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The Jaguar Mask
Felipe K’icab doesn’t know who he is. He only knows he was born different than his human family, and he can’t relax unless he’s blasting reggaeton in his cab weaving through the streets of Guatemala City. The jaguar mask and his other human faces keep him safe–until El Bufo, a corrupt ex-cop, commandeers his cab and drags Felipe into a murder conspiracy investigation, trying to expose the foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
Cristina Ramos knows who her mother’s killers are. After witnessing the murder in a vision, she struggles to keep her grieving family from falling apart. When El Bufo’s relentless vendetta throws Felipe into her life amid increasing civil unrest, Felipe and Cristina must overcome generations of institutionalized silence, uncover the secrets of their powers, and forge a path to justice, or else be swept away by another wave of violence.
Cristina Ramos knows who her mother’s killers are. After witnessing the murder in a vision, she struggles to keep her grieving family from falling apart. When El Bufo’s relentless vendetta throws Felipe into her life amid increasing civil unrest, Felipe and Cristina must overcome generations of institutionalized silence, uncover the secrets of their powers, and forge a path to justice, or else be swept away by another wave of violence.
348 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2024
7 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 28, 2024
Review originally on JamReads
The Jaguar Mask is quite a unique novel, difficult to classify in a genre (I would argue that we could talk about magical realism or a contemporary fantasy) written by Michael J. DeLuca and published by Stelliform Press. A multilayered story that takes the opportunity to put the focus on Guatemala's instability and the current climate challenges while following Felipe Ki'cab, a jaguar that shapeshifts into human, a central character to the plot who ties all the different threads.
When El Bufo, a corrupt ex-detective, hires him as driver, Felipe didn't imagine how deeply his life would change; leading him to become part of the investigation of an assassination which is tied with government's corruption and the ecocide they've been systematically perpetrating in order to enrich themselves. However, not only El Bufo pushes him into a relentless vendetta against those that got him expelled, but crosses him with Cristina Ramos, who witnessed how her mother was killed as collateral damage on the conspiracy; together, they must fight to finally uncover the corruption and how power is used against the own citizens of the country, slowly destroying their natural ecosystem in order to enrich the privileged ones.
Ki'cab is a really interesting character, especially as we can see how he struggles to be part of the society; at the end, he only knows that he's different from humans, but quite proficient masking it. He deeply cares about others, as we can see on how he tries to protect his house mates; the pressure applied by El Bufo almost ends breaking his carefully crafted identity, especially as he realizes that his costume is not as opaque as he thought.
Cristina plays an important role in the plot, finding strength and valour with the help of Felipe; a traumatized person that comes from the working class but who never thought about becoming part of such an important plot.
DeLuca puts a great effort into creating a believable setting, as accurate as possible in Guatemala, introducing subtle fantasy elements that play an important role in the development of the story; it also puts the weight on how environment and climate are being destroyed in order to profit, many times harming the indigenous population, always benefitting just a few oligarchs. Pacing is medium, allowing space for introspective and reflection, fully fleshing the main characters, giving us insights about their past.
The Jaguar Mask is the kind of novel you wish to read more: ambitious and unique, trying to put the stress over important themes; a good example of magical realism. It will be probably more enjoyed by those that are used to thrillers, but I think if you are ready to think outside the mold, this will make a great read.
The Jaguar Mask is quite a unique novel, difficult to classify in a genre (I would argue that we could talk about magical realism or a contemporary fantasy) written by Michael J. DeLuca and published by Stelliform Press. A multilayered story that takes the opportunity to put the focus on Guatemala's instability and the current climate challenges while following Felipe Ki'cab, a jaguar that shapeshifts into human, a central character to the plot who ties all the different threads.
When El Bufo, a corrupt ex-detective, hires him as driver, Felipe didn't imagine how deeply his life would change; leading him to become part of the investigation of an assassination which is tied with government's corruption and the ecocide they've been systematically perpetrating in order to enrich themselves. However, not only El Bufo pushes him into a relentless vendetta against those that got him expelled, but crosses him with Cristina Ramos, who witnessed how her mother was killed as collateral damage on the conspiracy; together, they must fight to finally uncover the corruption and how power is used against the own citizens of the country, slowly destroying their natural ecosystem in order to enrich the privileged ones.
Ki'cab is a really interesting character, especially as we can see how he struggles to be part of the society; at the end, he only knows that he's different from humans, but quite proficient masking it. He deeply cares about others, as we can see on how he tries to protect his house mates; the pressure applied by El Bufo almost ends breaking his carefully crafted identity, especially as he realizes that his costume is not as opaque as he thought.
Cristina plays an important role in the plot, finding strength and valour with the help of Felipe; a traumatized person that comes from the working class but who never thought about becoming part of such an important plot.
DeLuca puts a great effort into creating a believable setting, as accurate as possible in Guatemala, introducing subtle fantasy elements that play an important role in the development of the story; it also puts the weight on how environment and climate are being destroyed in order to profit, many times harming the indigenous population, always benefitting just a few oligarchs. Pacing is medium, allowing space for introspective and reflection, fully fleshing the main characters, giving us insights about their past.
The Jaguar Mask is the kind of novel you wish to read more: ambitious and unique, trying to put the stress over important themes; a good example of magical realism. It will be probably more enjoyed by those that are used to thrillers, but I think if you are ready to think outside the mold, this will make a great read.
May 20, 2024
The Jaguar Mask completely exceeded my expectations. The way it incorporated the unstable history of Guatemala and the current environmental threats was masterful, because it takes a backseat to the thrilling nature of the story, with fantastical elements of mythology and magic. Within the first two chapters, it presents a crime to be solved against the background of a poor area of Guatemala City. A humble taxi driver with an unusual secret is forced to collaborate with a louche detective, briefly bringing together the taxi driver and the daughter of one of the people who was gunned down. As the story progresses, their stories will converge until it comes to an exciting conclusion and a fantastical twist (not entirely unexpected by that point).
Felipe the taxi driver hides his true self behind a mask. The ex-detective known as El Bufo hides the fact he is no longer in office behind his expired badge. Inspector of National Civil Police Rodrigo Francisco Cuerva Zamora.
Cristina Ramos is an artist forced to paint pictures that will appeal to tourists. As she is bumping along on the bus to her pitch, with her baby son on her back, she has a vision of a gunman spraying her mother’s café with bullets, seeing government employees, a foreigner and her own mother being mown down. She knows it is true. She knows she will be the one who has to hold the family together.
