The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
FINALLY SOME GOOD FUCKING BOOKS. This review contains spoilers! Below the photo I discuss specifics, so be warned! Trigger warnings up here to avoid the major spoils because this book it just so good.
2022 edit: If you liked Encanto, you’ll LOVE this book.
Trigger warnings: death, sexual content, death of parent, child death, infidelity, pregnancy, adult/minor relationship, cursing, gaslighting, suicide
The Montoyas grew up in their magical house in Four Rivers with their magical matriarch, Orquídea Divina, keeping them all safe. But Orquídea is dying, and she needs to make sure her family is protected. Years after her death, three of her descendants - Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon - must uncover Orquídea’s mysterious past in order to ensure they have a future.
I loved this book. The plot was easy to follow, even as it doubled back on itself. If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was how much happened in the last 40 pages. It felt a little rushed, and wrapped up so quickly. In a book that liked to play around and take its time, it was a little jarring.
I loved the format of this book. I’m a sucker for stories that twist their way from the past to the present, and Córdova‘s writing is just so compelling. The characters were real, the stakes were real, and the emotions were real. The magic rules, while not explicitly laid out, were so fun, and it was exciting to watch the characters figure them out as they grew as people. This was just such a heartfelt book.
NOW FOR SPOILERS. SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT! YE BE WARNED!
As soon as Mar found the photo in the house, I absolutely called who her father was. Also, with Bolivar being mentioned so much, he could only be the big bad, because characters aren’t usually built up like that just for nothing to happen. That being said, the book was still super enjoyable, even when I was expecting the ending, and I think that says more about the writing than anything.
The deaths in the book came super out of nowhere, and so quickly too. Penny and Felix and the others at least got a few pages, and then their funerals were talked about, but Tati and Mike died in two pages and then were buried on a third, and that was the end of it. Sweet Tati deserved better.
The last fight scene was a little confusing? It’s great that Mar really came into her power, but the ending was really Tati’s death - talking to the ghost of Orquídea - Mar’s father - Bolivar revealed - back at Four Rivers - climatic battle scene THE END. For a book that made the characters wait SEVEN YEARS for anything to happen, it just felt really rushed, and I wish Córdova would’ve slowed it down a bit.
⛈⛈⛈⛈🌧
