Becoming Marisol: A Character Study in Hesitation, Heritage, and Healing
https://youtu.be/9Tztn8sQ4Ek?si=jE7lMQ6-NY3kEljy
If you’ve read even a chapter of The Ordinary Bruja, you know Marisol Espinal is not your typical “chosen one.” She isn’t eager. She isn’t confident. She doesn’t wake up one day thrilled to be the next link in a magical bloodline.
She wakes up confused.
Disconnected.
Deeply hesitant.
And honestly? Same.
Marisol is the young woman who didn’t know who she was—not because she wasn’t paying attention, but because no one ever told her. No one gave her the language. No one pointed to her inheritance and said, this is yours. Instead, the people who should’ve guided her—through fear, trauma, or silence—let her fumble in the dark.
And like many of us do when faced with the unknown, she chose comfort.
She chose invisibility.
She chose ordinary.
But here’s the thing I’ve learned—and what I teach my kids, whether I birthed them or they came into my life through marriage:
There comes a point in young adulthood when you are faced with a choice.
You either accept what you were (or weren’t) taught…
Or you break away.
You unlearn.
You relearn.
You grow.
Marisol, reluctantly and resentfully, chose the latter. Not because she was ready—but because her family’s souls were quite literally being tormented on Hallowthorn Hill. Because the past wouldn’t stay buried. Because Salvador—the manipulative ancestor who cursed the family’s magic—was still lingering, still feeding off their silence.
So yes, she was pushed.
But she still had to walk.
And that’s the beauty of her journey. She’s not fearless—she’s frustrated. She’s not the girl with the glowing destiny—she’s the girl who looks in the mirror and wonders if she’s too late.
Writing Marisol was, in many ways, writing myself.
Because I too spent years clinging to comfort, masking self-doubt as practicality.
I too had to unpack what was inherited, what was indoctrinated, and what was mine to define.
And like Marisol, I came to realize that growth doesn’t come when you’re ready.
It comes when you’re needed.
Marisol’s story isn’t about magic saving her.
It’s about her saving herself—bit by bit, choice by choice.
So if you see yourself in her—if you too are hesitant, uncertain, angry at what you didn’t know—just know that this journey isn’t about perfection. It’s about intention. It’s about saying, “I don’t know who I am yet, but I’m ready to find out.”
That’s where the real magic begins.
Ready to meet Marisol Espinal? Preorder The Ordinary Bruja now:
The Ordinary Bruja: Book One of Las Cerradoras Series – J.E. Ortega
$4.99 – $23.99When grief pulls Marisol Espinal back to Willowshade, she uncovers a legacy buried in shadows, silence, and ancestral magic. The Ordinary Bruja is a haunting coming-of-age story that blends psychological horror with Dominican folklore and magical realism. For fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Isabel Cañas.
If you love what you read, I’d be honored to hear your thoughts. Please leave a review on your preferred platform and let other readers find the magic in The Ordinary Bruja.
SKU:ORDINARYBRUJAPAPERBACK Category: Books, Books for Adults, Fantasy, Fiction Books, Horror, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Women’s Fiction Tags: ancestral magic, atmospheric fiction, books about brujas, dark fantasy, Dominican folklore, haunted inheritance, Isabel Cañas fans, Latine fantasy, magical realism, psychological horror, Silvia Moreno-Garcia fans, spooky reads, supernatural mystery, The Ordinary Bruja, witchy books
