TW: Graphic descriptions of death and sacrifice.

"Then it is a good thing I rescued you,” Hun-Kamé said. “You did not rescue me,” Casiopea replied. “I opened that chest. Besides, I wasn’t a princess in a tower. I knew I’d get away one way or another, and I was not waiting for a god to liberate me. That would have been both silly and unlikely.”

Gods of Jade and Shadow is an astonishingly beautiful book. This is up there amongst one of my favourite books of all time and I strongly encourage everyone to read it. The way that the Mayan mythology and Mexican history is interwoven is nothing short of magical. I was entranced by the world building and could have stayed there for much longer.

Casiopea Tun aka Lady Tun aka Stone Maiden aka heroine of my heart, is glorious. Her strength lies in herself and her compassion is a shining beacon of wonder. She is a head strong young woman who knows she wants and deserves more than the hand that life has dealt her, she just didn’t think that her souls journey would be kicked off by being the handmaiden of Hun-Kamé, Lord of Xibalba. Even though things didn’t go as planned, and she wasn’t waiting around to be rescued, she delved headfirst into the mythmaking journey she had unwittingly signed up for. Throughout this journey she cemented the woman she wanted to be and I loved every single second of her story.

"Mortals have always been frightened of the night’s velvet embrace and the creatures that walk in it, and yet they find themselves mesmerized by it. Since all gods are born from the kernel of mortal hearts, it is no wonder Xibalba reflected this duality."

Hun-Kamé is the rightful Supreme Lord of Xibalba who fell victim to his twin brothers underhanded plotting to overthrow him. Stuck in a chest, missing several personal body parts and objects, he awaits to be brought back to exact his vengeance and reclaim his kingdom. Hun-Kamé has just as much soul searching to go through as Casiopea, and she opens up his eyes (and yes: his heart) to a world filled with dreams and compassion.

The ending of this book was beautiful and I am so glad it ended the way it did.

"I do not care about your crumbs.”

"You are the Lord Hun-Kamé, and you do care about Xibalba. And life may not be fair, but I must be fair. I can't turn away," she said.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Caseopia Tun is a reluctant servant to her family, particularly her miserable grandfather and her cruel cousin, who dreams of the freedom promised to her by her grandfather's death. It's a different kind of death that sweeps her out of her town when she becomes accidentally indentured to the god of death Hun-Kamé and is bound to follow him on his other-worldly quest to reclaim his throne and get revenge.

First off, I know very very little about Mexican culture or Mayan mythology other than the tiny snippets I remember from Horrible Histories. I also know next to nothing about the 1920's time-period, so if there were glaring cultural and historical inaccuracies, I probably missed them. But I really, really doubt that there were. Silvia Moreno-Garcia had me absolutely transported from my English flat all the way to the beautiful, colourful Mexican towns and cities this story sweeps through from the first page. The descriptions were detailed and beautiful, and I'm not a particularly visual person but I could feel the hot, painted tiles of Mérida and the deep, blistering shadows of Xibalba. I made a ridiculous amount of highlights in this book, because every passing paragraph was artfully put together. I'm half convinced that Silvia did some kind of quest for an ancient god, and got gifted a mastery over words as a reward.

Silvia handled the balance of deity-magic and mundane-humanity beautifully to create a true sense that mythology and reality are balanced on a knife's edge, which seems appropriate in a novel that thrives on its duality. There are parallels between Hun-Kamé/Vucub-Kamé and Martín, between the overworld and the underworld, and between godhood and humanity. I loved that Casiopea felt like an ordinary girl. She didn't have a strange and innate ability to wield a sword, or suddenly discovered powers halfway through the novel. Casiopea's magic comes from her humanity, and her greatest ability was her desire for freedom, equality and peace, even for those she dislikes.

I'm sure that there were facets of this novel that didn't strike me as deeply as they could, simply because I'm unfamiliar with Mayan mythology, and I'm convinced that I'm definitely pronouncing every single character and place name wrong in my head (sorry!), but I want to read more about this world I knew nothing about, and will absolutely be looking into Mayan mythology with the same gusto that I used to be taught about Norse and Greek mythology.

