Bien Leidos | Gods of Jade and Shadow

Gods of Jade and Shadow

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Save to Your Books

100% of affiliate revenue supports Bien Leidos

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

“A spellbinding fairy tale rooted in Mexican mythology . . . Gods of Jade and Shadow is a magical fairy tale about identity, freedom, and love, and it's like nothing you've read before.”—Bustle.

NEBULA AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Tordotcom • The New York Public Library • BookRiot.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

Praise for Gods of Jade and Shadow.

“A dark, dazzling fairy tale . . . a whirlwind tour of a 1920s Mexico vivid with jazz, the memories of revolution, and gods, demons, and magic.”—NPR.

“Snappy dialog, stellar worldbuilding, lyrical prose, and a slow-burn romance make this a standout. . . . Purchase where Naomi Novik, Nnedi Okorafor, and N. K. Jemisin are popular.”—Library Journal (starred review).

“A magical novel of duality, tradition, and change . . . Moreno-Garcia’s seamless blend of mythology and history provides a ripe setting for Casiopea’s stellar journey of self-discovery, which culminates in a dramatic denouement. Readers will gladly immerse themselves in Moreno-Garcia’s rich and complex tale of desperate hopes and complicated relationships.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Bien Leidos

Bien Leidos\ \ tomesandtextiles\ \ • Jan 4

DAY 3 POSTING CHALLENGE: 2026 Latine Book Bingo Book Recommendations Part 1

25 Latine book recommendations to help you fill Bien Leidos Book Club bingo card! I take you through the first half of the bingo card with my recs for each.

WHERE ELSE TO FIND ME Join Bien Leidos Book Club by joining my Bindery: https://bien-leidos.binderybooks.com/ Find me everywhere else: https://linktr.ee/tomesandtextiles

22 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Children of Diaspora\ \ Rae the Reviewer\ \ • Jun 8

Join for free

40+ Books to Celebrate the World Cup!

What team are you rooting for?

Thank you so much @librosmeansbooks for helping me put this list together. We’ve been gushing about the friendlies and upcoming matches and the World Cup overall since @booknetfest and I’m super excited for the real action to begin ⚽️ 🥅

Please let me know any other books from these countries that you loved in the comments, there are so many on this list that I hadn’t even heard of before that have peaked my interest

#worldcup #booklist #readingrecommendations #bookstagram #readtheworld

18 books

Children of Diaspora\ \ Rae the Reviewer\ \ • Jun 5

Join for free

We NEED to talk about the Hot Girls Read situation

As someone with a master’s in postcolonial literature, I can confirm that this is some colonizer 💩

I usually watch book drama from afar but this is one that truly baffles me. Some of my favorite takes so far have come from @tomesandtextiles @fromthemixedupdesk and @mrs.yang_reads but just know I’m engaging with every picture, video, and think piece that crosses my feed. And yes, she’s blocked

#hotgirlsread #bookstagram #blackreaders

9 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jan 7

Join for free

my last reading wrapup of 2025 📚 books i read in october, november, & december

watch for my reviews of the last 15 or so books i read toward the end of 2025!

11 books

Bien Leidos\ \ tomesandtextiles\ \ • Jan 4

DAY 3 POSTING CHALLENGE: 2026 Latine Book Bingo Book Recommendations Part 1

25 Latine book recommendations to help you fill Bien Leidos Book Club bingo card! I take you through the first half of the bingo card with my recs for each.

22 books

The Brothers Gwynne\ \ Ed & Will\ \ • Nov 16 2025

Join for free

Poll:\ \ Voting - December\ \ What shall be the December pick?\ \ Upgrade for $12 or login

Vote!

