This is a very low stakes, heart warming read. It's at times funny and the characters with their everyday struggles are interesting and likeable. In this world, which is essentially just our own + confirmed angels, sin and good deeds are measured in a way that reminds me a tad of The Good Place. When you sin you get negative points, and when you do something righteous or selfless/good, you gain some points. Chocolate is technically considered a sin, although Gadriel thinks that’s an injustice and has been fighting for centuries about it. Anywho, Gadriel accepts the mission since it will set her square with the angel, which as I understand has been outstanding for quite some time and they’re happy to be rid of the debt. What they hadn’t anticipated is how hard it would be to get Holly to sin. 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. The endearing, smart, yet somewhat naive and slightly fumbling and flawed Gadriel was a wonderful main character. Once she finds out she’s out of her depth in provoking Holly to acquiesce to sin, she resorts to something different, but Holly’s intractability also leads to Gadriel and Holly forming a great relationship, as they get to know one another better. I also loved the footnotes and the humour within them; it takes a good author to do these well and Atwater does homage to Pratchett (Jay Kristoff did quite well in Nevernight) in pulling these off. I must admit to some muffled laughter and nose snorting giggles on the morning commute whilst reading them. I think my favourite one was…

a b "Acquisition Announcement: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater". Orbit Books. April 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022 . Retrieved March 2, 2023. This is an outstanding book for fans of humorous fantasy. Olivia Atwater has a new fan in me and I want more. Disclaimer: I am not friends with the author. I wish I were, though. Cozy fantasy, hot cocoa, knit vests. Yes, there are problems that can be blown out of proportion and tipped toward a more cosmic scale, but they can also be resolved through heart-to-hearts and cupcakes. She has one of the lowest cumulative sin metrics I’ve ever seen. Truly she must be even more miserable than a Greek Cynic…. I want you to tempt her… just enough to make sure she’s enjoying her life?”a b "Half a Soul". Publishers Weekly. March 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023 . Retrieved March 2, 2023. a b Hamilton, Jenny (July 26, 2022). "How to (Not) Fit In: The Misfit Heroine and Olivia Atwater's". Tor.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022 . Retrieved March 2, 2023. The plot of the novel appears simple and fun, at first glance. Described as eminently unremarkable and plain-looking, Gadriel, the chocolate-loving, gambling-addicted main character, is the Fallen Angel of Petty Temptations. But he/she has “fallen” more over policy violations than any real horrific sin. Utz, Judith (June 30, 2022). "Ten Thousand Stitches". Booklist. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023 . Retrieved March 5, 2023. I’ve often described the plot of Small Miracles as ‘genderfluid angels and demons argue over chocolate’. Obviously, there’s more to it than that—there’s commentary on the nature of love and grief, lots of dramatic irony, and copious amounts of footnotes. In many respects, Small Miracles is an homage to Good Omens , but I wanted it to be a story about small-scale, personal catastrophes rather than world-ending ones.

I read (or listened to, actually) this as one of the SPFBO8 finalists, and while giving all titles a fair shot, I'm not going to pretend that this one won me over. I thought it was absolutely terrible, but that big caveat is there to say that this is absolutely not to sort of book I would ever read under my own steam (hence no rating), so there's every chance that if you like this sort of thing, it will at least work for you. Just as God created the platypus out of spare parts, Lucifer created the original chihuahua out of spare spite…one would be hard-pressed to find a more concentrated form of evil that the average chihuahua.” Overall, this is a very different but enjoyable take on the fantasy genre, with its entertaining examination of the everyday struggles of ordinary folk, all heroes within their own complicated and unexpectedly spicy lives. As one of the many footnotes points out God may show mercy, but capsaicin does not. I don’t know that I’ll ever write a sequel to Small Miracles . I never rule out something like that entirely, in case I’m later inspired to do so—but I had a very specific idea for the book, and I feel as though I’ve already wrapped up that idea nicely.

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Ten Thousand Stitches". Publishers Weekly. May 6, 2022. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023 . Retrieved March 5, 2023. As Gadriel digs deeper into the secret of Holly’s virtue, Holly’s teenage niece Ella puts in an appearance and this draws Gadriel into some school based shenanigans. I do enjoy seeing how different authors present the realities of school life, the stresses and squabbles and the staff room politics, and Atwater delivers a credible depiction of a somewhat dysfunctional school, not least in the image of the school disco “The disco was in full swing…The swirling lights highlighted an empty, yawning gap between tables where no one dared to dance.” Can you tell us anything about any upcoming projects? Or can you tell us a few teasers for your sequel? This one is very likely to appeal to anyone looking for a cozy, low-stakes comfort read. The characters are well constructed and the book is well-paced while being short. It pressed almost all the right buttons for me and I’m glad it got assigned to me to review. I think this is my favorite book from this year’s SPFBO.

And while this is indeed a less heavy book than “Good Omens” (featuring such portentous figures as the Anitchrist and the four “bikers” of the Apocalypse) the ominous character Wormwood – an inexperienced devil whose mandate is to tempt humans to hell – from C.S. Lewis’s “Screwtape Letters”, appears in “Small Miracles”, to provide an antagonist, if there is one, for the book. His/Her purview is minor transgressions. He’s/she’s not really evil despite the fallen angel status, but rather mischievous, and his/her agenda is not really sinister. What Gadriel does is prod humans to succumb to minor temptations, and thus achieve overall increased happiness and satisfaction with their lot in life. Gadriel is a fallen angle who specializes in petty temptations. They’re not trying to bring down humanity, they just want to make sure we’re enjoying it sufficiently. They’re still a “fallen” angel, though, so they were surprised when their sibling, Barachiel, shows up and WANTS them to try and tempt a human into sinning. Just a little bit of sinning. This human, Holly, has lived such a joyless life that even the “good” angels are like, okay, wtf, that woman needs some happiness, STAT.

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The world is more or less based around the modern day without a whole lot added to it other than the religious aspect of angels being real and all that. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I didn’t personally mind since that’s fairly common when you’re writing kind of a biblical fantasy satire kind of thing. Although there is no impending, world-ending disaster lurking in “Small Miracles”– this is considerably lighter fare. But its lightness doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile, intriguing book. Small Miracles is a delightful short read, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. The premise is a small bet between a fallen angel and an angel. Gadriel is the fallen angel of Petty Temptations and she sets out to encourage Holly Harker to enjoy her life a bit more. If this had been the only plot point it would’ve been a cute story but there are other plot points involving Holly’s niece and an evil math teacher at her school. First off I have to say that readers who are a fan of the above genre will like it more than I did.