Unfortunately I had to DNF this wonderful book at around 50%. The world building was immaculate and I loved the characters. The descriptions were great and the writing was so interesting!!
Unfortunately it was not for me at this point... I will probably pick it up again when I have the chance!!
One thing I didn't like that had weight on me not finishing the book was maybe that the pace was a bit confusing at times and it did help me focus to the story...

The summary created an eager anticipation for me. But I found the storytelling somewhat confusing. The idea of a mask(s) releasing or hiding the true nature of characters is intriguing. The background of culture/tradition vs political power and oppression is vivid. But the author just lost me a bit when I struggled to connect with the (magical realism?) nature of the main characters. I look forward to publication date to perhaps re-examine this tale.

I was hooked from the cover and so glad I was able to read this, it had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of the story. It had a great mystery element to it and worked with what I was looking for. Michael J. DeLuca has a great writing style and left me wanting more.

This supernatural, surreal thriller is a stunner. While the beginning felt a bit over-written at first, I soon relaxed into the author's slowly rolling, gorgeous prose and found myself reading a political thriller as poetic as any verse I've ever read. A murder, a not-human, illegal cabbie, an artist whose visions are out of her control, her family, the rich and poor, the police and secret agencies, full of corruption but also desire for good--it all blends together like marbled silk. The stories come out at their own pace, and the narrative jumps frequently, leaving the reader to follow along parkour-style. Go read it; open it up, and relax into the pace and depths of description, and savor it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review!

Boy this story has layers, where the main characters' involvement is only surface level in the grand scheme of the larger systemic issues that are hinted at throughout the book in relation to class and capitalism. I found myself more interested in how these characters were going to get involved with the larger issues happening, which never happened, but I still found this entertaining. The magic in this book is soooo cool. It adds so much to the atmosphere and was one of the main reasons I picked this up in the first place, and it didn't disappoint.

At times I found the pacing of this difficult, as some of the chapters are very long, but if that isn't a bother to you then it won't be an issue!

TLDR: This was a very well-written and well-executed book, but I was not the target audience for this book due to the magical realism elements and the plot presentation style.

The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca is another fantastic addition to Stelliform Press's catalog. DeLuca is a repeat author for Stelliform and is a growing name withing the solarpunk genre. His masterful writing style and deft character development are on full display to a great effect. The only problem with this book: I am not the target audience but this is only because I don't usually enjoy magical realism.

The book is about Felipe/Felix, a jaguar who, through the aid of various masks, can appear as human, and Cristina, a young women whose mother was recently a collatoral fatality in a politically motivated assassination. Felipe/Felix lives with Luz and Anibal, who are both involved in protest movements against the Guatemalan government. Cristina is just trying to make it through her grief and coming to terms with what has happened. She is an artist who is struggling with the tension between needing to make money to care for her nephews (who were foisted upon her by her absent sister) and wanting to paint her visions. The two are brought together because of the murder and because Luz and Anibal's activism, leading them on a journey through Guatemala to write the wrongs in the world and the wrongs they've perpetuated against themselves, all within the backdrop of the exploitative and destructive mining operations that are decimating Guatemala and its indigeneous human and nonhuman populations.

Throughout the whole book, DeLuca asks the reader to just accept certaint things as true, and this is the element of magical realism I don't usually like. If there is going to be some sort of magical or fantastical element. For instance, the mechanics of Felipe/Felix's jaguare shifting is never really discussed. Cristina comments that she doesn't know how he uses the gear shift in his car with his paws; she doesn't hold his hand but specifically comments on holding his paw, although obviously a jaguar would need all four feet to walk--things like that. These kinds of things are very common in magical realism, and magical realism is an excellent choice for this story--the genre emerged out of post-colonial protests, movements, and activism in the broadest defined Latin world so in a book that is explicitly about protest and activist movements agaisnt neo-imperialist powers in Guatemala magical realism is not only the natural but probably the necessary choice. I am not faulting the book; in fact, I am praising the book for this choice. I just personally don't like this genre as a reader.

I absolutely loved the fantasy part of this book. It was so interesting to read about these characters and their development. But overall, I struggled to get through it. It was very slow and I was confused as to what was happening at least half of the time.

For me personally there was both too much going on and nothing really at the same time. I feel like the main characters were barely involved in anything (and that's part of their characters but makes you feel like you're watching from afar). At around 80% it got better, but that's a lot of dedication to get through a book. It was way more literary than I expected it to be, but the setting felt exactly the way it should.

I really hate that I’m the first to review this novel and my opinion is unfavourable. This was not very engaging to me. I’m not sure what it was. Maybe the beginning never grabbed my attention and nothing did after. This reads more like literary fiction more than anything else. The type that annoys me— slow, self indulgent, lots of the everyday mundane, following characters through feelings and emotions particularly grief, fear and injustice. Granted I could only push myself up to 100 pages so what do I know. I did like that the presentation of culture, political unrest and Guatemalan city life did feel grounded and authentic. Needed more sci-fi than sad fiction, or at least more of a balance of both genres.

*Thank you M.J. DeLuca and Stelliform Press for, The Jaguar Mask ARC.