Blog Tour + Review - Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Pages: 336

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Release Date: 23rd July 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

Here we shall begin to tell a story: a tale of a throne lost, of monsters and magic. A tale of gods and of the shadow realm. But this, our story, it begins in our world, in the land of mortals.

 

It begins with a woman. For this story, it is her story. It begins with her.

 

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but it's passing Casiopea Tun by. She's too busy scrubbing floors in her wealthy grandfather's house to do anything more than dream of a life far from her dusty, small town in southern Mexico. A life she could call her own.

This dream is impossible, distant as the stars - until the day Casiopea opens a curious chest in her grandfather's room and accidentally frees an ancient Mayan god of death. He offers her a deal: if Casiopea helps him recover his throne from his treacherous brother, he will grant her whatever she desires. Success will make her every dream come true, but failure will see her lost, for ever.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed only 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 Xibalba, the Mayan underworld.

Mixing the excitement of the Roaring Twenties with Pre-Hispanic mythology, Gods of Jade and Shadow is a vivid, wildly imaginative historical fantasy.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

  

*I received a eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley*

Casiopea Tun lives in her grandfather’s house with her family in a small Mexican town. Practically one of the staff, Casiopea wishes for a life away from her family where she can do whatever she wants.

Then one day Casiopea opens a wooden box in her grandfather’s room, accidentally freeing the Mayan god of death who was trapped in the box and stripped of his throne by his twin brother.

Their fates and lives now tied, Casiopea agrees to help Hun-Kamé, the god of death, reclaim his throne.

Can Casiopea have the future she dreams of or will she have to return home?

Will they succeed? Or will Casiopea die before they can?

Gods of Jade and Shadow drew me in with its lovely cover and intriguing blurb, but the writing captured my imagination and gripped me.

I really liked Casiopea as a protagonist – she was relatable, likeable and endearing. I liked that despite the way she was treated by members of her family, Casiopea still had a rebellious spark.

I loved all the interactions between Casiopea and Hun-Kamé. I devoured every word with a smile.

The setting of 1920’s Mexico was really interesting as was the Mayan mythology.

I lived for the romance. It’s one of my favourite ever romances.

The writing style was good at setting the scene with lots of description of where the characters were, but there were a few times where I thought it was a little too much – however, that’s probably because I was being impatient and just wanted to get to the action/conversations.

At times Gods of Jade and Shadow reminded me of City of Brass which is definitely a good thing (I loved that book).

Overall this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.