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jeaniegreenie's reviews
90 reviews
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
This book has been on my TBR for far too long. It also took me an embarrassingly long time to read, as my ADHD finds it hard to concentrate on a book of such length. However, I found it easy to jump in and out of once my mood was on my side.
Samantha Shannon does such an extraordinary job of world-building. And whilst building her world, she cleverly hid pieces of a puzzle that connects cultural rifts and past events. Every POV is so complex and grows and changes your feelings about them, others, and what is at stake in the grand scheme of the plot. Even side characters, no matter how big or small, are impactful in some sort of way.
I feel a lot of fantasy nowadays is centered around more of a romantic plot, so it was incredibly refreshing to read a high fantasy book that doesn't center the narrative around a romance, but uses it as a secondary force to drive character growth and plotlines. It's also nice that any spice is not outrageously explicit, but tender and more of a cut to black.
I struggled with what to rate this book, because I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the last 10% or so of the book. I loved it and how things drawn to a close, but I feel it was a bit rushed and that the book could have expanded that last 10% by about 100 pages. I know it's already a lengthy book, but once you've made it to that point, another 100 pages doesn't feel like much and I think it would have added to closing out the epic story. However, the feat this book accomplished and the world and complex, diverse characters are too great to give this book anything but 5 stars.
This is my first book by Samantha Shannon and it has left me hungry for more. I am looking forward to reading the prequel and The Bone Season series and anything else her creative mind puts on paper!
Things I enjoyed (among many others):
~Incredible world-building that weaves together mysteries and puzzles for the reader to uncover
~Diverse characters, both in age and background
~LGBTQIA+ representation
~High fantasy
~Uses romance to grow the story and characters, but not as the main driving force
~Multiple POVs
~Female fantasy author
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"When history fails to shed light on the truth, myth creates its own."
This book has been on my TBR for far too long. It also took me an embarrassingly long time to read, as my ADHD finds it hard to concentrate on a book of such length. However, I found it easy to jump in and out of once my mood was on my side.
Samantha Shannon does such an extraordinary job of world-building. And whilst building her world, she cleverly hid pieces of a puzzle that connects cultural rifts and past events. Every POV is so complex and grows and changes your feelings about them, others, and what is at stake in the grand scheme of the plot. Even side characters, no matter how big or small, are impactful in some sort of way.
I feel a lot of fantasy nowadays is centered around more of a romantic plot, so it was incredibly refreshing to read a high fantasy book that doesn't center the narrative around a romance, but uses it as a secondary force to drive character growth and plotlines. It's also nice that any spice is not outrageously explicit, but tender and more of a cut to black.
I struggled with what to rate this book, because I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the last 10% or so of the book. I loved it and how things drawn to a close, but I feel it was a bit rushed and that the book could have expanded that last 10% by about 100 pages. I know it's already a lengthy book, but once you've made it to that point, another 100 pages doesn't feel like much and I think it would have added to closing out the epic story. However, the feat this book accomplished and the world and complex, diverse characters are too great to give this book anything but 5 stars.
This is my first book by Samantha Shannon and it has left me hungry for more. I am looking forward to reading the prequel and The Bone Season series and anything else her creative mind puts on paper!
Things I enjoyed (among many others):
~Incredible world-building that weaves together mysteries and puzzles for the reader to uncover
~Diverse characters, both in age and background
~LGBTQIA+ representation
~High fantasy
~Uses romance to grow the story and characters, but not as the main driving force
~Multiple POVs
~Female fantasy author
"I do not sleep because I am not only afraid of the monsters at my door, but also of the monsters my own mind can conjure. The ones that live within."
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0