The Ordinary Bruja: Marisol's Story - Paperback

by Johanny Ortega (Author)

For fans of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova comes a gripping, emotional tale about what happens when family secrets are left to rot.

Marisol Espinal has never believed she's special. Not when she's back in her small Ohio hometown, working as a barista, haunted by grief and by the girls who once made her life hell. But when mirrors flicker with strange words, cigar smoke curls where no one is smoking, and voices rise from Hallowthorn Hill, she realizes something darker has always been watching her.

The Espinal family magic was buried generations ago, forced into silence by Salvador, the ancestor who bound their power for himself. His ghost now feeds on fear and self-doubt, and Marisol is his next target. To survive, she must reclaim her heritage, uncover the truth hidden in her mother's journal, and face the hill that has been calling her name.

Atmospheric and emotionally charged, The Ordinary Bruja blends generational trauma, identity reclamation, and queer love with a creeping sense of dread. Perfect for readers who crave horror woven with lyrical writing, cultural magic, and the quiet ache of literary realism. This novel asks what it truly costs to embrace every part of yourself, even the parts the world taught you to bury.

Drawing from Dominican folklore, Taíno mysticism, social horror, and the unbreakable bonds of family, The Ordinary Bruja explores the realities of assimilation, the weight of secrets, and the power carried through blood, memory, and the women who came before us.