silvia moreno garcia gods of jade and shadow

For example, only once did she ponder on what her disappearance meant for her mother, moreover her mother never even crossed Casiopea’s mind regarding the path she would embark upon at the end of the book. Leaning into the story, much of the unbelievable adventure that Casiopea finds herself on is taken at face value, with minimal reflection on consequences or shear unbelievability of the situations.

That said, despite the premise being a fascinating merging of mythology and the roaring 20s, I found the overall depth, both of the characters and the world at large to be rather one dimensional. I highly enjoyed listening to Gods of Jade and Shadow, eager to press play every time I had to pause the audiobook. While alone, Casiopea opens a mysterious box in her grandfather’s room and awakens an adventure of a lifetime filled with danger, mystery, and freedom. After one of these encounters, Casiopea is forced to remain alone at home with a long list of housework as the rest of her family leaves on an excursion. Casiopea particularly clashes with the entitled, favored grandson, Martin Leyva who antagonizes her endlessly. Gods of Jade and Shadow takes place in 1920s Mexico, with a young Casiopea fraying under the demands of her Grandfather’s household hierarchy, where she and her mother are treated little better than servants. Having been immersed so heavily in fantasy, mainly grimdark, Moreno-Garcia’s fast paced reads were a welcome and refreshing change.

After a frantic dash to get a babysitter lined up (Thanks Dad), I binge read Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic prior to the anticipated talk. Despite her novels spanning a wide range of genres, I hadn’t found the time to pick up one of her novels until I found out Moreno-Garcia was going to be at an event in Michigan. Over the past several years I’ve seen Moreno-Garcia’s novels showing up all over my social media with vibrant, eye-catching covers.

Silvia moreno garcia gods of jade and shadow