Beautifully written. The author has a real gift for words. But there are a few shortcomings. First, the number of characters introduced in the first 40 pages is overwhelming. I know the book is over 800 pages (of which I only read the first 100 or so), so a reader should expect an epic scope, but there are just too many named characters to keep track of. I felt like I needed a score sheet. Second, it is a book about dragons, but the first appearance of dragons is merely glossed over. People reading dragon books want dragons. Paint them with a certain amount verve and maybe just a bit of awe. Third, at 100 pages, it still wasn't clear where the story was going. Again, I know it's a long book with more time to build the plot and stage reveals, but at 100 pages, a reader should at least have a hint of where the story will wind up (even if that belief later turns out to be incorrect).

The story is otherwise nicely written, the characters are interesting, and world building was moving apace. After having read the first 100 pages, though, I doubt I'd be interested in paying to read the rest.

best regards,

boris

I liked the idea of this book a lot and found the world very interesting and unique but had a little bit of a difficult time connecting to the characters and following the plot. I am going to be giving the full book a chance. I am really excited about the romance and getting to understand more about the dragons. I think that going over the characters and politics of this world a second time will be beneficial to my reading experience. Overall this story has intrigued me and I want to read more.

This extract is promising a story with intricate world building, strong characters, and a well crafted plot I'm certainly looking forward to reading the whole book.

I love the extract and I can't wait to read the full book! I have actually bought the ebook because I enjoyed the extract so much. I dont know what else to say, it's hard to write a review when you haven't read the whole book yet. I'm sure I'll write a full review for my blog once I finish the ebook!

Thoroughly enjoyed the preview that via Netgalley that I ordered the full book and audiobook! The characters were engaging and the plot thus far was well-paced. Would definitely recommend it based on what I read so far.

THIS BOOK!
I've read only this exclusive early extract, but I desperately need to read all of this monster masterpiece because it got me hooked!
Everything is so beautifully constructed, the world is absolutely fabulous, the plot is brilliant and I am positively sure that my review is never going to cover all the things that lay between these (many) pages!
Absolutely amazing!

Samantha Shannon has done it again! I was so excited for this one to come out and thrilled to get a preview on Netgalley. We ordered a couple copies of this for our library, and for our particular library, heavy fantasy is not usually popular. So it is saying something that this book had a waiting list before it was released, and it hasn't stayed on the shelf since it's release date. For a fantasy novel - ESPECIALLY one of this size - to be so popular at my particular location is rare, and it truly speaks to the 'something special' Shannon has as an author.

Hard to tell from an extract but I think this one will be great. Lots of perspectives and a lot of world building but you can tell that so much has gone in to writing this book and it has so much promise. I love that there is action (and dragons) pretty much right from the get go.

This promises to become a wonderful book or series and you should definitely read it if you like strong female characters and fantasy!

I have only had the opportunity to read an extract of this book, but I was left wanting to continue and I was so sad that the extract ended. The characters so far are interesting and developing nicely. The plot is mysterious and the world-building thoughtful. I received a free extract of this book as a book reviewer for Netgalley.

Fantastic one off high adventure with lots of great characters, creative magic and a genuinely wicked antagonist. The world building is exquisite. The love story believable.

I really enjoyed the world-building in this book. I also thought the characters were all very well fleshed out and had realistic and complex personalities. I was invested in everyone's story right from the get-go! Some things felt familiar - which was nice - but the book ultimately holds it's own as a unique fantasy that's totally worth reading.

Sorry it took so long to review this extract, I decided to wait until I'd finished the entire book to give feedback.

I really enjoyed this book, the world Samantha Shannon has created is so detailed and expansive. I would love to read more set in this world be it short stories, a sequel or a prequel. I know Samantha has said on twitter she's working on a priory related thing - I don't know if you've made a deal about it yet but I'd really like to have more stories set in this world.

The writing, as always, was beautiful and the characters and plot were complex in the best way.

Thanks for giving me the chance to read the early extract!

Samantha Shannon is a badass writer and this book is going to be no different. I can't wait to read this!

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a fantasy based book. In each direction of the land, something mysterious is happening. As we read Ead Duryan collects secrets of the court while hiding one herself.

Ead works for Queen Saban who is under pressure not just to produce a female hair but also to stay alive.

Tané meanwhile is trying to pass into the sea guard but will what she wants destroy her life?

In the background political climate is not at ease. If the East and West can not join together then the question is if fire rains who will survive?

With intrigue and danger from the opening pages, this is definitely not a slow burner. Within pages, I went from loving each female characters to hating them and back.

About time we had a fantasy book with a majority of female protagonists.

As I only read the extract I can only give 4 stars out of 5. I feel I would need to know the ending before deciding on the last star. Definitely going to have to read the whole book.

This was an amazing book. It being 800 pages was a bit intimidating at first but it was so worth it. It was easy to get into the story. I flowed well with very strong women staying true to themselves and strong through out the book. It has lots of dragons and a little romance thrown in. It is well worth the time.

This was only an early extract, but I was immediately SOLD. The book is brilliantly written, the characters and plot grabbed my attention immediately. I am not ashamed to say I ran out to buy the finished copy for myself AND my students the day it was released. Shannon has done it again, this will be huge. 5/5 stars!

I was hooked within minutes!

Note: This is a review of an excerpt of this novel received from Netgalley.

First - The cover for this book is gorgeous. I applaud whomever designed it. No matter where I was seeing the cover or how many additional book covers were on the screen this beautiful cover always drew my attention to it in the best possible ways.

As I only have a small portion of the book I cannot give a complete review. However, from what I have read I am excited to be holding even this amount of text in my hands. There is a richness in the words that draws you in and a depth to the world building that is not easily found.

I will be getting the book in its entirety and now I just wonder how fast I can read 800 pages.

Totally immersive from the start and I love all the folklore which is already coming into play. Cannot wait to continue on with the full novel.

I can not wait to read this book in it's entirety! This excerpt was a tease.. especially since the book is massive to begin with.

I bought a copy based on this extract, There will be a full review once I have finished the book, but as this was only an extract I can't comment further.