Complex and epic, stretching across so much geography and individual experiences, this is a worthy follow-up to <i>The Priory of the Orange Tree</i>. It manages to feel familiar to fans of the series without feeling like it's relying on the success of the first one to succeed itself. It stands on its own feet and feels independent but welcoming to returning fans.

This is more politically intricate than the previous tome from Samantha Shannon. I didn't personally prefer this much politics in my fantasy, but I know lots of people who enjoy political machinations and intrigue in their high fantasy so I'm sure it'll be popular for that reason. There's a lot more time spent discussing various kingdoms' relationships with one another and marriage features a lot more in this (at least to my memory of what <i>Priory</i> was like). But don't fret, there's also plenty of action and darkness.

The dragon content doesn't disappoint. It feels like it's scraped from the depths of a volcano with how intimidating and ancient they feel. We get lots of conflict with dragons in this which is satisfying because <i>Priory</i> never felt like quite enough. Samantha Shannon is generous with the drama in this book.

Women and women's love are at the core of this novel. Romantic love, parental love, sisterly love. This puts a spotlight on these kinds of relationships and over the course of the novel, they grow and change. They betray one another, they uplift one another, they love each other, they defend each other. It's great. There were some characters I felt more attached to and whose plotlines entertained me more while others were lesser favoured. Glorian was my favourite but I liked aspects of all them.

All in all, I don't think this will disappoint fans. Depending on your personal preferences, you may like this a little more or a little less than the previous, but most importantly, it's its own story with a fresh take on the world. It doesn't live in the shadow of the predecessor but right alongside that legend.

A Day of Fallen Night is a 3/5 for me. Not for lack of a wonderful story.

If you like spawling high fantasy books, OH BOY are you in for a ride!!! 😍 I really wish I could stick it out and see how these storylines end!

BUT I shouldn't have to say: stick it out. I swore to myself I would only read books I enjoy, and I wouldn't create a reading slump by forcing myself through a book anymore.

This book suffered from the same phenomenon as Priory did for me: it isn't the longest book I've ever read.. but it sure did feel like it.

As sprawling, and luscious, and brilliant as the story is. The writing/pacing just isn't for me. Which is so sad.

Let's discuss it's strengthens: once we finally discovered who the main characters were, all of them were so interesting! Each storyline stood well on its own, and I didn't favour one over the other.

It also features strong secondary/supporting characters throughout each POV, which I really enjoyed. I don't know if Wulf would have become a MC but I really loved his POV!

And let's hear it for the kick ass women in this book! 🥳🥳

I do hope to return to, and finish, this book one day. Perhaps as audio!

A Day of Fallen Night takes place 500 years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree. There are some familiar components if you've read Priory, which you really should before picking this one up. The institutions at the heart of Priory like the eponymous sorcerer-warriors and Berethnet line, female rulers of Inys, are key players. We have multiple POV characters, including Tunova of the Priory, Glorian Berethnet, and Dumai of Seiiki. Day takes place 500 years after the Nameless One was imprisoned, and horrors resembling the Nameless One have begun to appear.

I bet I'm really missing out on some of the nuances of Day given I read Priory back in 2019. Still, I really enjoyed this because it is beautifully put together. The book is a toughing exploration of motherhood and family, including chosen families, and the hard choices we make to protect the ones we love. It's a marvelous take on a queernorm world. Female rulers and nonbinary folks are not remarkable.

And my favorite part! There are several times where we see inside the head of a younger woman talking to an older woman and the young woman thinks, It'll be rad when I have white hair and forehead wrinkles to show how much wisdom I've accumulated. (I'm paraphrasing.) I set the book down in shock when I encountered this— it is such a novelty to encounter not just acceptance of female aging but positivity. It was a startling and delightful example of how SFF can be used to make us think about the world we live in.

Again, since my memories of Priory are pretty hazy, I'm sure I missed lots of fun Easter eggs and other treats. Reason to reread! Perhaps as a result, the ending, while satisfying, also felt too influenced by a deux ex machina. Once I reread Priory, I'll update this review.

