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julies_reading 's review for:
A Day of Fallen Night
by Samantha Shannon
3.75 stars
500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree, the era called the Grief of Ages occurred. Spanning several countries and continents, we follow four different characters: in the West, Glorian, the teenage Berethenet Queen, struggles under the shadow of her mother and the lack of autonomy she has. In the South, Tunuva, a dedicated member of the Priory of the Orange Tree, is torn between her loyalties to the people she loves and saving the world. In the East, Dumai, raised as a priestess to the dragon gods on a remote mountain, discovers her royal heritage and her role as a voice for the dragons. In the North, Wulf, a foundling as a child, finds conflict among his fellow guardians as he appears to have too much luck among terrible tragedies, adding to questions about his origin.
I loved Priory, so reading this was a no-brainer for me; I just had to find a time I could fit it in. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. By itself, it would have been good, but wouldn't have garnered the success of Priory. In comparison to Priory, I don't think it holds up as well.
What did I like? Firstly, the writing and prose of this book was its strongest suit. So many fantastic sentences. I also was absolutely sucked into the prologue (it honestly might have been my favorite part of the book). As with the first book, I liked the dragons, the magic system, the questioning of religious/historical beliefs, and the wide-spanning political aspects of the world. I liked a lot of the conversations that happened around sexuality (there's ace, sapphic, and achillean rep) as well as one's duty vs. the fight for autonomy. I thought that each section in here had its ups and downs. Some sections I liked those characters best but the plot didn't feel as strong (Glorian), versus some had a stronger plot but characters I found harder to get attached to (Dumai). Regardless, I wasn't as invested in any of the characters as I was with those in Priory. Some scenes felt redundant, and the pacing in the middle struggled for me. I did think that the action/wyrm stuff was better spaced throughout the book than Priory (which had like a singular chapter as its battle). This was similar enough to the first book that I was wondering what the function of this was meant to be. I had a good time though.
Overall, not a lot stood out to me in comparison to the original book. I think it was still good, but didn't match my love of Priory.
500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree, the era called the Grief of Ages occurred. Spanning several countries and continents, we follow four different characters: in the West, Glorian, the teenage Berethenet Queen, struggles under the shadow of her mother and the lack of autonomy she has. In the South, Tunuva, a dedicated member of the Priory of the Orange Tree, is torn between her loyalties to the people she loves and saving the world. In the East, Dumai, raised as a priestess to the dragon gods on a remote mountain, discovers her royal heritage and her role as a voice for the dragons. In the North, Wulf, a foundling as a child, finds conflict among his fellow guardians as he appears to have too much luck among terrible tragedies, adding to questions about his origin.
I loved Priory, so reading this was a no-brainer for me; I just had to find a time I could fit it in. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. By itself, it would have been good, but wouldn't have garnered the success of Priory. In comparison to Priory, I don't think it holds up as well.
What did I like? Firstly, the writing and prose of this book was its strongest suit. So many fantastic sentences. I also was absolutely sucked into the prologue (it honestly might have been my favorite part of the book). As with the first book, I liked the dragons, the magic system, the questioning of religious/historical beliefs, and the wide-spanning political aspects of the world. I liked a lot of the conversations that happened around sexuality (there's ace, sapphic, and achillean rep) as well as one's duty vs. the fight for autonomy. I thought that each section in here had its ups and downs. Some sections I liked those characters best but the plot didn't feel as strong (Glorian), versus some had a stronger plot but characters I found harder to get attached to (Dumai). Regardless, I wasn't as invested in any of the characters as I was with those in Priory. Some scenes felt redundant, and the pacing in the middle struggled for me. I did think that the action/wyrm stuff was better spaced throughout the book than Priory (which had like a singular chapter as its battle). This was similar enough to the first book that I was wondering what the function of this was meant to be. I had a good time though.
Overall, not a lot stood out to me in comparison to the original book. I think it was still good, but didn't match my love of Priory.