Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

87 reviews

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

I love a good family drama, and this book had all those elements plus magic so I definitely enjoyed it! It was also really good on audio, though I will say there are a lot of characters and I did get them confused sometimes. I would have loved a family tree, but not sure if the print book has one—does anyone know?

So as I said, there are a lot of characters, but I would say Marimar is the main character and she gets the most development and attention. I liked that we got different perspectives throughout though, from different family members. They all get some nice development and complexity, though I would've liked to learn a bit more about some of the other family members (there were just so many, some of them I still didn't know by the end).

We also have a dual timeline, with the present-day events unfolding as we slowly learn about Orquídea's past. I will say that probably for the first half of the book, the past timeline is much more interesting than the present. The present gets interesting but it takes a while to get there. Events do get crazy and the magic in this story is really intriguing, though there's not a lot of world building; you just have to accept the magic for what it is.

Anyways, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend if you like magical realism mixed with a family drama spread across generations.

Thanks to Libro.fm, Simon and Schuster Audio, and the author for my ALC!

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leannanecdote's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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vshah's review against another edition

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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.

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tigger89's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a split narrative, with one plot thread following Orquidea Montoya through her childhood and into adulthood, and the other following her grandchildren in the wake of her...passing, for lack of a better verb. I often found myself bothered by the shift in narrative, but in a good way; I wanted to know what happened next, and by the time I reached the end of the chapter that had stolen me away I felt the exact same way about the other narrative.

As far as the central mystery goes, most of the plot threads resolved to my satisfaction. Provided you can accept some of the magical things that just are, the elements of tension and mystery are mostly explained in the end. The two questions I was left with were

who/what was responsible for the illness that took Rhinnanon's parents(Bolivar? the Buenasuertes? Mike's fault for not believing Tatinelly?), and why was Rey's rose losing petals? It didn't seem to signify any loss of faith or motivation, and if it was mentioned again after the final confrontation(where it was losing petals as he expended power), I missed it.

Maybe I'm just not thinking about it hard enough, but everything else seemed to be spelled out pretty well so the omissions there stood out to me.

While this book had plenty of feelings and occasionally even brought tears to my eyes, I have to mention that it's funny. Rey's wisecracking was the perfect balance to the occasional seriousness of the narrative, and he wasn't the only one, though he was by far the most prolific.

I would not recommend listening to this in an audio format unless you're very good with names. While most of them don't matter much anymore once the cousins travel to Equador, the first part of the book involves a very large family gathering, and I had one finger back on the family tree at the front of the book so that I could jog my memory for who was who.

For those wondering about the LGBTQ content, it's not a major focus. Rey is gay, and I found him to be well-rounded. He's depicted in three different relationships over the course of the book. Ultimately,

they seem to be far less important to him than the main plot, all apparently fizzle, and he doesn't get an explicit happily-ever-after.

I didn't hate it, but if you're looking for something that's queer-focused this probably isn't it.

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emzhay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

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jessgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Title: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

Author: Zoraida Córdova

Genre: Fantasy / Magical Realism

Setting: Guyaquil, Ecuador & Four Rivers, Indiana

Month Read: May 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2021

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 324

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING-

Death / Grief / Sexual Content / Infidelity

"But here, in her family's home, she was river and salt and that same sea found her. She was the mouth of an ancient god who would swallow the world. She was an ocean of stories, memories, thousands of little moments that made up her whole being."

No Spoiler Summary (from Goodreads):

The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low or empty, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—even for graduations, weddings, or baptism. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to come and collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed, leaving them with more questions than answers. Seven years later, her gifts have manifested in different ways for Marimar, Rey, and Tatinelly’s daughter, Rhiannon, granting them unexpected blessings. But soon, a hidden figure begins to tear through their family tree, picking them off one by one as it seeks to destroy Orquídea’s line. Determined to save what’s left of their family and uncover the truth behind their inheritance, the four descendants travel to Ecuador—to the place where Orquídea buried her secrets and broken promises and never looked backed.

Alternating between Orquídea’s past and her descendants’ present, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is an enchanting novel about what we knowingly and unknowingly inherit from our ancestors, the ties that bind, and reclaiming your power.

(I tried to get a photo of Casita, but this was as close as I could get...)

Review:

I am so upset with myself that I got too busy last September and have let this book sit on a shelf for several months when I could have been loving it this entire time. I was unprepared for how much I would fall in love with the Montoya family, and how perfect this book was to start reading on a gorgeous spring day. I was instantly transported to their house in Four Rivers, and also transported right to Equador several decades ago. The writing was so beautiful it was hard not to see the beauty described in your head. This book is perfect for a movie or tv show.

A book filled with strong female characters is totally my jam, and I couldn't be more thrilled about how hardcore this cast was. I also loved the LGBTQIA+ rep, and how cool the family was about everything. I was expecting it to turn into a weird subplot, but everyone was just super accepting and supportive and it was really nice.

If you're a fan of magical realism, split narratives (and time periods), and a big multi-generational tale with just the right amount of mystery- this book is for YOU. I wish I could read this again for the first time, I truly do. What a fun, enjoyable story. There is a lot of sadness woven in, but never so much that it overtakes you.

"When she’d met Orquidea Montoya, she saw a whisper of a girl who wanted to become a scream."

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