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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars
Gods of Jade and Shadow takes us through a sort of fairytale like story. Our main character, Casiopea, lives a hard life. She is taken advantage of by the people around her, for she is just a servant. Her life takes a complete right-turn when she is cleaning her grandfather's room and accidentally stumbles upon the spirit of a captured god, whom she unknowingly frees. From here, they are bound as the god of death tries to reclaim his title from his treacherous brother.
I think the romance was beautiful in this book, with the character development being slow and subtle. I did, however, find myself bored during a lot of this book, for most of the book is Casiopea and Hun-Kamé (the Mayan god of death) developing their relationship. I loved Casiopea, and could personally relate to her, though, like all Silvia Moreno-Garcia books, I find them to be very character heavy, with the plot being a secondary part of the book. I usually find myself enjoying these kind of books, but I guess I wasn't very interested in the mythos of this book. Other than that, the story ends well, and it leaves you feeling sad, yet warm at the same time.
Overall, a sweet book with a satisfying romance, but not really something a was terribly invested in. I wish I could've been haha.
Gods of Jade and Shadow takes us through a sort of fairytale like story. Our main character, Casiopea, lives a hard life. She is taken advantage of by the people around her, for she is just a servant. Her life takes a complete right-turn when she is cleaning her grandfather's room and accidentally stumbles upon the spirit of a captured god, whom she unknowingly frees. From here, they are bound as the god of death tries to reclaim his title from his treacherous brother.
I think the romance was beautiful in this book, with the character development being slow and subtle. I did, however, find myself bored during a lot of this book, for most of the book is Casiopea and Hun-Kamé (the Mayan god of death) developing their relationship. I loved Casiopea, and could personally relate to her, though, like all Silvia Moreno-Garcia books, I find them to be very character heavy, with the plot being a secondary part of the book. I usually find myself enjoying these kind of books, but I guess I wasn't very interested in the mythos of this book. Other than that, the story ends well, and it leaves you feeling sad, yet warm at the same time.
Overall, a sweet book with a satisfying romance, but not really something a was terribly invested in. I wish I could've been haha.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How I wish that more of the book would have been like the contest between the two cousins at the end.
The book does some things really well - I appreciated this idea that gods are only powerful around their birthplaces for example, and distance matter to them. The way the cousins navigated Xibalba differently and tackled challenges was also very interesting.
What I didn't like was the romance between the two main characters - it didn't feel obvious to me that they /need/ to fall in love, and if it was the plan from the start, then Hun-Kamé could have been something other than mysteriously silent yet disappointingly human. I didn't feel like I saw enough interactions to root for them as a couple, though with an interesting setting like this, there could have been more opportunities.
A warning for those who like books written in separate POVs - this one isn't. It comes down to personal preference but it felt like head hopping to me sometimes.
All things considered I'm glad I picked this up, but it hasn't quite blown me away.
The book does some things really well - I appreciated this idea that gods are only powerful around their birthplaces for example, and distance matter to them. The way the cousins navigated Xibalba differently and tackled challenges was also very interesting.
What I didn't like was the romance between the two main characters - it didn't feel obvious to me that they /need/ to fall in love, and if it was the plan from the start, then Hun-Kamé could have been something other than mysteriously silent yet disappointingly human. I didn't feel like I saw enough interactions to root for them as a couple, though with an interesting setting like this, there could have been more opportunities.
A warning for those who like books written in separate POVs - this one isn't. It comes down to personal preference but it felt like head hopping to me sometimes.
All things considered I'm glad I picked this up, but it hasn't quite blown me away.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
i wish a naked hot guy would randomly materialize at my house
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Fun use of mythology, very helpful guide in the back with definitions. Loved the relationships within this and how they reflected each other.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
medium-paced