Felipe, an unregistered cab driver, picks up an unattractive fare who demands to be taken to the market. Something weird about masks. Today it’s a conquistador…. He will pay Felipe a large sum of money if he joins him inside the Artisans’ Market. It turns out he is a detective with an expired licence, El Bufo, being given a chance to help solve the case by the detective who got him suspended. This crime scene is Christina Ramos’s mother’s café. Eufemia Yochi Ramos was a grandmother, famous for her fried chicken. The foreigner was a former ambassador and human rights lobbyist, David Alden Antonellis.
“El Bufo had called him ‘Félix’, and now Felipe needed to know what El Bufo knew about anthropomorphic cats in conquistador masks.” The last time he’d discussed this, it had been with his half-brother Rubén and those twelve words had changed his life; he’d left his job with the bus and gone to the city. His mask had slipped, too many people had seen who he was… For some reason he thinks about the war that nobody talks about. Nothing is clear.
Problems
The first two chapters introduce too much, making them extremely difficult to understand who the characters are and what is happening. Once I’d got past that, I was fully absorbed in the story.
Names of Guatemalan food and drink and other Spanish terms are not explained. That made me start googling, and pulling me away from the book. This is not conducive to staying with it and not falling down a rabbit hole. Footnotes would have been a perfect way of solving this problem. After all, talking about food and drink are wonderful ways of creating a sense of place. And sense of place is one of the strengths of The Jaguar Mask. Michael DeLuca writes fantastic descriptions of the different cityscapes, the slums, the hill towns and the horrific landscapes created by the silver extraction industry and the pollution of refuse dumps.
This book is amazing and I hope many more people read it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a free ARC. My review is my unbiased opinion after reading.
Felipe the taxi driver hides his true self behind a mask. The ex-detective known as El Bufo hides the fact he is no longer in office behind his expired badge. Inspector of National Civil Police Rodrigo Francisco Cuerva Zamora.
Cristina Ramos is an artist forced to paint pictures that will appeal to tourists. As she is bumping along on the bus to her pitch, with her baby son on her back, she has a vision of a gunman spraying her mother’s café with bullets, seeing government employees, a foreigner and her own mother being mown down. She knows it is true. She knows she will be the one who has to hold the family together.
Felipe, an unregistered cab driver, picks up an unattractive fare who demands to be taken to the market. Something weird about masks. Today it’s a conquistador…. He will pay Felipe a large sum of money if he joins him inside the Artisans’ Market. It turns out he is a detective with an expired licence, El Bufo, being given a chance to help solve the case by the detective who got him suspended. This crime scene is Christina Ramos’s mother’s café. Eufemia Yochi Ramos was a grandmother, famous for her fried chicken. The foreigner was a former ambassador and human rights lobbyist, David Alden Antonellis.
“El Bufo had called him ‘Félix’, and now Felipe needed to know what El Bufo knew about anthropomorphic cats in conquistador masks.” The last time he’d discussed this, it had been with his half-brother Rubén and those twelve words had changed his life; he’d left his job with the bus and gone to the city. His mask had slipped, too many people had seen who he was… For some reason he thinks about the war that nobody talks about. Nothing is clear.
Problems
The first two chapters introduce too much, making them extremely difficult to understand who the characters are and what is happening. Once I’d got past that, I was fully absorbed in the story.
Names of Guatemalan food and drink and other Spanish terms are not explained. That made me start googling, and pulling me away from the book. This is not conducive to staying with it and not falling down a rabbit hole. Footnotes would have been a perfect way of solving this problem. After all, talking about food and drink are wonderful ways of creating a sense of place. And sense of place is one of the strengths of The Jaguar Mask. Michael DeLuca writes fantastic descriptions of the different cityscapes, the slums, the hill towns and the horrific landscapes created by the silver extraction industry and the pollution of refuse dumps.
This book is amazing and I hope many more people read it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a free ARC. My review is my unbiased opinion after reading.
March 25, 2024
3.25⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book!
I absolutely loved the fantasy part of this book. It was so interesting to read about these characters and their development. But overall, I struggled to get through it. It was very slow and I was confused as to what was happening at least half of the time.
For me personally there was both too much going on and nothing really at the same time. I feel like the main characters were barely involved in anything (and that's part of their characters but makes you feel like you're watching from afar). At around 80% it got better, but that's a lot of dedication to get through a book. It was way more literary than I expected it to be, but the setting felt exactly the way it should.
Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book!
I absolutely loved the fantasy part of this book. It was so interesting to read about these characters and their development. But overall, I struggled to get through it. It was very slow and I was confused as to what was happening at least half of the time.
For me personally there was both too much going on and nothing really at the same time. I feel like the main characters were barely involved in anything (and that's part of their characters but makes you feel like you're watching from afar). At around 80% it got better, but that's a lot of dedication to get through a book. It was way more literary than I expected it to be, but the setting felt exactly the way it should.
August 3, 2024
The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca, published by Stelliform Press on August 1st, 2024, is DeLuca's debut novel fitting into genres of magical realism and historical fiction. Adult. Content warnings include violence and death.
Read on without fear of spoilers! Also note that I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thank the author, publisher, and BookSirens for the opportunity.
My second experience with a book published at Stelliform and my mind is blown again.
Knowing that Michael J. DeLuca is the publisher of the magazine, Reckoning, I had high expectations for this debut novel and was happy to discover a story even better than expected. I am definitely going to read it a second time. Rich, immersive writing is rich, full of detailed, meaningful descriptions, and yet it doesn’t get bogged down. The flow of the story pulled me along nonstop. I had to force myself to slow down to try to check more details about the story vocabulary and location, as I have not traveled to Guatemala City or Central America and know extraordinarily little about it, but I ended up saving further research for a second read. There are so many details about tradition, culture, religion, politics, wildlife, the land; it would’ve been overwhelming if the characters and story itself didn’t have such a deep hold on me while reading.
I highly recommend everyone to experience The Jaguar Mask, especially anyone interested in animals, artists, shapechangers, crime, politics, protest, mythology and religion, Central America. The story is wrapped around a number of elements that pull it forward to its intense ending. Two protagonists lead the story: Cristina, a local painter with visions and a busy family life, plus Felipe, an unlicensed taxi driver who is also a jaguar shapechanger grappling with his identity. Other elements include life with the taxi driver’s roommates (Luz and her trans girlfriend Anibal), the political movement they’re involved in, a morally questionable detective’s investigation into murder and corruption, the death of Cristina’s mother, plus plenty more about hope, despair, survival, and various considerations of the specific struggles and history of Central America.
