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Heh, keeps recommending? Am I really so strongly associated with it now? I mean, I guess I am! And yes! It is MASSIVE. Like a coward I bailed and got the ebook version (also, the hardcover was taking too long to arrive). The paperback version is coming out soon and it still looks hefty af:
Final Round: Vote for the Best Fantasy of 2019!
Riders and slayers, THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE has made it to the Final Round of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2019.
Thank you. I’m bursting with joy and gratitude. The fact that my queer orange brick has come this far already means the world, but if you’d like to vote for it just once more, I’d be immensely grateful.
?
Ah, anon, I have no excuse for why I’m answering this so late, I could’ve answered it on the app any day, so…I’m sorry.
No problem! I’m glad it lived up to the hype for you! I wish I had others to recommend like it but honestly, it’s been a bit tough finding something with all the ingredients that made Priory so good.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate you letting me know. 🙂
It really does suck you in, right, and yesss, of all the books I’ve read recently, most with f/f in some form, I still really do love how romantic it was, such interesting well-written characters who really fell for each other and how it then worked into the rest of their motivations.
Guys, guys!
Also, also, Samantha Shannon’s ranking:
Whaaaat? For an explicitly f/f diverse epic fantasy! The Kindle version is only $1.99 if you want to get in on it: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07DDGX4KY/
I’m glad you liked it! Welcome to the club. Because, uh, heh, we’re all stuck trying to find something that good and f/f that sucks us in and I don’t really think there’s anything similar. Personally, I went into A Memory Called Empire, but that’s scifi and the romance isn’t as epic. Anything I’ve read or liked recently is in my books tag, you can get an idea of what I’ve been reading or looking into from there.
As for an adaptation of priory, I’d love a live action one if they cast it as diverse as the characters were described in the book Bc omfg can u imagine the potential amazing cast w all these women! But then again casting is often a mess so if it didn’t stick to the book it’d be disappointing. Animated might be better for that &a the action sequences would look great, & it’d prolly be less grimdark Bc I think a live action might focus on the torture/violence/gore the way GoT does.
Heh, right, the length and the writing and the kind of story that it is, it just sticks with you. I felt the same way when I was done, still in that world.
It’s standalone but I think the author has mentioned both a prequel and a sequel. (She has a tumblr account where she openly interacts with readers, by the way.) There’s so much that can still be done with this world, especially with those trees, so I hope there’s more. And with f/f, of course.
Hmm, you make such a good point, those characters do deserve to be live action. And they’d be awesome roles for actresses who don’t usually get a chance to be in fantasy. I would hope an adaptation wouldn’t focus on the violence or, worse, manufacture its own, the book isn’t light reading but most of the violence isn’t…cruel, you know? It was the action I was most worried about, the money it’d take to do the action scenes, including a full on dragon war on the sea, would be exorbitant. So I guess there are advantages to both! I just hope there is one.
Ah, you’re welcome! And that’s how it was for me too! I just could not stop reading (till I got to a pause in the action and tension and then just halted for a week because at least then I could pretend everything was okay).
Man, I wish there was an adaptation for this already. I can’t decide if a live action one would be better or animated, I actually think animation would work really well for some of the action scenes…
Giveaway: The Priory of the Orange Tree
As with any new book I’ve liked recently, I’m making a giveaway for it. There are only two copies so they’re going to go fast but I’d urge you to still try it out if you don’t win and if you can’t afford it or the sample wasn’t enough to convince you to buy it, then still see if your library has it and if not, request them to get it.
It’s just plain epic fantasy, fun and long and detailed, characters to root for and a simple premise at heart. At 800 pages, it’s definitely something you can lose yourself in. There are a four regions and a lot of politics and religion at play but to oversimply the summary, an evil ancient dragon is going to awaken and that’s Not Good. But don’t worry, there are good dragons too, one of the four point of view characters is actually a dragonrider.
I don’t want to spoil too much because I really enjoyed it not knowing too much going in but yes, there is a very romantic (to me) f/f pair and if you know anything about what I like, I wouldn’t recommend this book if I thought the ending wasn’t satisfactory.
I agree with that.
Juls with everyone else:
Juls with Val:
But really, she does warm up a lot to people she knows and I bet she’s beloved at work, but the way she is with Val is next level, you can’t even compare it to Lupe. Val just opens up something in her and allows to be in a way that nobody else does.
I actually have been enjoying Priory of the Orange Tree a lot! It’s very traditional epic fantasy, you got your dragons, you got your magic, you got your magic swords, you got your detailed worldbuilding, and it’s well-written enough that I’d have enjoyed it just on the basis of that but I cannot deny that the f/f really elevates it. A legit slow burn between the two most interesting and important characters, who happen to be women? I loved them and I loved the romance. And it was a slow burn, I’ve heard people say the romance doesn’t start till halfway through (which, it’s an 850 page standalone) but the dynamic starts noticeably changing much earlier than that, in such a delicious oh-you-two-have-no-idea kind of way.