This had a lot of potential for me. Mythologies I've never read about, the swinging 20s, a road trip not only through the real world but an underworld, cool magics? But really, this was a highly predictable and shallowly developed story with 2D characters I never felt much connection to, let alone cared about. The writing style was jarring from the start, with its of-the-era kind of style, but it felt far too telling and really distanced me from the characters and story. Action scenes were painfully bland and robotic, especially fights. I definitely didn't dig the undertones of taking advantage and abuse within the main relationship, and honestly got sick of the number of times the death god was called beautiful. There were some really cool ideas, and Martin was weirdly the only character I felt was realistic enough to semi-care about. Overall, this was sadly disappointing and could do with a lot of editing to spice up the dry writing and develop the characters more, especially Cas.

I admit I was a bit nervous about starting this book. The story sounded amazing but something about 'historical fantasy' always makes me reluctant to start a book. I was kinda afraid that the story will get lost under tons of historical details.

Lucky for me, I was wrong. The 'historical' aspect is not a problem. In fact, I'd say it ended up being one my favourite elements of the story. This book has a strong sense of place. While reading the book I felt like I could live and breath in the era(1920s Mexico). And it's not just because of strong imagery and gorgeous writing that took me away to that place. The book provides historical and cultural context so that the reader could get a clear understanding of the era. All I can say about the setting is that it was wonderful and really well-done.

The story follows Casiopea who has a harsh life and seeks a way out. Until she accidentally frees spirit of Mayan god of death and then is forced to go to a journey with him to save both of their lives.
On the surface, the story is similar to a typical tale of quest and destiny. But the characterisation is much deeper and better than any quest story I've read so far.

Casiopea is an amazing character who doesn't have any special power and is thrown into the world of gods and monsters. In other words, she is my favourite type of heroine. Casiopea belongs to the same category as Miryem (from Spinning Silver) does. These are characters that can carry the story with only relying on their own strength of character and will.

The other characters are also very well-written. One thing that I really loved about this story is that the narrative doesn't push you to love certain characters and hate others. It builds images of all the characters and lets you understand them. You can, of course, hate any of them. But the narrative doesn't make that decision for you.

Even villains have their own humanity. It sounds ironic to use the word humanity to describe a god. But even the villainous god is portrayed in the context that the reader will understand why he's done what he's done. Pure evil for the sake of evil never interested me. In stories, I want something to analyse and understand and think about, and this story does just that. It paints images of people and their unfortunate circumstances without playing the judge.

Okay, so obviously I adored this book, which begs the question, why four stars?
Honestly for most of the story I was thinking I would give it 5 stars and add it to my favourite shelf. But then the ending happened. Now the ending doesn't exactly ruin the story, but it's not the one I was hoping for. It's possible that it's just me and everybody else will love it. And I really want everyone to read and support this book. But sadly it won't be one of my favourite books.

*Special thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC*

I don't usually pick up books with "dark" in the blurb, but for this one I made an exception, because of the author. I'm glad I did.

I recently read a set of guidelines for a short story market that said "Don't send me X unless you're Silvia Moreno-Garcia," so I'm not the only one who thinks about her this way. I'd previously read her novel <i>The Beautiful Ones</i>, which is so full of potential to be a horrible tragedy, but instead pulls off what I've come to call the Glorious Ending: a character rises above themselves, above what any ordinary person would do, and does something that is so much the right thing, so much an act of love in the face of a dark world, that everything is changed.

Well, at the risk of a vague spoiler (because I don't think you'll guess exactly how it comes off), she's done it again.

The protagonist, Casiopea, a young Mexican woman whose native (late) father is used by her family as an excuse to make her their domestic servant, is fully believable as a naive young woman who hasn't ever left her small town, but has read widely and has big dreams. Or, actually, relatively small and conventional dreams, which end up being rendered irrelevant by the actual adventure that finds her: the lord of the (Mayan) underworld needs her help to regain his throne from his usurping brother. She continues to be believable, and becomes increasingly rounded as a character, as she copes with this bizarre and unwanted situation, confronting sorcerers and gods and other supernatural beings, plus her spoiled and hapless cousin (who also gets a bit of a growth arc).

