The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read if you like: Dragons (need I say more?), epic high fantasy, bragging about reading 800+ page books

Reading goal: 18/100

The world of The Priory of the Orange Tree is a realm divided by beliefs and in danger of an ancient enemy, called the Nameless One, that threatens to rise and plunge the nations into chaos and destruction. In the West, Queen Sabran the Ninth rules the kingdom of Inys, where her family, the house of Berethnet has been in power for a century. It is believed that a Berethnet queen must sit on the throne to keep the Nameless One at bay. Sabran must conceive a daughter to continue her family line and keep her kingdom safe, but she remains unwed, and every day there is a new threat against her life.

Sabran's Lady-in-waiting , Ead Duryan, appears loyal to the Kingdom of Inys, but instead belongs to a hidden society of mages that practice a magic that is forbidden in the West. Ead was sent to protect Sabran and the Berethnet line from danger, but she must also protect her true identity in Sabran's dangerous court.

In the East, dragons are revered as gods and protectors. Tané has trained her whole life to be one of the chosen few Dragonriders, but she is forced to make a decision that has could change her future and the fate of the world as she knows it.

The Priory of the Orange Tree has been on my TBR list for a while now, and I don't think I've been so intimidated by a book before. Abby, why were you scared to read this book? great question. One reason is because it is a mammoth of a book. Like over 800 pages in itty bitty font. The other, more pressing reason is that I have this notion that I am not smart enough to understand really immersive, intricately developed worlds that adult high fantasy books often have. I actually checked this book out from the library twice and didn't even open it either time, and then I bought a copy to force myself to read it. I am so, so happy I did.

Samantha Shannon's world-building in The Priory of the Orange Tree is impeccable and well developed without having a huge dump of information at the beginning of the novel. The role religion plays in the story and that fact that several opposing belief systems stem from one origin tale is so fascinating. Because these opposing beliefs are so integral to the story we get to see characters question beliefs that are so core to them, which is really interesting and sparks a lot of conflict and growth. Also, there are dragons. Dragons that are treated like gods. Dragons that entire societies are built around either worshipping or fearing. It's so cool. I'm a firm believer that all stories would be better with dragons.

I also really loved all of the characters. I think one of my high fantasy fears is that there's often a large cast of characters with fancy names and titles that I can never keep straight in my head (and most of them I want to just skip over so I can get to the chapters about Arya Stark). On the contrary, Shannon really focuses on a few characters that the readers really root for, and weaves their stories together so that their decisions have an impact on the others even when they're worlds apart. Ead, Tané, and Sabran are all incredibly strong women, and I loved seeing a fantasy story driven by women in power. Overall, living within this story for 800 pages was an unforgettable journey, and I would've done it for 800 more.