Quirky Cat
As a massive fan of Zoraida Cordova, I've been excitedly looking forward to the release of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. Not only do I love her writing, but this latest novel sounded like it would be right up my alley. Think Practical Magic, but with an Ecuadorian twist.
Orquídea Divina is the matriarch of the Montoya clan. Her family is not small, but they also have shared more than their fair share of tragedy over the year. Her multiple late husbands are indicative of that fact.
Now Orquídea herself is preparing to move on, and thus is summoning her children and grandchildren from all over the country for one last meeting. But in the typical Orquídea way, she's about to leave them with more questions than answers.
“Orquídea didn’t like it because she knew she wasn’t a flower, delicate and pretty and waiting to be plucked. For what? To be smelled? To sit in a glass of water until she withered? She was more than that. She wanted to be rooted so deep into the earth that nothing, no human, no force of nature, save an act of the heavens themselves, could rip her out.”
Oh my goodness. I went into The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina knowing that I would love it, but even so, I was still blown away by what I found within. This novel is blindingly brilliant, showcasing family trauma, curses, and magic all in one beautiful go.
In short – I absolutely loved this book. I cannot recommend it enough to all of my reader friends, especially if they enjoy magical realism, paranormal horror, and family drama, as this book has all three in spades.
Earlier I compared this book to Practical Magic, and while the tones are similar, I want to clarify: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is a book unlike any other. While it may have similar tones, it is very much a creature of Zoraida Cordova's making, and I fell in love with each and every detail.
I'll admit that I was a bit surprised by the leading perspective, mostly because I naively assumed that it would be Orquídea Divina (given the implication in the title, I don't know why I made that stupid assumption).
It didn't take me long to get invested in our protagonist and her perspective. Actually, I'm so invested in this family that I'm now not-so-secretly hoping we'll get a sequel in the future. That would be lovely.
Once again, I find myself enchanted by Zoraida Cordova's writing. Her worlds have a way of coming to life, bursting from the pages and leaving me wanting more. I know without a doubt that I will happily read anything she writes.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks