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faithe_mollett's review against another edition
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.caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Thanks to Libro FM for the free advance listening copy of this book.
- 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.
- 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.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed this book! The plot was easy to follow, even as it doubled back on itself. The one thing I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest of the book was the last 40 pages. A lot happened, and everything wrapped up sooooo quuuuickly. It felt a little rushed, and I wish a book that liked to play around and take it’s time would do that to the very last page. Now for spoilers!
I absolutely called the star being Mar’s dad as soon as she found the photo. And when Bolivar kept coming up, I also called him being the big bad. The book was still enjoyable, though, even when I was expecting the ending.
As for the last 40 pages, the deaths of Tatinelly and Mike were…super out of nowhere. And it all happened so quickly. Penny and Felix and the others at least got a few pages, and their funerals were talked about. Tati and Mike died in two pages and then got buried on a third and that was the end of it. Tati deserved better.
Also that last fight seen was a little confusing? It’s great that Mar came into her power and whatnot but the ending really was BOOM Tati’s death BOOM talking to the ghost great grandmother BOOM Mar’s father BOOM Bolivar revealed BOOM back at Four Rivers BOOM climatic battle scene THE END. For a book that made the characters wait SEVEN YEARS for anything to happen, it just felt very rushed. I wish Córdova would’ve slowed it down a bit.
Content Warnings
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
aeeklund's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
I devoured this book. Ravenously. It was dark and rich and knowing and full. The descriptions of the plot—of a family invited by its matriarch to attend her funeral and receive their inheritance, of those family members manifesting gifts (or not) years later, of their generations starting to fall at the hands of a mysterious figure and their quest to understand why taking them back to the birthplace of that matriarch—hardly begin to do this story justice. The jacket copy, magical as it is, is the sparest frame upon which a truly transformative experience of a novel is woven, alchemized.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty and Panic attacks/disorders
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