The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Fantasy
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Synopsis
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, Tane has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, 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.
What I thought
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. I knew that per the author it was supposed to be a standalone but there were a lot of people that were complaining that there was no way it was. After reading this book I can 100% say it is a standalone. This story came to an end. That is not saying that she can not write another story that is down the road in this world when the characters come together again. This is a case of just because you want more does not mean that there will be more.
I enjoyed this book more than I really thought I would. The story flowed and did not drag on. There were just enough POVs to keep you engaged without being bored.
The love story was wonderful and was built into the story and I did not see it as the main focus. Which for me was a nice change.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy fantasy to read. Yes, it is large but it was a fun read.
My Rating: /5
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Sophril Reads 
Glad you enjoyed it more than you thought you would. I’ve seen so many up and down reviews for this one, and I just can’t decide if I want to pick it up or not.
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I really enjoyed it. If you are interested at all I say give it a shot. I think that the hype that was around this made people think that this was going to be more than it is. Hype can build thing up to a point where no book can reach it. If that makes any since. But it was the hype that made me wait to read it I don’t know if I would have enjoyed it as much then.
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I’ve seen a lot of reviews for this one, and I’ve been wanting to pick up another fantasy novel. Glad to see you liked it, I might pick it up soon!
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Glad you enjoyed this one! I know I felt a bit lost at times with this one but I also loved the effort that went into the world building and the themes were fantastic. Really happy that this seemed to be your cup of tea. 🙂
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Thanks! I am so happy that I did like it. It was a good book to escape into especially in these times.
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I’m glad you’re ended up being good! Great review!
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