Early on, the story starts looking like Cinderella, and the narration specifically averts that conclusion; nor does it work out remotely like Cinderella, because if anyone is rescuing anyone, it's the young woman rescuing the prince. And herself, and indeed everyone, in the end. It's magnificent.

The omniscient narrator is unusual these days, but it works; it gives us extra insight into the protagonist when she doesn't have insight into herself yet, without becoming an intrusive character voice in its own right.

The Mexican setting, one I'm not very familiar with, is beautifully and richly portrayed; there's a strong sense of place and of culture. The language, vocabulary, and writing mechanics are at a level I see all too seldom from native English speakers. (I assume, from the authentic feel of the Mexican setting, that the author has English as a second language, but I could be wrong there.) There's a thread, evolving ever so slowly and subtly but clearly, of romance, but it doesn't follow a conventional path; nothing in this book does.

I've been through a spell of reading not-very-good books for a while, and this was a welcome breaking of the drought. It's going near the top of my Best of 2019 list, both because it's extremely well done and also because it's exactly the kind of book I most enjoy.

I received a review copy via Netgalley.

Gods of Jade and Shadow is what I needed in Summer. It was a lot of fun, as colorful as the cover :) I chose this book because of the Mayan/Mexican myth aspects it contained. The story was interesting, the writing was very approachable and engaging. I really enjoyed my time.
The pace was quite good, it kept em interested, turning the pages. I'd read from this author more in the future.

Thanks a lot to publisher and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard really great things about this book and I know that a lot of other people have really loved it, sadly I just didn’t. Although I don’t think there is anything wrong with the story I think it just wasn’t for me.

I think the main issue for me was that the writing style wasn’t for me so it took me quite a while to really get into the story which is actually pretty interesting, yet I kept having to put it down and could only read it for short periods of time.

I really loved seeing the Mexican folklore incorporated into the story, it was so interesting to read those parts. We don’t really get books set and inspired by Mexican mythology so it was refreshing to read about it.

I really liked the main character, Cassiopea, she was someone that many can relate to. She wanted more from life, she wanted to see the world and despite her living conditions and being treated as a servant by her own family, she was fierce and didn’t let them beat her down.

I think a lot of people will really love this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Gods of Jade and Shadow was an entertaining read. I loved all the Mexican/Mayan mythology (a few snippets of which were familiar from the From Dusk Till Dawn TV series) blended into the 1920s-era tale, and I enjoyed the interactions and developing relationship between Casiopea and Hun-Kamé. The book moved at a good pace throughout, keeping me turning the pages, and I appreciated the ending which was satisfying while avoiding cliché. This is my second Moreno-Garcia read and I like her simple storytelling style, which works particularly well for a tale such as this involving a fairytale/mythological aspect. I would definitely read more by this author, and I recommend Gods of Jade and Shadow to fantasy/mythology fans looking for something a little different.

(Review will post 18 July during the blog tour.)

This was a fab book, very different from everything else I've read this year! Though I loved the characters and their banter my favourite part was the mix of history and folklore. I feel as if I learned a lot while also enjoying a great story.

This is a quiet book, feeling a little more literary than I usually like. The phrasing felt very deliberate, full of descriptions and introspection. The best way I can think of describing the reading is experience is like I was floating along, bobbing in the slight wake of a passing boat. I was more of an observer than a participant in the story.

The world is lushly imagined, and I could see the settings clearly. It was definitely my favourite part of the story, the blending of the Jazz Age with mythology. The contrast between new and old was really fun, adding to the slightly dreamlike feel of the story.

Casiopea is a very passive character, just going along with what's happening around her. She doesn't do much to influence the course of the story. It's Hun-Kamé who decides what they're doing. She protests, weakly, from time to time, but does it anyway. I would have liked to see her do a little more and influence the story more than a final burst at the end.

The POVs are quite shallow. I didn't feel like I was in anyone's head, but besides a narrator telling me what the characters were thinking. The distance meant I couldn't connect easily with the characters, particularly the lead - Casiopea. For this reason, I much prefer reading deeper POV books.