The treatment of the trans character felt authentic, though that is in no way the focus of this book. Regardless, I loved Anibal and Luz so much. Such positive forces. In fact, the treatment of relationships felt really authentic throughout. In a similar vein, the treatment of the political movement felt authentic as well. It was shown to be a positive force overall, but the author wasn’t afraid to portray some less positive elements to it, such as moments of doubt and feelings of futility.
The use of masks was brilliant. Felipe reveals a large number of masks, and each one had a very particular personality and background attached, as well as shifting Felipe’s perspective on the world. How they connect to Felipe is explored more and more as the story progresses. The idea of masks, of how we present ourselves, is also explored among other people and groups, not just for this character’s supernatural or magical realist engagement with them. For example, how masks are used by local gangs and police officers to take control. Or how masks are used by citizens for survival.
I was highlighting passages constantly as I read. I've included a selection of quotes that illustrate what I loved about the language without any spoilers.
Regarding Felipe’s struggle with identity and masks:
[…] which gave his reflection coily hair, a complexion a different shade of Brown, and a clear hint of Garífuna ancestry in the high brow and narrow jaw. As with the conquistador, but in inverse, the caiman mask seemed to cause people either to afford him a little more respect or to let their eyes slide right past him as if he wasn’t there — unsettled by otherness? He had a skull mask, but he never wore it; death had meant something different to his ancestors. El Bufo was used to the conquistador mask; today, the conquistador it would be. The rest went in their shoebox into the hollow place under his seat.
Felipe reflecting on the masks of other people:
The woman walking in the lead looked like she’d lived through the civil war and the revolution. A few steps behind her, a man with a crutch wore the right leg of his pants pinned shut above the knee. His cragged face expressed such eloquent sorrow it could only mean he used it to earn his living. Felipe knew that mask: his father wore it every day.
Cristina grapples with facets of her work as a painter:
For the first months the rush of freedom was overwhelming; for awhile it was enough. She’d indulge a whim, get off the bus at the crossroads above the lake and get on a different bus just to see where it went. She drank pineapple and banana smoothies and ate pupusas in central parks in twenty different highland towns before they began to run together like diluted paint. In every one, she painted an oversaturated landscape tastefully unpopulated with flowering vines and faceless women. Once in awhile she made something of her own just to know she could still do it. Three months after Miguel Ángel was born, when Teresa left for good, Cristina dug out the five or six finished paintings that were hers. She lined them up on her rack at the artisans’ market on a Sunday after church let out, then sat with Diego watching people pass, betting in whispers on who was only cutting through to the food stalls seeking Mama’s chicken, who was rushing to beat the rest of the post-church traffic to the Ninth Ave valet lots, who were foreigners lost and terrified. Her art made people stop; that much could be said for it. It scared them, she thought. Even some who weren’t already scared. They tried to understand what they were seeing. Then, coming to no immediate conclusion, they shook themselves like dogs coming out of the rain and went on.
Brief example of the city description as described by Felipe:
[…] jagged archway cut into a chain-link fence feathered in windblown plastic, a dust path beaten harder than concrete zigzagged a drunken seam down into a shanty city that seemed more the work of ants than people. Music thundered distant here as everywhere — heavy bass of the kind his hips were incapable of resisting even now. And the river thundered, gorged with toxic trash but hungry, arms of mist reaching into hollows as if seeking the tenacious root that, dislodged, would bring the whole precarious thing collapsing down. The wind smelled of chiltepes and fermented urine.
With that, I’ll wrap up by saying the ways in which the characters struggle and stumble towards the powerful ending of this novel is very compelling. Left me gaping and sitting in that moment filled with energy and hope and joy that such transformation could be possible for these characters I fell in love with. And hope that somehow a people could overcome the corruption and sickness that drags their communities into darkness.
Now I need to do research into everything I was just exposed to.
Enjoy the read!
Read on without fear of spoilers! Also note that I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thank the author, publisher, and BookSirens for the opportunity.
My second experience with a book published at Stelliform and my mind is blown again.
Knowing that Michael J. DeLuca is the publisher of the magazine, Reckoning, I had high expectations for this debut novel and was happy to discover a story even better than expected. I am definitely going to read it a second time. Rich, immersive writing is rich, full of detailed, meaningful descriptions, and yet it doesn’t get bogged down. The flow of the story pulled me along nonstop. I had to force myself to slow down to try to check more details about the story vocabulary and location, as I have not traveled to Guatemala City or Central America and know extraordinarily little about it, but I ended up saving further research for a second read. There are so many details about tradition, culture, religion, politics, wildlife, the land; it would’ve been overwhelming if the characters and story itself didn’t have such a deep hold on me while reading.
I highly recommend everyone to experience The Jaguar Mask, especially anyone interested in animals, artists, shapechangers, crime, politics, protest, mythology and religion, Central America. The story is wrapped around a number of elements that pull it forward to its intense ending. Two protagonists lead the story: Cristina, a local painter with visions and a busy family life, plus Felipe, an unlicensed taxi driver who is also a jaguar shapechanger grappling with his identity. Other elements include life with the taxi driver’s roommates (Luz and her trans girlfriend Anibal), the political movement they’re involved in, a morally questionable detective’s investigation into murder and corruption, the death of Cristina’s mother, plus plenty more about hope, despair, survival, and various considerations of the specific struggles and history of Central America.
The treatment of the trans character felt authentic, though that is in no way the focus of this book. Regardless, I loved Anibal and Luz so much. Such positive forces. In fact, the treatment of relationships felt really authentic throughout. In a similar vein, the treatment of the political movement felt authentic as well. It was shown to be a positive force overall, but the author wasn’t afraid to portray some less positive elements to it, such as moments of doubt and feelings of futility.
The use of masks was brilliant. Felipe reveals a large number of masks, and each one had a very particular personality and background attached, as well as shifting Felipe’s perspective on the world. How they connect to Felipe is explored more and more as the story progresses. The idea of masks, of how we present ourselves, is also explored among other people and groups, not just for this character’s supernatural or magical realist engagement with them. For example, how masks are used by local gangs and police officers to take control. Or how masks are used by citizens for survival.
