I absolutely adore the beginning of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE. Samantha Shannon has created an incredibly well-developed world, and as always her writing is beautiful and evocative. From the very first page I felt like I'd slipped into something magical and adventurous, and couldn't put it down. It's obvious she's worked very hard on this book – it shows. It's intricate and feels real and vivid. I can see this being a book I come back to again and again.

This is the review for an exclusive early extract of the book. The writing is wonderful and the world-building has me intrigued.

I loved the sampler. I was so hooked into the story by the end of the sampler that I wanted to buy the book right away. 

I can’t wait to read more

I've been looking forward to this novel since I first heard of its upcoming existence! I love Shannon, so everything she writes goes on my radar. This extract does not disappoint and has only made me want it that much more! It's just enough of a preview to get an insight into whether you'll love the rest, and I can already tell I will devour it once it's in my hands.

What a brilliant idea this taster/extract is. Its not just a few pages, we get a good 100 pages of the book to get our teeth stuck into.

What unfolds is the beginnings of an epic story of war, politics, love and dragons. I cant wait to get my hands on the full 800 page book as soon as possible.

I'm extremely grateful to have read the first 7 chapters before it was published. From the beginning you can clearly understand this book is going to be epic! It is fundamental, from the beginning, to understand how this new world created by S. Shannon is divided, to better understand the situation lived by the different characters. There are so many protagonists that I almost thought to start getting notes, but what I was sure from the beginning is that my favorite was going to be Ead. She is my hero, I loved her from the beginning and cannot wait to read the rest of the story!

I've seen so much about TPOT I decided just to give the extract a go. Unfortunately, I could tell pretty quickly that this book just isn't for me. I lost track of all the different people and places. It's not a genre I would usually go for but I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone. Apparently this was just a smidge too far!

The first few pages are actually quite tedious and confusing. 
Although I do expect and can accept some confusion at the beginning of an 800-words tome, I have seen better introductions / expositions to high fantasy novels.
I also know that Shannon can do (and has done) better! 
I'm still looking forward to reading the finished novel!

I didn't even try to finish this excerpt cause I knew that I the more I read the more I needed to finish this book. I will have to go out and buy it so that I can read it all the way through! What I read was very very good!

This book is so amazing.  Ordered it and I can't wait for it to get here so I can finish reading it.

I am so hyped for this book!! This excerpt just made me more excited! It’s going to be so good and I cannot wait for the full version to arrive!

Loved this extract and cannot wait to read the full book! The characters are very intriguing and the world is interesting!

I’m not normally a massive fan of fantasy, especially epic fantasies, but I’ve heard so much about this one I wanted to give it a try. I love the female heavy cast and the easy to follow writing style and I pretty much immediately went to preorder it straight away

"The stranger came out of the sea like a water ghost, barefoot and wearing the scars of his journey."

This book starts with such a beautiful opening line that it immediately drew me in. And we are quickly introduced to this world full of Draconian laws that is told through several different perspectives. 

Due to the formatting issues with this extract, I was only able to read a few chapters, but I am looking forward to getting a physical copy of this book so I can continue on, as I am excited to see where this leads!

I have been waiting this book for some time and when I saw this sample I was very happy. The book looks amazing. The writing is great, the worldbuilding fantastic and I liked the characters. To be honest, in the beginning I was a little confused because there are a lot of names for both characters and nations, but I was still hooked. I have high hopes that this is going to be one of my favourite books of the year and I am looking forward to read the rest of the book.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free sample.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. From the expert that I've read so far, I look forward to reading the rest of the book and seeing how the story progresses and how Ms. Shannon is able to weave all those different storylines together into one cohesive plot.  The stirring of something momentous was happening and it was enough to keep me engaged, despite the jumping back and forth between characters storylines. I will be purchasing the full book when it is released and recommend to others.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publising for an early extract of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. I've read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Count me in! From the very first page you're sucked into this incredible world, which has dragons by the way, and are immediately hooked. The characters are very interesting and written with dept. So many strong and fascinating female characters especially. There is intrigue, mystery and *very important* dragons. This promises to be an epic tale and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy once it's released.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Thank you so much for the excerpt, it was an enjoyable read. The size of this book is definitely intimidating, but it seems like an epic fantasy. I’m excited to see where this goes, even if I’m a little bit confused.

Wow. This may be just an excerpt but I’m stunned! Out of the small slice I was granted, I’m in love with this world and it’s dynamics. The bit of relationships I got— Ead is my favorite by far, what a bad*** lady in waiting. 10/10 would make her my best friend. Anyway- world dynamics! The whole east versus west thing is really cool, and how both sides seemingly draw from different cultures- I can’t wait for this book to come out, for it will definitely be mine.

Wow. I remember reading The Song Rising and hearing about how this book was being written. I was surprised to find it on NetGalley but am so happy to have had the chance to read the extract. Regardless of the poorly structured Kindle edition, this book was amazing. The excitement building up to this release has only increased! Samantha Shannon has a lovely tone for The Priory of the Orange Tree.