✨ Just finished "Among the Burning Flowers" by Samantha Shannon, and wow, what a journey! ✨

Shannon has crafted another richly detailed and immersive world, this time within the captivating tapestry of her "Roots of Chaos" series. The characters are complex and compelling, each with their own unique struggles and strengths, drawing you deeply into their lives.

The writing is as lush and evocative as ever, painting vivid scenes that linger in your mind long after you've finished reading. The intricate plot weaves together magic, politics, and personal growth in a way that kept me absolutely hooked!

If you're a fan of intricate fantasy with beautifully developed characters and a world that feels both magical and real, this book is a must-read. It's a testament to Shannon's incredible storytelling prowess.

Highly recommend diving into this one! 📚🔥

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon. This is the first time that I am reading one of her books. It was the perfect toe dipper into her world as this is a prequel to her best-selling fantasy book The Priory of the Orange Tree.

ABF is only around 200 pages which is rather short against her normal 600+ page books but its wonderfully descriptive with a background of red pears, lavender and a dragon infested world that she conjures up. I will definitely be giving her other books a read in the future.

Donmata Marosa, the future queen, is kept a prisoner in her own home by her father, King Sigoso. She is counting down the days until she gets married to her betrothed, Aubrecht, but all sorts of Draconic mayhem break out before this happens.

Across the waters Estina Melaugo is a Culler. She hunts Draconic beasts who have starting emerging from caves and lairs after a slumber of over a thousand years.

The great wyrm Fýredel is stirring and life as the people have known for centuries is about to change. The lands will soon be ablaze with dragon fire.

Thank you to Tandem Collective and Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the eARC. This book releases in September.

The shortest book out so far from Ms Shannon at only 288 pages, I'm so used to be encased in her worlds for such a long time that I was surprised (and upset) to realise I'd reached the end so soon! But with this being a prequel, it could be a much easier entry point into the series for those who aren't sure about attempting an 800 behemoth.

We follow three different perspectives in this book, and whilst it took me a while (blame my brain for this) to click how each was relevant to Priory and Fallen, once I did I was utterly obsessed with seeing how these events came to pass and linked to the other two books. Getting to see the development of political alliances and to understand more the actions of certain characters was something I really appreciated.

This book is set after A Day of Fallen Night, but before The Priory of the Orange Tree., so there are mentions of certain characters that link between both books. We get to know some characters that were previously only mentioned by name as well as learning more about the motivations and lore behind actions of some more well known characters. I love that Among the Burning Flowers bridges this gap between the two larger books.

The three POVs in this book are: the future Queen of Yscalin, Donmata Marosa; her betrothed, the prince of Mentendon Aubrecht; and finally a culler (draconic slayer) named Estina Melaugo.

Despite this short page count, Samantha Shannon still delivers the deep relationships between characters (romantic and platonic), the intense action moments, and has me utterly absorbed and wanting more. Am I going to have to go back and reread Priory and Fallen?!

This short (for Shannon) novel demonstrates her fantastic writing style. She adds to an already lore-rich universe with beautifully written worldbuilding, character development, and a deeper understanding of the tensions present in this world. Yet another absolute marvel. Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!

It was just so wonderful and easy to get lost in this world again.

I have the memory of a goldfish so I really struggled to figure out where it slotted in with the previous 2 books. It's set about 500 years after A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT and shows the origin story for Yscalin as we know it in THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE.

Though this is a lot shorter than the other books in the series, it still manages to have the same level of depth in the world building and character storylines.

I really enjoyed this addition to the Roots of Chaos world! I found that this provided a lot of additional context to the other two ROC books, particularly Priory. I always appreciate some good lore in my epic fantasy!!

Samantha Shannon does a great job of transporting you to this fantasy world of castles, princesses, dragons, and political intrigue. In many ways this novella felt like a dark adult fairytale, and I loved that aspect of it! I also loved the centrality of women to the story and how Samantha wrote their respective struggles in this turbulent fantasy world. This is a story of strength and resilience, and I always love the way Samantha explores these kinds of qualities in her characters.

