Did not finish. Not for me. I was bored reading this book. I am realizing that epic fantasy with detailed world and lots of characters might not be my genre.

It was so hard to go into this without any expectations, as someone who thoroughly enjoyed and favourited 'Priory of the Orange Tree', but let me tell you - this is a new favourite. I was not let down. Samantha Shannon has done it again, and I cannot wait to get more books in this series in the future. I love this world and its magic, and I adore the way Shannon writes her characters.

I found that I preferred this one to Priory of the Orange Tree. Mostly because after reading both in a similar time frame, I'm still remembering pieces of A Day of Fallen Night, rather than Priory. (And it's not to shit on Priory, I had a good time there).

By the end of the story when things were getting sticky, it was such an awesome read. I was in the car listening to it on a road trip, and I was enthralled by the way the story twisted, how it turned, how the characters did their thing, and ugh it was so good.

The beginning was a little bit of a slog, but totally worth it to get to that masterful ending. So much so that the slog at the beginning doesn't even register.

I haven't read Samantha Shannon's other series, but this really leads me to want to pick up The Bone Season.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this ARC of A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon. This was an absolutely amazing book and I highly recommend it.

oh my GOD. This book was STUNNING. INCREDIBLE. BEAUTIFUL. I don't know how Samantha Shannon does it. Her ability to create a world and create a romantic story in a super cool fantasy world is UNMATCHED. I wish I had read this before Priory because it would make the story less dense and even more enjoyable. I think it might be even better than Priory.

Samantha Shannon is one of my favourite authors and this newest novel in the roots of chaos series just cements that idea even more. I loved the rich history that we dive into and really enjoyed all of the political intrigue that was present within the novel. Samantha always knows how to write a powerful women and now we have 3 of them once again. I truly is an epic fantasy and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

This review is incredibly late, and for that I apologize! A Day of Fallen Night is another masterful work from Samantha Shannon, her story telling ability is off the charts! It did take me quite a while to get into this book and I felt it was a little slow for some parts, but it happens with books this long and didn't detract from the overall story. A truly epic fantasy that is full of beautifully written and nuanced characters.

This book is no joke. It is absolutely massive. The world building is top notch, the character development is spot on, and the ending isn’t rushed and flows so well. It does get a little long in the middle, but that’s natural with any book this size. Definitely buying a copy for my shelf because that cover is perfection.

How do I begin to review this masterpiece? Let’s just start by saying this will end up being one of my favorites not just of 2023 but of all time. I cannot wait until my collectors editions of this an Priory arrive for my birthday. Again, Samantha Shannnon creates a world filled with characters I adore and root for along their epic journeys. However, where I feel this book is a cut above Priory is in the fact that we’ve already established this vast and intricate world in Priory, so no time is wasted in world building or lore of the land. Instead, we cut straight to the action and do not let go for 850 pages. Seriously. Action packed 850 pages. There was only one very small section (50ish pages) about three quarters of the way through where I felt it slightly dragged, but all is forgiven as it gallops (literally) towards it’s epic conclusion. As the final chapters came to a close, I found myself shedding a tear and wishing for more. Samantha Shannon cannot write fast enough for me. Do yourself a favor and treat yourselves to these tomes this summer. I promise you will not regret it.

Another stunning book by Samantha Shannon and a return to the expansive world that she first began in The Priory of the Orange Tree. The way Shannon weaves romance, political subtleties, worldbuilding and action remain deeply admirable and absolutely intoxicating as a reader. I was quickly drawn into this story and loved following each of these characters. I especially loved getting glimpses at characters whose existences were hinted at and mentioned in Priory (another Sabran and Glorian!), and getting a look at familiar spaces at very different moments in history. I LOVED this one.
As always, I also love the way these books are so very much centered on women in fantasy, in a way that gives them agency and nuance, and I love the queer representation woven throughout. So very worth the 800+ pages!

I couldn't get through this one. I was so bored immediately. The prose is great, but it all just felt like a slog to get through. I couldn't continue to force myself to keep reading it when I wasn't enjoying it. I might give it a second chance later on with the audiobook.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for letting me read A Day of Fallen Night early and yes i'm aware of how late this reveiw is.

A Stunning prequel to one of my favorite high fantasy books.

A Day of Fallen Night is a must read for fans of the Priory of the Orange Tree. Samantha Shannon is a master storyteller.

