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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is one of those books that leaves a lasting impression. After reading it, and later its prequel A Day of Fallen Night, I felt deeply connected to the world and its history.

Among the Burning Flowers is the only book in this world that I hadn’t yet written about, and it’s also the most recent one I’ve read. It was released in September, just a few months ago, and it felt like the perfect opportunity to revisit this universe once again.

A Much Shorter Story

One of the biggest differences with this book is its length.

Both The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night are massive, over 800 pages each, while Among the Burning Flowers is just over 200 pages. It’s a much shorter, more focused story.

This book serves as another prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, but it takes place closer to the events of that novel than A Day of Fallen Night does. It fills in a specific moment in the timeline rather than reshaping the entire history.

The Story and Its Perspective

Among the Burning Flowers shows the devastation the wyrm's bring to the West, offering a more grounded and personal look at the destruction caused during this time.

The story follows two perspectives: Marosa of Yscalin, who witnesses the devastation firsthand, and Prince Aubrecht Lievelyn, who is betrothed to her.

What made this book especially meaningful for me was getting to know Albrecht better. He is an important character in The Priory of the Orange Tree, but we don’t get much insight into who he truly is there. This book gives him depth, softness, and humanity. He easily became my favorite character.

Albrecht feels gentle, thoughtful, and sincere, and seeing his perspective added emotional weight to a story that is already tragic.

Final Thoughts

This is a sad story, but a meaningful one. With that being said, I would rate Among The Burning Flowers a 7.2/10.

While it isn’t as expansive or immersive as the longer novels in the series, it adds important context to the world and the time period it explores. It shows what life looked like during this devastation and helps deepen the emotional impact of The Priory of the Orange Tree.

It isn’t necessarily an “easy” read, but it is a good one. I don’t regret reading it, and I think it works best as a companion piece for readers who already love this world and want a little more insight into its past.