Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is an Adult Fantasy story full of dragons, queens, and adventure.

“A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.”

This book was a beast to get through. If you aren’t used to epic fantasies, this story may be a little hard to get into. I noticed right away that this isn’t a world I could read while distracted because if I was, I felt like I missed crucial information. It’s a similar writing style to the Game of Thrones or Throne of Glass series. It’s pretty dense and takes concentration to get through.

And I’m sure that y’all have noticed, it’s a VERY thick book. Compared to other books I’ve read, it took me quite a bit extra time to get through. But every minute was worth it!

It’s been awhile since I’ve been so invested in a world such as this. And it helps that my favorite creatures appear all over the place: dragons!

And if you are fans of strong, female characters, this queendom is a fantasy you will want to read. There are such diverse elements that go against the typical aspects that we normally find in books such as female-run societies, LGBT relationships, and even going against traditions.

The book is told through multiple perspectives within a split world between the East and West that has been separated for centuries. The adventures the characters come across constantly leaves you wanting more, and of course, there are tons of plot twists.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. The writing style brings the words off the page, and I felt like I was right next to the characters as they struggled through courts, love, assassins, and beasts. I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers or both YA and Adult preferences.

But my one piece of advice while reading this book is to keep going and minimize distractions because once you do, you will be so immersed that you’ll be flying through the story!

It’s a book you’ll want to remember experiencing!

Published: 26 February 2019

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Genre: Adult Fantasy / LGBT

Pages: 848

How I Read It: Hardcover from Library

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