A review by electrachet
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I loved this story and would definitely recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in high fantasy. The length may seem daunting at first, but I read the first half of the book in less than a day and I'm usually a slower reader. There's so much world building to really keep you engaged! However, there were a few details that keep me from giving the book 5 stars. I wish we had a tiny bit more in the way of an epilogue. Niclays Roos was also an unnecessary character in some ways and The Nameless One had very little overall participation in the book. I felt the overall "villain" (or villains) driving the plot were underdeveloped. I also wish we got to experience more of Tané's story. I felt her POV was abandoned in the middle in favor of Ead, Sabran, & Loth's stories but she was still a compelling character I wanted to get to know better. I ultimately think the confinement of the story to a single book does weaken the overall narrative. This would have been better as a duology or even a trilogy, but maybe I just wanted to spend more time with the characters in the beautifully rich world that they live in. :')
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