A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon is the longest novel I have read this year, but despite its length I had an amazing time reading it!

If you haven't read Priory of the Orange Tree yet, the basic premise of the Roots of Chaos novels is that every thousand years a great calamity rises intent on destroying the world. The RoC world is rich and diverse, with various cultures that have their own customs and beliefs, which often cause tensions and misunderstandings between its people. The lingering question here is: will they be able to put their differences aside, join forces and destroy this greater evil; or will they succumb to these tensions, losing the fight before it's begun?

The political/cultural intrigue and exploration of religion is fascinating in these novels. For me Samantha Shannon's lyrical yet attentive writing style created a vivid world that I'm attached to and always want to find out more about.

DoFN has a diverse cast and each protagonist was interesting and played an important part for the story. The latter I find an improvement from Priory.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the in-depth exploration of parent-child relationships in this second instalment. Sometimes in fantasy this goes underexplored, so I love that DoFN focused on it 😌

The romantic subplots in the novel are enjoyable, I loved that we got to see new and pre-existing relationships explored. However, I personally think the romance in DoFN could've been developed more in places, and I think I prefer Priory more when it comes to this aspect.

Regardless, there's something about its diverse and intriguing characters, the radiant world building and the gorgeous storytelling that made me love DoFN. Can't wait to see what the author has in store for us next!✨