I was highlighting passages constantly as I read. I've included a selection of quotes that illustrate what I loved about the language without any spoilers.
Regarding Felipe’s struggle with identity and masks:
[…] which gave his reflection coily hair, a complexion a different shade of Brown, and a clear hint of Garífuna ancestry in the high brow and narrow jaw. As with the conquistador, but in inverse, the caiman mask seemed to cause people either to afford him a little more respect or to let their eyes slide right past him as if he wasn’t there — unsettled by otherness? He had a skull mask, but he never wore it; death had meant something different to his ancestors. El Bufo was used to the conquistador mask; today, the conquistador it would be. The rest went in their shoebox into the hollow place under his seat.
Felipe reflecting on the masks of other people:
The woman walking in the lead looked like she’d lived through the civil war and the revolution. A few steps behind her, a man with a crutch wore the right leg of his pants pinned shut above the knee. His cragged face expressed such eloquent sorrow it could only mean he used it to earn his living. Felipe knew that mask: his father wore it every day.
Cristina grapples with facets of her work as a painter:
For the first months the rush of freedom was overwhelming; for awhile it was enough. She’d indulge a whim, get off the bus at the crossroads above the lake and get on a different bus just to see where it went. She drank pineapple and banana smoothies and ate pupusas in central parks in twenty different highland towns before they began to run together like diluted paint. In every one, she painted an oversaturated landscape tastefully unpopulated with flowering vines and faceless women. Once in awhile she made something of her own just to know she could still do it. Three months after Miguel Ángel was born, when Teresa left for good, Cristina dug out the five or six finished paintings that were hers. She lined them up on her rack at the artisans’ market on a Sunday after church let out, then sat with Diego watching people pass, betting in whispers on who was only cutting through to the food stalls seeking Mama’s chicken, who was rushing to beat the rest of the post-church traffic to the Ninth Ave valet lots, who were foreigners lost and terrified. Her art made people stop; that much could be said for it. It scared them, she thought. Even some who weren’t already scared. They tried to understand what they were seeing. Then, coming to no immediate conclusion, they shook themselves like dogs coming out of the rain and went on.
Brief example of the city description as described by Felipe:
[…] jagged archway cut into a chain-link fence feathered in windblown plastic, a dust path beaten harder than concrete zigzagged a drunken seam down into a shanty city that seemed more the work of ants than people. Music thundered distant here as everywhere — heavy bass of the kind his hips were incapable of resisting even now. And the river thundered, gorged with toxic trash but hungry, arms of mist reaching into hollows as if seeking the tenacious root that, dislodged, would bring the whole precarious thing collapsing down. The wind smelled of chiltepes and fermented urine.
With that, I’ll wrap up by saying the ways in which the characters struggle and stumble towards the powerful ending of this novel is very compelling. Left me gaping and sitting in that moment filled with energy and hope and joy that such transformation could be possible for these characters I fell in love with. And hope that somehow a people could overcome the corruption and sickness that drags their communities into darkness.
Now I need to do research into everything I was just exposed to.
Enjoy the read!
July 8, 2024
"Nobody in the city wanted to know what anybody else was hiding."
Felipe is a cab driver and crosses path with ex detective El Bufo, who then gets dangerously entangled in a murder investigation. The premise itself is very interesting, incorporating the history and politics of Guetemala while using magical realism as a framework for societal issues and character development.
However, I do feel that the introduction includes a lot of information dumping that feels slightly too clumsy, and as a result is hard to follow. There are certain scenes that are individually really enjoyable to read, but the cohesive overarching picture is difficult to comprehend. I do enjoy Felipe as a character, especially with the mask part of the story. Had potential but unfortunately just not my cup of tea.
Thank you Stelliform Press and BookSirens for the arc, all opinions are my own.
Felipe is a cab driver and crosses path with ex detective El Bufo, who then gets dangerously entangled in a murder investigation. The premise itself is very interesting, incorporating the history and politics of Guetemala while using magical realism as a framework for societal issues and character development.
However, I do feel that the introduction includes a lot of information dumping that feels slightly too clumsy, and as a result is hard to follow. There are certain scenes that are individually really enjoyable to read, but the cohesive overarching picture is difficult to comprehend. I do enjoy Felipe as a character, especially with the mask part of the story. Had potential but unfortunately just not my cup of tea.
Thank you Stelliform Press and BookSirens for the arc, all opinions are my own.
September 3, 2025
Real Rating: 4.25* of five
The Publisher Says: Felipe K’icab doesn’t know who he is. He only knows he was born different than his human family, and he can’t relax unless he’s blasting reggaeton in his cab weaving through the streets of Guatemala City. The jaguar mask and his other human faces keep him safe–until El Bufo, a corrupt ex-cop, commandeers his cab and drags Felipe into a murder conspiracy investigation, trying to expose the foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
Cristina Ramos knows who her mother’s killers are. After witnessing the murder in a vision, she struggles to keep her grieving family from falling apart. When El Bufo’s relentless vendetta throws Felipe into her life amid increasing civil unrest, Felipe and Cristina must overcome generations of institutionalized silence, uncover the secrets of their powers, and forge a path to justice, or else be swept away by another wave of violence.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: A werejaguar and a corrupt ex-cop drive a revenge/vengeance plot that cuts the nonsense out of criminally culpable ecocide. Different agendas make them extremely effective in cooperation. Cristina adds a psychic flair to a deeply unlikely scoobygroup, all with very different...even conflicting...agendas for their actions.
But those actions are all in immediate harmony, so they go well. Proof that people with different agendas are well-advised to focus on an immediate goal that suits each. Let the longer-term issues go; make common cause with anyone who can help you get urgent business done; keep your ears open for what those you're working with do not know they are telling you because all information is useful.
Ki'cab, our werejaguar, is the most immediately appealing and relatable character for me. He feels unsafe in his home, so goes to the big city and flourishes in his own patchwork piecemeal way. His human mask is the one that fits least well, perfectly understandably given how awful Humanity is, how poorly the weres fare at their hands. I'm with ya all the way, soul sibling. He has many masks, though, and wears them to accomplish different tasks for which he needs to be a slightly different guy. It's fascinating! I love that Ki'cab lives with a woman who loves and commits to life with Aníbal, her transmasc boyfriend. I love that he cares more for the needs and dignity of his friends than for abstractions like Morality and Legality. Felipe Ki'cab, you're the human in this book that I want to grow up to be.
