The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos)

I was simultaneously thrilled and let down by this epic fantasy. While it was an incredible sapphic fantasy, I was disappointed to not find more pages after reaching the end. Priory of the Orange Tree takes you on an incredible adventure while being female centered from the Reign of Queens to the Priory to the Riders to the Pirates, there are strong female characters everywhere. And the romance that blooms is a complete side plot that it does not take away from this being a true fantasy. I was, however, let down by the final battle scene being as quick as it was and felt like I had been shorted an epilogue that would have really rounded out the ending. If this standalone novel turns into a series, I will retract my statement about the ending but if this is in fact it, I feel that one more chapter that really rounded everything out would have been nice. Samantha Shannon is a great fantasy author and I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a female centered fantasy that doesn’t turn into a spicy romance.

I liked it. It has a lot of details in some thing (describing clothing and such) and glosses over others (traveling weeks in a few paragraphs), but, at the time I read it, I didn’t really mind. I liked Ead’s no-nonsense attitude, she could have made herself a people pleaser to get and keep her position but it ended up working for her. I wish we got more time with Tané though.

I think I’ve found a new favorite author in Samantha Shannon, and a new favorite fantasy world. I loved every minute of this 800+ page tome. 🐉It’s hard to describe this story in a few words; it’s centered around tension and division between the East and the West of this fantasy world—the people, their religions, their magic, and their dragons—and how they must ultimately come together to face a greater evil that threatens them all. There’s elemental magic; there are magical fruit trees; there are multiple types of draconic creatures; there’s royal and political intrigue; there are pirates and assassins; there are queer romances; there are ancient texts and clues to find them—I could go on and on. 🍊The world building and characters are introduced in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming or hard to keep track. I loved how there were some real-world inspirations while still being its own universe. The politics are interesting without being dry or overwhelming. 🐉This book is a bit Game of Thrones/House of Dragons without the dense, slow parts; and a bit ACOTAR in the propulsive action and amazing characters but more mature and better quality writing; and a splash of AVATAR: The Last Air Bender elemental magic and world divisions. I cannot wait to read the prequel #ADayOfFallenNight and see where else this world takes me. I didn’t want it to end.

Great story just didn’t feel it was executed well enough.

It was a little too predictable and cheesy. The ending didn't wow me as much as I had hoped. There was so much build up to the BBG and I felt that he was defeated easily.