Priory of the Orange Tree
In Samantha Shannon’s epic Priory of the Orange Tree, 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 at her door.
Ead Duryan has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, but she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. In the beginning, Ead secretly protects Sabran her with forbidden magic, but their relationship changes the longer Ead is in Sabran’s court.
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.
The East and West are divided and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep, ready to destroy the world.
Shannon created such a unique fantasy world in Priory. I love that she made a queendom – not a kingdom – the monarchy of Inys. But what I really enjoyed was watching Sabran come into her own as she was forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t going to be able to fulfil her “duty” by delivering the next heir. She had to revaluate her future as a mother, queen, and wife – all but one that was taken from her by forces outside her control. Sabran’s love for Ead further breaks the mould set for her by several generations of Inys queens. It was refreshing to read about a lesbian queen who was wiling to do things differently in order to live a happy life.
The way Shannon weaved this story together, connecting East and West, dragon worshippers and dragon haters, was refreshing. I didn’t think the several characters whose perspectives I read in would flow together as well as they did, but Shannon surprised me. Shannon is a spellbinding storyteller and her talent is highlighted in this massive book.
I liked how she made characters that had very different beliefs come to understand each other and respect their differences. Although the West didn’t trust dragons, they realized not all dragons were the same hateful, destructive creatures they had known. Instead of letting their prejudices destroy their world, East and West rulers put their differences aside to save their people. This was also true with Sabran and Ead’s close friends accepting their love for each other.
Although this is definitely a fantasy book, this is also a romantic book, especially between Sabran and Ead. I loved reading their love story and how they fought so hard to be together. I hope they did get their happy ending 10 years after the book ending, just like they planned.
The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Link
Buy on Indigo
Buy on Amazon
Ead Duryan has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, but she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. In the beginning, Ead secretly protects Sabran her with forbidden magic, but their relationship changes the longer Ead is in Sabran’s court.
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.
The East and West are divided and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep, ready to destroy the world.
Shannon created such a unique fantasy world in Priory. I love that she made a queendom – not a kingdom – the monarchy of Inys. But what I really enjoyed was watching Sabran come into her own as she was forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t going to be able to fulfil her “duty” by delivering the next heir. She had to revaluate her future as a mother, queen, and wife – all but one that was taken from her by forces outside her control. Sabran’s love for Ead further breaks the mould set for her by several generations of Inys queens. It was refreshing to read about a lesbian queen who was wiling to do things differently in order to live a happy life.
The way Shannon weaved this story together, connecting East and West, dragon worshippers and dragon haters, was refreshing. I didn’t think the several characters whose perspectives I read in would flow together as well as they did, but Shannon surprised me. Shannon is a spellbinding storyteller and her talent is highlighted in this massive book.
I liked how she made characters that had very different beliefs come to understand each other and respect their differences. Although the West didn’t trust dragons, they realized not all dragons were the same hateful, destructive creatures they had known. Instead of letting their prejudices destroy their world, East and West rulers put their differences aside to save their people. This was also true with Sabran and Ead’s close friends accepting their love for each other.
Although this is definitely a fantasy book, this is also a romantic book, especially between Sabran and Ead. I loved reading their love story and how they fought so hard to be together. I hope they did get their happy ending 10 years after the book ending, just like they planned.
The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Link
Buy on Indigo
Buy on Amazon