I had a difficult time getting through this book. It was a slow paced read for me that I didn’t connect with. Not the characters or the story line.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for an eARC of Gods of Jade and Shadow.

This book felt a little long winded to me. I can appreciate the Mayan myth retelling and the rich culture portrayed. The story just fell a little flat for me. It seemed to have a lot of obstacles with no real stakes. And the romance was a slow burn with no real satisfying ending.

I didn't finish it since I had some trouble with focusing on this book. I loved the characters and mythology that was threaded throughout, but I struggled with the pacing and the dialogue. I would try it again at another time.

i enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would! im really into reading stories inspired by mythology that im not very familiar with, and recently ive had an interest in mesoamerican culture, so this did not disappoint.

i found this to be extremely easy to read. the writing is very straightforward and has more of a ‘telling rather than showing’ feel to me, but i honestly didnt mind it. its also a long journey narrative with not a whole lot happening other than subtle character development. again, i know this will bother some readers, but i was okay with it.

so i know its my adoration for the subject which kept me so invested. i really enjoyed reading about mexico in the 1920s, learning about the different mayan gods, and experiencing the underworld of xiabalba. it was all really fun!

I fell in lust with this book from the synopsis, but as I read page after page as quickly as my eyes could, that lust quickly turned into love.

I am a huge mythology fan, even more so when it is not the typical Greek or Roman. So I was more then happy to find a story involving Mexican/Mayan mythology as it isn't one to commonly portrayed.

I enjoyed the love interests, The characters grew and loved one another in such a thrilling way. The story was well paced and over far to quickly but oh that ending was so perfect.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has done it again with another stellar novel that blends myths, legends, and magic into a modern-historical setting. From the first sentence, I was pulled into a sepia-tinged dream-reality as Casiopea Tun walked away from the drudgery of mundane life & left her old world behind to help a god. Gods of Jade & Shadow enchanted me every single page of the way from start to finish.

4.4 stars

hummmm

I think Silvia Moreno Garcia is becoming my new Neil Gaiman.

I'm having such an inconsistent raction to her books!

I thought this was going to be a 5 star for me but it didn;t quite get there

I still TOTALLY LOVE how Silvia writes but I guess Certain Dark Things (which I ADORED) set the bar REALLY high!

I loved the uniqueness of this story, how colorful it felt but I felt it lacked a little more tension to make it a 5 reads.

Other than that I loved the world building and the characters!

I recommend this book very much but read it before you read Mexican Gothic and Certain Dark things!

Garcia’s writing isn’t for me. Gothic story’s apparently aren’t for me. Which is my main reason for not finishing this story.

A majestic journey into myth, history and the tricky spaces between, Gods of Jade and Shadow is the book you come back to. Between Casiopea trying to just keep a god alive (or rather, keep herself alive while finally living) and her jerk of a family's attempts to ruin her plans, the weaving of Mayan and Mexican life and lore is superb. Come for the Jazz Age vibes, stay for the journey to death and back.

I enjoyed this book well enough, but I was never totally grabbed by the story. Decent read, although a little disappointing, as I really liked the premise.

I have no idea why I had a hard time getting into this one. It could be because it's outside my regular genre? At any rate, I stopped reading it a little over halfway through. It was written well and the story should have captured my attention, but I don't know why it didn't.

The characters were shallow with no development. The story was trivial with an excess of deus-ex-machina plot devices. The "find artifacts to defeat a dark fore" story has been done once and for all in The Deathly Hallows, and this book did not bring anything new to the conversation.

***Note: Deciding not to review this book since I am no longer interested and I just need to get this book off my feedback list.***

I've tried to read this book so many times but I can't get into it. I've tried both physically reading and audio and I either fall asleep or zone out. It sucks because I thought this book would be right up my alley but apparently it's not for me.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Four Stars

Gods of Jade and Shadow is inspired by Mexican folklore set in the Jazz Age. Casiopea is a woman who lives in her wealthy grandfather's house but she is too busy cleaning it rather than enjoying it. But her dream is to leave behind her small town and make a life of her own. One day she opens a mysterious box found in her grandfather's room when she opens it she accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death! Now she has to help this god if she does her dreams will come true if not bad things will happen.