There are three POVs in the books. Most of the page time is devoted to Casiopea, but her cousin Martín and the god Vacumb-Kamé also have chapters. It was a little unexpected when Martín first spoke, but it wasn't jarring and I quickly fell into a rhythm of their chapters. As the voice was very similar (being more narrator than POV), it followed well and I almost didn't notice the POV change.

Twice however, Martín's chapters rehashed part of a conversation we'd seen previously from Casiopea's perspective. There was new material either side, but it made those chapters seem a little redundant. Generally he was the lens through which to see what Vacumb-Kamé was doing to oppose Casiopea and Hun-Kamé.

If you like slower pacing and having a step back from the story, then this is a book for you.

I’ll start by saying that I think the concept of this book is wonderful. Central and South American fantasy is not something I see often, which is a travesty, and the idea of also having this set in the Jaz Age had me practically salivating. You throw in a ‘strangely alluring god’ and I’m sold. Send me the book I will read it. So yes, the concept and the plot (on paper) really worked for me.

Unfortunately, I felt as though this book wasn’t executed well enough to fulfil the promise that the premise suggested.

Mostly my problem was that this book most certainly told instead of showing. I will say I’m not one of those people who think that any book that tells you something deserves to go straight into the bin. I think there are a number of storytellers who write ‘telling’ stories impeccably well. In this instance, however, the world these characters were moving through was so interesting and should have been filled with such rich detail that I would much prefer to have experienced it through being ‘shown’ it through the eyes of the characters. It’s a delicate thing to put your finger on, but the writing just didn’t quite connect for me.

I did think that Casiopea was an interesting character. I think we can all enjoy a story where a girl discovers her inner strength, cuts off her hair and says ‘fuck you’ to anyone who held her back – I wanted to be on her side with every fibre of my being. Again, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t connect with her in the way I wanted to. Possibly that’s because I didn’t feel like I was seeing the world through her eyes? Reading is so subjective, and I don’t want to suggest that every reader will feel the same way I did, but I found myself not really caring what might happen to Casiopea, I just wanted her to take charge of her own destiny a little earlier on.

The dual POV nature of this book may appeal to some, for my part I never really enjoy reading the perspective of someone who is wilfully awful to a female character (not abusive exactly but certainly not nice) and I’m very unlikely to end up forgiving him or seeing him as a victim of circumstance. Had the whole book been from Casiopea’s perspective I don’t think it would have taken away from the story.

I desperately want to shout from the rooftops that this book is amazing. It should be. But there’s something of a disconnect there, at least for me, and for that reason, I could only give this book three out of five stars. I think it’s one of those books that is important in terms of representing different communities within fantasy, and if you love this book you will really love it – that simply wasn’t the case for me.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

God's of Jade and Shadow publishes July 23rd!

En Gods of Jade and Shadow Silvia Moreno-García mezcla un poquito de historia de Méjico con algo de mitología maya en un contexto de comienzos del siglo pasado. Es el relato de un viaje por distintas ciudades del país y también del viaje interior de la protagonista hacia la madurez.

Tras la muerte de su padre, Casiopea y su madre se ven obligadas a volver a casa de su abuelo, un adinerado déspota que las trata casi como siervas. Pero Casiopea tiene un fuerte carácter y no duda en enfrentarse a esta injusta situación, en los modos que ve posible. Es por esto que cuando puede investigar los secretos de su abuelo, la curiosidad le puede y abre una caja fuerte con huesos humanos que resultan ser del Dios maya de la muerte, encerrado por las malas artes de su divino hermano. Desde entonces, ambos se verán unidos en un trayecto para recuperar el trono robado.
Lo importante de Gods of Jade and Shadow es el relato de maduración de la protagonista a través del viaje que realiza en compañía de Hun-Kamé, que aún intentando recuperar su esencia divina se va humanizando cada vez más por la influencia de Casiopea.
Me han gustado bastante las referencias históricas sobre la primera década de los años 20 del siglo pasado en Méjico pero especialmente el tratamiento de la mitología maya, utilizando figuras quizá poco conocidas pero presentándolas de forma gradual y sin abrumar al lector con detalles.
El trayecto por la Tierra en cierta forma nos va preparando para un final muy agridulce, con un enfrentamiento final entre los dioses hermanos en el inframundo a través de sus adláteres, tras haber pasado por una dura travesía.
El ritmo de la novela tiene ciertos altibajos que lastran la lectura. La recuperación de los primeros poderes de Hun-Kamé suceden casi en un suspiro, sin apenas problemas para los protagonistas, pero después se ralentiza la expedición, quizá para dedicar más espacio al desarrollo de su relación.
Gods of Jade and Shadow es una novela de agradable lectura, que nos deja con ganas de conocer algo más de la obra de su autora.

