You know how sometimes, you need a book to thoroughly absorb you, to escape into reading for a bit? Just me? Well, I read this in June, and I was going through a rough time so I knew I wanted an epic fantasy, something I could truly become absorbed into and forget about the real world for a bit, and let me tell you, this book completely ticked all those boxes and then some.
The Priory of the Orange Tree is about kingdoms at war because of religion and their beliefs. The main opposing sides are the East and the West. But, there is one fear which most kingdoms all worry about, and that is the return of the Nameless One. Over a thousand years ago he rose and destroyed kingdoms and created what was called the Age of Grief. Generations later and the fear has returned to the world.
Our main characters in this book are not the rulers or the Kings or Queens (although we do have them), they are females who have risen from nothing and proved themselves to be worthy of better things.
Firstly, we have Ead, an outsider to the court within the House of Berethnet which is ruled by Queen Sabran the Ninth. Although she has risen through the ranks to Lady in Waiting, she is so much more than this. Her training has made her a tough warrior and assassin and she takes it upon herself to exceed her standard responsibilities to physically protect her queen.
Then we have Tane, located across the sea, she has trained her whole life to become a dragon rider (did I forget to mention there are DRAGONS??) and to protect her kingdom against intruding forces. However, a decision she makes on the night of the trials to become an honoured dragon rider could come back and unravel the life she has built.
Dragons are a core part of this world as it is another separating force which stops the East and West from becoming allies. One side believes in dragons and utilises them in battle and respects them. However, the other side believe dragons are all evil and bring chaos and destruction.
There are so many things I could write about this novel, the world itself is so full of life and colour that it is easy to become lost in the realms. I also love that we get multiple narratives, which as you may know by now is a favourite writing style of mine. However, whereas most naratives are split up into individual characters, this one is indicted by the realm, such as East, West etc. You would think this would be complex, but the characters are each so unique in their traits that it becomes easy to keep up with who they all are.
One of my favourite characters has to be Ead, her absolute loyalty to the Queen and to protecting the kingdom is to be admired. She also possesses a forbidden magic which she must keep hidden, as the kingdom believes that all magic is bad. So, she must keep this side of her hidden at all costs, in fear of being executed for it.
The one who wears the chains is a thousand times greater than the one who wields them…
I warn you, this is a hefty novel at over 800 pages but I felt that the pacing was perfect as I was never bored or felt that the pace was lagging. There was always something going on, and the battle scenes are bloody and brutal, just as they should be.
If you are looking for an epic fantasy to get lost in for a while and if you enjoy the likes of Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson, I would highly recommend this book!
Do you have any recommendations for epic fantasies? Let me know in the comments below!
Much love 💘
Lizzieslittlebooknook 