The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

I have a complicated relationship with magical realism - it's either a hit or a miss. Having said that, I'm happy to report The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina is a definite hit, similar to Isabel Allende and Garcia Marquez. Incorporating magical realism into a world that still felt grounded contributed to a fascinating read that was hard to put down.

My only complaint is towards the end. Spoiler alert!!! The entire final battle felt a bit too much like a Hollywood screenplay and took me out of the story. By the end, Londoño Bolivar felt too much like a caricature of a villain instead of a three dimensional person.

Overall though, really great read - 4.5

intergenerational trauma, but punch mari in the face as hard as you can with it.

the comps to encanto are fair, but this takes the idea of a magically gifted family a step farther, especially with the secrets that orquidea kept to herself. listening to the kids unravel the secrets of their grandmother was incredible, especially with the flashbacks to orquidea's origin story. i felt like there were some extraneous moments, but other than that, quite enjoyed myself! besides, you know, being punched with yet another story about intergenerational trauma...

This was a very satisfying read! The language and characters compelled me to keep reading. The magical realism was seriously intertwined with the reality of the character's lives, not glued on like window dressing. I'm a sucker for metaphorical realities! This isn't really a plot-driven story, but if you like good characters and interesting magic, you should give this is a try.

I wanted to like this book a lot, but something about it just didn't connect with me. I think it had magic realism ambitions in a commercial fantasy, and I wish it would have taken more risks and done less explaining. I enjoyed the actual story a lot (though the final villain reveal didn't necessarily feel earned to me), but I had trouble feeling very deeply for anyone except perhaps young Orchidea. It's not a bad book by any means, but I think the prose fell just shy of being a really great book.

I loved the family members and their unique talents and foibles. I loved the search and chase to get the bad guy and uncover the whole family story. And the ending was so very sweet. I really didn't like the bad guy and he kinda scared me a little. There are definitely things that will stick with me in this.

It's hard to put my finger on but there's something about this sort of magic in a person's life that I enjoy much better than the other types of stories about witches and magicians and vampires and such that I don't have the same reaction to. Is it the origins of the magic being written about? That it seems to be more earthy?

4.4 - I really enjoyed this story. I knew I'd be a lover of magical realism and whimsical writing and this is a great example I think! Loved the emphasis on family and the superstitious aspect -being a hispanic/Latino descendant I very much related to that. I think the ending was a bit rushed (the climax of the story was shortish) but overall, very great listen on audiobook!

I loved Orquídea and Ray. I loved the star and the river monster. I loved the fantastical elements and the zombie rooster. They more than made up for the unfaithful partner, the secrets, and the murder. I was not a fan of the flowers. It creeped me tf out. I would not be okay with a flower sprouting out of my body. I think the author did such a great job of capturing this family and the tumultuous dynamics within.

This book was slightly different from what I expected. In short: I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but the ending was disappointing. I think I was expecting more of a "Family Madrigal"-vibe (from the movie Encanto) and less of an evil >ex-husband/ringmaster (magic-y bad guy) vibe.

The setup of the house and the village and the theme of Orquidea making a home for herself and her family, but not succeeding entirely <spoiler>since her secrecy and harshness made a lot of the family resent her and move/run away</spoiler>, was very interesting, but the plot did not go where I expected it to go and in this case it was a miss for me. I think was hoping for a less explicit magical threat and more of a story about a family coming together.

Thoughts(/possibly slight rant) about the ending: The spiteful ex-husband trying to kill them with his living star/endless wishing well didn't work for me. I am not sure how to explain why, maybe it was just not what I expected, but it was not a satisfying mystery/resolution for me. I also didn't like that Tatinelly and her husband just randomly had to die for that, Tatinelly just wanted a happy family and her husband did absolutely nothing wrong, that poor man supported and cared for her and their daughter and in exchange lost his own family and wound up dying with insects crawling out of his body, he did not deserve that... Also why did nobody listen to the little girl who clearly had all the answers?? I know little kids just make stuff up sometimes, but she said very specific things and they already believed in magic, why not in her? and lastly, the living star being Marimar's father just seemed stupid. /rant

I haven't felt this seen by a book in such a long time. Intergenerational trauma, but also intergenerational resilience. Complicated family relationships underlaid with love. Traditional nature-based spiritualism that feels comfortingly familiar.

This book is for you if, like me you:
(1) are Indigenous. 
(2) have had difficulty explaining your family dynamics and traditions to people.
(3) Saw the “village crazy lady” Grandmother in the movie Moana and thought, “hey, I know her.”

Did anyone else have a grandmother who might as well have been a legend, a myth, a series of miracles that took the shape of an old woman?”

 Yes. I did. 

Rating: 3.75 stars

I appreciate that myTBR.co recommended me this book when selecting books written by queer authors. I haven't heard of this author before and didn't expect much out of this novel; however, I was blown away by the magic and the epic family saga. There are a fair amount of unexpected twists and turns throughout the novel and the pacing is well-done

One thing that could've been better is the plot. There are some plot holes that could've been answered. Also, I wish that there was more consistency with the character development, especially for the main and side characters.