I have long been a fan of Samantha Shannon's writing. Her "Bone Season" series is one of my very favorites. 

As this is quite a lengthy excerpt, I can say that I am even more excited for the release date of Priory. 

This was a slow start, but I have found that most fantasy books tend to be that way because it takes time to build a new world from the ground up, so to speak. Shannon's world building is very rich, and I adore her attention to detail. 

Sentient dragons and strong female characters? I can't wait to have this brick of a book in hand!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for this exclusive early extraxt of one of my most anticipated books of 2019. It was a real joy to read it. I liked everything about it, the characters, the world building, the writing style. 
I already preordered this book and now Ikm going to sit here and wait for February 26th

I was absolutely thrilled when I found this ARC on NetGalley, as this is one of my most anticipated books of 2019. I love Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season-series, and I’ve followed her progress of writing this book since she first announced it, years ago. And come on, dragons, secret mages, and bad-ass female protagonists? Sounds almost too good to be true!

And I must admit that I had some creeping doubts for the first few chapters. (It hurts to admit it, but it’s true.) I didn’t really get the world, and to be honest, some of the characters were not very likable. But I persevered – and it really paid off!

The world-building is very rich, and Shannon has truly added a lot of details, inspired by historic periods from different parts of the world. This makes it take some time to find your “sea-legs” as a reader, so to speak – there are so many details presented to you all at once that it makes it hard to focus on what actually happens, but once you get the hang of it the story and characters are easier to understand.

The character I liked best was Ead, mostly because she was the one most closely followed in the chapters provided in the extract. Her story gives me some Merlin-vibes, and I can’t wait to read more about her, and also see how her and Tané’s stories will intercept.

All in all, I am way beyond excited to read this book, and I seriously hope it is on everyone’s TBRs. And with less than a month to go, the wait is almost over!

Welcome to this short review of me basically fangirling. 
I received an early extract of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First of all can we just say how gorgeous this cover is ! I mean props to those amazing people who designed it all. 
Secondly There is no details in this review because, honestly this is a book you need to jump into not knowing much about it, apart from the description on the dust jacket, it makes it even more amazing to read.
When I got this, I was like OMG an extract of over 100 pages who does that. 
I read part of it can I just say I love it, this book will most likely be on my top ten books of the year !
I loved every second of it, the world, the characters and DRAGONS, who doesn't wish they could ride a dragon into a fight ?!? 
The writting style, as always, was a hit for me, I discovered Samantha Shannon through her Bone Season series that is absolutely captivating (still reading the 2/3 book of the series that is out so far, and if you haven't picked it up you NEED to do so). But, we are not here to talk about that, The Priory Of The Orange Tree has me hooked and I can't wait to read more from this world, and have the full book in my hands. If the rest of the book is anything like its beginning, I will love it and hope she writes more stories in this new world of hers. 
PICK THIS UP when it comes out, that's all I can say.

While I did enjoy the sneak peak for Priory of the Orange Tree, there were SO many names to try to keep track of. Although, I think that if I had the full book, that it would have been easier to keep people straight because I'm sure there would be some sort of glossary or something in the book. The storylines did seem really interesting and this sneak peek kept me interested enough that I definitely want to read the full version of the book when it gets published in February!

I read the excerpt and this book screams out of the gate with a number of interesting and strong females leads, court intrigue, assassination attempts, mystery, spies, and...dragons.  In short, it was excellent and gives me high hopes for the finished product.

The Priory of the Orange Tree is an epic fantasy set in a world that is both like and unlike our own. In a world divided an ancient enemy awakens—I’m not even sure how to begin what I want to say. This book has some serious character and world building. And at just under 850 pages this book gets so much done. 

Will definitely be buying the book and rereading. Would also 10/10 recommend. 

Received free for review.