7 books

The Brothers Gwynne\ \ Ed & Will\ \ • Nov 16 2025

Join for free

Poll:\ \ Will you be joining? \ \ The Booksworn Bookclub begins December the 1st! \ \ The theme for Season 1 of the Booksworn is REVENGE!\ \ We have chosen 5 categories, with 1 book voted for by Bright Stars every month (voting takes place on Bindery and over on our Discord under ‘Booksworn Book Club - club vote’ for extra votes!). You can vote for multiple options. First vote will open later today! (This bookclub is available for all paid members on Bindery - First Swords have access to the reading channels on discord, and the Bright Stars are the only people allowed to vote!)\ \ The categories are:\ \ #1. Short and Sharp (under 400 pages)\ \ #2. Adaptations (books that have been adapted to the screen)\ \ #3. 21st Century (books written in the 21st century… obvs)\ \ #4. Translations (books translated into English)\ \ #5. Wildcard (an alternative form book/one from another category that got a high number of votes)\ \ For the first month the choices are:\ \ Carrie - Stephen King\ \ Vicious - VE Schwab\ \ The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones\ \ The Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Garcia-Moreno\ \ God of Vengeance - Giles Kristian\ \ Coffin Moon - Keith Rosson\ \ Razorblade Tears - S.A. Cosby\ \ At the end of the month we will host a video-chat discussion with you all about the book we chose! Can’t wait to get started.\ \ Truth and courage\ \ Ed and Will

Our first Bookclub pick!

7 books

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Mar 16 2025

Join for free

Hello Friends, \ \ I had a great chat earlier with fellow tastemakers about women in horror, our favorite reads and upcoming releases we are looking forward to (I tagged many of them in this post!)\ \ If you weren't able to make it, you can check it out on Youtube here\ \ Follow the other tastemakers on Bindery here:\ \ Aubrie\ \ Natalie\ \ Steph\ \ We had so much fun and hope to get together again soon! If you have any topics you'd love to hear us discuss, drop your suggestions below!\ \ BOOKCLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS\ \ As you know Women in Horror and Good Day To Read Indigenous (book clubs found on Discord here have their books picked out through May! \ \ Next week, I will be planing the reads for the remainder of the year. $12 and $25 subscribers get to nominate books, so look out for that post tomorrow!\ \ Quiet Time Book Club will meet tomorrow at 5pm PST/8pm EST on Zoom.

RECORDING: Women In Horror Panel

YouTube link to Women in Horror Celebration, all of the (most of the) books discussed, info about our Discord bookclubs

62 books

Peppered Ink\ \ Mary\ \ • Jan 30 2025

Join for free

Happy Hour with a Few Favorites

In which I sip my favorite cocktail and yap about SOME of my favorite books.

Follow me on Bindery here to enter the GIVEAWAY! https://pepperobrien.binderybooks.com/

The books up for grabs are...

"Strange Beasts" by Susan J. Morris — gothic, thrilling, and mysterious

"Inferno's Heir" by Tiffany Wang — adventurous, heartfelt, and fast-paced

"House of Frank" by Kay Synclaire — whimsical, warm, and hopeful

"And the Sky Bled" by S. Hati — tense, fantastical, and thought-provoking

Comment which one you're most excited to read in this post, and you're entered! (Make sure you're following me first.) https://pepperobrien.binderybooks.com/item/VCTRfUlPpfs7TeyuyDjs/

14 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jan 30 2025

Join for free

my 2025 physical TBR | if i don't read these books in 2025 i have to unhaul them 😱

Welcome to another ambitious attempt to tackle my physical TBR, this time for 2025. Let me know which books I should definitely get to and which ones I shouldn't bother with! Circle back in a year for the official reaction video :)

25 books

Peppered Ink\ \ Mary\ \ • Nov 25 2024

Join for free

Liquor in the Library, Part 1

My first attempt at taking shots for every book my husband hands me that I haven't read yet.

