Beautiful writing, but a long-winded book and not as gripping as Priory. Will be reading the next book in the series though!

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was such a wonderful addition to the Priory world that Samatha has created. It blows my mind that she has all of this elaborate world, story, and politics inside her brain.

I had issues with Priory of the Orange Tree and how it tried to cram so much into a standalone book, leading to an uneven development of characters and world building. Unfortunately, its prequel suffers from the same issues for me. There's just too much in every sense. Too much world, too many characters and nothing feels particularly well fleshed out enough for me to care. The pacing also suffers due to the multiple POVs, and felt painfully slow at times. And the plot felt too similar to Priory. If you've read that, I really don't think you gain anything by reading this.

Not a bad book. Samantha Shannon is a wonderful writer, but I just don't think I like her take on epic fantasy. This feels rushed and the characters are never given the breathing space a multiple book series would allow them to grow and develop in the way they deserve.

Rarely do I read multiple pov books and feel as invested in all of the characters as I did with this book and priory of the orange tree.
The world building and magic systems in this book are just complicated enough to be interesting but not over whelming.
I must make a start on this authors back catalogue.

A Day of Fallen Night" is a prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, which I absolutely loved, so I had pretty high expectations. The world-building is just as rich, with dragons, magic, and politics all colliding in an epic fantasy setting. The story dives deep into the history of the world and its characters, which I appreciated. There are a lot of different factions and plotlines to follow, which made me so happy as I love complicated stories, if you’re into complex fantasy with strong female characters and a detailed world, this one is perfect!

So glad I finally got round the reading this. The beginning was slow but I love the world that Samantha Shannon has created and how their are various cultures and religions.

I absolutely love The Priory of the Orange Tree so was excited for this but it was such a disappointment, and I feel like this was an unnecessary prequel. If I hadn't been reading it with a friend and also stubborn after having this book for so long then I probably would have dnf'd before the halfway mark. this has about four or five separate character POV's and I only cared about two of them, and on the chapters where it wasn't those two characters, I just didn't care enough, I wasn't intrigued, and I cannot remember most of what happened in those chapters because it didn't interest me enough to retain that information after I had read it. One of the things I loved about The Priory of the Orange Tree is that even though it's a huge huge, I feel like everything that happens in that book is necessary to develop the story and the characters.

Sadly, I struggled to get into this one. Great writing but just couldn’t engage. Very complex, which isn’t a negative, but I couldn’t get into the story enough to complete it.

The book had really interesting themes such as motherhood and what it means to devote your body to something more than yourself. The characters were absolutely amazing and the relationships between them were fantastic!

Priory of the Orange tree was one of my all-time top five star reads and I enjoyed it immensely so obviously I was delighted and Also very grateful to have a chance to read this prequel before it came out .
I wasn’t disappointed ! I loved the fleshed out storylines and the more in-depth look at some of the characters within the previous history of the world. Lush thorough world building I’ve come to expect from Samantha, I found it thoroughly entertaining all in all.

There was so much information to take
In about a handful of historical characters set Centuries before any of the events in primary of the Orange tree, The way that these characters Stories intertwined Made for an incredibly Complex, detailed and enjoyable story, I can’t wait for anything to come in the future from Samantha Shannon.

This one took me a while to get through. While I did really enjoy it, it wasn't quite as good as The Priory of the Orange Tree

I sadly requested this when i was in my fantasy era and my reading vibes have changed. I have heard endless great things about this book but it’s not for me at this time.

What a brilliant book! Samantha Shannon's world building and character developments are some of the best I have seen. Whilst this is a chunky book it didn't feel like a drag at all. I'm just sad that it's all over!

A beautiful addition to the world of Priory, Shannon's continuation of this world in such a masterful way creates such a beautiful beginning to the original storyline. Filled with tension, political intrigue, and daring ambition, A Day of Fallen Night is beautiful to read either before Priory or immediately after for a return to the stunning world

The Priory of the Orange Tree was a tough book to follow, but this prequel expands on the world-building of the first book and dovetails well with it.
I was lost in it for weeks.

Set in a world where the sun has disappeared, leaving only perpetual night, the novel follows the protagonist as she navigates a landscape filled with danger and intrigue. Shannon's prose is lyrical yet sharp, drawing readers into the protagonist's struggle for survival against both the elements and dark forces at play.

What sets A Day of Fallen Night apart is Shannon's ability to delve into complex themes such as resilience, hope, and the nature of power. The characters are multifaceted, each grappling with their own demons and desires, adding layers of depth to the narrative. Overall it is a mesmerizing read that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment. Shannon proves once again why she is a master of the genre, delivering a tale that is both haunting and unforgettable.

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4 stars

A Day of Fallen Night is truly a breathtaking epic novel, the sheer size alone is daunting but it truly does not feel its size. At almost 900 pages long, I enjoyed the pace - while slow, I enjoyed the time we spent with each character and I did enjoy the development of this vibrant cast of characters. A Day of Fallen Night is rich in content and world-building from the countries, cultures, politics, myths, histories, and religions of each part of this world - from East to West. It is an ambitious novel, in the same way Priory was, but it achieved the truly expansive world in the same way.

One of my favourite things in The Roots of Chaos series is the central role women play in this world and the sapphic relationships they have with other women. They were all equally deserving of the time and attention paid to them, I don't think there was a single character arc wasted here.

Could it have been smaller? Probably, but it is an epic novel in all aspect and I do highly recommend this to any fans of epic fantasy.

Samantha Shannon has done it again with this excellent “prequel” to the Priory of the Orange Tree. I absolutely adored it.

Tho this review is rather late due to health reasons, I did finish the book but never got around to posting the review.

It has been a while since I finished reading the book. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sequel-prequel. This gave a very nice look into the history of the world and how certain things came to be. I loved reading about the ancestors of the characters I loved in The Priory of the Orange Tree. The world building was immaculate, just like in her previous book, the stories tied very well together.