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A review by sgbrux
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
3.0
I originally DNF’d this in October 2020, after putting in about 120 pages. Nothing was grabbing at me, which is odd, as typically I can find something that captivates me whether it be the prose, the magic system, the characters, or a particular singularity around the plot.
After finally reading this (physical + audio), sadly my thoughts haven’t changed.
There were a lot of pacing issues right up until the end. Lots of exposition and detached passive narration, which made this feel even slower. So much of the cast felt like shades of the same character, with little to distinguish their voices. Arguably, one character who stood out—and was my favorite for the levity they created—was killed off about a quarter of the way through. Disappointing as the story needed more of that. So much more.
The writing is fine—nothing wrong with it. From time to time, I came across passages with pretty phrasing that resonated with me, but many belonged to said killed-off character.
I appreciate the author’s efforts around diversity, specifically women and queer relationships, but these somehow fell flat for me. They felt spur of the moment and underdeveloped.
There were many deaths and tragedies in which the execution of these scenes or discoveries felt rushed, which made me feel somewhat jilted.
I have to call out one scene in particular that made me scratch my head. I’ll try to keep it vague for spoilers, but essentially one of the key characters suffers a highly traumatizing miscarriage and then turns around and has sex with another main character. Personally, I had a hard time believing that would immediately happen, as someone who’s given birth and experienced a great deal of pain and other issues around carrying a child. But what do I know?
After finally reading this (physical + audio), sadly my thoughts haven’t changed.
There were a lot of pacing issues right up until the end. Lots of exposition and detached passive narration, which made this feel even slower. So much of the cast felt like shades of the same character, with little to distinguish their voices. Arguably, one character who stood out—and was my favorite for the levity they created—was killed off about a quarter of the way through. Disappointing as the story needed more of that. So much more.
The writing is fine—nothing wrong with it. From time to time, I came across passages with pretty phrasing that resonated with me, but many belonged to said killed-off character.
I appreciate the author’s efforts around diversity, specifically women and queer relationships, but these somehow fell flat for me. They felt spur of the moment and underdeveloped.
There were many deaths and tragedies in which the execution of these scenes or discoveries felt rushed, which made me feel somewhat jilted.
I have to call out one scene in particular that made me scratch my head. I’ll try to keep it vague for spoilers, but essentially one of the key characters suffers a highly traumatizing miscarriage and then turns around and has sex with another main character. Personally, I had a hard time believing that would immediately happen, as someone who’s given birth and experienced a great deal of pain and other issues around carrying a child. But what do I know?