On the surface, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina should be everything I enjoy. So why couldn't I get into it, no matter how hard I tried? Honestly, I'm still puzzling that one out.Orquídea Montoya knows she is dying, so she calls her descendants back home to bestow upon them their inheritance. But when the large family arrives, they are greeted by strange events. And when an unknown figure threatens the entire family, they must band together and venture into Orquídea's past to learn her secret...

what a fantastical, mysterious ride, I loved it!

the stardust vibes here. everyone who rated this five stars….so true

We follow the Montoyas who are a family used to a life without explanations. Including why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers. But when Orquidea invites her family to her funeral to collect their inheritance, they hope for answers but leave with more questions. Seven years later, their inheritances manifest in ways granting them unexpected blessings. All of this is interrupted when a mysterious figure begins to tear through the Montoya family, seeking to destroy Orquideas...

Zoraida Cordova's fantastically wondrous, dream-like, and imaginative novel follows in the footsteps of the South American magical realism tradition, set in Ecuador and the U.S., it is a multi-generational family drama that overflows with the inexplicable, and the author's outstanding gifts with her fascinating and stellar characterisations. The Montoya family have been summoned to receive their inheritance, to the deathbed of their matriarch, Orquidea, who has not left the protected home at Fou...

I loved this so much it was my pick for September for the Fantastic Strangelings Book Club.Gorgeous magical realism. Wonderful characters. Reminded me of Bradbury's From the Dust Returned mixed with The Umbrella Academy.

Actual rating: 2.5 starsThis is one of those books that seemingly had everything I want, but ended up missing the mark. I enjoy magical realism and whimsical tales and this story had both of those things. I appreciated the author's creativity and the themes she explored. However, the execution and plot just didn't work well for me. It was so bizarre at times and the story felt slightly chaotic. I never fell in love with the characters so it was hard to be emotionally invested in the story. I'm b...

yeah, ngl this book is beautiful

I haven't updated my process on this one as much as my other books. Mostly because a lot of this book was spent waiting until I finished working on it. Three-ish years! Now that it's finally going to be out in the world, all I want to say is that it's super personal to me. It's a book that's lived in my mind for so long, I just didn't know how to tell it. There's a giveaway of 100 ARCs hosted by my US publisher. Go enter! A reminder that ARCs are not the finished books. I'm also the kind of auth...

Beautiful storytelling and a deep character study of a family with a memorable and formidable matriarch. This beautiful book! This stunning, glorious, beautiful book! If you love a character study, this is for you. If you love rich storytelling with a large, complex cast of characters, check this out. And if you love a formidable, memorable matriarch of a main character, this has your name all over it. Bonus points for the atmosphere, touches of magic, and Ecuadorian culture.Zoraida Cordova’s sm...

Finally something gave me same extraordinary literature taste of dreamy magical realism with old time Marguez, Cortaza , Allende vibes! I’m rounding up my 4.5 to 5 blazing family curse, Ecuador roots, ring master, debt, cousins against the world stars! I liked to get lost in the fairy tal-ish chapters, tragicomic family attractions, luring magic, bunch of interesting characters! Four Rivers where the place where Orquidea Montoya’s house appeared from nowhere. The town already lost its water so...

Magically delicious......The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina is unlike anything that I've read in some time. It positions you on a comfy cushion of organic tales that unfold through the creative touch of Zoraida Cordova. Prepare yourself for unexplainable happenings that twist and turn and roost heavily in secret places as your mind accommodates the unreasonableness of its reasoning.Orquidea Divina sits within her ancient wooden house in Four Rivers. She reflects on her long journey from Ecuador,...

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | |3 ½ stars In The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Zoraida Córdova combines an intergenerational family drama with magical realism, and the end result will certainly appeal to fans of Alice Hoffman and Isabel Allende. Not only does Córdova’s dazzling storytelling complement the fantastical elements within her story but her prose often brought to mind the language you encounter in fairy tales.The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina follows a dual timeline. The one in the p...

I finished it! And guess what? I absolutely loved it. Full review to come. In the meantime, let me recommend this is anyone who likes Maggie Stiefvater. This is exactly what I wanted but didn’t get from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue as well. ***This is such a GORGEOUS cover! It sounds so interesting, too. I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before.Update: THIS IS A BOTM PICK??? YESSSSSSSS MAAAA’AM

This was stunning. Why you may not like this book: With magical realism, while much of the magic stands in for difficulties and tragedies and mysteries of life, there is some magic that stands as unexplained. If you are the type of person that balks at "just because" magic, and need something with explanations or systems, this will not be for you. Additionally, this is a story that follows many characters in one large family. We don't spend too much time with any one character, so if you need de...

The magic that is this book is unexplainable.... WOW!Zoraida Cordova writes a convincing book, it's genre bending and will leave you wanting a lot more. I am generally not someone who enjoy books that takes me all over the place but I wanted to go everywhere Cordova took me. Imagine getting a letter from your grandmother telling you she is dying and you need to come and get your inheritance... UMMM YES PLEASE! Only to show up and your grandmother is a tree (yes, you read that right... tree). Tha...

So I struggled rating this book. The concept sounded really interesting, but it fell flat of expectations. While I don’t mind plots that unravel slowly over time, I feel like this waited too long to get there. At times while reading it felt disjointed and I thought I had missed something, to the point I flipped back and reread what happened before just to make sure. I would have loved more focus on the magic itself and how they developed it until it lead up to seeing what they able to do with it...

ACTUAL RATING 4.5 STARSThe Inheritance of Orquidea Divina is a fantastical, immersive experience that will transport you into a family wrapped in magic and mystery. This story unfolded so beautifully, exploring generational trauma, the power one has within oneself, and reconnecting with your ancestors. Perfect for fans of Like Water For Chocolate's magical realism, readers will lose themselves in the haunting mystery that has traveled down this family's bloodline which was written in a lyrical a...

DNF for now at 49%. Maybe it’s my mood (even tho I’m in a reading mood) but I’m not connecting to this at all. There’s so many characters and I don’t care. I remember like 2. I had an audio copy through Libro.fm Influencer program and I like the narrator but just can’t get into the story. I’m also surprised it’s halfway done bc I feel like nothing much has happened ?? Idk, someone said to read it physically and maybe I will. But for now, gonna DNF