-I enjoyed Casiopea as a character she's strong, flawed, and overall a dreamer. I found that she was easy to read from, root for while things go in her favor and while things don't go in her favor. She's strong, sassy, and messy, true to herself!
-Mayan God Hun-Kame is one of the best gods I've read in a long time! His character development throughout is amazing, one of the best developments I've ever read. You can't help but root for him.
-Casiopea has a very mean and rude cousin named Martin. I can't stand him, you do get a good solid backstory for him.
-Vucub-Kame is evil! That's all I'm going to say...
-There are other side characters Loray, Casiopea's Mother and Grandfather, and more. All who matters and plays an important role in this book.
-The writing. Hands down I will read anything more the author puts out. I felt like I could enter into these scenes. Powerful writing.
If you are looking for a Jazz Age mythological of Gods, journey, wonderful cast, and writing that will pull you in then this is your book, read it!

I really like mythology in general, but this type of mythology is one that I don't know much about/have not often reached for. But, I am so glad that I decided to pick this up! I love mythology and this gave a new meaning to it. I went down so many Wikipedia rabbit-holes while reading this book because I was just so obsessed with the mythology embedded within this story. Please read this—it's so magical.

I love fairy tale stories - and especially ones not based in European folklore. This was so fun to read, very joyful!

This book is a vibrant, brilliant twisty tale about Mayan gods, set in 1920s Mexico. Following the "poor" granddaughter of the local small town patriarch as she is searching for her own family's truth, working through her identity, and finding adventure in search of her own future. This book has a bit of a lot of things I love - dark art deco gothic style despair, magical Mayan god adventures, a main character you want to cheer for, and a healthy dose of evil spirits and flappers dancing the Charleston. This would be good for more mature YA readers, although it is really an adult book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of magic and adventure in stories that search for identity, freedom, belonging. It is a really wonderful book and will be a celebrated classic for years to come.

I didn't love this book. Many have raved about it, but it landed so flat for me. The writing felt elementary and the story wasn't very engaging. The one thing I really enjoyed was getting a glimpse into another culture that I don't know a lot about.

Rating: 3.5 stars (3 for execution, 5 for ending). Enjoyable, cathartic, and bittersweet. Book moves at a breakneck speed that is rather unsuitable for the first 200 pages (characters just feel dropped into position, so their initial motivations & dynamics feel shallow), but once I became accustomed to the pacing, I gradually fell in love with the overarching themes and the bittersweet finale.


**What I really enjoyed about this book**
- World-building and period feeling are great. Nice lore.
- Martin is an interesting villain, pleasantly complex.
- Intimate moments between Cassie and Hun-Kame were charming. I thought their fates would end in a predictable way, but the author had the guts to go down a less cliche route. Very nice!
- Last but not least, the thing that truly made me fall in love with this book was the parallel constructs between Cassie/Martin and Hun-Kame/Vucub-Kame. By linking familial enmities together, the plot became much more cohesive as it streamlined character arcs towards one destination, which provided stunning catharsis in the end.


**Negatives, a.k.a. why it took me a week to finish**
- The plot moves at breakneck speed with rare undulations in between. Made the book feel almost monotonous and shallow despite many good moments. Needed better transitions from one event to another so as to not jar the reader while shifting scenes.
- Similarly, there could've been more moments to check in with Cassie and her feelings to counter the speedy/distant nature of the plot. She lacked self-awareness at times, which strangely made her feel distant like a 2D-character at times.
- Lastly, characters are swiftly thrown into their positions in the first 100 pages, which irked me. But then the author keeps pace afterwards, so I was somewhat willing to overlook this.


**Some gray areas (i.e., my nitpicky points)**
- Finale could've been wrapped up more slowly; room for epilogue.
- Book feels middle-grade in how easily certain characters band together, and Cassie elopes on her journey without giving second thought to her mother. On the other hand, the themes, morals, and world-building are mature, so again, willing to forgive this.


**Bottom line**
The themes about familial enmity are what made me overlook any gripes with this book. The ending delivers bittersweet yet cathartic consequences, and it is reminiscent of The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo as it ultimately is more about the overarching themes than the nitty-gritty details: the whole is more than sum of its parts, and that kind of story-telling is one I can get behind.


**Note: There is a simplicity to this narrative that some might call suited for YA/MG, but I personally think that it contributed to the wisdom of this book. There is a point where Cassie calls Hun-Kame's revenge towards his brother "petty/human" despite his seemingly wise/god-like demeanor, and this book reinforces that theme by similarly not getting stuck in meaningless details, but rather resorting to broad brushstrokes to get its message across. Again, a matter of the whole being more important than the sum of its parts.


**Thank you to the publishers for sending an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are solely my own and have not been influenced in any way.