Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

46 reviews

amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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javafenn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-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

5.0

I want to give this a score of infinite. I have never and will never read a book that delighted me as much as this one. It gave off a Silvia Moreno-Garcia vibe mixed with Encanto but only if Encanto didn’t have the jovial numbers by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The twist was stunning and sad and the final two chapters left me in tears because it was over but I immediately wanted to close the book and start it over again. I have spent my life running from my Montoya last name but, for the first time ever, I feel like embracing it.

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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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brokenbodybitch's review against another edition

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4.5

low spoon review;

i liked the way the magical realism was done; it was not only interesting but I think done well/realistically?
^ add on kinda; I liked the elements of the flowers and the way those hinted at what was going on
the family dynamics were super interesting; the 'current' generation of the family was a hot mess, and in the best way it was very much the -big wealthy family with the inheritance holder who is kinda pissing everyone off- vibes
the story line with her husbands was interesting but I have to admit it did start to seem like just a lot was going on when the stuff with the star and the 'ring master' dude father story line was going on, again done well but like...it was a lot of things at once
it does have a circus in it though and to my knowledge it was done pretty tastefully but, I am not educated enough on the history of the circus and mistreatment of people [specifically disabled people] to have a valid comment on how it was done [I know some things but not enough to be confident in how it was done] - although there was one comment about a 'circus oddity', in this case it was referring to a magical being so 🤷🏼 I don't know
the pacing was a little funky for me but that is mostly preference; it jumps back and forth between POV kind and time lines so it was a bit confusing at times but, if you normally don't struggle with this it will not be an issue, because for how much it jumped... it wasn't that bad

my content warnings are not thorough as so much happened, I can guarantee I'm prob missing a few

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readsandsuch'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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now_booking's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.25

I absolutely adored this fantastic work of magical realism meets multigenerational family saga. I love the work of Isabelle Allende and how she captures the complexity of characters in a family where heroes and villains aren’t monolithic but rather are complex with complex motivations and experiences that make them the characters they are. This is one such book. This is very much like if Isabel Allende focused more on the technicalities of the magic in her books to the point of almost approaching the fantasy genre. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy so I’m amazed how much I loved this. Indeed, perhaps that is because this is not quite fantasy, it is indeed plausible in the way it acknowledges that a pragmatic understanding of the world might find the events in this book fantastical and unrealistic, but there are phenomena we can’t quite explain and things that can be believed to be true beyond what is empirical and explainable. In a sense, when Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon go on an epic journey to discover the truth about the origins of their matriarch Orquídea Divinia and save the rest of the family from the curse she has brought on them, it is an attempt to explain the lifetime of magic and surrealism that has surrounded their family.

For me, what I liked most about this book were the themes around family and loss and support and complex relationships and the themes of home. I think what tipped this away from fantasy as a genre and more into literary fiction is that despite having adventurous elements, this is ultimately a story about love and family and fighting more than it is one about magic or one that is about another world. It is about the extent one goes through for family, the bad decisions that have awful consequences and the struggle and sacrifices we make to make everything okay again. It also doesn’t hurt that the writing and use of language is absolutely gorgeous and even lyrical in parts yet accessible and unpretentious. The characters and their flaws are relatable and kind evocative of people you may know and situations you may have witnessed. This was a very readable book even in the moments where it was devastating or shocking. The depiction of the close relationship between cousins Rey and Marimar and their intrepid sidekick Rhiannon (who’s actually the brains of the operation), and the complex toxicity of Orquídea’s relationship with everyone- from her own mother Isabel, to her first husband, Lazaro the shooting star, her children and grandchildren, was great and really interesting to unravel. As a protagonist, perhaps she is not the most likeable, but she is interesting and complicated and there’s a lot to her as a characteristic.

I think there is justified criticism that much of the action of this book is saved till the last third or so of this book. So yes, the book is slow-ish, that said, I did really enjoy the build up and the set up in the first two-thirds of the book and thought it was essential if a little unnecessarily long with a transition that ended up telling a bit instead of showing. And I think beyond that, the past and present formulation might be annoying to some as it delayed or slowed the action somewhat, but again I understood this formulation of telling the story and felt it made sense and was enjoyable to read even though typically I don’t like past-present storytelling formats as I tend to find it kills the plot momentum. Perhaps I wanted more about Marimar’s personal life and maybe to know her more as individual beyond her identity as constructed within her complex family dynamic. Perhaps I think if Marimar and Orquídea were the main characters of this book, Orquídea by far outshines and outpersonalities Marimar and so it is perhaps a little implausible that Marimar is the Montoya family heroine because she is so minimised character development-wise in the story. Indeed, if we consider that the modern generation of Montoyas are the current-day protagonists to Orquídea’s role as the “past” protagonist, even then they are unbalanced because Orquídea benefits from much more character development and a more cohesive and complete story, even though there are patches here and there and there were places I would have loved the author to rest and dwell in a bit more to more explicitly develop the characters.

That said, despite all this, I LOVED this book. I enjoyed reading it and listening to it in audio. Frankie Corzo, the narrator did a fabulous job with it and really captured the drama and emotion and adventure on this one. Highly highly recommend for fans of Isabel Allende and fans of family sagas who love magical realism or are not fantasy-sticklers.

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