I enjoyed this extract quite a bit, the writing was precise and easy to read, the characters were well developed and the exposition was integrated into the story so as not to be distracting while at the same time clearly indicating the depth of world building. By the end of the extract the various characters' plot intrigues and the story's sense of scale had built and combined to create the sense that this book is clearly going to an exceptionally  if traditional epic fantasy.  
The only draw back for readers may by the clear analogues between world history and the nations of this book's fantasy world. Already there are fantasy nations that are clearly inspired (both in culture and to some degree geographically) by Tudor England, Shogun Japan and the 17th century Dutch Republic. This probably won't be much of an issue but may undercut reader's desire for this fantasy world to have a real sense of distinctiveness.
It should be noted that the book does of very good job of creating a diverse fantasy world both in terms of gender and race without being heavy handed in it's approach. 
It's clear that this is going to be a book on an epic scale and if purchased, as I intend to, readers should be prepared to make a big commitment for what should be a highly enjoyable reading experience.

An extract that did exactly what it was meant to do: leave me desperate to find out more about this world. Seems to be a great start to a fantastic story.

Um. Okay. I need more. This extract has me HYPED. I was pleasantly surprised at the length of the extract and am grateful to the publishers for the opportunity to read it. Can't wait to check it out in full on release.

I need this book NOW. The writing is perfection and the characters already seem alive and fully fleshed out. I just know, after reading Bone Season, that Samantha Shannon is going to take us on a HELL of a ride.

The Priory of the Orange Tree has captured my attention - and it's
not just because of its beautiful cover but for its intriguing plot line and characters. I've never read a book with dragons in it before,, so I was so excited when I found out that this book had them as well as  drangonriders! The writing of the book is truly amazing and now I understand the buzz surrounding Samantha Shanon. Reading this definitely got me excited to jump into her other series and actually finish this once it comes out in February!

As always, this book by Bloomsbury too has a spectacular cover. The yellow background is the kind that can be spotted from space and when it is superimposed with the illustration of a dragon coiled on a tower, it becomes incredibly compelling. Then there was the news that this is a standalone book which is bulky enough to cause serious damage if used as a weapon. Not that I have anything against series, but it feels good to know that you are not compelled to buy another book in order to reach the culmination of the story.

I received an exclusive excerpt of this book from Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.

It took me a few pages to get into the flow of the story, maybe because I was coming from just re-reading Game of thrones and so for a bit felt as if I was mixing up characters. The story plunges headfirst into its plot, introducing us to the main characters, all of whom are female by the way, that will ultimately form the backbone of this story.  The chapters are headed simply 'East' and 'West' to demarcate the events occurring between the two kingdoms divided both religiously, principally and geographically. This caused a little confusion to begin with, and I really wished that there had been a map to show the various cities and so on in the kingdoms - there might be one in the book, of course.

The first character to be introduced is Tane who is out doing something she should not and meets a strange man who has just emerged from the sea. Since their island is off-limits to outsiders on the penalty of death, and against the possibility that he might land her in trouble she manages to get him to relative safety by handing him over to her friend. The next morning is one of the most important ones in her life, the day for which she has been training since she was but a toddler. That she risks her future to save the life of an unknown man, shows the strength of her character and endeared her to me immediately. Instantly, one begins to root for this serious, focused young girl.

The Queen of Inys, Sabran, is the next person we meet and I took an instant exception to her behavior. She comes across as an incredibly arrogant and too full of a sense of her own self-worth. She is currently in search of a King in order to produce a heir to her kingdom, which she seems extremely reluctant to do. She is also young though and it is to be hoped that she progresses towards becoming a better person as the story moves ahead.

The third character is Ead, who is a trained bodyguard/assassin. She is the one who forms the connection to the Priory of the Orange Tree. Although we have not yet been introduced to the real Priory in this excerpt, it becomes fairly obvious that this is a place that trains individuals in the arts of magic and stealth. Why Ead has been sent to guard the Queen, who seems vehemently opposed to anything remotely connected to the religion that Ead follows,  is a mystery to be solved in the coming pages?

