removed by a sentence or description that felt glaringly juvenile or simple. In a novel as long and complex as this one, there are a lot of opportunities for inconsistencies in character behaviour and writing style to come in and cause issues, and I feel that Priory fell victim to this at times.
Deaths for the purpose of other characters' development. I can understand that character death was inevitable in this novel, given the events of the story. However, many of the deaths of supporting characters felt like they occurred purely as a device to advance the plot or provide some kind of fuel for a main character.
Final thoughts
This is a beast of a book (approx. 16 hours of reading for me), and while it didn't meet all of my expectations, it was an accessible fantasy with an engaging premise, diverse characters, and a dynamic plot. I couldn't always totally lose myself in the story as a result of some of its shortcomings, but it's one that I would read again in order to pick up on more details and see more clearly how the strings of the narrative pull together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Classism
beccaand's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
teaclockwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
cemeterygay's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I adored this book so deeply and cannot recommend this fantasy book enough, especially for those looking for a good fantasy with a sapphic romance subplot.
Before I go into raving about what I liked I have some minor critiques of the book. The map(s)? included in this book were virtually useless. It was so hard to see how the map connected and where locations actually were. I did not look at that map once after the first chapter and learned to be okay with only roughly understanding where people and countries were located. There was also a pretty heavy imbalance for the East chapters between how often we're reading about Tane and how often we are reading Niclays. I think there needed to be a bit less Niclays and a decent bit more of Tane. Not only is Niclays one of the more obnoxious characters in this book but his sections sometimes just don't add much to the story and I would heavily preferred to learn more about Tane's time either working as a dragon rider or her time on the island after her fall from grace . I also wish there was just a bit more time spent in the East in the book because it felt very sparse at times. Major spoilers for the end of the book for my last critique Why was it necessary that Kalyba saw Galian as both a son and eventually a lover? This could have easily been written in a different way but all I'm left thinking is why would you do this.
I liked virtually every other element of this book. The writing style of this novel is wonderful and vivid and flowery in just the right way. The world Samantha Shannon builds is interesting, fairly well-developed, and has so much intrigue that I'd honestly love to see more stories set in this world. I love how varied the relationships are between humans and dragons are across not just different characters and different dragons but across entire cultures and countries. I adored how Samantha Shannon tackled how religion and mythology not only vary across societies but how those societies can utilize them and change them to create propaganda. I think this goes hand in hand with themes of religious conquest and religious superiority beautifully. A massive commonality across each character's story is the presence of concepts like guilt and grief and how they push characters to either stagnate or grow and how that plays with concepts of free will and obligation and is just amazingly well-handled.
I loved the romance in this book and I think the amount of romance in this book is well-balanced and is pretty seamlessly integrated into the main plot. With the exception of Niclays, I adored each character we get to read from the perspective of and I found that each character added a needed perspective to the story. Each plot is really interesting and blends together very well. You quickly understand why you're reading about each character.
I really liked the pacing of the book and I really enjoyed the way the plot developed across the book. While I wish there was a bit more resolution with the end of the book, I did enjoy the way everyone's stories and the overall plot resolved.
It is a bit of a dense fantasy book but after you get through the first like 40 pages, you're able to quickly able to orient yourself in the world and you are able to be quickly hooked into the plot.
This is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year.
Before I go into raving about what I liked I have some minor critiques of the book. The map(s)? included in this book were virtually useless. It was so hard to see how the map connected and where locations actually were. I did not look at that map once after the first chapter and learned to be okay with only roughly understanding where people and countries were located. There was also a pretty heavy imbalance for the East chapters between how often we're reading about Tane and how often we are reading Niclays. I think there needed to be a bit less Niclays and a decent bit more of Tane. Not only is Niclays one of the more obnoxious characters in this book but his sections sometimes just don't add much to the story and I would heavily preferred to learn more about Tane's time
I liked virtually every other element of this book. The writing style of this novel is wonderful and vivid and flowery in just the right way. The world Samantha Shannon builds is interesting, fairly well-developed, and has so much intrigue that I'd honestly love to see more stories set in this world. I love how varied the relationships are between humans and dragons are across not just different characters and different dragons but across entire cultures and countries. I adored how Samantha Shannon tackled how religion and mythology not only vary across societies but how those societies can utilize them and change them to create propaganda. I think this goes hand in hand with themes of religious conquest and religious superiority beautifully. A massive commonality across each character's story is the presence of concepts like guilt and grief and how they push characters to either stagnate or grow and how that plays with concepts of free will and obligation and is just amazingly well-handled.
I loved the romance in this book and I think the amount of romance in this book is well-balanced and is pretty seamlessly integrated into the main plot. With the exception of Niclays, I adored each character we get to read from the perspective of and I found that each character added a needed perspective to the story. Each plot is really interesting and blends together very well. You quickly understand why you're reading about each character.
I really liked the pacing of the book and I really enjoyed the way the plot developed across the book. While I wish there was a bit more resolution with the end of the book, I did enjoy the way everyone's stories and the overall plot resolved.
It is a bit of a dense fantasy book but after you get through the first like 40 pages, you're able to quickly able to orient yourself in the world and you are able to be quickly hooked into the plot.
This is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
CW: Graphic (Religious war, Death of a partner, Death of a friend, Corpses, Depression), Moderate (death of both parents)grets_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Such an epically amazing book. It was a lot easier to get into the flow on second reading. And I found so much more depth and detail too. Absolutely loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Slavery, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
byrdies's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury
ameliacollins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
This book is Lord of the Rings with gender and racial equality, queer representation, and dragons. So, in my opinon, it is a world building, magical masterpiece that sees its characters as deeply flawed but growing individuals that act in ways that humans would act.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, Dementia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy