<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510722-gods-of-jade-and-shadow" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Gods of Jade and Shadow" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510722-gods-of-jade-and-shadow">Gods of Jade and Shadow</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4088550.Silvia_Moreno_Garcia">Silvia Moreno-Garcia</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3404295082">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This book has its good moments, but overall I just couldn't get into it. The story is entirely familiar--Hero's Journey meets Love Story. I have now spoiled the plot. Our protagonists, the god Hun-Kame and Cassiopeia Tun, end up as stereotypes--something the author kind of lets us in on, telling us that gods cannot have the complex inner lives that people can. <br /><br />What should have been a strong point was the setting--Mexico in the 1920's was in a fascinating phase of post-colonial cultural imitation of Europe. They had their own interpretations of all the American and European trends and fashions of the time. We were promised a look at these, but a look was all we got--a bit of fashion commentary, some broad cultural brush strokes. There was so much potential here that didn't get realized. Instead, the narrative focuses on the growing humanity of Hun-Kame and the solidifying of Cassiopeia's personality. Very nice, but done a million times--it needed that fresh period staging.<br /><br />What was a strong point was the relationship between Cassiopeia and Martin, her cousin, heir to the well-off Leyva household. He was the villain, but Moreno-Garcia skillfully portrays him as a clueless, privileged oaf who cannot understand why his "overtures" (occasional politeness when ordering her about, rather than belligerence) are not better received. Very timely. Not enough to really save it for me.
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