This is a prequel to the Priory of the Orange Tree. That book took me awhile to get into it, but once I did I enjoyed it. I felt the same with this - I just couldn’t get into it for the longest time. I do like the characters but I can’t see myself re-reading this one too often.

FANTASTIC. I found this book much easier to start than Priory. I was so lucky to recieve an arc and i enjoyed this story. A brilliant epic fantasy as usual from Samantha Shannon. This is a prequel taking place 500 years before priory and tells some of the legends we learned in that book. You can definately read before or after Priory.

A fantastic read for anyone who's a fan of Samantha Shannon or fantasy in general; it really compliments Priory and is a wonderful world to escape in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

God I went into this book wanting to love it so much. Instead it was ultimately 800+ pages that I just wanted to end. It's taken me nearly four entire months to finish it.

This book moves incredibly slowly, and each time I thought it was going to pick up, it unfortunately did not. I understand the vibes and pacing Shannon was aiming for, but when the book is so long and as a reader you can infer a lot of what is going to happen, especially at the beginning, it just really, really drags.

The worldbuilding is vast but unfounded, with more and more details being revealed that either aren't built up to or simply feel like they are being made up on the spot. There are entirely too many locations, cities, and characters in the story and it makes it clunky.

The ideas brought forth regarding religion and legacy are very interesting, but feel bogged down by the weight of the novel. It takes too long to become invested and understanding of the different societies and exactly what they believe, and then once you have it becomes cumbersome as the same discussions happen over and over.

The power of myth making, of storytelling, is explored throughout, with the various accounts of one historical event being the inciting difference in belief between two cultures. I love stories about the power in creating a mythos, whether that be through religion or legends or anything, and although the book does verify what actually happened in history, it didn't change the power the lie holds on an entire society.

I loved the centering of women, with all three main POV characters being women. There is also a lot of casual queerness in their world, and many prominent sapphic and gay people and couples -- I really loved that there was no questioning of their place in this world, and that nonbinary characters were introduced and referred to without fanfare. The novel touches a lot on the role of motherhood, tied together with the role of legacy, and explores the relationship between mothers and daughters and the expectations that are passed down from generation to generation. I was less of a fan of the matriarchy depicted through The Priory -- I find nothing interesting or new about a society that does nothing beyond switching traditional gender roles, and also has such strictly defined gender boundaries. I simply wanted something more substantial.

I did read Fallen Night before reading Priory, which I think Shannon suggests. I could see Fallen Night being a better experience if you have the foundation and emotional investment of Priory, but for me reading Fallen Night has just pushed Priory a lot further back on my reading backlog.

If you're a fan of Priory I am sure Fallen Night will be right up your alley; this is a sweeping high fantasy with magic, dragons, romance, and court intrigue. Fallen Night has helped me realize the fantasy that I prefer -- one in which the enemy is not an embodiment of evil with no discernible motivations, but just as flawed and human as the protagonists we are following. Fallen Night has it's fair share of villainous or malevolent characters outside of the deadly wyrms, but their story arcs and development simply aren't interesting. Ultimately, in a story that is about humanity, the greed of people in power even in the face of darkness, the strength of people in the face of adversity... those parts were not fleshed out enough to make for a compelling narrative.

I have to admit that I have not read Samantha Shannon's previous book set in this world, but when I found out that this was a prequel, I wanted to read it first.

I fell in love with this world and the characters and I never wanted to leave it!

Hands down this is one of my favorite fantasy series ever.

Unfortunately I was hoping for an entirely new story for A Day of Fallen Night. When you read the synopsis, it's essentially the same story is being told. If the book was in orange packaging I would've assumed it was The Priory of the Orange Tree. The world here is so big - I was hoping for something new and original and we just didn't get that here.

I am one of the biggest fans of Priory of the Orange Trees and so when I got approved for this ARC I just about lost my damn mind. Samantha Shannon is one of the most talented fantasy writers of the modern day. Both of these books are very dense fantasy, but they are works of absolute art.

I feel like this is a hard book to review because there are so many moving pieces in the plot, but I think this book has something special that Priory of the Orange Tree does not.

I loved the plot stories of three daughters and three mothers. It made it much easier to follow than when I read Priory. There was a beautiful story within these mother/daughter narratives.

I will always recommend either of these books to people interested in the genre.