My only critique is that this novella was a little too ambitious with it being multi-POV as well as trying to make it a possible entry point to the ROC world for new readers. I wouldn’t recommend it as a first point of contact with this world, and I think existing ROC readers are going to get a lot more from this than new readers will. I think Among the Burning Flowers either needed to be fleshed out into a full-length novel, or to have less POVs.

That being said, as an existing ROC fan, I loved what this added to the wider timeline of events/cast of characters we see across all three instalments, and I’m really looking forward to re-reading it with what I can imagine are going to be beautiful illustrations when it comes out!

Thanks so much to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this novella.

I rated this book 5 stars, because how can it be anything else than that. It was just amazing! This book brought me right back into the magnificent world the author created. She wrote this as another entry to the series; one that is shorter than her other books and may be more appealing to readers that aren't used to long epic fantasy books or just want to see how her writing is. For me personally (I read all published books in the series), I think it would be best to read it after ADOFN and before Priory, because their is a minor spoiler about ADOFN.
We already saw Marosa, Aubrecht and Estina in Priory and while I was excited to see more of Marosa and Estina, I wasn't the biggest fan of Aubrecht. For me, he kinda gave nothing. This book changed my opinion on him immensely as we saw more about his relationship with his family and Marosa and his thoughts and motives. And then Marosa. What a woman! And definitely my favourite of the three. It was fascinating to see how she survived the fall of Yscalin and to get more insight into her thoughts. We knew a bite about Estina's backstory because of Priory and it was really interesting to see her experience of the fall of Yscalin, as her social status was very different from Marosa.
The title is very fitting as the story deals with the fall of Yscalin and you quickly realise why it's called "Among the Burning Flowers". I'm really happy that the author decided to publish more in this world and I can't wait for the next installment.

This is a shorter book that I feel is perfect for a new readers entry into the roots of chaos world, it's not as big but gives you enough info and world building to drag you in and make you want to finally pick up that 15lb book!
Yes, it is that serious and I highly recommend starting here and binging the rest!

This was a fantastic delve in to the series and the story

The Priory of the Orange Tree was on my 2025 TBR, but I was waiting for this book as it’s the prequel and gives some more background and context for the first big book

This was a super fast, easy read (it’s the shortest of the series), and really set everything up for me and the next book clearly. I am now ready to dive in to the main storyline!

The world building was spot on and I am so excited to see more of it

The book can definitely be read before or after the other two books, I guess it would just hit a different way if you’ve read the other two first!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc 🫶🏻

I'm sorry, I wanted to love this but found it very static: so much of it is back story as characters remember what has happened in the past and I wanted a plot happening in the present. There was no tension or pull-through for me. While advertised as a prequel, maybe you need to read the later books first?

Although it's been quite a while since I read The Priory of the Orange Tree, and I've not yet gotten to A Day of Fallen Night, Among the Burning Flowers stands on its own incredibly well. It eased me right back into the world again, smoothly enough that I didn't even have to Google any names or places (honestly a miracle as my memory is abysmal)!

This book was exquisite. Rich and immersive worldbuilding, beautiful prose that strikes the perfect balance between flowery and accessible, and such emotional depth. Marosa's poise, determination, and resilience in the face of incredibly bleak and horrific circumstances was the highlight of the book for me, but I also definitely grew a soft spot for Aubrecht's dutiful nature and love for his family, and it was fun to learn more about Estina, although I wish we'd gotten a little more of her POV!

I'm in awe at how much was conveyed in under 300 pages while not feeling rushed or underdeveloped. Definitely my favourite read of the year so far! Highly recommend for anyone who loves intricate fantasy with heart-wrenching stakes.

I really enjoyed this book! The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night is one of my favourite series. If you've heard about them but the large page counts put you off, this book is a great place to start. Among the Burning Flowers is a short novel which ends where The Priory picks up. So if you enjoy this book you can move straight on to see the story continue to unfold.

For readers that have already read these books, this novel gives so much extra context to the history of our characters, the political alliances and the fragile nature of the situation. It's good to know whether its 800 pages or 200 Samantha continues to rip out my heart and make me feel.

Easter eggs of some of our favourite characters
This story happens after A Day of Fallen Night and there are brief mentions of those characters in this book. For anyone that hasn't read it, you probably won't notice them, but I kicked my legs a little when I came across a few mentions and saw their legacy shine through.

