Welcome to Litsy!

This was the selection for today‘s meeting of the #2030SomethingBookClub! Lots of lively discussion was had! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Have you read this one?!

This novel blends fantasy with Mayan folklore to tell an epic quest and a bittersweet love story.

This was a fun read. Casiopea, a young woman living in rural Mexico, accidentally unleashes the Mayan god of death and goes on a journey to help him and herself. Infused with Mexican and Maya culture,I had Google nearby the whole time. (The author actually added a glossary in the back too!) I missed some of the mythological references/hints, but luckily I read this book as part of a buddy read and got a lot of insight from my fellow readers.

I‘ve got 8-&-a-half hours in so far 😁. Alternating between this book and my audiobook. #BookNDessert! After more pizza and wings, I‘ll be having watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, peanut M&Ms, and Earl Grey tea with honey. MMMMmmm 😋! This has been another presentation of: #MrBookKitchen. Happy reads & happy eats! 😎👌🏻

#MrBook1inaMillion #LitsyPartyOfOne #24B4Monday

Time to head out briefly and get some lunch 😋! This book is taking awhile because I like looking stuff up as I go 😆🙈. It‘s nice having a refresher on MesoAmerican mythology after 15 years. 😎👍🏻👍🏻

#MrBook1inaMillion #LitsyPartyOfOne #24B4Monday

And so concludes my first day‘s reading. 😊

Fun book so far! (I‘m a rather slow reader. 🙈)

#MrBook1inaMillion #LitsyPartyOfOne #24B4Monday

Done with work, dinner with friends is done, shaved & showered, time for me jump into this #MrBook1inaMillion party 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻!!!

For the #LitsyPartyOfOne raffle, share 1 pic Saturday and 1 pic Sunday of your book and/or munchies!

For the #24B4Monday raffle, share your final time log on Sunday, preferably as a pic of the time.

Please be sure to use the #‘s and tag me & at least a couple of the others among this post‘s tagged Littens.

🤗

G is for Gods of Jade and Shadow...

One of my most anticipated reads for 2019 which I haven‘t gotten around to yet 😬

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know anything about Mayan mythology so reading about Xibalba and the Mayan Gods were quite fascinating. This was a great pick @Laughterhp and I will mail it back to you this weekend. Sorry it's late 🌟
#lmpbc

💀 Current read - Gods of Jade and Shadow
💀 Last five star read - The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
💀 Total this month - 22
💀 Next - Ninth House
#Scarathlon #TeamStoker @TheReadingMermaid

I didn‘t think I would like this book at first because of mythology explored. It has a very Mythological Mexican Cinderella quality to it. A young girl is despised by her family and made to be the “maid” of the house. A lie forces her to remain home while the family takes a trip, which leads to Cassiopeia learning some truths about her grandfather (major side eye to Pops). Eye-opening and exciting page-turner of a book. Would definitely recommend

I‘ve only recently discovered Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and she‘s already become one of my must-buy authors.

In this Cinderella-adjacent tale steeped in Mexican folklore, Casiopea dreams of escaping a life of drudgery in her grandfather‘s home. When she snoops in a mysterious black chest in her grandfather‘s room, she finds the bones of Hun-Kamé, the Mayan god of death, and is soon off on a quest to recover his throne in the underworld.

I enjoyed the sensory detail and the mythic elements. And I liked the ending. (I go into it a little more on my blog.)

I really liked this book. It reminded me of the fairy tales and folk stories I loved as a kid, but with Mayan mythology instead of European.

A Mayan Death God and a heroine go on a quest to restore his throne and save the world? Yes, please! It was great!!

Current read. I was going to read Duma Key by Stephen King for October but then I started reading this one and it felt like the absolute right next thing to read this week.

If American Gods but written by Isabel Allende and set in jazz age Mexico sounds like it'd be your jam then you need this book in your life. 👍📚

I‘ve never read a book that had to do with the Mayan mythology and Mayan gods, so that was interesting to me. But all in all, It just didn‘t do it for me. It was lacking a lot of depth. I was worried it was gonna be a trilogy but glad it didn‘t, it just ended. I give it a 3 1/2 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ #BOTM

Omg, I could go on such a rant right now about public school, but instead I'm just going to spend my prep period reading a new book because I need to unwind.
Basically, my VP just told me that I'm a glorified babysitter and to exempt kids if they say they don't want to do work. This is after I came to her bc a kid freaked out because I gave the class a worksheet that he didn't want to do. I'm not getting my Masters to babysit teenagers. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I‘m always impressed with stand-alones that also include a believable slow-burn romance, & this one is does it extremely well. The blossoming relationship between Casiopea & Hun-Kamé is perfectly paced alongside a dark, beautifully constructed fairytale plot involving gods, demons, & more. Even more impressive, the ending stayed true to the characters & the story, & left me feeling curiously satisfied and unsatisfied all at once. ★★★★☆.

