Scan barcode
faithe_mollett's review against another edition
- 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
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!
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.caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
- THE INHERITANCE OF ORQUÍDEA DIVINA is a wonderfully engrossing mystery wrapped in a family saga.
- Córdova's writing is gorgeous, and the descriptions of the magical elements just beautiful.
- I loved the alternating timelines. It was a joy to let Orquídea's story unfold before me, especially as I listened to the audiobook, which felt so immersive.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
msradiosilence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death and Body horror
vmaravis's review against another edition
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
aeeklund's review against another edition
- 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
Zoraida Cordova’s first adult novel is a breathless, magical story of falling stars and roses blooming from bodies, transmutation into moonstone and softly speaking fireflies, the planting of seeds borne from bodies and vines erupting from the ground in stark defense of outrage or intrusion.
This book spans decades, generations, continents. It tours Europe with a circus and puts down roots in a secluded valley. It purifies with fire and it rebuilds from ash.
It studies silence and screaming and whispers and song, art and cooking and writing and loving, loss and gain and bargaining and settling, love in all its many and varied forms, some truer than we let ourselves see and some elaborate lies we tell or are told.
And the women. Women strong and weak, vulnerable and stubborn. In denial, in acceptance, in all their nuanced, many-faceted glory. I loved these characters and the histories they spun, entangled together like the roots of the orchids, laurels, and ceiba trees they all channel or reflect.
This book was transporting. And important. And so, so lovely that I am aching for it, even now having crossed its expanse. Read this.
Graphic: Cursing and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty and Panic attacks/disorders