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thedambookshelf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
vshah's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
If you liked Encanto or liked the idea of Encanto but were left wanting more, this is the book for you. The Montoya family is intriguing, complicated, and relatable. They fight and come back together for each other in a way that is a believable and very realistic, even with the elements of magic and mystery that drive the plot. The flashbacks of Orquidea’s past and the Montoya’s discovering their magic paralleled each other in a very interesting way, and as a reader it was really satisfying to try to put the pieces together along with the Montoyas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Gore, and Stalking
now_booking's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I absolutely adored this fantastic work of magical realism meets multigenerational family saga. I love the work of Isabelle Allende and how she captures the complexity of characters in a family where heroes and villains aren’t monolithic but rather are complex with complex motivations and experiences that make them the characters they are. This is one such book. This is very much like if Isabel Allende focused more on the technicalities of the magic in her books to the point of almost approaching the fantasy genre. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy so I’m amazed how much I loved this. Indeed, perhaps that is because this is not quite fantasy, it is indeed plausible in the way it acknowledges that a pragmatic understanding of the world might find the events in this book fantastical and unrealistic, but there are phenomena we can’t quite explain and things that can be believed to be true beyond what is empirical and explainable. In a sense, when Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon go on an epic journey to discover the truth about the origins of their matriarch Orquídea Divinia and save the rest of the family from the curse she has brought on them, it is an attempt to explain the lifetime of magic and surrealism that has surrounded their family.
For me, what I liked most about this book were the themes around family and loss and support and complex relationships and the themes of home. I think what tipped this away from fantasy as a genre and more into literary fiction is that despite having adventurous elements, this is ultimately a story about love and family and fighting more than it is one about magic or one that is about another world. It is about the extent one goes through for family, the bad decisions that have awful consequences and the struggle and sacrifices we make to make everything okay again. It also doesn’t hurt that the writing and use of language is absolutely gorgeous and even lyrical in parts yet accessible and unpretentious. The characters and their flaws are relatable and kind evocative of people you may know and situations you may have witnessed. This was a very readable book even in the moments where it was devastating or shocking. The depiction of the close relationship between cousins Rey and Marimar and their intrepid sidekick Rhiannon (who’s actually the brains of the operation), and the complex toxicity of Orquídea’s relationship with everyone- from her own mother Isabel, to her first husband, Lazaro the shooting star, her children and grandchildren, was great and really interesting to unravel. As a protagonist, perhaps she is not the most likeable, but she is interesting and complicated and there’s a lot to her as a characteristic.
I think there is justified criticism that much of the action of this book is saved till the last third or so of this book. So yes, the book is slow-ish, that said, I did really enjoy the build up and the set up in the first two-thirds of the book and thought it was essential if a little unnecessarily long with a transition that ended up telling a bit instead of showing. And I think beyond that, the past and present formulation might be annoying to some as it delayed or slowed the action somewhat, but again I understood this formulation of telling the story and felt it made sense and was enjoyable to read even though typically I don’t like past-present storytelling formats as I tend to find it kills the plot momentum. Perhaps I wanted more about Marimar’s personal life and maybe to know her more as individual beyond her identity as constructed within her complex family dynamic. Perhaps I think if Marimar and Orquídea were the main characters of this book, Orquídea by far outshines and outpersonalities Marimar and so it is perhaps a little implausible that Marimar is the Montoya family heroine because she is so minimised character development-wise in the story. Indeed, if we consider that the modern generation of Montoyas are the current-day protagonists to Orquídea’s role as the “past” protagonist, even then they are unbalanced because Orquídea benefits from much more character development and a more cohesive and complete story, even though there are patches here and there and there were places I would have loved the author to rest and dwell in a bit more to more explicitly develop the characters.
That said, despite all this, I LOVED this book. I enjoyed reading it and listening to it in audio. Frankie Corzo, the narrator did a fabulous job with it and really captured the drama and emotion and adventure on this one. Highly highly recommend for fans of Isabel Allende and fans of family sagas who love magical realism or are not fantasy-sticklers.
