I'm such a huge fan of the Roots of Chaos series, and I really loved this new short novel! Exploring the back stories of some of Priory's side characters, it adds some colour and emotion to these characters and fleshes out the lore of Priory, setting up some of the events of the initial book.

I had some small issues with Among the Burning Flowers, but none of them really detracted from my enjoyment of the book:

1) I was mistaken about when this book took place in the timeline - it is set two years before Priory and I thought it was set two years after Fallen Night. Oops! A quick Google would have fixed this and alleviated some confusion on my part.
2) A character list is vital, and the NetGalley copy didn't have one. It looks like there's a spot for one at the end of the finished copy though!
3) One of the three storylines felt like it didn't quite belong. I think you could have removed Estina's story and it wouldn't have detracted from the overall book. It also felt like her story was unresolved and abandoned - though this could be because it is picked up in Priory and I just don't remember her (I did read it when it released in 2019).

Overall, 4.5 out of 5 stars. Fabulous, wonderful, emotional, dragony. I'll read anything set in this world.

As someone who has not (yet) read the rest of the Roots of Chaos series, while I felt it could be read as a standalone, it definitely felt like some context was missing and it would have hit much harder if I read other books in the series.

With that being said, I think it was a great intro into Shannon’s beautiful writing style and it does make me want to pick up Priory.

Thank you to Samantha Shannon and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for providing an ebook. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I really enjoyed this short novel! My only complaint is I wish it was longer. It works great as a prelude to Priory, definitely made me want to reread. I would recommend reading Priory first for those who haven’t read it yet to really get the best of this story and understand these characters. Following Marosa as her world and Yscalin get darker and her strength in the face of it all was a great journey. Whilst I did like the other POV’s, hers was the strongest and most compelling.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the arc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Roots of Chaos series. I felt like it was a nice little introduction into the world, especially if you're new to the series and chunky books intimidate you! I would probably wait for the official release though because I've heard there's going to be a character list included and it will definitely help with immersion and figuring out who everyone is!

As always, Samantha Shannon's writing is fantastic, I just love her style and prose and would honestly read the phonebook if she wrote it!

I thought the story was delightful and well written, and I loved the introduction of new characters to the world of Priory and all the little tidbits you got of the other two installments in the series.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely read it first upon a reread of the entire Roots of Chaos series.

Samantha Shannon’s writing is incredibly detailed and shows the amount of research she’s done and while I enjoyed the story, it’s a bit too complex for me personally but I can see why the priory books are so well loved.

It’s always such a delight to dive back into this world.
In the short addition (less than 300 pages) we get to see what terrible fate the Yscales had during the main story of the priory.

Three and a half
This is the prequel to The Priory Of The Orange Tree and charts what happened before that story was told. Kingdoms both at war although with very fluent alliances are the starting point. Once Dragon's roamed the land but heroes rose and now the Dragons and Wymms sleep or do they ? We meet a woman on the run who steps up to kill any Dragons awakening. There's also a Princess trapped by her own father and she's desperate to be free. She has been betrothed to shore up an alliance to a sweet and somewhat endearing Prince and yet there are deathly secrets close to home. As a mighty Dragon awakens world's built will come crashing down and if you want even more set in this world then definitely go and read or even re-read Priory .
Much shorter than I expected if blunt I just didn't really feel it works as a standalone unless you do go on to read Priory. A little slow at times for this reader but I was thoroughly entertained ironically by the big, bad Dragon. I think fans of this author will be excited to read this book so even though it didn't quite hit the spot for me I have no doubt it will be a hit
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. This is a tough review for me to write because I love the other two books in the Roots of Chaos series but I just could not get on board with this one. Frankly I can’t even really understand why Shannon wrote it. Are there really people who are crying out to know more about Marosa Vetalda? And Estina Melaugo? Really? I cannot relate but I was excited to give this a chance because I like the rest of the series so much. Unfortunately Marosa spends basically the entire book having exactly zero agency. Things happen to her or on special occasions she may stumble upon some sort of major plot point but broadly speaking she’s just about capable of looking sadly out her window as dragons eat her friends and passing on key artefacts to other, more interesting characters. I’m not saying she needs to be an all-powerful warrior who saves the day but why would you write a book when you know the main character is basically bound by the plot of previous books to sit around and do nothing? Melaugo was more interesting but unfortunately her POV vanished halfway through the book as we caught up with the plot of Priory of the Orange Tree which once again kind of begs the question of why would you bother writing this character in if you’re not even going to sustain their story for the whole book? If you’re a Roots of Chaos completionist or (somehow) a Marosa Vetalda stan, then sure, this book is for you. Otherwise I think you’re probably fine to leave it and for the love of god do not choose this as your entry point into the series, either of the other two books would be a much better choice!

