The Priory of the Orange Tree [Paperback]

Priory of the orange treeWhat to say about this book when already everyone out there is praising this book.I am afraid that is it only me who felt that this book is okayish. And it is developed intentionally to be so fat where tye story could have been told like about 500 or 600 pages.The cover is undoubtedly a gorgeous one, and anyone can fall in love with it.What it takes to be a book nerd, a fat book , a book with gorgeous cover and specs ( this thing I don't have) but this book haves almost every element of a good Fantasy, but just a thing which I think could have been better is the storytelling.The narration is really nice, the details and everything is narrated with a great deal of clarity, but the way characters are introduced is little bit perplexing.I was so excited for this book that I started reading it the day I received keeping my all other books aside. But the start was not up to my expectations. Yes as the story proceeds the interest develops but for that you need to keep patience.Bloomsbury publisher is the one well known for it's fantasy books, and everyone was waiting eagerly for this book. Alas! I don't have the theme poster and bookmark but I like the book.It is like a good artwork on my table, like a show piece.The problem with this book is that re reading will take efforts and it isn't a story which I would love to re read.I don't know about game of thrones ( song of ice and fire which I say soif) so can't compare the whole series but yes to compare with what I read I recommend soif for readers who have the courage to read the whole series ( and afford it) and for those who can't, yes it is a gold book so don't worry and enjoy it.It was fun book to read. Though I don't witness so great things, and I will have to say that expectations from this book somewhere formed a little "not so liking" thing. So if you are reading it, don't expect from it and read.Happy reading

So. Dragons.No, really, without even knowing much about the books, the one thing that made me pre-order it was the fact that there were queendoms and there were dragons. I was sold. Then the reviews started pouring in and I was a bit intimidated by them because everyone seemed to love this one and rarely did anyone have anything truly bad to say about it.I finally started the book with these fears in my mind and I needn’t have. I really needn’t have. There’s something about the writing, quick moving plots and multiple narratives throughout the book that really helped me love it. It’s very clear as you read along that Shannon had her canon done to a T. There wasn’t a lot left to wonder about and there weren’t a lot of glaringly obvious plot holes scattered in the book and with a book this size, I was very worried about that. Especially considering the fact that this is a standalone.So, let’s dive into this one. Let’s go with dragons first because let’s be honest, a lot of the people probably put it on tbr just for the dragons. There’s such a good variety of dragons and what constitutes as a dragon. The different regions having different and polarizing opinions of said creatures. With east and west having such vastly different outlooks (with a somewhat valid reason), it was absolutely amazing to read and learn more about them as the pages flew by.World-building. If you know me at all, you know I am weak for world-building in a fantasy novel/ series. So, I was very worried about it with this one because how much of it can you really stuff into one novel? Well, on this front, Samantha Shannon absolutely floored me. With people of different faiths, different geography and different traditions and lore, Priory still managed to make me feel very much as if I was living all of those and that was victory for the author, I think. It is so hard to make up a whole new world with its societies and religions and traditions and even though she doesn’t go too deep into them, there’s still enough to make me feel satisfied about it.Pacing and plot! With a book that is almost 900 pages, I did wonder about the pace and the plot meeting that golden ratio. And admittedly, the first 150 pages do take a bit of a time but once you cross that, it all settles into a nice pace that is easy and exciting at the same time because things don’t stop happening in the book. It is also a multi-perspective so you are reading things that happening in multiple parts of the world with such distinct characters. That’s always a plus for me, multi-perspective when done right can be phenomenal and here, it is.Characters! Gosh. Okay, so, first of all, I am trying to contain myself here because this one is already too long a review but I just have to talk about the characters. From Ead, who’s from the south and has tried to climb her way to become Queen Sabran’s close friends and learning something about herself as well as the queen to Sabran who has such a heavy legacy to carry on, who’s caustic and remote and cold but also insecure and in need of love. From Tane, a commoner who becomes a dragon rider but who’s one action could bring about her downfall to Loth who’s such a dear friend of Queen Sabran and who has had to face far more than his station in the court might have hinted at. Then there’s Roos, who’s absolutely not likeable but at the same time, he’s suffered enough in life to warrant some pity. He sometimes tries to be better but almost always the results end in disasters.Relationships. This book has some of the best friendships I have seen in a while. They are not perfect but they are solid, they just are. There’s sisterhood that is almost enviable if I am being honest because these women, while they do have their own ambitions, they try to raise each other up and that was so good to read about. Then there’s the opposite sex friendships which are just that, friendships. I am afraid that I haven’t read enough books where opposite sex friendships are pure friendships so when I do stumble into them, I am just absolutely in love with them. There’s also a really touching lgbt romance in there as well which feels so organic and natural that I was almost surprised by it.Overall, I would like to say that this is entirely enjoyable and immersive book and frankly, I couldn’t have expected anything better. I do have a couple of things I was bothered by. I wanted more Tane POV and I wish there was more expanded to cover the north as well. But those are tiny complaints compared to the rest of the positive points and frankly, if you are at all a fantasy fan, or someone who’d love to see some badass women being badass or if you wanna read about friendships and relationships in general then this is the book for you. Don’t be intimidated by the size, the pace of the book takes care of the fear.

