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A review by ericarossetti
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
5.0
Let me preface this review by first saying I love and adore this book and think it is an iconic fantasy story. Women leaders, mythological creatures, dragon slayers and riders, magic, queer love (!!!!!), adventure, a false religion, what more could you ask for! The world building in terms of the history, lore, religion, firstbloods, and family trees was great.
My criticisms are: I felt like certain things were too detailed or unnecessary, and certain things happened so quickly and randomly that I felt like I had whiplash or was confused. I also got to the end and still had no idea who half of the characters were or realized that I had envisioned them incorrectly in my imagination the whole time because the character names, descriptions, and terminology felt rushed. Again, whiplash? For example, I don’t know what an ichneumen is, had to Google it because it wasn’t in the glossary or described in a way that stood out at all. Also, Tané and Ead are exceptional characters, and I would have loved to see them have a relationship instead of rushing through to the end, which felt abrupt. A quarter of the book being dedicated to Niclays Roos was also too much, I could tell he was just a main character to fill in plot holes, and he is rather unlikeable.
Also it’s so long, even the author seemed sick of writing in the end lol.
I still highly recommend this book if you like fantasy. It has me thinking about it months later
My criticisms are: I felt like certain things were too detailed or unnecessary, and certain things happened so quickly and randomly that I felt like I had whiplash or was confused. I also got to the end and still had no idea who half of the characters were or realized that I had envisioned them incorrectly in my imagination the whole time because the character names, descriptions, and terminology felt rushed. Again, whiplash? For example, I don’t know what an ichneumen is, had to Google it because it wasn’t in the glossary or described in a way that stood out at all. Also, Tané and Ead are exceptional characters, and I would have loved to see them have a relationship instead of rushing through to the end, which felt abrupt. A quarter of the book being dedicated to Niclays Roos was also too much, I could tell he was just a main character to fill in plot holes, and he is rather unlikeable.
Also it’s so long, even the author seemed sick of writing in the end lol.
I still highly recommend this book if you like fantasy. It has me thinking about it months later