Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater

Book Description

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.

Review

Small Miracles is the delightful, cozy fantasy that beat out 299 other indie-published fantasy books (including Oil and Dust!) in SPFBO 8 this year.

The story follows the exploits of Gadriel, a fallen angel. All Gadriel has to do to get out of their gambling debt is to tempt a mortal into doing a little sinning. However, Gadriel soon finds the task much harder than they expected.

While Good Omens inspired Small Miracles (as mentioned in the author’s Afterword), Atwater’s novel stands on its own. There are similarities; both stories are told with humor, and in both, an agent of hell and an agent of heaven work together in a collegial manner.

But there are differences too. Small Miracles delves into the complexities of identity and personal growth, offering a unique experience from Good Omen’s satirical and irreverent tone. And while the fate of the world is at stake in Good Omens, the stakes in Small Miracles are much smaller. Like many cozy fantasies, the novel’s stakes are deeply personal to its characters.

Although the cast is tiny, I found the characters in Small Miracles engaging. The endearing banter between Gadriel and Barachiel showcased their deep bond. Holly is appropriately complicated, and her desire to connect with her sullen niece made me care all the more. And when the real bad guy shows up, you know it!

Clever Whimsy

One thing I loved about this story was the idea of a running total of sin points. We’ve all seen the cartoons of a character with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, but I’d never thought they could be competing for points.

Another highlight of Small Miracles was the gender fluidity experienced by the angels. Not only did it add to the characters and humor of the situation, it also reinforced the message that we are who we are, regardless of our gender expression. However, I also found it odd that the human characters accepted the gender fluidity without comment. It almost read like the characters didn’t notice. And once they did, there was barely a blip.

Despite this incongruity, I enjoyed the heartwarming blend of humor, introspection, and redemption. Moreover, in a genre where Epic Fantasy reins king, I appreciated that the judges of SPFBO picked a quiet, cozy, character-driven novel as the overall winner.

Content Warning

Death of a Parent, Gender Fluidity, Grief, Religion

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Nico Frey on Unsplash