Current state: bereft and reeling since finishing this book. 

 

The Priory of the Orange Tree has sat on my TBR for months and months, because I was intimidated by its sheer size. What a book to kickstart the year off with! A stunningly realised feminist high fantasy, we’re plunged into a word divided where Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm and the House of Berethnet. Despite being nearly 900 pages long, The Priory of the Orange Tree is action-packed from start to finish with multiple perspectives and plenty of story too – it’s clear than Samantha Shannon has poured endless research into the flawless world-building. It’s also incredibly ‘high fantasy’, featuring everything from dragons to other mystical creatures, astrology to romance, queendoms and epic battle scenes, religion and tribalism. Characters experience beautiful arcs and I adored getting to spend plenty of time with each one. Plus, the pacing is pretty good for a chunky tome: the chapters end on strong cliffhangers that keep you sat and reading for hours on end. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything like this and I already want to read it again.