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A review by foosreadsandwrites
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
5.0
Stellar. It took a month to finish, and I loved reading it the entire time.
I have a few notes about why I enjoyed it that I want to remember:
1. The story was masterfully organized to feel like utter chaos to me as the reader. If a character got comfortable, they would not stay that way for more than a page - and yet, the chaos didn’t feel contrived. The story just had that much happening. I think that’s what made the 800 pages feel like the correct amount of pages. It didn’t feel too long and had very few lulls between gripping plot lines.
2. Every character, even the most despicable, could be lovable. The motivations were believable, the actions well timed and chosen. None of them were acting out of their character’s bounds to suit the plot.
3. Nothing was dragged out! The world is going to war, but I didn’t have to sit through war councils. Everything is going wrong, but I got to quickly get to the part where they put it right again.
Loved it. I’ll throw in some negative for those on the fence…sometimes they help me decide if I’ll like a book more than the positives do.
Negatives:
1. In some ways, it’s “what you’d expect” from a fun, huge fantasy novel. That’s a thing I love about genre literature, but I know it’s a turn off for some readers.
2. actually never mind I don’t have many negatives
I have a few notes about why I enjoyed it that I want to remember:
1. The story was masterfully organized to feel like utter chaos to me as the reader. If a character got comfortable, they would not stay that way for more than a page - and yet, the chaos didn’t feel contrived. The story just had that much happening. I think that’s what made the 800 pages feel like the correct amount of pages. It didn’t feel too long and had very few lulls between gripping plot lines.
2. Every character, even the most despicable, could be lovable. The motivations were believable, the actions well timed and chosen. None of them were acting out of their character’s bounds to suit the plot.
3. Nothing was dragged out! The world is going to war, but I didn’t have to sit through war councils. Everything is going wrong, but I got to quickly get to the part where they put it right again.
Loved it. I’ll throw in some negative for those on the fence…sometimes they help me decide if I’ll like a book more than the positives do.
Negatives:
1. In some ways, it’s “what you’d expect” from a fun, huge fantasy novel. That’s a thing I love about genre literature, but I know it’s a turn off for some readers.
2. actually never mind I don’t have many negatives