I loved this book so much! It’s so rare these days to find an entire fantasy series encompassed by one novel, however large that novel may be. This book was gigantic but I read it pretty quickly because I was so entranced by the story! Samantha Shannon does an excellent job of building an entirely new world full of mythical creatures and strong women who don’t take no for an answer! I first saw this book at a bookstore while I was in Spain last January and immediately put it on my booklist. I knew I couldn’t buy it then because it would’ve added at least five pounds to my bags but my brother kindly purchased it for me for my recent birthday. I’m so glad he did because this is a gem of a novel.

The Priory of the Orange Tree begins with the story of Ead Duryan, a highly trained warrior priestess who has been assigned to protect Queen Sabran of House Berethnet, ruler of Inys and leader of Virtudom. The House of Berethnet has kept “the Nameless One” at bay for a thousand years and has benevolently ruled Inys but no longer. The minions of the Nameless One are on the rise and Ead must find a way to protect Sabran and all of Virtudom before the Nameless One conquers all. The Priory of the Orange Tree tells Ead’s tale through her eyes and all those around her which I found enchanting for filling out the world that Shannon created. The novel is also very inclusive with a diverse set of characters. I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel because it didn’t seem forced but a natural extension of the world that Shannon built. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to trudge through all 800 pages. I appreciated its length because I felt that the story was able to truly develop each character. However I did feel that the ending was a little rushed but it did the job. It was a wonderful escape to another world and I hope you get a chance to enjoy Shannon’s writing sometime soon. She is also the author of a pretty popular series, The Bone Season, so that may be next up on my reading list! Happy reading!