El Bufo and Cristina are decent enough characters, each is presented as a human being with motivations and reasons for their lives and actions; it's no fault of writing or characterization that I'm less interested in either of them. Cristina's got the grief of knowing the truth, seeing it clearly in front of her eyes, and not being able to alter its happening (Cassandra deserves a better rep in our culture); El Bufo ("The Toad") is presented such that empathizing with him is hard.
Hard for monoglot readers will be contextually-clued-in words from Spanish; I hear this, but it's so incomprehensible to me y'all find it troublesome to read "foreign" words when this amazing tool the internet will tell you what anything you don't know means in English. I'm more empathetic with those unfamiliar with Guatemala, as my own acquaintance is nodding at best, relying on a friend who lived there ages ago. I find learning about places dimly familiar or utterly unfamiliar fun; if you don't treat them like Mordor or Arrakis, places impossible and unreal, and just get on with reading.
I'll say that the beginning say 15% will challenge you. It is not entirely in medias res, but gets really close to it. If that's just intolerable to you as a reader, this might not be the read for you. I can't offer an all-5 rating because of that, but can say I think you'd do well to give the sample a read. Maybe the prose will woo you in....
The Publisher Says: Felipe K’icab doesn’t know who he is. He only knows he was born different than his human family, and he can’t relax unless he’s blasting reggaeton in his cab weaving through the streets of Guatemala City. The jaguar mask and his other human faces keep him safe–until El Bufo, a corrupt ex-cop, commandeers his cab and drags Felipe into a murder conspiracy investigation, trying to expose the foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
Cristina Ramos knows who her mother’s killers are. After witnessing the murder in a vision, she struggles to keep her grieving family from falling apart. When El Bufo’s relentless vendetta throws Felipe into her life amid increasing civil unrest, Felipe and Cristina must overcome generations of institutionalized silence, uncover the secrets of their powers, and forge a path to justice, or else be swept away by another wave of violence.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: A werejaguar and a corrupt ex-cop drive a revenge/vengeance plot that cuts the nonsense out of criminally culpable ecocide. Different agendas make them extremely effective in cooperation. Cristina adds a psychic flair to a deeply unlikely scoobygroup, all with very different...even conflicting...agendas for their actions.
But those actions are all in immediate harmony, so they go well. Proof that people with different agendas are well-advised to focus on an immediate goal that suits each. Let the longer-term issues go; make common cause with anyone who can help you get urgent business done; keep your ears open for what those you're working with do not know they are telling you because all information is useful.
Ki'cab, our werejaguar, is the most immediately appealing and relatable character for me. He feels unsafe in his home, so goes to the big city and flourishes in his own patchwork piecemeal way. His human mask is the one that fits least well, perfectly understandably given how awful Humanity is, how poorly the weres fare at their hands. I'm with ya all the way, soul sibling. He has many masks, though, and wears them to accomplish different tasks for which he needs to be a slightly different guy. It's fascinating! I love that Ki'cab lives with a woman who loves and commits to life with Aníbal, her transmasc boyfriend. I love that he cares more for the needs and dignity of his friends than for abstractions like Morality and Legality. Felipe Ki'cab, you're the human in this book that I want to grow up to be.
El Bufo and Cristina are decent enough characters, each is presented as a human being with motivations and reasons for their lives and actions; it's no fault of writing or characterization that I'm less interested in either of them. Cristina's got the grief of knowing the truth, seeing it clearly in front of her eyes, and not being able to alter its happening (Cassandra deserves a better rep in our culture); El Bufo ("The Toad") is presented such that empathizing with him is hard.
Hard for monoglot readers will be contextually-clued-in words from Spanish; I hear this, but it's so incomprehensible to me y'all find it troublesome to read "foreign" words when this amazing tool the internet will tell you what anything you don't know means in English. I'm more empathetic with those unfamiliar with Guatemala, as my own acquaintance is nodding at best, relying on a friend who lived there ages ago. I find learning about places dimly familiar or utterly unfamiliar fun; if you don't treat them like Mordor or Arrakis, places impossible and unreal, and just get on with reading.
I'll say that the beginning say 15% will challenge you. It is not entirely in medias res, but gets really close to it. If that's just intolerable to you as a reader, this might not be the read for you. I can't offer an all-5 rating because of that, but can say I think you'd do well to give the sample a read. Maybe the prose will woo you in....
October 14, 2024
The Jaguar Mask is a speculative noir fantasy mystery hybrid, shifting its shape from chapter to chapter to transformationally mesmerising effect.
I’m a big fan of fiction that blends genres — the kinds of books that can belong in every section of the bookstore. Especially is that true when there’s a literary element to the writing, where the prose is sumptuous and edifying to read. The Jaguar Mask is all of these things. And the style of its writing matches the main characters perfectly.
The story takes us into the lives of two characters — Felipe is a shapeshifter whose natural form is a jaguar. They hide their true selves behind a series of human masks, matching their shape to the persona they need in any given situation, while narrowly avoiding trouble with the law. Cristina is an artist who glimpses visions of the past, present, and future, and she paints these flashes in pictures, trying to use her gift to support her large and needy family. Because the narrative shifts between genres and is written with such an artistic flourish, it ties in so well with the people who the story is about.
As for the fantasy elements, they’re less about the world of the story and more about the mythology of the characters. There’s something really cool about the urban setting of a near-apocalypse that makes the whole thing feel real and relevant. Don’t expect middle-Earth. What you’ll find is more of a future-dying-Earth. But if you’re a fan of fantastical characters inhabiting modern environments, then you’ll devour this.
In terms of the mystery — it acts like the glue that ties the world and the characters together. The artist glimpses their mother’s murder. The shapeshifter operates a taxi, and an ex-cop hires them to assist in the investigation of that murder. But the mystery of who is responsible for the killing, as well as the why, goes much deeper than you first suspect. It serves as a brilliant way to explore the secrets of this world, and a great take on the self-destructive aspects of greed and the lack of empathy for those disadvantaged by it. It’s not about solving the whodunnit, it’s about how the solution reveals aspects of our own reality that would otherwise remain unexposed, and that’s where the twists really feel like they pay off.
Stelliform Press specialise in publishing climate fiction, but it isn’t obvious this has a cli-fi element until the mystery unfolds. Don’t go in to this expecting something preachy. It isn’t a book that proselytises. Instead, it strikes a balance between people, plot, and poignance, and ultimately, it’s a story of hope, acceptance, identity, and belonging. If you relate to any of those themes, you’ll find something of meaning within these pages.