YOU are missing out if you don’t read this book now. I know, I know, it’s a big book, about 800 pages long and you must be intimidated but let me tell you, I was intimidated too! This is my first 800 pages book and I finished it in 5 days! I stopped sleeping (literally slept at 4AM in the morning for four days.) You won’t be able to sleep, you’d want to know what happens next. First 2 chapters can be a little confusing because it has the characters' intro but omg, after that! Still thinking of Ead and Subran. (you’ll know after you’ll finish it) :’(

I was intrigued by below list and that's why picked this book.🧡Dragons - You have one in cover🧡 Feminist characters - Ead, Sabran , Tane ,Margret (Meg)🧡 Divided kingdoms across sea - I love this type of stories.🧡Orange tree - which has a black/crucial story :)This book is about 800 pages , so I made myslef to read atleast 100 pages a day. Damn that was hard in the beginning cos story is slow.Once the world is build and you know the characters well , the story's pace is set on fire.Second half of the book was my favourite an fit was unputdownable.I would recommend you to read the book because of below things.💥Trust your friends💥Your belief(religion) can be different , still you have your friends back💥Everyone is fighting their own battle ,help to uplift each other💥Dragons are different from wyrms - here wyrms are fire breathers and dragons /SeaDragon draw energy from water and they are holy beings.💥Puzzles/poems - you will love when they are solved by the end of the book :D💥 Inchumeons -( my Polar bears )- they are fast travelling and they talk🙈 . Yes dragons talk too.

Was thinking how much efforts it takes to write such an epic fantasy. So much time and efforts.But as of now this book is standalone. I wish that this would be a series. So many new places and new ppl for only one book. 🙁We need more to this epic world @say_shannon.Genre : Fantasy.This one was the total package with the Dragons, Magic, Queendom, new outlook to homosexuality and pirates.The story of 2 branches of magic is so good. We can say that there is a new outlook to magic and its existence..Another exciting part was the Queendom. A Realm where the Ruler has always been a Queen. And every queen gives birth to one daughter, who there after becomes the queen. Although we see a modern outlook here, But what everyone expected from her was a heir. (that age old practice of Queen's duty to give an heir). But of course the reason for a heir is different. Unless she gets married and gives them a princess they are all in danger..Also this is my first book were the topic of Homosexuality is embraced. Although ppl don't come out that easily but still it is accepted by everyone on personal front..Being a queen her life is always in danger. But she is not aware of a Mage in disguise who is protecting her from all the dangers she is facing. If her true identity is revealed then she would be banished from the Realm..Across the dark see there is one more women unaware of her lineage and her destiny. But destiny always finds its way..The paths of these women are interlinked how they meet and what is their intertwined destiny remains to be seen..It was really exciting to visit this new world full of adventures. I really want there to be a sequel.Do try this one..While reading this I was many times reminded of "The song and ice and fire". But obvious there is lot of difference in both. This one is not that dark and brutal. This one as a whole happy story with happy ending and less brutal killings in fact we can say very less killing.