Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Del Rey

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Monthly Theme - May

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. 

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

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

I absolutely loved Moreno-Garcia’s latest work, Mexican Gothic, and was extra excited that Girly Book Club chose this one for September’s book. It’s a very different book, but still such an amazingly told story. This is a fantasy/fairy tale-esque journey. Casiopea immediately grabbed hold of my heart and didn’t let go. I wanted to see everything good happen to here but knew that there would be danger along the path. Thankfully she was a protector/guide of sorts with a Mayan god of death. I loved seeing how they both changed and grew while on the journey. And the last setting in the underworld was a perfect way to conclude the journey. I loved learning more about Mayan stories and myths as well as more modern Mexican culture. Highly recommend.

Next up on the TBR pile: