However you felt about The Priory of the Orange Tree probably determines how you'll feel about A Day of Fallen Night, as Samantha Shannon sticks pretty hard to the formula that she rode to BookTok fame. If the chain of Virtudom ain't broke, no need to add another link — or something like that.

The good: Shannon's knack for writing complex characters that you really, truly care about shines once again here. Her cast of characters are refreshingly diverse, in the way that humans are, but that's no surprise after Priory. All four of ADOFN's POV characters fit perfectly into her universe, and it was a thrill getting to know them. Glorian is probably my favorite character across both books. It was so good to finally have a Berethnet narrator, and damn, is her arc harrowing and satisfying.

The mixed bag: We see even more of the world in ADOFN, but it doesn't always thrill. On one hand, there's a crazy imaginative description of a Lacustrine palace built to honor the heavens (I'd love to see that on screen someday). On the other, Hroth doesn't conjure much beyond generic Viking-land and nothing consequential comes from the very intriguing idea of a republic existing in this world.

The bad: ADOFN suffers big time from prequel-itis. While you can definitely read it first, most folks are probably going to tackle it after Priory, so you already know the broad strokes of what happens here. That seriously lowers the stakes from the get-go. Even its general structure has a lot in common with the flaws of its big sister: a lot of setup for a pretty abrupt conclusion.

The bottom line: A solid 4 stars. I finished this 880-page doorstop in less than a week, so it was definitely compelling — but I can't help but feel it's a step down from the dizzying heights of Priory.

A Day of Fallen Night is, definitely, more of the same. The story of it is really brilliant, and i wished so much The Priory of Orange Tree to be a universe and not just a single book, and the complexity of the main characters and the main plot made me to read the book in just some hours, although I was expecting different things, I received more of the same and the story is so graceful that it made me even less bothered by it. Shannon really knows how to write a book and I think that while the universe might pass off that dull image it will still develop in an amazing way.

4,0 stars

First, thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read what I was sure would be my favorite book of 2023, in 2022.

Now for the book. It is utterly amazing. Even better than Priory, the characters are fantastic and have depth. The storyline helps to better Priory, while also building an incredibly detailed and in-depth world and experience of its own.

I have to say that this is my favorite book of 2022. It makes me want to read Priory all over again, just so I can see the many connections between the storylines.

In closing, I hope that the length of these books don’t scare people away from reading them. The length is really one of the many things that makes them special and the pages go by so quickly.

Read these books!

Priory of the Orange Tree is my favorite standalone fantasy novel so I went into A Day of Fallen Night with the highest of expectations and they were EXCEEDED! There were times I laughed, cried, gasped, and my jaw hit the floor at least three times. The Roots of Chaos world has the absolute finest world building of any work of fiction I’ve ever come across, it’s magnificent. The regions, religions, politics, and history are so rich and perfect these books feel like portals to another world. I can’t say enough positive things about ADOFN and I can’t wait for it to hit shelves and get to hold it and savor its presence.