Customer Reviews

Last Mango in Texas: A Novel

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With a name like Kyle Mango, life can either fail to live up to the hype or refuse to let you settle into the mundane. Kyle gets off to a rough start during his freshman year of college, but finds himself the unexpected benefactor of an attractive female's attention--and her mummy dancing skills. Thoughts of love soon come to a crossroads as desolate and dry as any West Texas has to offer.

Once again, Ray Blackston leads us on a whimsical, globe-trotting journey, as told through the eyes of a single male trying to get a grasp on relationships, careers, and spirituality. Given little by way of fatherly example, Kyle learns some lessons--good and bad--from his well-meaning uncle, and later inherits profitable oil wells. The very sort of business that Gretchen (yes, mummy-dancing Gretchen) despises because of their environmental hazards. While Kyle soaks up the "black gold" of his Texas oil fields, Gretchen is fuming over the birds harmed by a massive Alaskan oil spill. To win the heart of the woman he loves, Kyle must make decisions about his career, family, and relationship with God, while overcoming Gretchen's concerns.

Blackston seems incapable of writing a bad book. I still have that first-love memory of reading his debut "Flabbergasted", but his other books all have characters and scenarios worth discovering. Each is unique in exploring new settings or vocations, yet each pulses with a heart for life, love, God, missions, and the humility to stumble toward some understanding of each. If you haven't been "Flabbergasted" or "Delirious" yet, it's time to start here with "Last Mango" then work your way back through Blackston's lighthearted but always thought-provoking stories.

Written in first person narrative, this humorous Christian chick lit couples an oil man with an environmentalist. That's creativity! The Texas man, Kyle, and the tree-hugging Gretchen are strong characters who pull apart toward their own special interests while being drawn together romantically. Will they ever get together? If so, how?

I looked forward to reading this novel. I've read two other books--Flabbergasted and A Delirious Summer by Ray Blackston, and he always has me chuckling as I read. This book is no different. Imagine an escape from a fraternity during a frat party. How could it happen with the brothers watching? What background music will be playing? Ah, you'll have to read the book to see the answers those questions.

This is a fun read, with a serious theme: "What does God want from me?" Try it, you'll like it. Included is a Reading Group Guide.

This is a really enjoyable and fun book to read. Yet again, I feel like Blackstone writes about characters we all can relate to and most importantly, be entertained by. Few authors can find a balance between insightful and humorous, yet Blackstone does just that again in the "Last Mango in Texas."

When you plan on digging into the work of Ray Blackston, expect the not-so-serious to occur from time to time. Yet on the other hand, expect a good read, as he taps into the heart of things that not all authors can do. In this case, he taps into a Mango, Kyle Mango, to be exact. And through the narration of this Mango, things might not go the way they were planned out.

Kyle meets Gretchen, and she's quite the catch. She's also quite the animal lover as well. Kyle, however, has an uncle who has a few surprises under his belt, especially after revealing what he's left to Kyle in his will. The Texas Tech man has been given a gift in oil wells, won't Gretchen be impressed! But Gretchen has other ideas as her roads take her to Alaska to scrub down birds DRENCHED in oil. When it comes down to it, what's more important? Does Kyle want to continue to run a wealthy business, or is the girl in Gretchen a little more important than dollar signs?

Original thought is always worth something, but to think of others before yourself is awesome. Living in a day and age where becoming 2nd best is not always acceptable, this makes you think just a bit about why you might do that. Is this a lesson that will change all hearts? Probably not. But is it one of those reads that gets the wheels turning to the point where some good thoughts come into play? Oh yeah! I think it also dives into the priorities of one's life, as to what is more important in the end. And in between, some personalities may clash just a little. But I think it is worth it, and Blackston has done his part! Can't wait for the next offering.

I like all of Ray Blackston's books. Last Mango in Texas is definitely a good one, with the same wacky humor and always giving a realistic view on faith.

Kyle inherits an oil company while pursuing an environmentally conscious Greenie, Gretchen. While he doesn't think that oil is necessarily bad, Gretchen sees oil as the enemy. Can he get away with throwing money at good green causes, while hiding the truth from the girl he loves? Fun fast-paced storytelling with tongue-in-cheek moral dilemmas. This was just a whole lot of fun to read.

