fantasy book review

What I’m Reading: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

byjehunter book review, books , ,

Fantasy Book Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

When I saw this book sitting on the library book shelf, I just had to check it out. Sometimes is just in the mood for a gigantic, heavy book that one can barely lift in bed. It gives me a certain kind of satisfaction to finish such a large read, especially if I can manage to do it in three weeks, before the book is due (I’m a pretty slow reader most of the time because I have a day job and I’m also trying to squeeze time in to write my own books, so extra satisfaction points there).

488E89FC-B1A5-42D1-A1CB-437DA8FF1CD6

If you love dragons and fantasy book, you will love The Priory of the Orange Tree. For an epic fantasy, this book was entirely readable. There were no long, rambling passages, or full pages dedicated to the description of landscapes or the aforementioned tree, which I felt kept the pace of the book moving. There were, however, some slower passages dedicated to romance that could have moved along a tad bit faster for me. But all in all, I got through this book quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly.

However, part of me did miss the journey. For an epic fantasy, I thought the journeys of characters across continents happened very quickly and very easily. I’m so used to their being a certain aspect of difficulty when it comes to crossing deserts on foot, that in this book maybe had a page or two written on them. Of course, dragons can sometimes speed up and ease that travel. But still, parts of me did miss the journey.

This book was a standalone, which I loved. Because sometimes I want to read and epic fantasy but I don’t want to spend years reading an entire 13 book series (although other times I do). Another plus for this book was all of the strong female characters that were fighting to save the world. There was no playing second fiddle to men in this book!

A solid 4.5/5 Stars

JEH

What I’m Listening to: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

byjehunter book review, books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books , , , , , , ,

Young Adult Book Review: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

It’s been a while since I’ve published a book review. But lately, I’ve been spending a bit more time on the road and have gotten back into audiobooks. And the other week Legendary by Stephanie Garber was available from my local library, so I decided to check it out.

Image result for legendary

I read Caraval a while back, and you can find the review here. I liked Caraval, but I didn’t love it. There were a few things I found confusing, and the story seemed a bit one dimensional, so when I finished Caraval, I didn’t plan on reading the rest of the trilogy. But then I started Legendary.

I LOVED legendary. I loved Tella’s character, but I also loved how the story went deeper, how the world’s mythology grew large and full of dimensions. There was so much more to Legendary than there was to Caraval. And the audiobook was very well done. All of the voices felt natural but weren’t too much (With the exception of one, maybe). I found the speed perfect (Note: I listen to my audiobooks at 1.25 times, otherwise I feel they move too slowly)

This is a case where the sequel is better than the first book, which I find rarely happens. But this trilogy does it. So if you read Caraval but were less than thrilled, give Legendary a chance anyway, it might just surprise you. It sure surprised me, and I can’t wait to listen to Finale.

Have you read Caraval or Legendary?

JEH