This was long. So long. But the way Samantha Shannon makes the story flow makes it go by so fast. While this can be a standalone, I'm glad I read it after having read priory of the orange tree. The world building from priory definitely made this one more enjoyable. Thank you so much Bloomsbury USA for the ARC of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing an ARC of this title!

What am I even supposed to do now? What do you do after finishing a book like this? I need a minute.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did Priory; past experiences have shown me that most books don't surpass the original, even while still being super enjoyable! This is the exception for me--ADOFN blew Priory out of the water and somehow managed to improve upon an already pretty perfect story.

Being high fantasy, it starts off slowly, because it's got so much to introduce. Despite the initial pacing, it's still very easy to fall right in and become invested. Like others, one of the biggest difference in ADOFN compared to Priory is that I was fully interested in all of the POVs provided. I had favorites, of course (I too would lay down my life for Glorian Shieldheart), but each one was equally engaging. In Priory, there was at least one POV that I just did not want. (Niclays Roos you KNOW what you did.)

There's so much I want to say but probably shouldn't because I don't want to spoil any part of this story. It's beautiful and epic and everything I wanted and somehow MORE. I will race to read any expansion of this world. It's so well thought out and developed. I've seen this mentioned in other reviews, but one of the things I most appreciate is how casually ingrained in the entire world LGBTQ+ people are. There's no questions about it. It's normal across the board, from couplings to the way characters are referred to; everything about it is so comforting. There's literally no reason to write casual bigotry into your fantasy world.

This was phenomenal and I spent the last 10% of the book crying on and off. I feel lucky to have gotten to experience this story!

This was as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Tysm for the opportunity to read it earlier than the masses.
I enjoyed the story, the pace of the story, the banter between characters, the world building and the cover is to die for.
I knew this would be a 5 star read for me and it indeed was.
Thanks again for the ARC.

This was a masterpiece! I had enjoyed Priory, but this so far surpasses Priory! Every one of the POVs was compelling. The plot movement was great. The character development and further world building were beautiful. I was so much more emotionally attached and affected by the story. My favorites continued to be the South and the East (I’m a sucker for the ichneuman and dragons). But Glorian so so compelling and I loved Wulf too. Tuva and Dumai had my whole heart.
It’s so unusual for an almost 900 page book NOT to feel bloated, but every page seemed essential. If you loved Priory, you have to pick this up, but even if you felt Priory lacking in some ways, you absolutely need this book because it is fantastic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy for review. All opinions are my own.

"The stunning, standalone prequel to the New York Times bestselling The Priory of the Orange Tree.

In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of Priory of the Orange Tree and into the lives of four women, showing us a course of events that shaped their world for generations to come.

Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms - but none have appeared since the Nameless One, and the younger generation is starting to question the Priory's purpose.

To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hróth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian, trails in their shadow - exactly where she wants to be.

The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seiikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. Now someone from her mother's past is coming to upend her fate.

When the Dreadmount erupts, bringing with it an age of terror and violence, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat."

If you're like me and haven't quite gotten around to reading The Priory of the Orange Tree, good news, this is a prequel!

This book was even better than the first one, and that was something I didn’t think I would be saying! I love that this could be a standalone or included with POTOT. I will never not recommend these books!

ABSOLUTELY PERFECTTTTT. The plot. Political intrigue. Diversity. Lovely and fully fleshed-out characters. Tension. Beautiful writing. Amazing world-building. Slow-paced but every single step is worth it.
3 women of different ages from different part of the world facing their own problems but they're somehow connected, one to another. I enjoyed this better because I've read Priory and it's fun to recognize the future references, how Samantha managed to seam between those books despite separated hundreds of years apart.

This made me miss Priory so much. Need to reread ASAP.

An interesting addition to Shannon's fantasy epic. The characters were definitely the star of this tale along with the deep world-building.

