A review by fallingdownrabbitholes
Song of the Mango and Other New Myths by Vida Cruz

4.0

The ‘Song of Mango and Other New Myths” was a collections of stories that crosses many genres including fantasy, myth/legend and science-fiction. I enjoyed the stories that combined contemporary society with fantasy. There were also mythology from the Philippines that influenced many of the stories. I enjoyed learning about this mythology throughout the stories and how the author connected it to human experiences. I also wanted to give some appreciation for the list of trigger warnings that this book included near the end of the book. This helps readers navigate through the book more comfortably.

My favorite story overall was ‘Chosen Mother’ as it had a lot of adventure and humour. It made me laugh out loud a couple times. I also really enjoyed ‘How the Jungle Got It’s Spirit Guardian’. These stories remind me of the books I used to read as a kid. Filled with legends that can be read over and over.

Overall, these stories all pair well together as they tackle similar themes of human connection and connections with the divine realm. I found some of the stories hard to follow at times but I enjoyed almost all of the stories. I think my main issue was that I wished some of the stories could have been a whole book themselves. They felt like they could offer so much more as full length books. I wanted to be able to stay in these worlds a little bit longer.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.