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martamae77's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Stalking
stevie's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Kidnapping, and Confinement
meliroo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Child death
mamaquiereleer's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
e_flah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina felt more like two books put together than one cohesive story. I enjoyed the first half more, which follows Orquídea Divina's extended family as they follow her summons to return to Four Rivers. There were so many intriguing glimpses of members of the Montoya family that end up largely vanishing from the story when the plot takes a hard shift in another direction.
The aspect of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina I liked the most was learning more about the titular character through glimpses of her life that intersperse the present-day conflict. Orquídea was an incredibly compelling character to read about. Her reluctance to share stories about her early life with her grandchildren and behavior that could be both cruel and kind reminded me of the generational trauma within my own family. Seeing Marimar and Rey try to make sense of their grandmother added another rich layer to Orquídea's character. This dynamic between how the main characters within the story perceive Orquídea and how the reader does was incredibly well done.
The second half of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina had a very different tone, which is where I started losing interest in the story.I really don't like stories about circuses so I was disappointed to discover that this ended up featuring prominently in the overall plot of the book. I also just would've wanted more on page setting up the villain's motivation for hunting down the Montoyas as the conclusion to the present-day plot arc felt very rushed.
The aspect of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina I liked the most was learning more about the titular character through glimpses of her life that intersperse the present-day conflict. Orquídea was an incredibly compelling character to read about. Her reluctance to share stories about her early life with her grandchildren and behavior that could be both cruel and kind reminded me of the generational trauma within my own family. Seeing Marimar and Rey try to make sense of their grandmother added another rich layer to Orquídea's character. This dynamic between how the main characters within the story perceive Orquídea and how the reader does was incredibly well done.
The second half of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina had a very different tone, which is where I started losing interest in the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity
2treads's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Cordova had me with the hummingbird and the magic and the family.
– Her vow shimmered in the thread. For what was stronger than words –
From Orquídea Divina comes a family of talent and beauty, love and loss, but most of all secrets and silence. A woman who took what she believed was owed to her because of all she had suffered and used it to build a home and protect her family.
And as she feels her 'end' approach, she knows she has to put some contingency in place, but still she keeps her secrets, leaving her children and grandchildren to figure out the dark mysteries of her past on their own.
I was engrossed in this story because it gave me a dysfunctional family, magic and secrets, folklore and love. It is clear that Cordova wanted to meld the history of Ecuador and its changing societal landscape into this fantastical tale and it was so well done.
The pacing of the plot, the use of a past and present voice that sweeps the reader along as Orquídea matures and experiences betrayal and neglect to the way in which she is so intertwined with the lives of her children makes this a very engaging read.
– Her vow shimmered in the thread. For what was stronger than words –
From Orquídea Divina comes a family of talent and beauty, love and loss, but most of all secrets and silence. A woman who took what she believed was owed to her because of all she had suffered and used it to build a home and protect her family.
And as she feels her 'end' approach, she knows she has to put some contingency in place, but still she keeps her secrets, leaving her children and grandchildren to figure out the dark mysteries of her past on their own.
I was engrossed in this story because it gave me a dysfunctional family, magic and secrets, folklore and love. It is clear that Cordova wanted to meld the history of Ecuador and its changing societal landscape into this fantastical tale and it was so well done.
The pacing of the plot, the use of a past and present voice that sweeps the reader along as Orquídea matures and experiences betrayal and neglect to the way in which she is so intertwined with the lives of her children makes this a very engaging read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
faeriekit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I liked this book a lot more than I had thought I would. The single name and image on the front cover implied a very single character experience, but the description and story had much more of a holistic overview of a very complicated, deeply knitted family. I ended up enjoying this book quite a lot, both for its lush international experience, its slowly unfurled story, and the ease of the character's relationships to each other. Complex they may be, but everyone knows who they are. I normally do not prefer magical realism, but this book really hit it out of the park, and I really enjoyed this title!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, and Child abuse
_forestofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Death
Minor: Body horror
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina' by Zoraida Córdova is a magic dipped family saga about one family learning the true story of their matriarch's life.
Orquídea Divina swept into Four Rivers and erected a family home. The townspeople learned that there was a dash of magic surrounding the house in the valley and they learned to steer clear. Over the years, Orquídea has many husbands and many children but she never tells her family much about her past. But after her family has moved out and as she reaches the end of her life, she calls them back home to learn the truth about her life.
Córdova creates a lush family saga that explores how a single matriarch impacts the rest of her family and the magic that follows her. Córdova's writing is evocative and does a great job of bringing the reader into the world of the story. The reader is brought along with the family as they learn more about their grandmother and the magic that seems to follow her. Telling the story through the eyes of family members works really well in that they only know so much so we as the reader are discovering much right alongside the family.
Orquídea is an interesting heroine and her life unravels in intriguing ways. Ultimately, I did enjoy the portions of the story with her grandchildren more than the sections with her. I think this is in part because so much of her life is told over relatively few chapters and thus has to go quite quickly. The story with the family takes place over less time which allows Córdova to delve more fully into their emotions and dwell on the details of their world.
I have long been meaning to pick up books by Córdova and I think this was a great place to start. I will definitely be reading more of her works and I look forward to what she puts out next.
Orquídea Divina swept into Four Rivers and erected a family home. The townspeople learned that there was a dash of magic surrounding the house in the valley and they learned to steer clear. Over the years, Orquídea has many husbands and many children but she never tells her family much about her past. But after her family has moved out and as she reaches the end of her life, she calls them back home to learn the truth about her life.
Córdova creates a lush family saga that explores how a single matriarch impacts the rest of her family and the magic that follows her. Córdova's writing is evocative and does a great job of bringing the reader into the world of the story. The reader is brought along with the family as they learn more about their grandmother and the magic that seems to follow her. Telling the story through the eyes of family members works really well in that they only know so much so we as the reader are discovering much right alongside the family.
Orquídea is an interesting heroine and her life unravels in intriguing ways. Ultimately, I did enjoy the portions of the story with her grandchildren more than the sections with her. I think this is in part because so much of her life is told over relatively few chapters and thus has to go quite quickly. The story with the family takes place over less time which allows Córdova to delve more fully into their emotions and dwell on the details of their world.
I have long been meaning to pick up books by Córdova and I think this was a great place to start. I will definitely be reading more of her works and I look forward to what she puts out next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child death
candacem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Death of parent