
So I finally finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree a week back. It took me a month to finish this giant but it was totally worth it! Normally, I don’t read high fantasy. I hate high fantasy, anything GOT like. It’s a bias, I know, I just don’t prefer it.
I had no clue about the size when I ordered it online and boy was I surprised when it arrived. I was intimated tbh and I thought I’d end up DNF-ing it.
I read a review which said that the first 200-something pages are a bit slow but action kicks on from there. For me, I found it interesting right off the bat. First off, the world building is SO. GOOD. Excellent attention to detail. I loved reading about the different countries and their contrasting politics, religions, conflicts. Oh, and also, dragons.
For a standalone novel it really does pack up as much world building as it can without seeming boring. The plot does start off like 200 pages in, the premise wasn’t very eventful. Sort of like an introduction to the characters and landscape. But it is REALLY fun to read. And when the plot did kick in, it kept me hook.
THERE’S?? WLW?? Angsty slowburn, the good stuff. I did NOT know about it and it was probably the best surprise.
I LOVED the characters. Sabran, Tane and Ead’s development throughout the novel was great. Loth was my favourite, even if we didn’t get many chapters with his POV.
Overall I say you should definitely go for this. Don’t let the size intimidate you. I did take my time with it but honestly? It was so much fun savoring this bit by bit.
Rating: 5 out of 5