A review by yliana
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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 loved this book. it felt like a warm hug. the way you can see how much love the author has for her birthplace of Guayaquil through her descriptions of it is one of the best things I've read all year.
I wasn't expecting the story to be told by jumping from past and present, character to character. the different perspectives we see don't have consistently throughout the whole story and some characters only have their pov one time, which I actually really loved.
when tatinelly passed away and we got to see her final thoughts was so impactful. her realization that she didn't need to be extraordinary to be loved and she didn't need to leave a mark on the world as long as she positively influenced the people she loves was just T-T. I also loved how we got to see thoughts from bolívar even though he's a stupid son of a bitch. I fucking hated him and even though I was so mad at orquídea for not leaving him, I still felt for her.

something that I love about latine stories is that they always center family. it feels so familiar, the way that there is just so much love and prioritization of family, despite me not really identifying with the love-hate relationships since my mom was the one who broke the cycle with us.
I'm really excited to look up the Pinterest board that the author made for this book haha. it's going to be so beautiful and vibrant. ugh I just loved everything about this book, except
the reveal about marimar's dad. I think it ties everything together perfectly, obviously, but I was just underwhelmed with their reunion. at the same time though, I understand it because at the end of the day he was a fucking star and she had already lived her life without him and the family that she was surrounded with was fulfilling enough. still, I thought she would've just had more emotion towards him in general, whether that be anger, sadness, or whatever. but again, I get it.
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