Come for the shapeshifting jaguar. Stay for the speculative mystery that unmasks us for who we really are. A satisfying blend of literary and genre-fiction, this walks the line between the two to brilliant effect. Imbued with a dreamlike and surreal magic, this will sink its teeth into your soul. It’ll leave you thinking, feeling, and above all, hoping. Utterly mask-terful.
I’m a big fan of fiction that blends genres — the kinds of books that can belong in every section of the bookstore. Especially is that true when there’s a literary element to the writing, where the prose is sumptuous and edifying to read. The Jaguar Mask is all of these things. And the style of its writing matches the main characters perfectly.
The story takes us into the lives of two characters — Felipe is a shapeshifter whose natural form is a jaguar. They hide their true selves behind a series of human masks, matching their shape to the persona they need in any given situation, while narrowly avoiding trouble with the law. Cristina is an artist who glimpses visions of the past, present, and future, and she paints these flashes in pictures, trying to use her gift to support her large and needy family. Because the narrative shifts between genres and is written with such an artistic flourish, it ties in so well with the people who the story is about.
As for the fantasy elements, they’re less about the world of the story and more about the mythology of the characters. There’s something really cool about the urban setting of a near-apocalypse that makes the whole thing feel real and relevant. Don’t expect middle-Earth. What you’ll find is more of a future-dying-Earth. But if you’re a fan of fantastical characters inhabiting modern environments, then you’ll devour this.
In terms of the mystery — it acts like the glue that ties the world and the characters together. The artist glimpses their mother’s murder. The shapeshifter operates a taxi, and an ex-cop hires them to assist in the investigation of that murder. But the mystery of who is responsible for the killing, as well as the why, goes much deeper than you first suspect. It serves as a brilliant way to explore the secrets of this world, and a great take on the self-destructive aspects of greed and the lack of empathy for those disadvantaged by it. It’s not about solving the whodunnit, it’s about how the solution reveals aspects of our own reality that would otherwise remain unexposed, and that’s where the twists really feel like they pay off.
Stelliform Press specialise in publishing climate fiction, but it isn’t obvious this has a cli-fi element until the mystery unfolds. Don’t go in to this expecting something preachy. It isn’t a book that proselytises. Instead, it strikes a balance between people, plot, and poignance, and ultimately, it’s a story of hope, acceptance, identity, and belonging. If you relate to any of those themes, you’ll find something of meaning within these pages.
Come for the shapeshifting jaguar. Stay for the speculative mystery that unmasks us for who we really are. A satisfying blend of literary and genre-fiction, this walks the line between the two to brilliant effect. Imbued with a dreamlike and surreal magic, this will sink its teeth into your soul. It’ll leave you thinking, feeling, and above all, hoping. Utterly mask-terful.
April 30, 2024
I got an early review copy of this from the publisher, lucky me! It's set in Guatemala City, amidst environmental protests and state corruption and a long political history of violence... and a jaguar who shapeshifts into a human. I think it's more accurate to call Felipe that instead of calling him a human who shapeshifts into a jaguar, although he's so consistently close to human behaviour that in many ways it makes little difference.
I think that's what I like best about this book. There's this central character whose abilities are something of a fantasy staple, and yet that's not really the most important thing about him. I don't want to call his jaguar nature an afterthought, exactly, because the plot often hangs on Felipe's supernatural abilities, but far more important are the relationships that Felipe builds with the people around him. These relationships are increasingly impacted by the growing, extremely dangerous popular resistance to corruption, exploitation, and violence imposed by state and corporate actors. The story, then, is very much entrenched in the magical realist tradition, which is something I've always really enjoyed. As someone who's interested in politics, and in how politics is explored in speculative fiction, I find that magical realism is typically much subtler, much more clear-eyed, and ultimately a more cruel and compassionate observer than the other speculative genres.
The magic overlays the politics, and such is the case here. It's not only Felipe, whose jaguar nature makes him want to stay unobserved and uninvolved. It's the other main character, Cristina, whose own oracular abilities are complicated by artistic ambition and family responsibilities and her own shifting nature. They're both enormously sympathetic characters, and their journey together culminates in this incredible scene that I won't spoil because it's the very end of the book - but it gave me chills, it really did.
I think that's what I like best about this book. There's this central character whose abilities are something of a fantasy staple, and yet that's not really the most important thing about him. I don't want to call his jaguar nature an afterthought, exactly, because the plot often hangs on Felipe's supernatural abilities, but far more important are the relationships that Felipe builds with the people around him. These relationships are increasingly impacted by the growing, extremely dangerous popular resistance to corruption, exploitation, and violence imposed by state and corporate actors. The story, then, is very much entrenched in the magical realist tradition, which is something I've always really enjoyed. As someone who's interested in politics, and in how politics is explored in speculative fiction, I find that magical realism is typically much subtler, much more clear-eyed, and ultimately a more cruel and compassionate observer than the other speculative genres.
The magic overlays the politics, and such is the case here. It's not only Felipe, whose jaguar nature makes him want to stay unobserved and uninvolved. It's the other main character, Cristina, whose own oracular abilities are complicated by artistic ambition and family responsibilities and her own shifting nature. They're both enormously sympathetic characters, and their journey together culminates in this incredible scene that I won't spoil because it's the very end of the book - but it gave me chills, it really did.
July 30, 2024
Michael J. DeLuca’s novel The Jaguar Mask borrows from real events but adds depth with an exploration of Indigenous Mayan mythology, and it was a fascinating read!
Felix K’icab is a young man who feels most comfortable picking up fares in his cab on the chaotic streets of Guatemala City, distancing himself from the revolutionaries protesting governmental oppression and environmental degradation. Cristina Ramos is a visionary–literally–and “sees” her mother’s murder at the hands of men wielding machine guns and appearing to her as angels bringing death to the marketplace. As Cristina and Felix circle the truth of the murders and draw closer together, Felix finds it increasingly difficult to keep his human masks in place as his shapeshifting jaguar self emerges.
I enjoyed this novel and its themes. DeLuca’s writing sharply evokes a tone of danger, violence and the fantastical wrapped into one. Tonally, this reminded me of reading a William Gibson novel: The prose takes effort and attention, but you'll be rewarded for it. The Jaguar Mask benefits from a slower reading.
