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issamay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia
madmantha's review against another edition
- 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’ve now reread it multiple times and enjoy it more and more each reading. It’s such a poetic and circular story.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
now_booking's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual harassment
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
Rep: Mainly Ecuadorian and Ecuadorian-American cast of characters. Two cishet female MCs, one gay male MC.
CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, child death, death, death of parent, emotional abuse, fire, grief, infidelity, pregnancy, sexism, sexual content, toxic relationship, violence, murder. Moderate: injury/injury detail, misogyny, stalking, body horror, gaslighting, child abuse, racism/colorism.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
stevie's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
szuum's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
hanarama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Good:
• Dreamy prose
• Back and forth between past and present
The Bad:
• Very slow
You Might Like this if You Like:
• Family curses and blessings
• Disney's Encanto
Orquídea Montoya is rumored to be a witch. She came seemingly out of nowhere and her home appeared in Four Rivers overnight. Over the years her family grew and scattered across the United States. When she's dying, she calls them home to get their inheritances.
Cousins Marimar, Rey, Rhiannon are gifted with blessings that manifest as flowers blooming from their flesh. For seven years, they prosper, until a mysterious entity sets them on the path to uncover Orquídea's past.
Córdova's prose is simply magical. They paint scenes that feel right out of a dream. As the narrative switches between the past with Orquídea and the present with the cousins, the reader is exposed to more and more magic.
Unfortunately, the story feels very slow, perhaps in part due to the dreaminess of the prose. I found it hard at times to keep reading because the narrative moves very slowly.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexism, and Grief
_forestofpages's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror