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fern_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
CW/TW: sexual content, death of a parent, death of a child, spousal abuse, murder, self harm.
If you liked Disney's Encanto or Coco, 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!
If you liked Disney's Encanto or Coco, 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!
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.szuum's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
The first part was interesting, all the rest was a narrative, structural and stylistic mess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
vaniavela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Sexual content
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
ashlightgrayson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
This story had everything I love about magical realism in a nutshell. The Montoyas are a large family that travels to Ecuador to claim their inheritance from Orquidea. A series of events occur that lead to the deaths of some of the Montoyas. The surviving members try to find out who is behind the mythical magic is trying to kill them off. The relationships between the Montoyas feel genuine. I am not Ecuadorian, but I am first generation Latinx living in the United States and I felt incredibly represented by the Montoyas. Some of the members of the family don't speak Spanish despite having such strong ties to Ecuador. It is very representative of the experience of those part of the Latinx diaspora.
The story also is very nonchalant about the whimsical magic in this world, which I loved. I feel like a lot of newer fantasy books have much harder magic systems and it was nice to go back to the soft magic that is inherently a part of magical realism like this.
There is a lot of important commentary pertaining to colorism, sexism, and machismo culture in Orquidea's journey. We get flashbacks into her past that contributed to understanding how she became who she was in the present. It helped Orquidea become a much more sympathetic character. I wish we had gotten to know all of her husbands more and to see what those relationships looked like. There was a strong focus on her first husband and I feel like the story would have benefited from a point of comparison to her other romantic relationships.
I think that if you have never read magical realism this would be an excellent introduction. The story is easy to follow and feels like a magical murder mystery with a beautiful setting. The characters are diverse both in personality and life experiences which keeps you invested in their journeys. I am looking forward to more adult books written by this author in the future.
The story also is very nonchalant about the whimsical magic in this world, which I loved. I feel like a lot of newer fantasy books have much harder magic systems and it was nice to go back to the soft magic that is inherently a part of magical realism like this.
There is a lot of important commentary pertaining to colorism, sexism, and machismo culture in Orquidea's journey. We get flashbacks into her past that contributed to understanding how she became who she was in the present. It helped Orquidea become a much more sympathetic character. I wish we had gotten to know all of her husbands more and to see what those relationships looked like. There was a strong focus on her first husband and I feel like the story would have benefited from a point of comparison to her other romantic relationships.
I think that if you have never read magical realism this would be an excellent introduction. The story is easy to follow and feels like a magical murder mystery with a beautiful setting. The characters are diverse both in personality and life experiences which keeps you invested in their journeys. I am looking forward to more adult books written by this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Death, and Death of parent
bibilovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
killerpancake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Colonisation, and Blood
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