A review by thereadinghammock
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Frustrated by her life as the "poor relation" that the family only took in out of guilt and obligation,  Casiopea cannot wait to leave her grandfather's house when she comes of age. When she's left behind as a punishment and discovers the chest in her grandfather's bedroom contains the bones of the, now reformed, rightful King of Xibalba Hun-Kamé, Casiopea is thrust into a cross-country journey at his side to recover his lost body parts, regain his full godhood, and retake his obsidian throne in Xibalba.

I don't know if I've ever been go glad to have listened to an audiobook of a book than read it. I would never have been able to do justice to the Mexican and Mayan names within the book, and would have lost so much depth of the character that those played in the novel. Xibalba herself felt as important a character as Casiopea, Hun-Kamé, and Vucub-Kamé. I also appreciated the narrator infusing more humanity into Hun-Kamé as the story progressed. It was subtle, but by the end quite a noticeable change from where he started.

And I know it's not a romance, but NGL I'm a little disappointed that Casiopea doesn't get to do the deed with Hun-Kamé. I mean this God was DTF by the end because of the "humanity" in him by that point, but I spent most of my drive home today yelling at the steering wheel "FUCK THAT GOD!"
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