Gods of Jade and Shadow

I also studied the Popol Vuh in college and was fascinated by how this modern fairy tale drew from the Mayan mythology of that ancient text. This book fuses a Cinderella story with elements of American Gods. The quest is exciting, the characters are appealing, and the romance that permeates the story is refreshingly subtle. Even more refreshing, a supporting character/antagonist has a surprisingly developed arc.

This is a beautifully written and inventive fantasy novel, based on Mayan mythology and set in the Jazz Age in Mexico.

A spunky Cinderella-esque heroine is forced to accompany the deposed God of the Dead on his quest to regain his throne, and slowly realizes that his quest offers her a chance to escape her tiny village and experience the world she’s only dreamt of seeing. She comes into her own as she pits her wits against a variety of human and inhuman opponents.

I loved it so much, I re-read it as soon as I finished.

Gods of Jade and Shadow starts as a Mexican Cinderella story, except that the fairy godmother is a Mayan god of death.

Not sold yet? What if I told you the god of death is also Prince Charming?

It’s an awesome premise.

I also enjoyed the setting. The story takes place in Jazz Age Mexico, shortly after the Mexican Revolution and at a time when pop culture was “all about the United States” and “reproducing its women, its dances, its fast pace.” Yet there’s far more old than new here. Mayan mythology threads throughout.

I didn’t always love the pace,… show more.

Okay, maybe this one’s not so much a wintery book as a bright summery book, but I couldn’t leave it off this list. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books are consistently amazing, but this one is my favorite. A woman assigned to clean the floors of her grandfather’s florid estate and dreaming of something more finds a mysterious wooden box, and opening it releases the spirit of the Mayan god of death who’s been imprisoned there. He enlists her help freeing his realm from his treacherous brother, and if she succeeds, she can have everything she’s ever wanted—namely, freedom. Set in Jazz Age… show more.