This book is set in Mexico during the 1920s. It follows Casiopea as she releases a Mayan God of death. Her life is fused with the God and they embark on an adventure to gain back the gods throne from his power hungry brother. The idea was dark and fascinating and it is what drew me to this book! I lied reading the mythology behind this book., it was so interesting. The atmospheric elements and the underworld are amazing. I like Casiopea as a character and I enjoyed most of her story. However there are a few things I didn't enjoy. Firstly the pacing didn't really work for me and it was very slow at times. It felt like there was no real urgency to the quest which was a little but of a let down. Another reason I didn't enjoy the book as much as I wanted to was the romance, I never really get invested into romances that are in fantasy books. . The writing was also more telling than showing which I didn't enjoy. This book was okay and i did fight parts interesting but it isn't one of my favourite books. If you read it, I think most people would enjoy it.

I think it should have stated upfront that this is a young adult novel. I really disliked the story line and found it too young for my taste so I will leave this as not finished.

Casiopea Tun lives with her family and serves their every whim in a Cinderella-like scenario. This is because she’s considered a “lesser” member of the family due to her gender and her parentage. Things soon change for Casiopea, when she stumbles upon a family secret and unleashes a Lord of Xibalba, who was dethroned by his power-hungry brother. This leads Casiopea to go on an adventure to help the Lord reclaim his throne, otherwise, she’ll die. With her life on the line, she must be quick whilst cautious, as those who don’t want her to succeed are hot on her heels and are ready to play dirty.
Gods of Jade and Shadow is a fantasy story full of Mayan mythology, that explores the nature of familial structures and relationships, and ultimately about discovering oneself in the wider world.

This book just didn't manage to capture magic for me. I felt the story was missing something – a connection between it and me as the reader – which persisted near enough to the story’s end. I felt I was enduring a bland read up until 60%, by which point, the story picked up in excitement and I wanted to know how it ended.

I didn’t feel the characters were engaging. Casiopea is likeable, but she’s not loveable nor memorable as a character by herself. The same goes for the rest of the ensemble. I didn’t really care about any of their endings, because a reader-characterisation relationship simply didn’t exist between the characters and I. Their personalities weren’t explored (independent of the journey they were on) in any great depth for me to connect with them. The Gods – HunKame and VucubKame – were portrayed as cold characters, thereby making their likeability rather low.

Additionally, I found it difficult to get behind the book’s romance. I don’t even know where to begin without spoiling the plot. I disliked it because it felt forced and unlikely, and I just kept thinking:
“Why on God's earth would a girl be attracted to somebody harming her?”
I felt the portrayal of the characters didn’t align with their sudden feelings for each other. It just didn’t make sense. Why would this girl be attracted to somebody who is so cold, like the rest of the men in her life? Who’s ready to put her in harms way? To me, it read as if she had feelings for him solely because she thought he was handsome.
And then there’s the concern that their budding feelings wasn’t actually autonomous. In a nutshell, the romance just didn’t work or make sense for me.

The setting of this story was good, especially the Underworld with the Black Road and all its creatures, which felt otherworldly. The mythology made the story intriguing. These were illustrated very well and educated me in the subject of Mayan mythology, which I thoroughly loved reading about.