#currentlyreading | Definitely in the mood for some more fairytales ♥️👏🏽

Loved reading about Mayan deities! The plot was decent. I was entertained.

Review:
http://vonniesreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-gods-of-jade-and-shadow....

Got a few minutes to start this in the morning while the baby was taking a nap. She‘s much crankier in the evenings so we‘ll see when I get back to it.
Love the setting so far. Makes me really want to travel to Mexico.

1. Fun book. Beautiful cover.
2. Multi colored.
3. NL Wild Card game. The upper deck was shaking!
4. Yes and yes.
5. Come play, my dears!
#friyayintro

I loved this book especially the ending. It was amazing. I don‘t want to give spoilers so I will just say it was not what I expected.

Just finished this one. Loved the story, loved the writing and setting. The main character Cassiopeia, is a little annoying at times but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

So excited to dive into this one! Historical fantasy based on Mayan mythology, set in Jazz Age Mexico.
I mean.

A good intro into Mayan mythology and it wad interesting to read about a bit about Mexican life during the roaring twenties. Good job #GroupP! We‘ve picked some solid reads this round of #LMPBC!

I‘ll be popping this in the mail either tomorrow or Saturday.

#7days7covers #covercrush Day 3
7 days, 7 covers you love, no explanation. Try to tag someone new each day.

Anyone who hasn‘t been tagged yet you‘re invited to join in! ✌🏼

Got a little crazy at the library yesterday.

What better thing to do on a rainy fall day than read my #LMPBC book & eat a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin spice cream cheese? 🌧📖🥯

I love stories based in mythology, and a novel based on Mayan mythology was a fascinating change. Very few of the sharp edges of the source material were softened and plenty of gruesome details remain. The ending, though not at all pat, was satisfying. In short, I loved it! Did not want to return it to the library when done. 🙁
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

7 days, 7 covers you love, no explanation. Try to tag someone new each day.

#7covers7days #covercrush

Thanks for the tag @Billypar !

Day 4 #covercrush #7days7covers

Wanna join in? Post a book cover you love each day for 7 days. No explanation needed.

1. The tagged book and the audiobook of The Count of Monte Cristo which I will never be done with because it‘s forever long and I just can‘t get into increased listening speeds 😖
2. Othello by William Shakespeare
3. Cloudy and chilly. Typical fall weather... bleh.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

I loved reading about the Mayan gods which I knew nothing about.

Against popular opinion...I'm bailing at about 180 pages. I just am not connecting with the main character...don't know if I'll come back to it. I have too many waiting for me on my TBR, including The Testaments.

Lots of potential but it just fell kind of short for me. A good story and a very interesting premise (1920s Mexico + Mayan mythology + Cinderella story) but the characters and their interactions lacked some depth. The last part of the book was the most interesting. Good read but I wasn‘t blown away.

I AM blown away by that cover though 🤩

I absolutely loved this book, read it in two days! A glorious book about mythic journeys and a changing Mexico. It was a beautiful story and I loved the consciousness the characters had of myths and their role.

A few weeks ago I tried #somethingnew at my favorite restaurant down the street, and it‘s now one of my go-to dishes. Everyone was cranky and whiny at work today, so it was nice to stop at the library to pick up the tagged book to start reading over dinner. #selfimprovementsept

Starting this anticipated read with a friend by taking advantage of Panera's a/c and yummy food.

Look what arrived today #lmpbc group P! Can‘t wait to dive in! 😀

Loved the Mayan mythology. The prose was astonishingly pretty.

“Words are seeds, Casiopea. With words you embroider narratives, and the narratives breed myths, and there is power in the myth. Yes, the things you name have power.”

Been reading this book and I‘m about halfway through. I‘ll probably finish it because I do want to know how it ends but I have to say I‘m not super engrossed in this story... Very interesting concept and I love the integration of Mayan mythology but something is falling short for me...

I don‘t know which cover gods blessed this book, but I do not understand how a book can be this beautiful 😍 #currentlyreading

My quick review of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a book that unfortunately wasn't my cup of tea.

https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-review-gods-of-jade-and-shadow/

There are 3 things here: 1920s Mexico, Xibalba, & Casiopea's quest. Of the 3, I found the first to be strongest. Rich in detail, it made me want for more. Xibalba didn't capture me as it became repetitive. The characters were 2D, & maybe it was bec of the attention to the context? Lastly, I think being in-between a YA & mature novel is what made this book suffer. It might be aiming for mature readers who don't read YA but I wish it just chose one.

I can‘t bring myself to remove the Mylar so please excuse my shiny photo but this book (which arrived yesterday 😂🤦🏻‍♀️😂) was a delight. Mayan mythology blended with magical realism and a coming into the self quest; Gods of Jade and Shadow is a well written, well edited and well researched joy to read. It avoids the usual cliches of Death and the Maiden and pastiches of death to bring some originality to the trope. Recommended with gusto.