DNF Review | The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a fantasy novel by Samantha Shannon.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

I only read 200 pages so these are mainly just notes for myself.

I don't think Samantha Shannon's writing is a good fit for me. I can usually switch over to an audiobook, but things are mentioned several times before we are told what they are or why things are the way they are. I think this will work for some people, but I had a constant feeling of not knowing what was going on and it was even worse on audio.

There are cool elements (like dragons) and I like the characters, but I started plotting out ways to motivate myself to finish. I would love to make it to the other side of this and know why people love it, but I'm not sure how kind it is to force another 600+ pages when my TBR is towering.

I'm sad because the cover for the prequel is beautiful, too...

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

On My Wishlist | The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup is the first in the new series by Robert Jackson Bennett.

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

Early reviews of The Tainted Cup have been amazing. I keep meaning to read Robert Jackson Bennett but never get around to it. Maybe this series would be the perfect place to start.

Have you read Robert Jackson Bennett before? Will you be reading The Tainted Cup?

Expected publication February 6, 2024

Bookish Goals for 2024

I love the start of a new reading year. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Bookish Goals for 2024. Below are my hopes and goals for 2024.

Goodreads Challenge

This is going to be the same goal I've had since the beginning of time - 50 books. Some years I read closer to 100, some years I read closer to 50. I think roughly a book a week is a massive amount for an average adult.

Nonfiction

Last year the only nonfiction books I read were picked by my book club. I need to take my brain back.

TBR Jar

I have made a TBR jar every year for as long as I can remember. I'd love to read a lot more from my jar this year. I currently have 136 books in the jar. I have no intentions of reading them all, but I want it to be my go to for picking books this year.

Kid Lit

I didn't read much middle grade or young adult last year and I'm hoping to do much better in that area this year. I know I'm missing out on some amazing stories.

Reviews

I have fallen completely out of the habit of writing reviews. I miss it, and I'm struggling hard. This may make my reading feel like a job for a while, but I want to stop and write a review of everything I read as soon as I'm done reading it. Wish me luck.

Library

I use my library a lot for digital copies of books I own. I like being able to go back and forth between print and audio. I'd love to use my library more for new to me authors or genres and then only buy the physical book if I loved it. This is a struggle because I prefer to focus on books I own, but I'm working on it.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 14

Hello, friends. I'm still in the middle of a ton of books which is fine. So far this year I'm on top of my reviews which is wonderful.

This week was birthday week for my oldest. We get a long weekend this weekend, and we have a winter storm coming. Some area schools are already delaying/closing in preparation. Our average snow fall here is zero. It's not even supposed to snow - just freezing rain - but I'm hoping for a snow day or two.

Posted Last Week

I posted two reviews. Is this a new me? I hope so!

Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Quarter of 2024

On My Wishlist | The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Finished Reading

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon ⭐⭐⭐★★ - This series is a good escape (Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon).

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The best written worst book I've ever read. Highly recommended. (Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due)

Currently Reading

My TBR jar has a lot of faith in me and gave me both Children of Ruin and The Priory of the Orange Tree for this month. Both are tomes in their genres.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire was released this past week. I'm slowly making my way through it. These books are so short in length, and I'm enjoying everything about it so far.

Added to the TBR

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire is the 9th book in the Wayward Children series. I love this series and all of their heartbreak.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

The Reformatory is a work of literary horror fiction by Tananarive Due.

A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

Gracetown, Florida
June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it’s too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

I can't do this book justice so I'm not even going to try, but I do want to jot down some thoughts about The Reformatory.

First and foremost, this book is a masterpiece. Tananarive Due is an incredible writer, and this book is remarkable. If the world would allow a horror book to win all of the literary prizes, I think The Reformatory deserves all of the literary prizes.

The second point I need to make is this is a tough read. One particular chapter had me shaking so much I couldn't even type my thoughts to the friends I was reading this with. I'm not sure that's happened in any other book that I've read. This was a powerful read.

I wish I could do a deep dive into the layers of racism, injustice, grief, hauntings, friendship, family, and so much more, but this book is important to experience the way Tananarive Due intended. The book description does a great job blurbing what the book is about.

I give The Reformatory the highest of recommendations, but I also need to state there's child death, child abuse, and child sexual assault along with violence and racism and other content warnings that you may need to seek out prior to reading.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5 stars

Source: personal purchase (audio). This is a review of my reading experience.

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