The Priory of the Orange Tree Review

Hello, fellow Book Butterflies! I can's believe it's been over a month since I last posted! One of the reasons is.....I've been tackling this bad boy of a book - The Priory of the Orange Tree!

A couple of weeks ago, @all.you.read.is.love and I set out on a challenge we’d both been avoiding for too long - The Priory of the Orange Tree! I can’t express enough how happy I am that Erin suggested reading it as a read-along (although that fell apart quickly)! 😂

From the first few chapters, I knew that this book wouldn’t feel as long as it is (all 804 pages!). There was immediate action and from the get-go the story is intricate and highly detailed. 💜I did struggle to keep up with characters at first, but the character outline at the back really helped and I wish more big fantasy books had this!👍 There was a lovely background romance feel too, in a way that didn’t overpower the book. Brilliant representation too, with a leading sapphic romance 🖤

It took me a while to grow attached to the main characters but once I was, I loved them. I especially appreciated Shannon’s ability to portray the same character in different lights depending on who they are interacting with. For anyone who isn’t familiar with this book- the cast is a strongly female-dominated cast and it was so refreshing for females to be so organically integrated into the positions of knights and empresses!

The story is written from different places and all of the storylines are integrated so well, very much giving a Game of Thrones type feel! Each of the places was very unique and I appreciated the combination of different cultures that each place was inspired by! I loved when characters came together, however, after such a big build up- I’d have liked a little more! As if I’m asking for a longer book! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Lastly, I’d like to comment on the beautiful writing! It felt sophisticated without been waffly and difficult to follow!

Honestly, this book was a pleasure to read and I’m definitely looking to read more from Samantha Shannon!

Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️