I get so attached to characters so this was such a lovely touch to add and it helps pull all the stories together.

Shannon is a brilliant writer and we see this through her storytelling. She seamlessly weaves worldbuilding, history and character dialogue with such heavy tension. She plays on the readers emotions and in such a short amount of pages I felt intrigue, sadness, pity, anger, confusion.. It's real talent to get the reader so involved and part of the story.

We also get familiar with characters that have previously only been mentioned by name. It was good to get a sense of them and see their interactions, who they are, how they carry themselves. This world is rich with lore and I love digging into it and building on what I already know.

I also loved to see more of our Priory main characters. I wasn't a huge fan of Aubrecht but after this and seeing his passion and loyalty, I have been swayed. Also getting more context of Queen Sabran and what Marosa has been through. I ache more for her and the strength she's shown.

More representation as expected from Samantha Shannon!
Shannon continuously adds representation to her books and this one is no different. Love comes in all forms and if you like your books with sapphic love, give this one a try!

‘A few years ago, an ancient compass came into my keeping. At some point in time, its needle had rusted in place,’ she said. ‘I was like that compass when you found me. I had finally established a safe place, a home, in Perunta. But the longer you remain still, the more rust starts to cover you, and underneath, you become fragile. And soon it hurts to move at all.’

I can tell so much thought has gone into this. Shannon has planned out these characters very well and when reading the Character Glossary to remind myself of a few points, Shannon has made note of characters in there from the very first book (in 2019) that she's referred back to in this story. She has played the long game and its very smartly done, I love that.

Fantastic story rich with lore and tension

The story was intriguing, unfortunately I wasn't emotionally invested in the Characters.

I'm hoping its because it's a short prequal as I haven't read any of the other books from the series yet, but they are still on my TBR and I look forward to reading them now that I know what to expect.

The characters seem strong willed and the world is vast. All the different locations and names took me a moment to get used to but the addition of Wyverns was a pleasant surprise as I went into this book blind.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved dipping back into my favourite world and learning more about some Priory characters we only caught a glimpse of initially.
So many emotions for something so short.

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon is a fantastic book. I loved the characters and the storyline was perfect! I rated it 5 stars because I couldn't put the book down for a second.

“I see you’ve accepted my offer. Only took the end of the world.”

I know Samantha Shannon has advised reading this as a less daunting introduction to the Roots of Chaos series, but I’d personally recommend reading it after The Priory of the Orange Tree. Among the Burning Flowers is an incredible book on its own, but 288 pages is a blink of an eye for the Roots of Chaos series, and I think I would have struggled to understand the scale of the world and its characters without having read Priory first!

As always, I adored the worldbuilding; Among the Burning Flowers provides a deeper exploration of Mentendon and Yscalin. It dives into different - and forbidden - faiths, backstory behind Yscal’s reigning house of Vetalda, and gives us the POV of some of the wonderful characters that are just side characters in Priory.

I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of places in Yscalin, like Ortégardes the City of Courtesy - Samantha Shannon has a way of breathing life into everything she writes. I also loved the POV of all three characters, although I was surprised that Estina Melaugo was my least favourite.

My only complaint is that Among the Burning Flowers is short, and I could have spent a Samantha Shannon-typical 900 pages with these characters.

The world of the Priory is one of my all time favorite fantasy worlds ever, and I truly believe it will be spoken of amongst all the greatest fantasy stories. Samantha Shannon builds a beautiful, intricate world that I feel at home in. I’ve loved both books so far and this is why it pains me to admit I found this one lacking.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s still a great book. We follow three characters, as usual; I found all of them to have interesting and strong personalities, and one of them in particular grew to become a top tier character in my mind. There were a lot of very effective scenes, storylines I was easily invested in and some twists that took me by surprise! A lot of this book felt like missing puzzle pieces that explained the previous story better, which was my favourite part of the whole thing!
However, there are some negatives. Basically the biggest problem is that this book is very short- that is, for a Priory book. Because of this, the story lacked nearly all descriptions, and trusted that the reader will be able to place themselves into the exact time frame and place the plot picked up- and having read PotOG twice, it was still hard sometimes!
Despite being less than a fourth of what the light of previous books have been, the story still attempts to follow the same amount of characters, which I think was a mistake.
Overall, my biggest problem with this book was that it lacked the feeling of ‘historical telling of the world of Inys’ that the previous books had- with so many hidden Easter eggs, ties in between chapters and storylines and consistent narratives, I used to feel like I am reading a plausible explanation of a history of a realm. This time, I felt like I’m reading a fantasy book.
With all of this said, I would definitely still recommend this book to all fans of the series- it was a great time nevertheless, with fun bits of lore. Also, my ARC did not have illustrations yet, so I cannot wait to see those, because THE POTENTIAL?!?

