Small Miracles
Ratings13
Average rating4
15
Ratings13
Average rating4
A little bit of sin is good for the soul.
Gadriel, the fallen angel of petty temptations, has a bit of a gambling debt. Fortunately, her angelic bookie is happy to let her pay off her debts by doing what she does best: All Gadriel has to do is tempt miserably sinless mortal Holly Harker to do a few nice things for herself.
What should be a cakewalk of a job soon runs into several roadblocks, however, as Miss Harker politely refuses every attempt at temptation from Gadriel the woman, Gadriel the man, and Gadriel the adorable fluffy kitten. When even chocolate fails to move Gadriel’s target, the ex-guardian angel begins to suspect she’s been conned. But Gadriel still remembers her previous job… and where petty temptations fail, small miracles might yet prevail.
Olivia Atwater explores love, grief, and the very last bit of chocolate in this sweet modern fantasy, full of wit and heart. A “charming tale of little temptations” (Jacquelyn Benson), this feel-good comedy by fantasy author Olivia Atwater mixes angels, demons, romance, and chocolate into a perfectly petty and wickedly entertaining novel.
Reviews with the most likes.
Yay, this was fun! Atwater truly channels Good Omens with a dash of Screwtape Letters, but with lower stakes. A masterful take on cozy religious satire. Cozy Fantasy is very much in vogue and it is easy to see why. Comforting but fun.
Small Miracles follows the attempts of the ‘Fallen Angel of Petty Temptations' to tempt Holly Harker as a way of paying off his gambling debts to a former angelic comrade. There is a wonderful gentle humour to this, the silly score keeping, the petty interactions between different celestial beings, the day to day mundanity of school life. Everything plays off each other in a delightful manner with Gadriel's cynicism forming the root of it all.
This was definitely a worthy winner of SPFBO 8 and I am glad I discovered it through this competition.
Definitely a 4.5 and I'm rounding up.
I neglected writing this review for more than a month, so I don't have the words or energy to write now. But I thoroughly enjoyed this mostly cozy, cute romance and family story about finding love, grieving your losses, and still moving on. Totally worth winning the SPFBO award this year.
I was looking for cozy vibes and this definitely delivered. Now I need to read more from this author. I had a great time with this one.