8 books

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Aug 2 2024

Join for free

Hello Readers!\ \ Let's talk about all of the exciting things going on in this community this month.\ **Good Day to Read Indigenous book club **is reading I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones.\ \ Join Club: https://fable.co/club/good-day-to-read-indigenous-with-fromthemixedupdesk-125290577858\ \ Women in Horror book club is reading The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim.\ \ Join Club: https://fable.co/club/women-in-horror-with-fromthemixedupdesk-534117318256\ \ Our community has taken on a worthwhile cause. We are supporting author KB Brookins in helping make sure other people pick up his new memoir about being Black and Trans in America. We want as many readers reading this as Pageboy! Join the readalong and project in the Discord: https://discord.gg/S6vwHnjfZh\ \ August is a special month (MY BIRTHDAY, VIRGO POWER) and a month of Giveaways! Please see the Giveaway schedule below:\ \ 8/5- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/9- a handsigned copy of The Famliar by Leigh Bardugo\ \ 8/12- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/16- copy of Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse\ \ 8/19- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/22- hand signed copy of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo\ \ 8/27- signed copy of Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireleand\ \ The book giveaways are limited to US Residents Only.\ \ There might be a few more surprises! Stay Tuned!\ \ The **subscription upgrade **is something that I am really excited about because it is bringing me back to work on building out the paid tiers to make them worthwhile for everyone. I believe that more paid subscribers will help me speed the imprint journey along (That's why we are all here, right? **We want to publish Indigenous books together! **We are going to make that happen. We are the movement!) Thank you so much to those early paid subscribers who believed in this project from the first minute. (including you, mom, who I also bullied into joining).\ \ If you were a paid subsciber at the $5 or $12 level, what special perks would you want. I'm going back to the drawing table this weekend to do some work. You may notice that I renamed the tiers. The $5 tier is now Buddy Reads. The $12 tier is Enemies to Lovers. I think it's cute. What do you guys think?\ \ I hope everyone has a great weekend full of good reads. I will be finishing Lizards Hold The Sun, Gods of Jade and Shadow and starting I Was A Teenage Slasher. Tell me what you're reading below!\ \ How Do I Sign A Newsletter,\ \ Naomi, from the mixed up desk\ \ \ \

Notes From The Mixed Up Desk, August 2, 2024

9 books

Written Reveries\ \ Krystal\ \ • Jul 5 2024

Join for free

Mythology Retellings✨

Mythology Retellings✨ Black Sun, Fevered Star & Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Daughter of the Moon Goddess & Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan Kaikeyi & Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel Circe & The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller @Saga Press Books 🛸🧙🏿‍♀️🔪 @Orbit Books US @HarperCollins #mythologyretellings #mythologybooks #bookish #bookclub #bookstagram #bookrecommendations#krystallotuslang #bookreview #bookmail

10 books

Written Reveries\ \ Krystal\ \ • Apr 16 2024

Join for free

13 Stand Alone Book Recommendations

Some of my favorite stand alone books to recommend !

13 books

Written Reveries\ \ Krystal\ \ • Apr 16 2024

Join for free

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://writtenreveries.binderybooks.com/item/q712YOhj7C3lQTuxReKj/)

Five Auto-buy Authors

I love all of these authors, and will buy anything they write.

11 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Sep 11 2023

Join for free

the 40+ books on my fall TBR 🍁🍂 fall book recommendations ☕️

tell me your fall book recommendations in the comments! 🍁🍂

🎃 books mentioned 🎃

Misc. ↳ rouge ↳ she walks in shadows ↳ silver nitrate

Dark Academia ↳ in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology ↳ vita nostra ↳ plain bad heroines

“Classic” horror ↳ rebecca ↳ interview with a vampire ↳ dark tales

Real World Horror ↳ natural beauty ↳ lakewood ↳ her body and other parties ↳ bad cree ↳ weight of blood

Vampires ↳ vampires of el norte ↳ a dowry of blood ↳ masters of death ↳ house of hunger ↳ the book eaters

Haunted House books ↳ a house with good bones ↳ she is a haunting ↳ the hacienda ↳ just like home

Deathly Retellings ↳ a haunting on the hill ↳ the death i gave him ↳ one for my enemy

Cozy fantasies ↳ legends & lattes ↳ the very secret society of irregular witches ↳ venco ↳ emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries

Fantasies ↳ nettle & bone ↳ gods of jade and shadow ↳ juniper & thorn ↳the wolf & the woodsman ↳ the bone orchard ↳ the adventures of amina al-sirafi

Other ↳ my dark vanessa ↳ station eleven ↳ glass hotel ↳ sea of tranquility

socials 🤍 instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisstoryaintover/ 🤍 twitter: https://twitter.com/jananiekvelu 🤍 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisstoryaintover?lang=en 🤍 storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thisstoryaintover 🤍 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thisstoryaintover