Three daughters are born with a great destiny in different parts of the world, when the Dreadmount erupts and infernal creatures emerge out of the earth bringing terror and destruction, these three women must fight to bring their people through this age of destruction.
A great read, I am glad Samantha Shannon returned to this world as it has so much to offer the Epic-Fantasy genre. Loved all the characters and she struck a great balance of bringing intrigue while also peppering familiar references in there for readers of her previous book.
I would say that the book felt a little long, it took a while for the different threads to come together in a compelling way and it did feel like a slog at times.

Shannon delivers yet again! Epic and absolutely impossible to put down from start to finish. Samantha truly is one of the best high fantasy authors of our generation.

Building upon the epic story within the Roots of Chaos Cycle. We see how much of the events of Priory took hold and how the East and West began their animosity towards each other. The way Shannon writes powerful women as independent, strong, and as mothers in this installment in the world of priory is second to none. It is impossible not to care deeply for all of the characters in ADOFN and the way Samantha writes.

The world building, characters arcs and plot line are top tier. Shannon has become not only one of my favorite authors, her books ADOFN and Priory are in my top ten favorite books of all time.

You do not want to miss out on this Epic High Fantasy.

Wow wow wow wow. First off…the cover is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait see it in person then put it on my shelf next to Priory. All the things I loved about Priory are present in this book, the world building, the relationships, the beautiful storytelling. I think the author did a fabulous job at writing two standalone books that also tell a complete story as a series. I must also note that there was never a dull moment in the story, which is a fate that most long books suffer from.

Which book should you read first?
Honestly I don’t think it matters. This is a prequel so most of the people in Priory aren’t born yet but some places and names might be recognized if you have read Priory.

Five stars truly isn’t enough and I really hope the author plans on telling more stories set in this world.

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!

This was stunning and absolutely breathtaking. Literally and figuratively breathtaking!!!

This prequel to Priory of the Orange Tree is full of beautiful descriptions and content that compliments the first book so well.

The themes running through this novel are very similar to Priory. Mainly ideas on religion and also, women's roles in history, the strength of women.

I just finished this and I know I'm going to have more to say while this story truly sinks in now.

Out February, 28 2033!

I absolutely love Prior of the Orange Tree so I was excited to find this. I have to say I was disappointed. I thought that being a prequel it wouldn't be as long as Priory. I read Priory in 2 weeks and 3 days, yes I counted,. I don't usually read something that fast. This was just so hard to get into and the length was daunting. It was so wordy and often dry. Maybe if it was a sequel instead it would have held my interest better. Priory was so easy to get into I didn't have a lot of questions about how the story and characters fit where they were. I was left at the end dying for another book which I just saw on goodreads is coming!!

My most anticipated book of 2023! Priory of the Orange Tree is one of my all-time favorite books, and this book was a fantastic prequel for the series. I have been waiting for this one to come out and actually started crying when I saw I got approved. Samantha Shannon has such a talent for world-building, and she creates a fantastic sense of ambiance. The characters and perspective go together extremely well. Usually, there is at least one perspective I wouldn't like when reading multi-POV, but surprisingly, I loved every chapter of this one! ALSO SAPPHIC rep!

I absolutely adored Priory of the Orange Tree, and when I heard we were getting a prequel I was so excited! A Day Of Fallen Night delivered just as promised. Samantha Shannon's worldbuilding is fantastic, and I loved getting to explore a different time period in the world we were introduced to in Priory. It was done in such a masterful way. I felt pulled into the world, and the characters, and I honestly wanted to live in this book forever. This was just as good as I expected it to be, and I look forward to seeing what else Shannon has in store for us in this series. I will definitely be reading all of it!

Getting a sequel to Priory was such an exciting thing to hear. I ended up not being able to focus much on this one. Not sure if it's because I need to reread Priory or not but I'm going to wait for the audiobook to give it another try.

So this one is a prequel to the Priory of the Orange Tree and I could not put this down. I devoured this over the long holiday weekend and loved every page. It's times like this that I wish I had social media because O lord was this something to talk about. If anyone ever picks these up for a movie it is going to be EPIC!!! And if you think you know what your are getting into by reading the Orange Tree you have no clue!! Read this one, add it to your preorder list and then read it all together. Because man it was just that good. I would just about give my soul to have this in print.