Dragons are introduced quite early on as steeds that are revered and ridden by the chosen few in order to guard the realm. They seem to speak as well like the dragons of Christopher Paolini. There are also wryms or bad dragons that attack and kill indiscriminately. This part about the dragons having been put to sleep under a spell many years ago and who mow seem to be waking up was not so clear, as yet.    

The characters are interesting and extremely engaging from the moment that they are introduced which obviously is a great plus point. The first few pages do not make it clear whether this is a YA novel or an adult fantasy, but I am leaning towards YA for the moment. The world building is also quite dramatic with the sea instantly becoming forming a major feature of the landscape when one kingdom seems to be made up entirely of islands. 

The story certainly got me hooked and craving the release date even more. Hopefully, the rest of the book will hold up to the promise of its first few pages.

An absolutely stunning world building. I will be looking forward to Tane's character. The story has been described as high fantasy with feminism as a core theme and the excerpt gives us a glimpse of strong feminine characters. Can't wait for all of it to come together.

I have already seen a lot of praise for this book, so I went into it with expectations and am happy to say that it did not disappoint! The beginning was a little confusing as a lot of character names, place names and cultural tidbits were thrown at the reader all at once, but everything was either explained or unraveled through context, so after a few pages the pacing evened out and I could fully appreciate this gem! I can already tell from this sample that Shannon is great at creating unique characters and subtly weaving their storylines together into one epic tale. The worldbuilding was intriguing (dragons!) and there were so many exciting hints about things that I will definitely pick up the book when it comes out.

Oh gosh, this was amazing. I need the full books ASAP -- how can I wait til Feb?

This extract gives us a very small look into a book that I have no doubt will be amazing. 

First, let's look at that stunning book cover! The colours, the dragon?? So beautiful, good job to that very talented book cover designer. 

Second, this excerpt was so much fun. We get a glimpse into the beginning of the book and already I am in love with Ead and Tane. Ead is a magic-user who is secretly protecting Queen Sabran with magic as assassins are getting closer and closer to her. 

Samantha Shannon's writing is phenomenal I was drawn deep into this fascinating world, especially at the first mention of a dragon. I can't wait until I have the book in my hands to learn more about this world.

This was great and I cannot wait to finish the story. It took a little bit to get into the book, but I was captivated by the end of the except. I will say there are a lot of characters and trying to keep track of everyone's allegiance took effort.

I am very interested in the full text of this book. The extract was enough to keep me wondering, but not enough to make me go out and NEED to finish the book immediately. I will definitely be picking this book up at some point but it might be a library or used copy down the road.

This extract was a wild ride and I loved it. There is so much world-building, so many hints about what's to come, I just want to have the book in my hands.

If you love strong women and dragons (sentient dragons, no less), you'll love this. The jacket summary makes the plot sound easy to understand, but it is very complex.
Here's a quick breakdown. There are two main characters: Tane and Ead, but the story is told from many points of view. This world is divided into the East, where Tane lives, and the West, also known as Virtuedom, where Ead lives. The East has dragon riders and the West believes dragons are evil. Tane is hoping to become a dragonrider and Ead is a handmaiden to the Queen of Virtuedom, but Ead is an outsider with a SECRET. 

The extracts jumps into the middle of the story (or so it seems) and there's so much information to take in, that it took me a while to fully grasp everything (one, where) that I was reading. I still don't fully understand (because it was only an extract), but there were a few instances of explaining in the novel, so I am confident that the entire book will have information secreted away in it like bits of candy. Better yet, the book is massive, so we can be assured of a wonderful, wild ride of a story with powerful women in an intricate world (aka the best thing ever).
And yes, the title has meaning! What meaning, I can't exactly say, but there were some mentions of a Priory and an orange tree!

I hope the finished copy comes with a map, because I need one to keep track of every place.

My only complaint is that I heard there would be LGBT romance (and the description makes it sound so), but I haven't seen any in this extract. More to come, hopefully!

After reading this early extract, I am so hyped for this book! I'm interested how the story continues! Let's hope I can find a copy in Belgium soon when it comes out! 

 Can february come sooner?