The vibes of this book are immaculate. I loved Zoraida Córdova's writing as everything felt so magical and atmospheric. The magical realism sucked me in from the start with it being nature based, which is a favourite of mine. Also, the author is from Ecuador and has used some of the places she knows for parts of the book. I really feel that you can tell her love for these places through her writing.

The book is structured so that the story is told through a dual timeline, which I absolutely love in books. For the most part, each chapter flicks back and forth between the 'present' and Orquídea's past, both of which I found kept my interest, so neither felt boring compared to the other.

The first third of the book was maybe my favourite; in this part, we are introduced to the family and their dynamics and get their backstory before the plot really kicks in. From the start, the characters and relationships feel so real and engaging, and their banter throughout the book is great.

However, it's only not 5 stars because I felt the plot did become a bit less engaging in the later half of the book. I can't pinpoint why, but it just seemed to lose the pacing a bit, though I still felt satisfied by the ending.

Overall, I really recommend picking up this book. It's a great magical realism story surrounding strong family bonds and mysterious antagonist.