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nuh-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

40 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jul 19 2023

Join for free

the books I'm taking with me when i MOVE OUT 📚🌇

Thank you to Ritual for Sponsoring this video. Get 30% OFF your first month Go to https://ritual.com/thisstoryaintover30 *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nuh-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

40 books

Fantasy & Frens\ \ Zoranne\ \ • Feb 24 2023

Join for free

FINALLY!! A FANTASY BRACKET ⚔️ how did i do?\ \ #zorannereads #bookbracket #fantasybooks #fantasybookstagram #bookishreels

FINALLY!! A FANTASY BRACKET ⚔️ how did i do?

#zorannereads #bookbracket #fantasybooks #fantasybookstagram #bookishreels

16 books

Fantasy & Frens\ \ Zoranne\ \ • Feb 19 2023

Join for free

FINALLY A FANTASY BRACKET ⚔️ how did i do?! #zorannereads

16 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Nov 7 2022

Join for free

AN AMBITIOUS END OF THE YEAR TBR | November + December TBR

Use the code CANADA to get your first Book of the Month box for only $9.99 https://www.bookofthemonth.com/?utm\_source=youtube&utm\_medium=video&utm\_campaign=This\_Story\_Ain%27t\_Over

🤍 timestamps ↳ 0:00 My Reading Progress so far this year ↳ 2:51 Current Reads ↳ 5:48 Read in Colour Book Club Picks + Update ↳ 7:41 New Releases ↳ 11:35 A Couple Sci-Fis ↳ 12:23 Spooky Books I haven’t gotten to yet ↳ 18:25 Emily St. John Mandel Books ↳ 19:21 Some books that have been on my tbr for awhile ↳ 23:03 Shyam Selvadurai Books ↳ 24:02 Recent additions to my tar ↳ 27:10 Final Thoughts + What I’m Up to this month

📚 join my book club 📚 read books by BIPOC each month and join me during monthly liveshows to discuss! 🤍 announcement Video: https://youtu.be/u-aI8tD1RcQ 🤍 discuss on Fable: https://l.fable.co/readincolour 🤍 discuss on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readincolourbookclub/ 🤍 discuss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReadinColorClub

socials 🤍 instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisstoryaintover/ 🤍 twitter: https://twitter.com/jananiekvelu 🤍 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisstoryaintover?lang=en 🤍 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thisstoryaintover

other places to find me 🤍 my website: https://www.jananiekvelu.com/ 🤍 my series # EpicBookRecs on the Epic Reads Channel: https://bit.ly/2XziOfz

discount codes 🤍 get one month FREE on Skillshare using my link: https://skl.sh/MKR96 🤍 use my code STORY to get your first Book of the Month box for only $9.99 https://www.bookofthemonth.com/?utm\_source=youtube&utm\_medium=video&utm\_campaign=This\_Story\_Ain%27t\_Over

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

42 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Oct 5 2022

Join for free

all 149 books i own but haven't read.... 📚🙈 YET | 😳 my ENTIRE physical TBR 😳

I've done this video once before back in 2019 and I thought it was time for a refresher—here are all 149 books on my physical tbr! My hope with this video is that I'll be able to look back on it and check off all the books I've read in the future. Hope you enjoy!

The 2019 version of this video: https://youtu.be/TrGojZ8sHy0

other places to find me 🤍 my website: https://www.jananiekvelu.com/ 🤍 my series # EpicBookRecs on the Epic Reads Channel: https://bit.ly/2XziOfz

💌 for business/sponsorship inquiries please contact eric@smallscreenmarketing.com 💌 for all other inquiries please contact me at thisstoryaintover@gmail.com

faqs 🤍 how do you pronounce your name? - my name is Jananie—pronounced JEN-nah-nee (like a knee!)

🤍 what's your background/ethnicity/etc? - both my parents are Sri Lankan Tamil, and I was born and raised in Canada!

🤍 what is your job? - aside from youtube I also work in product marketing!

97 books