Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Dioses de jade y sombra by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

24 reviews

angelicav95's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Colonisation, and Classism

wooblatoober's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

so glad i read this. i enjoyed it so much & it had an ending that i had wanted to see in a novel for quite some time, which makes it very special. i wasn’t sure about, then eventually loved, the semi-omniscient narration. i thought it was interesting and different, yet wasn’t distracting, & helped to make certain moments more impactful. i felt like something was missing in regards to the romance as i read, but that’s likely purely personal since i couldn’t tell you what it was that i felt was missing. i definitely loved the climax of the story.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

the race through the black road & what happens on it kept me on the edge of my seat. moreno-garcia did an amazing job of writing cassiopea’s descent into irrationality on the black road, & her descent into thinking she’s old, when she “strays” from the path. VERY well-written, as its seamlessness reminded me of my own descents into psychosis that i’ve had. i REALLY appreciated that she chose not only to do the right thing (go to the black road), but ALSO to live her life after. after an entire romantic buildup, an ending where it just simply doesn’t happen, and where the life she’s about to live independently is more romantic than the relationship she would have had, is very special to me. i also like that the reader is unsure whether she’ll be able to be with him after her death, or, better put, after her life. i almost like to think it won’t happen, & that that’ll be okay. but i also like the idea of him watching her fall deeper in love with life, while falling deeper in love with her. but i think i like the first one more. it’s melancholy & beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

tamara_joy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Colonisation and Classism

mariposa517's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and War

ladyhunbun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed a lot about this book, to be honest I think something about the audiobook/narration made it hard for me to fall in love with but I can understand why others might. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this, and plan to reread it at some point in print, as I think I would have enjoyed it even more in a different format (I read via audio). This is a dark fairytale blend of Mayan mythology and Jazz age flamboyance with a (kind of surprising?) romantic sub-plot and a lot of Cinderella-esque family drama. I appreciated the clear discussion of the racial caste system these characters are operating within and against, and the examination of anti-Indigenous racism. I most enjoyed this story in the third act, when it gets truly dark (not sure what that says about me, but I loved the drama and all of our new mythical creatures!). 

Honestly my only struggle in this was the narration - I couldn't always distinguish character voices (and there were a few times it felt like one character voice carried over into another's dialogue? I had to replay scenes several times) and Casiopea felt so young to me because of how she's narrated that I was genuinely caught off guard by the romantic throughline. Again, I think in another format this would have been an even more enjoyable read, and I'm excited to read more by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia (this was my first!). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thoughtful, lyrical, and charming. A beautiful fantasy infused with a cultural background and mythology that many western readers may not be aware of, but written in a way that was engaging and accessible to newcomers, and with a gorgeous ending. A very welcome entry into the "reimagined Death God" subgenre.

Good for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, or Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sai_like_sigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Abandonment

star crossed lovers, suicide as plot device, self-sacrifice, Cinderella trope

micaelamariem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a great read, inspired by Mayan mythology which I got to learn more about as I parsed my way through this. I love the themes of narrative and myths and accepting and/or changing destiny. I love the slow burn. I love the bittersweet ending. I love the descriptions of everywhere in 1920s Mexico contrasted with Xibalba. I love the healing journey the characters go through to end the cycle of trauma. There’s just so much here to love. It took me a while to get into it but that was just a me thing because I was so busy. Once I forced myself to be still, I really loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

town_scar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a beautifully written myth and tale. It's use of prose was outstanding and it painted beautiful (and delightfully horrifying) images in my mind.

My main struggle was that some of the time transitions were jarring enough that I fell out of the story and got confused as to what was going on. This was largely in the first third of the book. 

Nonetheless, it was a riveting story and a fantastic tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it has given me a far deeper appreciation of Mexico and it's many indigenous cultures. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy