The Procrastinators Book Club discussion

Welcome to the Gods of Jade and Shadow Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on November 10th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 11/10
November 10: Chapters 1-3
November 11: Chapters 4-6
November 12: Chapters 7-9
November 13: Chapters 10-12
November 14: Chapters 13-15

Week of 11/15
November 15: Chapters 16-18
November 16: Chapters 19-21
November 17: Chapters 21-24
November 18: Chapters 25-27
November 19: Chapters 28-30
November 20: Chapters 31-33
November 21: Chapters 34-end

Week of 11/22
November 22: catch-up day

PARTICIPANTS
~ Abigail
~ Dine

Hey guys, may I join you in the BR? This plot sounds super interesting 😊

I would like to join too, if I can finish some book by th 15th!

Bopeep wrote: "I would like to join too, if I can finish some book by th 15th!"

Cat wrote: "Hey guys, may I join you in the BR? This plot sounds super interesting 😊"

Of course!

So I'm on chapter 11 and I honestly don't know what to think. The story is good, the aztec mythology is very interesting, the characters are quite ok and the writing is great. But somehow it just doesn't grip me. Maybe I should try switching from audiobook to text.

I'm on chapter 15, and there's just one inconsistency that keeps taking me out of the story: (view spoiler)[ Hun-Kame, who is overall an ancient dude and supposedly has spent the last 50 years in a box, navigates the modern world with such ease and has manners of a perfect gentleman. The story takes place in Mexico in the 1920s and, I assume, a lot of things have changed since the 1870s, but he has no problem operating an elevator, for example, or ordering room service. (hide spoiler)]

Still chapter 15. (view spoiler)[ Xtabay being a villain just doesn't sit right with me. It reads like condemning mature beauty and sexuality as evil and seducing for nefarious reasons. Combined with Casiopea's age (at least she reads very young) and lack of confidence in her own beauty, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I really hope there wouldn't be a romance between her and the ancient dude because he was the first one to tell her she's beautiful. (hide spoiler)]

Ok, the second part completely redeemed the first one for me. (view spoiler)[ I loved every minute we get to spend in Xibalba. The stakes were high, the danger was real and the ending was so bittersweet. (hide spoiler)] I also must note that I really enjoyed the setting - 1920s Mexico, Art nouveau and Art Deco everywhere, and of course the Mayan world of the dead.

I started this a little late (and was reading super slow) but then took like a two week break to finish finals so I've literally just now finished it. In the beginning nothing was super interesting to me plotwise but I kinda just kept on reading because I thought the mythology was cool. I definitely think it picked up towards the end. I didn't even think about your point that Hun-Kame should not be able to navigate the world as easily as he does. Now that's also bugging me. The whole competition in Xibalba was absolutely wild but I viscerally felt when she walked off the road and started to feel old and dead and it was actually disturbing