Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Series: n/a
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Historical; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; July 23, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

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...

Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2019, but it ended up being the first book I read in 2020. Gods of Jade and Shadow was such a complex and amazing tale. It was a coming-of-age story set against a glittering jazz age Mexico setting, with folklore elements and a quest involving a Mayan god of death. It had a fairytale kind of vibe to it, which reminded me a of the type of atmosphere in stories like Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, as well as the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Gods of Jade and Shadow was everything I was looking for, and I loved it as much as I thought I would.

Casiopea Tun believes she’s unfortunate, and she is in a lot of ways. Her situation was explored in the early chapters of the story, and right away, I liked her character. I also disliked her family. The casual sort of cruelty they displayed toward Casiopea did not endear them to me, and for much of the story they were dual-antagonists in the ongoing conflict between the gods—particularly Casiopea’s cousin, Martín. That being said, all of the characters were pretty complex, and for the main ones, I enjoyed their individual character arcs. Though Casiopea’s journey is the main focus—and one of my favorite aspects about Gods of Jade and Shadow—and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of her story of adventure and self-discovery.

The overall story was one of my favorites. It was a quest kind of story, with certain objects that had to be found, and there was a good deal of travel as well—it wasn’t until later in the story when the pace picked up. Even so, Gods of Jade and Shadow was fantastic, and I loved all of the mythological elements present in the story. The end wrapped up the story in a bittersweet but satisfying way.

Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to her next novel, Mexican Gothic, which comes out on June 30, 2020.

Have you read Gods of Jade and Shadow? If so, what did you think of it?

Music Monday (104): Shannon, Abi Ocia, and Guustavv

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to add new artists to my playlist. One of my recent finds is Abi Ocia. The track that introduced me to her music is Running. It’s a fantastic song, and the music video is awesome—I like how it was filmed in black and white. Other than that, I’m not going to say too much about Ocia’s other music right now, because I’m writing a full post about it (which should be posted on the blog sometime in March).

Adri: I've really been into ambient music lately, so my pick for today is Neopolitin by Guustavv. 

Andrea: This week I'm stepping back in time as I listen to Let The Music Play and Give Me Tonight by Shannon. 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (172) & Book Beginnings: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

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...

Beginning: "Some people are born under a lucky star, while others have their misfortune telegraphed by the position of the planets."

56: "Yes, it's magic and its blade were sharp. It would allow him to succeed a second time."

Comments: Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and I really loved the story. What are you reading this week? 

I Watched Labyrinth (1986)

After finally watching The Dark Crystal—which I talked about HERE—I was more excited than ever to check out the other movie that I’ve heard a lot about. As the title of this post suggests, I watched Labyrinth in December 2019, and oh man, I totally get why this movie is mentioned so often. I certainly understand why it’s considered a fantasy classic. Narratively it was entertaining to watch, and combined with a great cast—David Bowie as Jereth the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams—excellent set and puppet design, there was a lot to like about Labyrinth. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Labyrinth is the kind of story that’s part coming-of-age tale and also one about being careful what you wish for. That’s the lesson Sarah learns after she wishes her baby brother away, and oops…because someone was listening and had the power to grant it. I like these types of magical adventure films. There’s something campy and whimsical about them that draws me to them. Being a musical, Labyrinth had the leg-up on some of my other favorite films since David Bowie sings most of the songs. With Jim Henson company productions, I’m always in it for the puppets. One of my favorite aspects about the movie was in fact the puppets. There were so many, but each one was as detailed and unique as the last. The puppeteer work was just as great as it was in The Dark Crystal, and some of my personal favorite characters—such as Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus—were done so well.

There were so many areas to the labyrinth itself. From the castle looming in the distance, to the entrance—which was more like a standard maze and was a little empty and desolate, but definitely not lacking in the glitter department. The labyrinth was an interesting and ever changing setting, and the overall design of the film was one that I liked. It was dark where it was needed and lighter (or should I say whimsical?) where it needed to be with humor mixed in to break up some of the more serious aspects about the story.

All-in-all, I’m glad that I finally gave this movie a try.

Do you have any favorite classic fantasy movies? If so, leave your recommendations in the comments down below.

Music Monday (103): Kelsey Lu, Cirque du Soliel, The Weeknd, The Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Recently, I have been trying to find new music to listen to. One of the best new-to-me-artists that I’ve come across so far is Kelsey Lu. The first song I listened to by Lu was Due West, and I quickly moved on and listened to her full length album, Blood. One of my favorite songs from it is Atlantic.

Adri: Breana really got me into Cirque Du Soleil's Volta album, and for the past week, I've been listening to To the Stars on repeat. So that's my pick for today.

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Blinding Lights by The Weeknd.

I am also listening to  RITMO (Bad Boys for Life) by The Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin.

There is always new music that we end up missing. So what are you listening to this week?