Synopsis:
The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.
Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.
In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
If you loved Naomi Novik's Uprooted or Spinning Silver, you have to read this.
Objectively, this is an excellent novel. It's got mythology you likely haven't read about before, a quietly lovable heroine, and intense fairy tale vibes. In a sea of retellings, Gods of Jade and Shadow stands out as something fresh and unique. However, I just couldn't jive with the writing of this novel and so, while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it.
One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the history and mythology. I've never read a novel set in 1920's Mexico, and so a lot of the folklore surrounding the story was entirely new to me. Because of that, the story and setting felt very original to me personally. The 1920's setting added an interesting juxtaposition between the ancient and the modern, and I liked seeing how gods and demons adjusted - or didn't - to the presence of technology. Additionally, Silvia Moreno-Garcia set the scene at the beginning of most chapters by giving a brief history of the areas Casiopea travels to, which I really enjoyed. I'm not nearly as familiar with Mexican history and mythology as I'd like to be, so it gave me needed context that only enhanced my reading experience.
Where the book didn't work for me was in the writing and type of story. The writing is fairly blunt and doesn't rely much on sensory detail to tell the story. Instead, Moreno-Garcia is the type of writer that paints a picture for you, rather than has you experience it. I think this writing style enhanced by the folklore vibes, but as someone who prefers sensory writing to picturesque writing, it made me have a hard time losing myself in the story, and thus connecting with the characters.
I also found the story itself to be kind of boring. Gods of Jade and Shadow is a journey narrative, and I don't tend to enjoy journey narratives. The events usually feel too random and disjointed to engage me, and this novel was no different.
Ultimately, my 3 star rating of this book comes down to personal enjoyment more than anything else. If you don't have an issue with journey narratives or specific writing tastes, I reckon you'll thoroughly enjoy this.
ARC provided by Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.
Objectively, this is an excellent novel. It's got mythology you likely haven't read about before, a quietly lovable heroine, and intense fairy tale vibes. In a sea of retellings, Gods of Jade and Shadow stands out as something fresh and unique. However, I just couldn't jive with the writing of this novel and so, while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it.
One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the history and mythology. I've never read a novel set in 1920's Mexico, and so a lot of the folklore surrounding the story was entirely new to me. Because of that, the story and setting felt very original to me personally. The 1920's setting added an interesting juxtaposition between the ancient and the modern, and I liked seeing how gods and demons adjusted - or didn't - to the presence of technology. Additionally, Silvia Moreno-Garcia set the scene at the beginning of most chapters by giving a brief history of the areas Casiopea travels to, which I really enjoyed. I'm not nearly as familiar with Mexican history and mythology as I'd like to be, so it gave me needed context that only enhanced my reading experience.
Where the book didn't work for me was in the writing and type of story. The writing is fairly blunt and doesn't rely much on sensory detail to tell the story. Instead, Moreno-Garcia is the type of writer that paints a picture for you, rather than has you experience it. I think this writing style enhanced by the folklore vibes, but as someone who prefers sensory writing to picturesque writing, it made me have a hard time losing myself in the story, and thus connecting with the characters.
I also found the story itself to be kind of boring. Gods of Jade and Shadow is a journey narrative, and I don't tend to enjoy journey narratives. The events usually feel too random and disjointed to engage me, and this novel was no different.
Ultimately, my 3 star rating of this book comes down to personal enjoyment more than anything else. If you don't have an issue with journey narratives or specific writing tastes, I reckon you'll thoroughly enjoy this.
ARC provided by Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.
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