Among the Burning Flowers is the prequel novella to Samantha Shannon’s hugely successful 2019 novel, The Priority of the Orange Tree. At a mere 288 pages, it is also a mere third of Priory’s length.

This time we follow two main characters: Princess Marosa Vatalda, confined and controlled by her cruel father and Estina Melaugo, dragon hunter and fugitive, hiding from the noose. With the great wyrm Fýredel stirring, the land of Yscalin faces fiery ruin. Amid political unrest and rising magic, hope flickers in a world on the brink.

I really enjoyed this book and found both characters, Marosa and Melaugo hugely engaging and well written. That said, this did feel like half a book to me and not just because of its modest length. The character of Melaugo, introduced so captivatingly in the early part of the book is subsequently dropped and we hear nothing else from her. I gather she reappears in The Priory of the Orange Tree, but although I’ve read that work, I really don’t remember! As a result, I would recommend reading Samantha Shannon’s other work either directly before or after this novella.
Overall a fabulous addition to the series, but not one to be read in isolation.

Much recommended for fans of Samantha Shannon.

Thak you to NetGalley and the publishers, Bloomsbury, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3,5 stars

Among the Burning Flowers is a fascinating bridge between A Day of Fallen Night and The Priory of the Orange Tree, but as a result, it doesn’t quite deliver the sense of closure or resolution I was hoping for. This novella doesn’t stand on its own in the way I expected and felt both too short and too long at the same time.

The plot was a bit challenging to follow, especially due to some heavy exposition that slowed down the pacing. I also felt that Melaugo’s chapters didn’t add much to the overall narrative, considering how little we have of her perspective.

That being said, Among the Burning Flowers still showcases Samantha Shannon’s exceptional world-building and her ability to craft richly layered characters. Even though the story felt incomplete, it was undeniably engaging and beautifully written.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this novella. It was such a great return to the Roots of Chaos world, and even though it’s a shorter read, it didn’t feel lacking at all. The story pulled me in right away, and I got completely caught up in the characters and the emotional weight of everything that was happening.

Marosa’s journey was heartbreaking but also really powerful—I was rooting for her the whole time. Aubrecht and Estina were also great additions, and I liked how their perspectives added more depth to the story. I kind of wish we got even more time with them!

This book gave insight into events and characters we’ve only heard about in the main series, and it made me want to go back and reread The Priory of the Orange Tree with fresh eyes.

I definitely recommend picking this one up whether you are a fan of the previous books or new to the world of Roots of Chaos.

Good fantasy novel - part of a series - engaging and interesting.

A prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, this novel takes us into the world of Yscalin and the heir to the throne, Marosa as her world collapses around her. Another important character, Estina Melaugo, also features prominently in the first half of the book and then is not mentioned again. There are many interesting characters and fantastical creatures, all fully described. Apart from the disappearance of Estina, my other gripe would be a surfeit of names - names of people, names of places, not all necessary or clear. It's enjoyable enough and fans of the author's writing and world will certainly enjoy it. The way it ends would lead me to think that there is more to come - a series? My Kindle review copy did not have the illustrations, nor the list of characters which was a shame. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Being able to jump back into the world of the Priory is always a treat, and this story was no different. It is a great lead up to Priory of the Orange Tree and expands on characters that were pivotal to the various plot lines of the book.

Shannon's writing, which is always amazing, somehow manages to get even better with each publication. I can't wait to read this again and again, adding it into the Roots of Chaos rereads.

AMONG THE BURNING FLOWERS is a glimpse into a city changed and a nation conquered.

This is set across the two years leading up to THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE, following the fall of Yscalin and how certain key people and objects end up where they do for that book. It is a great introduction to the world (and that book) for those intimidated by the size of the full length novels of the series.

Yscalin is a key location in that first book, but not much time is actually spent there, for all that it spurs Loth onto his cross-continent quest. It was therefore nice to spend a lot more time in this Iberian-inspired land, getting to understand its people and geography better.