DeLuca’s story leads up to a pivotal moment in Guatemalan revolt, with tear gas laden street protests and citizen uprisings against a corrupt, foreign-backed oppressive regime after killings in a rural region. Another level showcases magical realism that enhances this narrative. There was so much of interest that the book might benefit from a “reader’s guide” from the author to teach about the Guatemalan conflict and ideas in Mayan shapeshifting mythology. I did some of my own research and learned a lot.
The Jaguar Mask will appeal if you’d like a slower paced, detailed and thoughtful exploration of the cycles of oppression and revolution as it explores uprising against injustice, revolt against the poisoning of our environment, and Indigenous rights. So worthwhile!
Thanks to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for a gifted copy!
Felix K’icab is a young man who feels most comfortable picking up fares in his cab on the chaotic streets of Guatemala City, distancing himself from the revolutionaries protesting governmental oppression and environmental degradation. Cristina Ramos is a visionary–literally–and “sees” her mother’s murder at the hands of men wielding machine guns and appearing to her as angels bringing death to the marketplace. As Cristina and Felix circle the truth of the murders and draw closer together, Felix finds it increasingly difficult to keep his human masks in place as his shapeshifting jaguar self emerges.
I enjoyed this novel and its themes. DeLuca’s writing sharply evokes a tone of danger, violence and the fantastical wrapped into one. Tonally, this reminded me of reading a William Gibson novel: The prose takes effort and attention, but you'll be rewarded for it. The Jaguar Mask benefits from a slower reading.
DeLuca’s story leads up to a pivotal moment in Guatemalan revolt, with tear gas laden street protests and citizen uprisings against a corrupt, foreign-backed oppressive regime after killings in a rural region. Another level showcases magical realism that enhances this narrative. There was so much of interest that the book might benefit from a “reader’s guide” from the author to teach about the Guatemalan conflict and ideas in Mayan shapeshifting mythology. I did some of my own research and learned a lot.
The Jaguar Mask will appeal if you’d like a slower paced, detailed and thoughtful exploration of the cycles of oppression and revolution as it explores uprising against injustice, revolt against the poisoning of our environment, and Indigenous rights. So worthwhile!
Thanks to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for a gifted copy!
January 21, 2025
The Jaguar Mask is a 12-course meal. It took me more than typical to sink into the story and get to know the characters. Especially since its gritty, noir crime vibe wouldn't normally attract me. However, it was well worth persevering.
The book is lightly speculative, bringing in Indigenous spirituality and culture as a "fantastical" element. It's one of those stories where who is to say what is real. And where magic is reality.
I love the environmental justice themes, the spotlight on what Global North (corporations and governments) inflicts on land and people of Global South, including collusion with authoritarian regimes. The book spotlights the evils of extractive industries.
The story is set in Guatemala with actual incidents and historical figures as backdrop, though the main characters and plot are fictional. The author (who is white) spent a lot of time in Guatemala and has deep connections there. His research was not just around historical facts, but evident in the story and his Author notes: he seeped himself in language, culture, spiritualities of his family and friends who invited him to understand their stories.
I loved getting to know Felipe and Cristina, the two main characters who were very well developed through the tale. The author's evocative, visceral prose lit the layers of story contained in this book.
Given the theme, the ending doesn't wrap into a neat little heartwarming, HEA bit. Where the author left us is much more powerful and fit the narrative very well.
I was torn between a 4- and 5-star rating as the book is not the easiest read and won't be everyone's cup of tea. Yet it's such an important story and beautifully written. So 5 stars!
I highly recommend this book.
The book is lightly speculative, bringing in Indigenous spirituality and culture as a "fantastical" element. It's one of those stories where who is to say what is real. And where magic is reality.
I love the environmental justice themes, the spotlight on what Global North (corporations and governments) inflicts on land and people of Global South, including collusion with authoritarian regimes. The book spotlights the evils of extractive industries.
The story is set in Guatemala with actual incidents and historical figures as backdrop, though the main characters and plot are fictional. The author (who is white) spent a lot of time in Guatemala and has deep connections there. His research was not just around historical facts, but evident in the story and his Author notes: he seeped himself in language, culture, spiritualities of his family and friends who invited him to understand their stories.
I loved getting to know Felipe and Cristina, the two main characters who were very well developed through the tale. The author's evocative, visceral prose lit the layers of story contained in this book.
Given the theme, the ending doesn't wrap into a neat little heartwarming, HEA bit. Where the author left us is much more powerful and fit the narrative very well.
I was torn between a 4- and 5-star rating as the book is not the easiest read and won't be everyone's cup of tea. Yet it's such an important story and beautifully written. So 5 stars!
I highly recommend this book.
July 31, 2024
This magical realist novel was phenomenal. After taking a class on magical realism a few semesters back, I was delighted to pick up another story within the mode. Since I still have a close working relationship with that professor, I'm certainly going to recommend he read this one; he likes to cap off the class by studying a newly published magical realist book, and The Jaguar Mask feels like one very deserving of study, should he teach the class again in an upcoming semester.
The worldbuilding was lovely on all levels, from the unflinching portrayal of Guatemala City to the charming depiction of Felipe and Christina's supernatural identities. The world felt lived in, and the speculative elements slotted in nicely as a way to make the story feel even more grounded despite its magic.
The prose was also captivating. DeLuca's vocabulary is immaculate, and the way he captures action and emotion and immersive and beautiful. His grasp of the culture and attitudes of those in the story is very evident on the page, and I will certainly be looking to read more of his writing in the future!
If I were to bring in any piece of criticism, it would be that I felt Christina's storyline dragged a bit in the middle of the book. I suspect that my feelings here are more a matter of connecting more personally with Felipe's character and other readers' mileage may vary--so I wouldn't dock the story too harshly over it. Overall, I still deeply enjoyed this read.
I offer massive thanks to Stelliform Press for gifting me a free ebook (an Advanced Reader Copy) in exchange for this honest review!
The worldbuilding was lovely on all levels, from the unflinching portrayal of Guatemala City to the charming depiction of Felipe and Christina's supernatural identities. The world felt lived in, and the speculative elements slotted in nicely as a way to make the story feel even more grounded despite its magic.
The prose was also captivating. DeLuca's vocabulary is immaculate, and the way he captures action and emotion and immersive and beautiful. His grasp of the culture and attitudes of those in the story is very evident on the page, and I will certainly be looking to read more of his writing in the future!
