2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.


Pages: 338 pages


Length: 1 Month (March)


Participants: SarahKat, Dominique, Rachael, Claire


Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!


Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Happy Buddy Reading!

I would love to join if it's still possible!

Of course! Welcome Caterina!

I should be starting this early next week. I had a bunch of library holds become available all at once and I need to finish them first.

I will start it next week too

I started reading over the weekend and I'm really liking it so far.

I read this last month, so I might pop in to offer my thoughts once you all get a little farther into your reading! I really enjoyed it!

I'm enjoying this so far - it reminds me a bit of Neil Gaiman's works.

I started! I'm not very far in, but I'm glad the story actually started pretty quickly and we didn't have to read a bunch of backstory and build-up prior to the (view spoiler)[meeting between Casiopea and the god (hide spoiler)].

I can definitely see some Gaiman-esque stuff here Rachael

I'll be starting this weekend. I just finished another book.

I just finished chapter 16. (view spoiler)[I am enjoying the relationship that is beginning with Hun-Kamé and Casiopea. It is sweet that he's becoming more human and seems to be attracted to her in a very human way. I almost don't want him to go be king of the underworld again so they can just go live human lives together.

I like the quest they are on. It's a formula in a lot of books and it works for me! They have to track down all of Hun-Kamé's body parts and run into various obstacles while doing so. The ghosts were creepy.

I find Martin's chapters pretty dull, although I appreciate that both he and Casiopea were hurt and scarred by their grandfather. How they both took his one sentence "I wish you were a boy" (said to Casiopea) personally. Perhaps they will bond through their mutual family trauma before the end. (hide spoiler)]

At chapter 26. (view spoiler)[I find this a bit formulaic - it's travel, find a body part,
confrontation with Martin, repeat. I'm still enjoying it though. (hide spoiler)]

Rachael wrote: "At chapter 26. "

This is where I'm at too and I agree. (view spoiler)[The plot is formulaic like you said. Simplistic, kind of fun. What has been annoying me a little these last few chapters is Hun-Kamé and Casiopea's relationship. I was rooting for them at first but it's gotten very repetitive. "He laughed, he's never done that! He smiled he's never done that! Well he has but not like THIS!" (hide spoiler)]

I'm finished now. (view spoiler)[I liked how Martin and Casiopea's relationship as cousins developed. I was not into the romance bit between Hun Kame and Casiopea. (hide spoiler)]

Also done! Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm way behind the rest of you, due to a busy schedule and a TBR Twin read that my twin finished very quickly, so I wanted to finish that. But I know this is going to keep me reading from this point on, so I'll post my thoughts when I get farther in.

I am loving it so far, though!

Just finished the book this evening, after reading more than 200 pages in 2 days. That alone should tell you how much I liked it!

(view spoiler)[I was really expecting that Hun-Kamé would lose so much of his deity power that he would end up becoming mortal. There was so much hinting at how weak he was becoming, and he was allowing his emotions to drive his actions, that it seemed inevitable. I'm glad that didn't happen, because it would have made a really sappy ending.

I don't know that much about Mayan myths, but from the little I do know, I think the author did a good job of describing Xibalba and the many dark aspects of the gods of the underworld. (hide spoiler)]

Glad you liked it Claire!

(view spoiler)[I thought the same thing about Hun-Kamé's mortality. I was thinking he might be able to get god-status back but he'd be a tiny percent mortal still. You're right though that would have been sappy. I liked this ending. (hide spoiler)]

The only thing I knew about Mayan myths/culture came from the Disney movie El Dorado. So I'm glad this book added to that wealth of knowledge. haha

Busy March for me, quit my job started a new one! Didn't have time to start the book but will in April.