For me, what I liked most about this book were the themes around family and loss and support and complex relationships and the themes of home. I think what tipped this away from fantasy as a genre and more into literary fiction is that despite having adventurous elements, this is ultimately a story about love and family and fighting more than it is one about magic or one that is about another world. It is about the extent one goes through for family, the bad decisions that have awful consequences and the struggle and sacrifices we make to make everything okay again. It also doesn’t hurt that the writing and use of language is absolutely gorgeous and even lyrical in parts yet accessible and unpretentious. The characters and their flaws are relatable and kind evocative of people you may know and situations you may have witnessed. This was a very readable book even in the moments where it was devastating or shocking. The depiction of the close relationship between cousins Rey and Marimar and their intrepid sidekick Rhiannon (who’s actually the brains of the operation), and the complex toxicity of Orquídea’s relationship with everyone- from her own mother Isabel, to her first husband, Lazaro the shooting star, her children and grandchildren, was great and really interesting to unravel. As a protagonist, perhaps she is not the most likeable, but she is interesting and complicated and there’s a lot to her as a characteristic.
I think there is justified criticism that much of the action of this book is saved till the last third or so of this book. So yes, the book is slow-ish, that said, I did really enjoy the build up and the set up in the first two-thirds of the book and thought it was essential if a little unnecessarily long with a transition that ended up telling a bit instead of showing. And I think beyond that, the past and present formulation might be annoying to some as it delayed or slowed the action somewhat, but again I understood this formulation of telling the story and felt it made sense and was enjoyable to read even though typically I don’t like past-present storytelling formats as I tend to find it kills the plot momentum. Perhaps I wanted more about Marimar’s personal life and maybe to know her more as individual beyond her identity as constructed within her complex family dynamic. Perhaps I think if Marimar and Orquídea were the main characters of this book, Orquídea by far outshines and outpersonalities Marimar and so it is perhaps a little implausible that Marimar is the Montoya family heroine because she is so minimised character development-wise in the story. Indeed, if we consider that the modern generation of Montoyas are the current-day protagonists to Orquídea’s role as the “past” protagonist, even then they are unbalanced because Orquídea benefits from much more character development and a more cohesive and complete story, even though there are patches here and there and there were places I would have loved the author to rest and dwell in a bit more to more explicitly develop the characters.
That said, despite all this, I LOVED this book. I enjoyed reading it and listening to it in audio. Frankie Corzo, the narrator did a fabulous job with it and really captured the drama and emotion and adventure on this one. Highly highly recommend for fans of Isabel Allende and fans of family sagas who love magical realism or are not fantasy-sticklers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Homophobia, Torture, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual harassment
eggbreadcryptid's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book started out promising, but it really lost me near the middle and completely at the end. I just didn’t feel really connected to the characters, the multiple povs made it so you didn’t really know anyone. The plot was interesting and had interesting characters they just weren’t fully fleshed out or utilized.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gore and Violence
faithe_mollett's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you liked Disney's Encanto, you'll like this book.
It's generational and there's magic! A magic house, a powerful matriarch who sacrificed to keep her magic and her family safe. The family tree included in the book was good, it was helpful to have my own, simplified version though.
Just like many of the magical realism books I have read, once the actions starts it doesn't stop until the books over. It's like a really succesful scavenger hunt, go to point A for the next clue at point B for the next clue at point C, etc etc.
Magical realism has its roots in Latin American literature, and this novel is a wonderful addition. I forget how much I love this genre! Can't wait to read more from this author!
It's generational and there's magic! A magic house, a powerful matriarch who sacrificed to keep her magic and her family safe. The family tree included in the book was good, it was helpful to have my own, simplified version though.
Just like many of the magical realism books I have read, once the actions starts it doesn't stop until the books over. It's like a really succesful scavenger hunt, go to point A for the next clue at point B for the next clue at point C, etc etc.
Magical realism has its roots in Latin American literature, and this novel is a wonderful addition. I forget how much I love this genre! Can't wait to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Gore, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
There's a family tree in the front of the book, but its hard to look at on an ereader that doesn't allow you to zoom. I found the fam tree online easily enough, and made my own simplified one to reference until I got to know the family a bit better.
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