Reviews

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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gerdkel's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

pulleamurmeli's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

embattler's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I’m sorry Samantha Shannon - you know I love your other book series, The Bone Season lives deep in my heart - this one was just not it for me. Now I do owe a large part of my dislike of this book to the really bad audible reader and I would NOT recommend anyone listen to it this way. But even so, the characters all felt stilted and lacked a second layer of wit or humor. Everyone was so stiff and I understand the nuances of what the plot put them through but nothing had an emotional impact on me. I also felt let down by the sapphic romance :/ there was no real heat or build up that made it believable to me, I didn’t feel their love until the very end of the book and I’m sorry but that’s just too late to sell me on it. There was no real lovable character - and I barely liked half of them. I wanted to like this sooooo badly and I stuck it through SO many pages trying - but the satisfaction never came. I won’t be reading any more of this series, but I’m happy for everyone who can enjoy - you must have seen something I didn’t, but I love any support for Shannon!