Gods of Jade and Shadow has been popping up a lot on Instagram lately. The plot sounded intriguing so I decided to give it a shot. I’m so glad I did - this book was fantastic.

The story is set in 1920s Mexico, and features a lot of old Mayan gods and myths. I know very little about that part of the world so it felt very unique and fresh to me. Add in Moreno-Garcia’s wonderful world building and I could not put this book down.

The central character is a young woman named Casiopea. She lives a rather Cinderella-like life, taking care of her arrogant grandfather and abusive cousins. But when she accidentally frees the Mayan god of death, she is roped into helping him regain his throne. It’s a risky journey, but Casiopea embraces the chance to see the world beyond her small village.

But it’s a harder journey than she expected. Casiopea ends up facing a dilemma with no good solution, destined to lose in one way or another. I spent most of the time trying to figure out which way she would go, and ended up totally surprised in the end. Maybe it’s just me, but I love when a story throws me off like that.