The most interesting aspect for me was the discussion of oppression within Casiopea’s family. She was considered the runt of the family and was expected to serve the men, and any women considered above her. I really liked the author’s alternating perspectives between Casiopea and her cousin, Martin, as they each illuminated the way the structure of their family made them see themselves and each other e.g. Martin was extremely entitled and felt Casiopea’s place was beneath him, and he was outraged whenever this was challenged or outright defied. Admittedly, this exploration of a family controlled by a patriarch’s dominance over its women and lesser family members was the story’s best feature.

Overall, I read this within a week and I’m rating it 3 stars due to my enjoyment of the mythology and exploration of oppression within families. The climax definitely brought this read back from the brink of a lower rating, but I’m still disappointed that this wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to read a fantasy story laced with Mayan mythology, but other than that, I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t rush to recommend this.
Thank you kindly to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

A good introduction to mythology different to the ones seen in a lot of books, I found myself fascinated by the history of the mythological characters and the history of the peoples in the story, that aside of I did not enjoy the writing style and foru nd myself constantly jarred out the book by the at times childish she prose, I am sure many will fully engage and enjoy this book, sadly I am not of those that did

This book contains everything I enjoy about reading, getting the chance to learn about other cultures folklore/mythology, being swept away on epic adventures and having my heart stings tugged by an unforgettable romance. I can honestly say the only thing I didn't like about this book was that it was a stand-alone and I would love the author to write more books in this world.

I read this book in less that 24 hours, the writing flows so effortlessly and I couldn't help but get swept along with Casiopea as she gets the chance to have new experiences, meet demons and other mythological characters, visit places she never thought she would get the chance to see and fall in love. The authors descriptions are beautifully written and I couldn't get enough of her insights into Mayan mythology. Though not knowing a whole lot about the culture I was quite chuffed with myself for already knowing bits about Xibalba, the land of the dead (Thank you The Road to El Dorado.)

The story switches between 3 perspectives; Casiopea, Martin, her cousin and Vucub Kame the current Lord of Xibalba.

Casiopea is a fantastically written character. Given a rough hand in life by her family who didn't agree with the man her mother married, when her father dies and she has to move back in with her Grandfather and Aunts she is relegated to being not much better than the serving staff. She dreams of a life out of Uukumil and when fate one day sees her punished to stay in the house by herself. she decides to defy her Grandfather and use the key he keeps around his neck to find what he keeps so thoroughly hidden. Little does she know this one decision could change not only her life but the world. Equal parts witty and feisty, even when going up against Hun Kame The Lord of Xibalba, Casiopea does not back down. It was wondrously refreshing seeing the female character being the one holding all the cards, and knowing if it wasn't for her Hun Kame would have been dead multiple times over.

Martin, Casiopea's cousin, gets dragged into the mythological world once Vucub Kame realises his brother has been set free. Their Grandfather being too old to help, it falls to Martin to follow the Gods orders and try and retrieve his cousin and find Hun Kame. He's not an overly likeable character, you see his interactions with Casiopea early on in the book and realise he is entitled and sees her to be below him. Because of this I took great pleasure in seeing him dread every interaction with the God and being forced to do multiple things out of his comfort zone. His parts of the book were quite humorous, and I enjoyed reading from his perspective.

Vucub Kame, The Lord of Xibalba. He trapped and killed his brother Hun Kame when he did not agree with Vucub Kame's ideas for improving the Underworld. He is a character that seems overly sure of his victory, and I took great pleasure in seeing him realise that Casiopea may be the one factor he could not have planned for.

I couldn't get enough of the romance in this book. I found myself so invested in Casiopea and Hun Kame's outcomes. Their relationship was written beautifully, we see the effects of Hun Kame's presence on Casiopea (not always good) and we see how the Casiopea's humanity affects him in positive ways. Though probably a predictable ending, I still couldn't get enough of their slow burn relationship and definitely shed a tear or two.

I know I've said this a lot but 2019 seems to be the year for epic books. This is another 5/5 read and honestly if you're anything like me and love learning about other cultures when reading then get this pre-ordered now. For fans of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik, you will not be let down by this sweeping adventure and these overly lovable characters.