Shira Glassman

Four and a half to five stars. Parts of this book were absolutely adorable, and what an adventure all around! How creative the traps, plans, and progress was, too. It was an absolute delight and so validating to have both main characters be Jewish, and outright -say the names of holidays-, and ones besides Hanukkah. Purim is mentioned via the Book of Esther, and Shulamit claims Rivka wants the story read again so she can make silly noises when the villain's name is mentioned. I laughed for show more about five minutes at that, both tickled by the humor and delighted to see myself represented. I made shriek-y quacking noises one year during the reading. Often in books and media, Jewish characters are alluded to. More accurately, they're the funny, quirky sidekicks who shriek about how they're barely Jewish. Lots of screeching about how it's on their dad's side so it doesn't count. I know the meaning behind the particular phrase and can sit down and talk to you about it, and it is beyond the scope of this review. The characters doing the screeching cannot. Come to think of it, I've never actually known of an author who was Jewish, who wrote the shrieking stereotypes. (pointed stare) I hate it. But here, in this book, the two main characters were observant Jewish, front and center. No over-explaining about anything was present. They didn't have to pretty much justify their Jewishness or Judaism, as I've often read in other books. They just were, and they were and it was important, and that was that

Shulamit has what is coded as celiac disease or maybe Crohn's. So, a chronically ill character, too! And she's openly gay! Seeing myself represented on the page in so many ways, unapologetically, was beyond wonderful. The names Glassman picked for her characters are actual Hebrew girl names. This was not a fantasy book with Westernized coding and names, which is so common, I could gag. No, this was a fantasy book that allowed Hebrew and Yiddish-speakers to...exist. How simultaneously soothing and empowering! I liked watching the friendship between Shulamit and Rivka develop. They balanced out one another. I handwaved and got used to entire chapters being backstory due to how they were introduced: the previous chapter's ending sentence indicated there would be a lot of information. In the world Glassman set up, and the structure of this novel, this worked. The ending fit neatly, and that's hard to do in some fantasy books. I was pleased to find out this book even has a sequel. show less

Absolutely charming little work.

This isn't my main sort of read -- I read romances, sure, but I hang out in the section with brooding, hunky lords and the women who rightly mistrust them. This is ... happier. It's contemporary! There are modern fabrics! Suitcases! Cars and backseats of cars! And I still enjoyed it.

This is not the first of Glassman's books that I've read (although it's the first I've reviewed -- oh I am full of laziness and shame). It feels good to revisit. She has a casual show more way of describing reality, sketching out various rooms and natural settings and the smörgåsbord mix of characters so they feel uncontrived. It's always show-don't-tell with erotica/romance, and the little details are what matter here; there are things I have not experienced and things that I have (Judaism and music and bisexuality and the loss of a beloved parent), and the details are drawn quick and bold: the bright color of a negligee signifying sexual hope, an oboist soaking her reed, a man nervously fluffing his hair ...

Alright. But do you know what I liked most, my precious? (Aside from reading something different from my normal? 'cause that makes it difficult to review ...) I liked the matter-of-fact description of Lauren's fantasies; I liked her calm confidence built on a solid musical practice rather than some mystical unearned "talent"; I liked that she would remain comfortable and whole in herself even if Dan didn't reciprocate her sexual interest; I liked the description her how it feels to create music alongside someone else, creating something both basic and ethereal, tangible and unreal. I liked that there was no slut-shaming, none -- these are two consenting adults! And they take reasonable precautions to protect themselves (condoms, hurrah! and no naughty cell-phone pictures). BLESS.

It made me laugh out loud, too. And blush. Probably I shouldn't read my erotica when I'm at work, eh?

note: I received this book for free in return for an honest review. show less

The third book in the Mangoverse series. The writing / plot gets better with every book, and the central characters (lesbian Queen Shulamit, bisexual chef Aviva, warrior woman Rivka and her husband the wizard Isaac) are as delightful and lovable as ever. In this story, Shulamit sets out to solve the mystery when a priceless violin is stolen from Esther of the Singing Hands, a travelling musician. At the same time, she has to deal with raising her six month old daughter Naomi, arbitrating show more between two jewellers who each claim to have invented the same clasp design, investigating the possibility of illegal shape-shifting magic being sold in her city, and learning to understand a young trans boy who is a key witness in the case. Watching Shulamit and Isaac’s clever detective work is a lot of fun (and a reminder that Isaac, despite being a great guy who is absolutely loyal to his wife and their queen, is Slytherin as fuck and NOT someone you want to get on the wrong side of). show less

Content warnings: identity theft, overuse of dialogue tags

This is a quick, cute, fluffy romance. It is so adorable, I kept giggling as I read it. The meet-cute is cute and the main characters are so sweet, yet they seem like real people - I would like to meet them! Can I be friends with Clara and Danielle?? Also, if you're a involved in online fandom, there are some things that you'll probably recognize as funny fandom jokes such as a mention of a movie called My Immortal *snicker* but show more they're generally subtle enough that they won't get in the way of the story for non-fandom readers.

Thoroughly recommended if you're in the mood for a quick, fun read. show less