The Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon | BOOK REVIEW

Book : The Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 

Genre : Fantasy 

Pages : 804 pages 

My rating : ⭐⭐⭐

I had very high expectations from this book, so my rating might be a reflection of how this book failed to leave a very impressive mark on me. To make it very clear why I gave this book which is huge ( 800 pages are a lot, trust me) 3 stars I decided to make a list of things I loved from this story & things I didn't. The following list does have a few spoilers, so read them if you really want to. 

Things I loved :

• portrayal of LGBTQ relationships set in sort of archaic time period and depiction in a positive light. 
• Women Centric story - the book has tons of female characters and most of them are shown to be quite self sufficient, independent and bold.
• Protagonists of the book are two females & story revolves around them & they both shine throughout the book. 
• The magnificent world building with   

Things  I didn't like or What I like to call them Disappointing things in this book :

•  Dragons are a side-kick in this book : Yes, a book which has a massive beautiful dragon on it's cover has dragons not taking up the limelight. They are shown as an accomplice to humans on on side & enemies on another hand. basically, good dragon v/s bad dragon but these marvelous fantastic beasts aren't glorified to the extent  I expected them to be.
• Lengthy : The book is 804 pages and it lagged & dragged in so many parts that the attentive span of anyone could be lost. I was going to leave it unfinished twice !! atleast 200/250 pages could be cut down to make it more edgy, gripping & enjoyable.
• The plot isn't the strongest feature of this book - If you're reading a book of 800 pages, the plot needs to be top- notch & so gripping that it leaves no room for boredom. which was completely opposite in this case. the plot is loose. The characters are holding the book together. The Plot is predictable-.super uninspiring, with loads of dull moments & a loose theme with uneven pace.
• Twists : This book has good amount of twists and some are so good, they'll leave you dazzled by the intelligence of the author but the disappointing ones were those which were given in such a matter of fact way that It left me underwhelmed. 
• This is not a hardcore fantasy book, it's more of a parallel theme with romance.

To make it more clear- read this book If you have lots of patience, free time on your hands & just absolutely want to read it at any cost. For me, it's not a book I'll recommend others to read.

if you have any feedback or would like to discuss this book, do leave a comment !