Last Mango in Texas by Ray Blackston is a light-hearted romance with an undercurrent of faith and responsibility. Kyle Mango falls in love with Gretchen his freshman year at Texas Tech after she rescues him from a fraternity house while doing the mummy dance from the Thriller video. The two bond, but Gretchen pulls away and becomes deeply involved with rescuing birds and wildlife, especially from the damage done by oil companies. In Kyle's senior year at school, he inherits four oil wells from his uncle, which makes his courtship of Gretchen more than a bit difficult. He's torn between providing for his mother, siblings, and employees and pursuing the woman he loves. Blackston has a real talent for writing laugh out loud humor and creating characters who are just quirky enough to be interesting without being completely unbelievable. He handles the controversy of the damage oil companies do to the environment vs the service they provide consumers with compassion and heart. Blackston's romance is a fun read with a real message of faith and responsibility.

The Last Mango in Texas, by Ray Blackston, is a refrshing novel. I enjoyed this novel from the first page until the last. The main character, Kyle Mango, is such a lively character that you are intrigued with him and his life instantly.

Kyle is a student who meets the girl of his dreams. However, things soon become confusing. He faces the hardest decision of his life: Love or Money.

"Last Mango in Texas" is signature Ray Blackston. His dialogue sparkles. His characters are bright and funny. His narrative is some of the wittiest writing in the business! Kyle Mango is a college student with an unthinkable decision to make! He must choose between Gretchen, the girl of his dreams, and being set for life financially as the owner of four oil wells that he inherited from his uncle. No brainer? NO WAY!

Ray Blackston weaves a colorful tale of love and environmental responsibility that will make you laugh out loud and seriously question how you would handle yourself if faced with the same circumstances. This is a completely enjoyable, intelligent read with a thread of faith woven throughout.

Kyle Mango is your average teen, hovering just outside the fringes of the popular crowd. He's not a big success with girls, and satisfied well enough with his suburban Texas life. High school ends, and Kyle enrolls at Texas Tech, where he immediately joins a fraternity and quickly senses it is not the lifestyle for him. Miserable and living in a house full of frat brothers, Kyle meets Gretchen, who crashes a frat party and steals his heart. With music blasting and all the fraternity/sorority types gyrating to "Thriller," Gretchen helps Kyle gather up his belongings and escape.

A month of happy dating comes to a screeching halt when Gretchen gets involved with a radical animal rights group and leaves to clean oil off birds in Alaska. As Gretchen's hatred of all things oil intensifies, Kyle inherits 800 acres of land and four oil wells from his Uncle Benny. Kyle knows the gap between them grows wider with every barrel his rigs draw from the Texas earth, but he can't give up on the only girl who has ever captured his heart.

Life after college is a dream come true for Kyle and best friend Chang, with whom he shared a dorm room after the fraternity escapade. With Kyle's oil wells and Chang's head for business, Mango Enterprises is an instant success and keeps on getting better. But the deeper Kyle is immersed in the oil business, the more Gretchen delves into the life of a wildlife rescuer.

Unaware of Kyle's vocation, Gretchen invites him to Alaska where she is part of a group cleaning oil off seagulls in the wake of a tanker spill. By the second day, Gretchen's radical friend Regina has googled Kyle and learned his true identity. She threatens to tell Gretchen if Kyle doesn't follow her mandate to help the group for three more weeks. Kyle, however, chooses to tell Gretchen himself, then returns to Texas as they both struggle with mixed emotions.

The oil business continues to thrive, and the friends add an unlikely third partner to Mango Enterprises: Sal the bookie, who had been partially responsible for deceased Uncle Benny's financial demise. But Sal is a new man, repented of his sins, done with the bookie business and ready to earn his money honestly.

With the continued success of the business and more oil discoveries, Kyle's income provides generous amounts of money for his mother and siblings, as well as his two employees. All is well...except his longing for Gretchen. She invites him to France at the same time Sal and Chang go on an African mission trip to dig and install water wells for an impoverished village. Kyle ascertains that Radical Regina has gone over the top. He leaves France early after his method of freeing some French finches contradicts with Regina's philosophies. Gretchen has had enough of Regina by this time and meets Kyle at the airport. The two join Sal and Chang in Africa, where they discover the wonder of helping others and feel God working in both their lives. This life-changing trip triggers a series of events that wrap the whole story up in a neat little package.

LAST MANGO IN TEXAS is a fun, light read. There is nothing spectacular about the dialogue, characters or imagery, and the characters are young enough that it would almost fit better in the young adult genre. The story is simple and often predictable, but entertaining enough to bring on a plane or read in a waiting room.

--- Reviewed by Susan Miura