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A review by bluejayreads
The Second Mango by Shira Glassman
5.0
I've had this book on my to-read book for a while after discovering Shira Glassman somewhere on Tumblr and picked it up because the ebook was cheap on Amazon. It's short and it was a quick read, and I did enjoy the story. But I do have some reservations about it.
So let's talk about what was good. The characters were great. Shulamit is a solid character, and even though she seemed a little too focused on sex (although that could just be me, since I'm asexual and don't really think about sex at all), she had a lot of complicated feelings that made her really likable. She also has serious food allergies (celiac disease and a poultry allergy) that cause her a lot of problems, which added an interesting dimension.
The other major character, Rivka the warrior, was also well done - and interestingly, you actually get more of her backstory than Shulamit's. Her history makes for a great dramatic story and she has some emotional pain she's dealing with, which makes her especially enjoyable to read. She also has a great dynamic with Shulamit and I loved watching the two girls interact.
Information about the setting was sparse, but what there was was solid. I'm hoping future books in the series have more of it, because I'd love to learn more about Perach and how it works. The plot also wrapped up nicely and it had a great happy ending that I thoroughly loved.
Now let's talk about the not-so-good stuff. Namely, the tension, or lack thereof. The plot is super straightforward (there's only one twist, and it has more to do with Rivka's emotional arc than the actual plot) and the tension never ramps up. They meet a problem, they solve it. They meet a problem, they solve it. They meet a problem, their lives are in danger for a few moments, they solve the problem. The tension is minimal, they never run into other problems while solving a different problem, and in a lot of ways it just feels too easy.
But even given that, did I enjoy it? Yes, thoroughly. It was light and fun, and though it was missing a lot of the complexity I was expecting from a fantasy novel, sometimes simplicity is good and I missed next to nothing reading it in bits and pieces. It was a fun romp and I just bought book two - I'm looking forward to continuing the simple, light adventure in the Mangoverse.
So let's talk about what was good. The characters were great. Shulamit is a solid character, and even though she seemed a little too focused on sex (although that could just be me, since I'm asexual and don't really think about sex at all), she had a lot of complicated feelings that made her really likable. She also has serious food allergies (celiac disease and a poultry allergy) that cause her a lot of problems, which added an interesting dimension.
The other major character, Rivka the warrior, was also well done - and interestingly, you actually get more of her backstory than Shulamit's. Her history makes for a great dramatic story and she has some emotional pain she's dealing with, which makes her especially enjoyable to read. She also has a great dynamic with Shulamit and I loved watching the two girls interact.
Information about the setting was sparse, but what there was was solid. I'm hoping future books in the series have more of it, because I'd love to learn more about Perach and how it works. The plot also wrapped up nicely and it had a great happy ending that I thoroughly loved.
Now let's talk about the not-so-good stuff. Namely, the tension, or lack thereof. The plot is super straightforward (there's only one twist, and it has more to do with Rivka's emotional arc than the actual plot) and the tension never ramps up. They meet a problem, they solve it. They meet a problem, they solve it. They meet a problem, their lives are in danger for a few moments, they solve the problem. The tension is minimal, they never run into other problems while solving a different problem, and in a lot of ways it just feels too easy.
But even given that, did I enjoy it? Yes, thoroughly. It was light and fun, and though it was missing a lot of the complexity I was expecting from a fantasy novel, sometimes simplicity is good and I missed next to nothing reading it in bits and pieces. It was a fun romp and I just bought book two - I'm looking forward to continuing the simple, light adventure in the Mangoverse.