# The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

### The Priory of the Orange Tree

**Samantha Shannon** · The Roots of Chaos, book 1 (ongoing) · [https://houseofareader.com/books/the-priory-of-the-orange-tree](https://houseofareader.com/books/the-priory-of-the-orange-tree)

Eight hundred pages of dragon politics across two hemispheres that disagree about whether dragons are gods or vermin. A standalone in the sense that it resolves completely, with a slow sapphic romance threaded through the middle of it.

- Spice: 2/5 — Warm. One or two brief scenes. The romance is understated relative to the book's length.
- Romance prominence: 3/5
- Plot: 5/5
- Worldbuilding: 5/5
- Darkness: 3/5
- Writing craft: 5/5
- Burn: slow
- Tropes: slow-burn, forbidden-romance, chosen-one, found-family
- Creatures: dragons, witches, humans
- Setting: Two continents divided by a thousand years of religious disagreement
- POV: third person, dual
- Ending: happy ever after
- Audience: adult
- Content warnings: violence, plague, death, war
- Best for: Fourth Wing readers who want dragons with far more worldbuilding and far less spice.
- Last verified: 2026-08-28

## Sources

- https://openlibrary.org/search?q=The+Priory+of+the+Orange+Tree+Samantha+Shannon

## What to read next

- [Uprooted](https://houseofareader.com/books/uprooted) by Naomi Novik — spice 2/5. ACOTAR readers who want the same premise handled by a much stronger prose stylist.
- [Spinning Silver](https://houseofareader.com/books/spinning-silver) by Naomi Novik — spice 1/5. Readers who want a fae bargain plot with essentially no spice and exceptional writing.
- [Fourth Wing](https://houseofareader.com/books/fourth-wing) by Rebecca Yarros — spice 3/5. Readers who want competition and banter carrying as much weight as the romance.
- [Six of Crows](https://houseofareader.com/books/six-of-crows) by Leigh Bardugo — spice 1/5. Readers who want found family and yearning with no spice whatsoever.

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Ratings are editorial judgements applied against a published scale at
https://houseofareader.com/lessons/spice, not aggregated reader scores. Editorial policy:
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