Impeccable world building again from Samantha Shannon. Every detail feels well though out and aids to making the world feel very real.
Quite a bit shorter than I was expecting after the first two tomes, but was still a fantastic and immersive read.

Surprisingly short from Samantha Shannon. I was expecting 600+ pages and instead got what felt like a novella in comparison.

I think for that reason, this really doesn’t stand well by itself. You need to have knowledge of both ADOFN and Priory I would argue.

The future queen, the Donmata Marosa is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her father, the King. She is looking forward to escaping to her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, who rules Mentendon in all but name.
Estina Melaugo is a Culler, hunting Draconic beasts that have started emerging since the Draconic Army slumbered.

To steal the spotlight, the great wyrm Fýredel is stirring, and Yscalin (as we know) is the first to bend the knee.

Craft-wise, Shannon still manages to pack intimate character moments, high stakes, yearning, pining, and emotions in. However, again, that short page count did mean we lacked the depth in comparison to the other two.

<b>‘A few years ago, an ancient compass came into my keeping. At some point in time, its needle had rusted in place,’ she said. ‘I was like that compass when you found me. I had finally established a safe place, a home, in Perunta. But the longer you remain still, the more rust starts to cover you, and underneath, you become fragile. And soon it hurts to move at all.’
</b>
It was fascinating to see the pieces fall into place and now I kind of want to reread Priory.
Was this also sort of fan service? Yes, but it didn’t feel pushy or unneeded.

Arc gifted by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Thank you to the publisher for a digital copy of this book to review.

Samantha Shannon is back again with a beautiful novella to expand her Roots of Chaos world. This novella focusses on three characters present in The Priory of the Orange Tree and shows their backstories. It also, primarily, shows the reader how the kingdom of Yscalin chose the path of the Dragon as opposed to the path of the Saint. Shannon reminds us of her characters with ease and paints a larger, more detailed picture of their backstories and environments with deft, musical prose. Straight away you feel consumed by the myth and legend of the world of the Roots of Chaos and in places this novella helped me piece together certain locations or relationships that before felt a little unclear.

This book is the perfect springboard into the world if you are a new reader who feels daunted by the size of Priory or ADOFN. Vivacious and musical, it is a bite sized snippet of all of the things Shannon does excellently within the larger main novels. I immediately started rereading Priory after finishing this, as I was desperate to revisit that world.

Overall, a brilliant addition to this fantasy landscape and a must read series for any major Fantasy fans!

Samantha Shannon never misses and delivered yet another amazing high fantasy novel!

I read this entire book in one day because I couldn't NOT continue to read it until the end (and because compared to the other RoC novels, this one was tiny lol). I absolutely loved all of the main characters and their depth.

The focus of the story is the origin of Yscalin as we come to know it in Priory. Despite being connected to both RoC novels, I feel as though this book would be understandable to someone who hasn't read either of the first books yet. The world building is, of course, impeccable, and so detailed and vibrant.

I felt that it was very easy to feel connected to the characters and, if not relate to them, at least feel empathy for the situations they find themselves in. All of the characters felt realistic for the setting and acted appropriately, even if not riotously. Many of the characters find themselves in situations where there is no easy answer to their problems, making it all the more heartbreaking when they must act against their true wants.

Even after reading I keep thinking about Among the Burning Flowers, like the other RoC novels, Samantha Shannon writes in a way that is beautiful and haunting at the same time. I absolutely loved this addition to the Roots of Chaos world and am already waiting for whatever will be coming next (and probably doing a reread of all three books in the meantime).