A review by divine529
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I had a hard time with this book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. The best word I can use to describe my feelings for this book is apathy. 

I read another Garcia book awhile ago and I loved that one a lot, but this one gave me a hard time, which surprised me. 

This is a dual perspective book and follows our protagonists Casiopea (our main protagonist) and her cousin Martin. Casiopea accidentally awakes the Mayan god of death, Hun-Kame and gets a bone shard embedded in her hand, and if she wants to live, they have to embark on a quest to get him back on his throne and defeat his brother who did this to him. Along the way they encounter many different demons and ghosts and gods and things go from there. 

Generally, I wasn't connected to any part of this book. The writing was good, the plot was ok and the characters were just not relatable to me and I didn't emotionally connect to them. I liked the historical and mythological aspects of the book the most I think. 

The last 5-6 chapters were absolutely fantastic and I was fully engaged and invested in them, I just wish more of the book was that way for me. 

All in all, a bit disappointing, but would recommend people try it anyway. 

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