Hi friends! I’m here to finish Wyrd & Wonder with one last fantasy post – a book review of Gods of Jade and Shadow! I previously read and enjoyed Mexican Gothic, so I was really excited for this one since it includes Mayan myths!
God of Jade and Shadow is the tale of Cassiopea and Hum-Kamé’s journey. Cassiopea is the drudge of the family, forced to do menial chores solely because of who her father is. Hum-Kamé is the god of death that she freed. With a silver of his bone in her hand, she has no choice but to follow him on a journey to win back his throne from his brother (who took it from him with the help of her grandfather).
The first thing to note, the style of this story is pretty unusual. It’s very much a story that emphasises the “telling” part, and I was initially a bit surprised because I did not notice so much information being directly given in Mexican Gothic. Plus, it makes the dramatic sentences feel a bit forced at times. Luckily, the author linked to this post that she wrote and how she intentionally wrote the book in this style as part of making it more diverse, which is something that I can understand.
I liked both Cassiopea and Hum-Kamé, although I was dreading their romance pretty much through the entire book. While I understand that it’s convenient to use this to show the increasing humanity for Hum-Kamé, the minute Cassipoea mentioned that he was handsome I could pretty much see how some of the conflict was going to go. I’m just really glad the author did not choose to give them an ending together because that would have been too predictable.
For me, my favourite part of the book was the race between Cassiopea and her cousin Martin, as they race through the Land of the Dead as representatives. The whole book is steeped in Mayan mythology but this is where it all comes out as they go through the nine worlds. Plus, there’s a great scene between the cousins which I thought added depth to Martin’s character.
Overall, this is a fun fantasy that is steeped with Mayan folklore – something that I haven’t read before. I would definitely recommend this!
Cover Image: Photo taken from Canva
I haven’t read many books based on Mayan folklore. This has been on my radar for long time. Great review!
I hope you can read this soon! I think it’s very interesting!
I’d also love to read this at some point. The next book of hers that I’ll read is the Beautiful Ones.
This one was good! I’d also recommend Mexican Gothic (perhaps after Beautiful Ones?)
I read Mexican Gothic last year. It made me eager to try more of her books. I really liked it.
I’ve heard wonderful things about this one! I’ve been moving away a little from YA so I’m still debating whether to keep it on my tbr
If it helps, this didn’t really give me YA vibes (apart from the romance bit) – according to the author it’s not YA either!
Ooooh okay yes this helps!
It’s neat how the author emphasizes the “telling” to evoke the sense of a a folk tale or something told as a bedtime story. I also haven’t read a fantasy steeped with Mayan folklore. Adding this to my TBR!
Yes, I thought it was interesting and hadn’t thought of books being diverse through storytelling too! Hope you enjoy this!