If I were to bring in any piece of criticism, it would be that I felt Christina's storyline dragged a bit in the middle of the book. I suspect that my feelings here are more a matter of connecting more personally with Felipe's character and other readers' mileage may vary--so I wouldn't dock the story too harshly over it. Overall, I still deeply enjoyed this read.
I offer massive thanks to Stelliform Press for gifting me a free ebook (an Advanced Reader Copy) in exchange for this honest review!
August 16, 2024
This book takes us to Guatemala City, where we follow cab driver Felipe K’icab who feels very different from other people, Christina Ramos, an artist whose mother gets killed and who sees the killers in one of her visions and ex-detective El Bufo. Their paths intertwine while at the same time they are trying to find out who they are themselves.
What I loved about the book was the writing style which blends different genres: magical realism, a detective story, fantasy against a realistic background of climate change and a foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
The characters are genuinely interesting and absolutely loveable. I loved how they develop throughout the story
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens and Stelliform Press for the ARC.
What I loved about the book was the writing style which blends different genres: magical realism, a detective story, fantasy against a realistic background of climate change and a foreign-backed regime’s ecocidal and genocidal past.
The characters are genuinely interesting and absolutely loveable. I loved how they develop throughout the story
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens and Stelliform Press for the ARC.
March 28, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review!
Boy this story has layers, where the main characters' involvement is only surface level in the grand scheme of the larger systemic issues that are hinted at throughout the book in relation to class and capitalism. I found myself more interested in how these characters were going to get involved with the larger issues happening, which never happened, but I still found this entertaining. The magic in this book is soooo cool. It adds so much to the atmosphere and was one of the main reasons I picked this up in the first place, and it didn't disappoint.
At times I found the pacing of this difficult, as some of the chapters are very long, but if that isn't a bother to you then it won't be an issue!
Boy this story has layers, where the main characters' involvement is only surface level in the grand scheme of the larger systemic issues that are hinted at throughout the book in relation to class and capitalism. I found myself more interested in how these characters were going to get involved with the larger issues happening, which never happened, but I still found this entertaining. The magic in this book is soooo cool. It adds so much to the atmosphere and was one of the main reasons I picked this up in the first place, and it didn't disappoint.
At times I found the pacing of this difficult, as some of the chapters are very long, but if that isn't a bother to you then it won't be an issue!
October 29, 2025
(4.5 stars rounded to 5)
In the strangest way, I believe I have AI to thank for discovering this book… but that’s irrelevant to this review. I had no expectations going into this read but was cautiously optimistic — a shapeshifter jaguar? political machinations in Central America? a woman seeking justice? I am thrilled to say that this delivered much more than I expected. I found some of the writing itself a bit confusing, but overall I was fully immersed in this world, and I loved how *real* Guatemala felt — very little of the cringey “let me show off my Spanish”, and instead well-researched and empathetic representation of a centuries-long struggle. I don’t usually go for “urban fantasy,” but I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more from DeLuca.
In the strangest way, I believe I have AI to thank for discovering this book… but that’s irrelevant to this review. I had no expectations going into this read but was cautiously optimistic — a shapeshifter jaguar? political machinations in Central America? a woman seeking justice? I am thrilled to say that this delivered much more than I expected. I found some of the writing itself a bit confusing, but overall I was fully immersed in this world, and I loved how *real* Guatemala felt — very little of the cringey “let me show off my Spanish”, and instead well-researched and empathetic representation of a centuries-long struggle. I don’t usually go for “urban fantasy,” but I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more from DeLuca.
May 16, 2024
Thanks to Stelliform for providing me with this ARC!
This book has a promising premise and decent plotting. Unfortunately, the execution and moving-parts management here didn’t live up to its promise — I really wish we had gotten deeper into the political stakes of the story and the characters’ personal-political entanglements, and had the sense that DeLuca was calling to mind a history and context just out-of-frame. I also wish we had gotten to explore the posthuman/more-than-human element in more depth, as this would make reveals toward the end of the book more significant! Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read, but not a favorite.
This book has a promising premise and decent plotting. Unfortunately, the execution and moving-parts management here didn’t live up to its promise — I really wish we had gotten deeper into the political stakes of the story and the characters’ personal-political entanglements, and had the sense that DeLuca was calling to mind a history and context just out-of-frame. I also wish we had gotten to explore the posthuman/more-than-human element in more depth, as this would make reveals toward the end of the book more significant! Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read, but not a favorite.
May 21, 2024
WOW I am not usually a reader of this genre but WOW I started reading this marvelous book and continued reading it through out the evening and through the night unable to let it go until I reached its unexpected and climatic conclusion. The spectacular, vibrant, colorful endearing, repulsive , heartwarming and strong characters ensnared me.But it's the enticement of the plot full of intrigue, betrayal, anguish of a nation besought with greed, suppression, struggling beneath those who were put in place to protect its people and those who rise to make changes as characters of legend .Acquire " The Jaguar Mask " for hours of intriguing and enjoyable entertainment. Kat
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May 10, 2024This book has a lot of potential. And maybe if I knew more about the cultures and nationalities in this book I would have understood better.
But there first probably 70 percent of this book was hard to get though. It took a while to get going, and if I wasn’t reading this as an ARC, I may not have finished.
But that being said, I did enjoy the last 30 percent or so, and once I figured out what was happening it got a lot better. I just really wish it didn’t take so long to make sense.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
But there first probably 70 percent of this book was hard to get though. It took a while to get going, and if I wasn’t reading this as an ARC, I may not have finished.
But that being said, I did enjoy the last 30 percent or so, and once I figured out what was happening it got a lot better. I just really wish it didn’t take so long to make sense.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 28, 2024
This is a beautifully written book with a serious look at the horrors brought upon Guatemala for so-called progress. The story is touched with South American myth, love and desperation in the attempt to to bring change to the greed that ruins our world.
October 9, 2024
I enjoyed the lush prose of DeLuca's novel. The world is richly imagined and brought to life with lovely writing.
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July 2, 2025This is a Small Spec Book Awards nominee!
August 17, 2025
One of the most gorgeous reads ever. This will make you feel like you've been to Guatemala City and Antigua yourself.
December 24, 2025
DeLuca does a really good job working in the political violence in Guatemala into this - great setting.
July 19, 2024
A dark and lustrous story where the real world of oppression and violence blends with magic, visions, shapeshifting, art, and ancient memories.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews