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tetedump's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Unfortunately I didn't super enjoy my time with this one. This is a quest narrative but it didn't do the job as one for me. I think the beauty of a quest narrative is that you don't really know where it's going - as a reader you have knowledge of an end point and an initial plan, but something will throw the hero off course to keep you on your toes. However, the narrative followed the initial plan in a really linear and repetitive way, with only minor obstacles for Casiopea and Hun-Kamé (until the end).
I did like the narrative voice as I found it unique and it had a fairytale-like quality to it. However, it came at the cost of feeling distanced from Casiopea and her inner-world. A final thing I didn't like about the book was how quickly Casiopea and Hun-Kamé fell in love. Even though we are told this happened slowly, they had only known each other for a few weeks so I just didn't find this believable.So I was especially frustrated that they were both so close to throwing in the towel because of this love. Also, I really don't like the immortal/mortal trope especially as Casiopea is only 18.
Despite these negatives, there were a lot of positives too! I really enjoyed the opposing development of Casiopea and Hun Kamé, how they were switching from mortal to immortal or vice versa, and how they learned more about their initial state through the other's journey. I really liked where Casiopea ended up overall, too. Speaking of the ending, the last 50 pages were really fantastic - gripping and satisfying. And I really loved reading and learning about Mayan mythology too, like the duality of Xibalba that was cleverly reflected in so many other parts of the narrative.
I did like the narrative voice as I found it unique and it had a fairytale-like quality to it. However, it came at the cost of feeling distanced from Casiopea and her inner-world. A final thing I didn't like about the book was how quickly Casiopea and Hun-Kamé fell in love. Even though we are told this happened slowly, they had only known each other for a few weeks so I just didn't find this believable.
Despite these negatives, there were a lot of positives too! I really enjoyed the opposing development of Casiopea and Hun Kamé, how they were switching from mortal to immortal or vice versa, and how they learned more about their initial state through the other's journey. I really liked where Casiopea ended up overall, too. Speaking of the ending, the last 50 pages were really fantastic - gripping and satisfying. And I really loved reading and learning about Mayan mythology too, like the duality of Xibalba that was cleverly reflected in so many other parts of the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Confinement, Racism, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Gun violence, Colonisation, Slavery, Deportation, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Gore, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death of parent, War, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Self harm, Body shaming, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: illness, colourism, ethnic racism, volcano, self-injury, insects, hurricane, earthquakemooshake's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
in the wise words of fracking legend rupaul: meh
which is disappointing because there were aspects of this book like the writing, some moments with casiopea and hun-kamé, the love and care that is put into describing mexican/mayan culture and history, and the ending (which is the reason this rating is as high as it is); but honestly there were a lot of descriptions and passages where i was like..... this could have been an email lol
which is disappointing because there were aspects of this book like the writing, some moments with casiopea and hun-kamé, the love and care that is put into describing mexican/mayan culture and history, and the ending (which is the reason this rating is as high as it is); but honestly there were a lot of descriptions and passages where i was like..... this could have been an email lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
ginadapooh's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Death, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
carolynnagain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Self harm
cerilouisereads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
beebeewin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked this book but for some reason I can't name it just didn't move me or grip me enough for it to be a book I love. It felt like the plot moved quickly at the end and the resolution felt kind of hollow, but most of the book before that felt paced well. I liked all the character was definitely drawn in by the deep Mayan lore woven in to the story. Maybe for me I would have just like the ending to have felt more climactic, but regardless of the build up the end just felt kind of like a deus machina. I would recommend this as a fun read with a wonderful little romance and a deep dive into Mayan folklore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death of parent
elwirax's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Look at you, like the dawn. You can't understand, of course, but one day you'll want to be new again. You'll wish to return to this moment of perfection when you were the embodiment of all promises."
I was enjoying the first 25% a lot after that point, not so much. Things were a bit too convenient and abrupt at times but I suppose this was because it was quite a short book. I was hoping Gods of Jade and Shadow was going to be my first 4 star book of 2022, alas, it was not.
The writing was slightly choppy (well written at times not so much in others).However, when it was well written I was enthralled by the worldbuilding. The mythology was refreshingly intriguing and it was definitely the best part of this book. I thought that the setting of 1920’s Mexico was great, the author's descriptions were vivid which helped with visualising scenes. I also enjoyed the quest element and interactions with different mythological beings which made for an interesting plot.
I can't say I cared for the romance or any of the main characters nearly as much. However, I did like how strong Casiopea was both physically and emotionally, it was great seeing a character who wasn't a damsel in distress waiting to be saved. Lord Hun-Kamé felt very flat. I know that he was meant to be distant to differentiate his character from Casiopea's mortality, but even when he was slowly becoming more mortal he didn't possess anything that warranted any strong emotions towards him. In the end, I wasn't particularly invested in any of them.
Overall, slightly dissapointed in myself for not enjoying this book as much as I'd hoped to but it definitely wasn't the worst thing I've ever read. This was a solid read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny
kate_arts's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Domestic abuse
eevee314's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The world in the story was the strongest point, 2nd would be the few honest laughs I got from the dialogue. The plot was simply go to the place, do the thing, go to the place, do the thing which got repetitive. The writing style itself was also repetitive, and somehow clipped. It never got into a flow and enjoyable flow.
Narration performance was good.
Narration performance was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Self harm
Multiple animals are killed by the antagonist as part of their magic. While appropriate within the story and the wold, is still a bummer