The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: Magical Realism and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out 5 Stars

A special thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

"How do you fight a thing that believes it owns you? How do you fight the past? With gold leaves and salt? With silence? With new earth beneath your feet? With the bodies, the hearts of others?
With hearts that are tender and bloodied but have thorns of their own.
With the family that chooses you."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Minor Blood and Violence

I was so, so pleased to have gotten an ARC of this wonderful, magical and simply delightful new novel by Zoraida Córdova! It is my first foray into her work, though I've heard nothing but good stuff and I can guarantee it will not be my last.

Told in alternating timelines, following the titular Orquídea Divina in her youth, and three of her grand-children and one great-grandchild, Marimar, Rey, Tatinelly and her daughter, Rhiannon, this is a story of the strength of family (and how much they can annoy us!) and just what one will do to feel power when they are born powerless.

The mysterious Orquídea Divina showed up in Four Rivers with a house in her pocket and a determination to protect herself and her family from something she won't name. Five husbands later plus a plethora of children, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild on the way, she calls her family home to claim their inheritance. Growing up in the magnificent house in Four Rivers, where the pantry never runs dry, the floors are scrubbed with a mixture of lemon, salt and herbs to keep evil out, and stories of fairies, Ecuadorian river monsters, and duendes are gospel truth, the Montoyas are used to the strange. What they find upon arrival, though, beggars belief, and sends them into a dangerous game of survival and truth.

I loved every second of this book. From the very first page I knew this was exactly my kind of book, and unless Cordova did something drastic, it wouldn't dip beneath a five star rating! I really enjoyed the dynamic of the large family (I've always wished to have a large family!), and how in the end, they come together to protect what's theirs despite their differences. This novel is certainly one of the most original takes on magic I've read in a long time, and while I kind of guessed the identity of the unnamed threat, it did nothing to diminish the exhilarating ride that was The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina!

This amazing novel comes out September 7th, so mark your calendars, or better yet, pre-order it! You can't dare to miss one of the best books of 2021.

Mid-Year Reading Stats! (2021)

I thought it would be fun to take a look at my reading stats so far this year! Thanks to StoryGraph, I have them all nicely put together. How many books have you read so far this year? I'm currently sitting at thirty-eight and am about a hundred pages into thirty-nine!

June 2021 ☀️

   

June seemed to fly by, and yet, I can't say I actually did much. June was filled with endless Doctor's appointments and procedures for my poor sister who has been sick since about November of last year. All the tests came back okay (Thank God), but it was also somewhat of a disappointment because we didn't get the answers we sorely need. It has been a lot of stress for her, so after everything we chose to be even lazier than usual this month. We laid around, watched movies, and I treated her to a trip to our favorite local restaurant, which is on the pricier side but totally worth it. 

Summer always makes me want to be still. That sweltering Southern heat saps all of my energy and I can't hardly be anywhere there isn't a fan. The only good thing about the summer, in my opinion, is that my sister was born in the middle of it!

 

TV and Movies:

Domina (Epix and Amazon Prime) - As a lover of history, I was so excited to learn of a new series being made about the enigmatic Livia Drusilla, also known as Julia Augusta, wife of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. I'm quite enjoying it so far, and any historical inaccuracies or added drama is just typical, especially with series taking place in Ancient Rome. It does have a few flaws that keep me from absolutely loving it (number one being the treatment of the only black female character), so take it all with a grain of salt and give it watch and see how much your mileage may vary.

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork (Netflix) - My mother and sister are True Crime aficionados and since our favorite hobby is watching things together, their love of everything mysterious and unsolved has rubbed off on me! We watched this three part series in two nights, spurred on to find out the truth behind the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Sophie herself was French, but had fallen in love with Ireland and had a old, rather spartan house in West Cork, a place where everybody knows everybody. It was a safe and warm community -- until the brutal and shocking murder of Sophie. The community thinks they know who did it, if only they could prove it. Highly recommended for True Crime lovers and people who are as fascinated with Ireland as me and mine are!

The Dig (Netflix) - I've been meaning to watch this since it was first released and only just got around to it a couple of days ago. A beautiful, moving and utterly human story, The Dig centers on the famous 1938 Sutton Hoo dig, which unearthed a ship filled with Anglo-Saxon treasures, and the people who made it possible. Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan were absolutely sublime in it. Watch for this history, and if you need it, a good cry.

Who I've Been Watching:

Eleanor Neale - I never would have discovered Eleanor Neale if it wasn't for my sister. Eleanor does really great videos on different True Crime cases and I find her voice so relaxing that I usually put on one of her videos before bed! She also covers some cases which are more obscure, and some that less covered over here because they happened in the UK, where she is from.

Ways to Help:

Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund

Stop AAPI Hate

Black Lives Matter

Help Inuit Save Our Future

Aid India's COVID Relief Fund

Edith Wilkin's Street Children Foundation, India

Donate to Palestine

Book Review: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Length: 422 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Lesbian Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

"I fell in love with you the day that I met you, and then I fell in love with the person you remembered you are. I got to fall in love with you twice. That’s— that’s magic. You’re the first thing I’ve believed in since— since I don’t even remember, okay, you’re— you’re movies and destiny and every stupid, impossible thing, and it’s not because of the fucking train, it’s because of you. It’s because you fight and you care and you’re always kind but never easy, and you won’t let anything take that away from you. You’re my hero, Jane. I don’t care if you think you’re not one. You are."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Past Homophobic Violence and Mentions of Racism

I've never read anything by McQuiston before but I was so excited for One Last Stop I even made it one of my most anticipated reads of 2021! Unfortunately, I felt a bit let down by this one. I think it is simply a case of me not vibing with it, because it is a good book, just not necessarily a good book for me.

One Last Stop follows August Landry -- professional student, cynical virgin, and retired Nancy Drew wannabe. Raised by her single mother who is obsessed with solving what happened to her uncle (her namesake, Augie), August has learned everything there is about keeping herself distant and safe. When she moves to New York, she hardly expects to make friends, let alone meet someone special but boy, does she. On the subway, after a crappy day that ends with her spilling coffee all over herself before class, a mesmerizing woman lends her a scarf and August can't get her out of her mind. She starts seeking her out, and like magic, she's there every single time.

To make ends meet, August takes a job at a forty-five year old pancake place, Billy's, thanks to her new roommates pulling the strings to get it for her. Shockingly, August sees the woman, Jane, in a photo on the wall. A photo from the 1970's.

Jane is trapped on the subway, and has been since the 70's. She doesn't remember anything about her life before and August is determined to help her, even if it means losing her in the process. And worst of all, August thinks she might just love her.

So, I think the idea for this book is so original and cool. I love anything time-travel, especially time-travel romance, and the thought of a modern bisexual and a lesbian from the 70's, a time strife with both violence and hope for the LGBTQ community, was a stroke of genius! My favorite part of this book was Jane, who is soft but strong, sweet and sour, and a total heart-throb. Every scene she was in was made instantly better by her! I waffled on August, whose problems oftentimes seemed caused by her own standoffishness. 

My main issue with One Last Stop came with not only the writing, which is just not my bag but is what's popular right now, but with the conversations everyone has in the book. To put it succinctly, every single character talked like a Tumblr post. I had a hard time believing they were real people and not just vessels to carry funny/quirky sayings and weird anecdotes, especially since I'm in the same age range as them and also have a fairly varied and eclectic friend group.

I think this was an excellent Lesbian romance with an inventive plot and will be an absolute favorite for someone else! It just (sadly) wasn't for me!