The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - Book Review

4.5/5

Okay, I will admit I read this book purely coasting on vibes. So if you’re looking for a supercritical review that is very technical and professional then you are in the wrong place. Just had to put that PSA out there. I gave this book a solid 4-stars based on that alone. I really enjoyed the world-building. I liked the 4-person POV because it kept me interested throughout the 800+ pages. Which is admittedly hard to do. I loved the addition of queer characters which felt very natural. And it has dragons, pirates, and feminists so I mean that checks my boxes.

The book switches between four characters' POVs. Loth, Niclays, Ead, and Tane. All from vastly different backgrounds and with different goals/morals. My least favorite would have to be Niclays but mainly because I couldn’t really relate to his story. He was a well-written character with a great arc. But when compared with the others he is nothing to write home about. Loth was hilarious but not on purpose. He was just coasting life purely on vibes when his friendship with the queen threw everything off. He was decidedly more vital to the story than I initially thought he was going to be but in the best of ways. His character added a lot of depth and his arc was absolutely crucial to the other characters. Plus you can tell he is a man written by a woman. Loth is a true feminist and we love him for it. Tane was literally adorable. She was the youngest, being only 19 when the story took place. My only complaint is that I wish I had gotten more of her POV. Because the chapters I got with her were some of my favorites. I really did not expect her character to go the route she did and it made her even more of a GOAT. Absolute badass. I would kill for a story of just Tane and her adventures after the book ends. Last but not least is Ead, our lesbian girlie. My favorite character of course, and that is without my gay bias. She, in my opinion, was the lowkey main character of all the other main characters. And her relationship is the stuff of dreams. Her backstory and motivations spoke to me and I think her personality really shone through. She was very consistent with her morals and I felt like I truly knew her. Not like I could predict what she would do next, she wasn’t boring. She just felt very real, and it brought a whole other layer of complexity to her character. For a genre that tends to be plot heavy over character heavy, this book really turned it on its head. And the plot didn’t lack at all despite the characters being so complex and thought out.

Speaking of plot! Let’s discuss this one because I have probably too much to say about it. Let me just start with the fact that dragons are so freaking cool. What an awesome creature to pick as both gods and villains. I loved what she did with the lore. I can’t say too much without spoiling the plot but let’s just say I would never have thought of dragons in that way if I hadn’t read this book. There is so much depth to the world too! The book has 2 different maps, a full glossary, a timeline of events before the book starts and every character mentioned dead or alive. Talk about world-building! It does take a few chapters to get into just because of the genre itself. I mean it’s just the nature of fantasy, it’s hard to get going. But once you do (which was about 150-200 pages for me) you can’t put it down. Not only were you reading about the main plot of the potential dragon war again and the nameless one waking up (not a spoiler I swear) but there are also like 7 subplots going on at the same time. Each character has their own thing going on. On top of overarching stories. The care and time that went into their culture as well was amazing. I truly felt like this is how things would play out if this was real history. Religions, for example, were a huge one. The fact that people dedicated their lives to the religion, despite there being no real evidence for it was too real. The main conflict between the countries was religion! Which sounds awfully familiar. But that makes total sense. It’s not some weird concept that I struggled to understand why it would divide countries (like in some books). I completely empathized with all the characters and countries because they each were just clinging to what they thought would give them the best life/afterlife. Plus loved the women written by women. They were 100000% more powerful and important than men in this book. And it was never once questioned. It was so refreshing to read a fantasy book where I felt represented and empowered. Shout out to Samantha Shannon.

All in all if you are looking to read a book not so critical and more vibes based then I recommend this one. Although I do have to put a disclaimer here. I have seen the main relationship garner some controversy. I can’t say too much without spoiling the plot but there is a BIPOC character who is a servant who is in a relationship with a white superior. So I am going to throw in that as a trigger warning as well as one for gore, miscarriage, and one mention of infanticide. I did not purchase the book myself as I rented it from my library so I feel the need to do my due diligence and let you know these things before you spend upwards of $20 and hours of your life reading this book. Happy reading!

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