Dragon riders and uptight queens

 

Nice cover, English edition.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

Ok, what do we have here? Sisterhoods, pirates, dashing naïve knights, dragons and the gays. Oh, god, I am being spoiled.

I wish I had something very profound to say, but my thoughts through big chunks of the book were: no no no or whoaaaaaa. It is true, I was completely engaged and having a blast from start to finish.

There is a lot of loving detail in this book. The world building has a big scope, there were some very interesting places that I wish to be more explored, even though the book is lengthy, it leaves you wanting for more. It was interesting to see these different cultures, with rigid societies (because of plot) and how these strict standards get set from place to place. It appears that these places regard women in the same standing that man and it was refreshing to see rulers, knights and dames no matter the gender. Where it matters it is in the biological aspect: the kingdoms are monarchies and blood legacy is fundamental, so it delves in birthing as a duty.

Mild spoilers.

There is a line somewhere where the prioress says to Ead: you can go on a mission or have a child for the sisterhood… like yikes!

End of spoilers

The characters are awesome, lots of loving work there too, they are finely drawn and developed. This is one of those books where all the different storylines were detailed and interesting. With them too, I was wishing for more and it seems that there is going to be at least another book and I am excited and wishing it gets through. There is a lot of room for more stories and places to go, I will be crossing my fingers.

Useless note. The kingdom of Virtudom sounds in my head like a kink S&M themed party. I was giggling stupidly from time to time. I am not proud.

Random thought. Spoiler.

The scene when Roos carves the piece of dragon that he wants is so powerful. The concept of hubris and human greed so perfectly drawn. Chilling.

End of spoilers