Marosa is such an intriguing figure, trying to hold firm and defiant in the midst of horror. She is very much the focus of this book, with the other two (a pirate and Aubrecht) very much coming in as supporting characters to her tale of defiance and quiet courage. I hope we eventually get to find out more about her in the aftermath of PRIORY and how she forces the world to heel as they think her tainted by association with the wyrms.

I also really like getting a glimpse into both Aubrecht and Mentendom - he doesn't speak in PRIORY and we have not been to Mentendon yet. It was a great way to better understand him and his commitment that leads him to Inys.

This little slice from The Roots of Chaos world has made me eager for another novel!

I loved the first two books in the Roots of Chaos series, and it was an absolutely JOY to read this next instalment. It's such a shame that this one was so short in comparison to the other books! Loved it!

3.5 stars
I read Priory about a year ago and to be honest I dont remember that much, but this luckily is a prequel so I didn’t feel like I had to remember everything from Priory to make sense of everything.
This is a fairly short book, which didnt give me personally enough time to get fully invested in the characters but I still enjoyed it, but tbh I finished this a couple days ago and it really hasnt stayed with me at all

This is a nice bonus for fans of the roots of chaos series which ultimately doesn’t add much to our understanding of the world or of the characters. This mainly follows Donmata Marosa who is the captive heir to Yscalin as it falls under draconic rule. She’s a pretty dull character and we don’t get to see much of her besides noble suffering.

We also follow Estina Melaugo who culls draconic creatures but her story stops abruptly once she reaches the Rose Eternal. We don’t get to see more of her after that which was disappointing because I found her storyline interesting.

The dragons continue to be a boring enemy, evil by nature, no moral greyness to them or their followers which makes them feel very one dimensional.

In the second half there are two one-year time jumps within like 50 pages of each other which made the pacing feel quite inconsistent. It did read quite quickly and kept me engaged, but I’m a bit torn as to how I feel about this overall, I don’t think this prequel was necessary or illuminating.

So delighted to be back in the Roots of Chaos world. When I first read the Priory of the Orange Tree I was so intrigued by the Draconic Kingdom of Yscalin, so when I heard about this Novella I couldnt wait to get my hands on it.

Reading about Yscalin and Donmata Marosa was fascinating. What a unique city, and I could read a whole 800 page Samantha Shannon beast of a novel about Marosa. And of course, so happy to read about my boy Fỳredel again.


There were enough cameos from previous Roots of Chaos books to make me smile, and dare I say some hints towards future novels? It was surreal to read a SHORT Samantha Shannon book, it only took me a day to read the whole thing! If you are too intimidated to dive into the Priory of the Orange Tree World, this is an excellent place to start (do it, you won't regret it).

“Dragons awake. Kingdoms burn. Can rebellion bloom in the ashes?”

🗓 Publication Date: September 16, 2025

✨ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 & 🍵𝗧𝗲𝗮 𝗧𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝘁𝘀
Yscalin is basically living its last day, sunshine and lavender vibes about to get cremated by a dragon army. You’ve got Marosa trapped in a palace with a dad who abuses his power, her betrothed Aubrecht out there plotting a new world order, and Estina out on the hunt, literally fighting wyrms. And now the biggest dragon ever, Fýredel, is waking up—this isn’t a drill. It’s all prepping for the chaos ahead in The Priory of the Orange Tree .

Okay, real talk—this book is like getting slapped awake with a dragon roar, in the best way. The fantasy world is dripping in lush detail, but you can totally feel the panic when the wyrm shows up. Marosa’s fight feels gritty and raw, like watching someone plot their escape while still getting dressed. Estina is the kind of badass you low-key want to be. Only thing? It moves at warp speed—blink and you might miss an emotional gut punch or world-building secret. But damn, it sets the stage so damn well I already wanna scream for the sequel.

🫶 Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing for this pre-release spark!

🌺 Lavender kingdom on the brink
🐉 Dragons waking up
👑 Power-hungry royalty
🗡 Warrior outcasts
🔥 Rebellion brewing
🌌 Epic prequel vibes

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for this eARC in return for my honest opinion.

I read this while Priory stared mockingly behind the glass of my bookshelf and I'm really glad I read this first. The world building is incredible and this is just beautifully written. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series now!!