2022 short stand-alone modern fantasy novel. Gadriel, the Fallen Angel
of Petty Temptations, has a debt to pay off, so ends up having to
tempt Holly Harker. Just a little bit.
Atwater is clearly having fun here, in the acknowledged shadow of
Good Omens. She even manages that rare trick of having a very
footnote-heavy book and keeping it interesting, right from note number
1:
Angels do not actually have genders. Or rather, they do have
genders—but these genders are inexpressible to human beings, who
tend to lose track somewhere after the fifth wing and the tenth
burning wheel. As such, when said beings divine descend with the
intent of having a coffee, they choose a more human-looking gender
for the day in rather the same way that you and I might choose a
shirt and trousers. This minor sleight-of-hand makes it possible for
baristas to ask the question And what can I get for you today,
instead of babbling incoherently.
There's also a certain amount of The Good Place-style sin scoring
("+1 Point of Sin (Holly Harker): Speaking Ill of the Dead."), and the
inherent ridiculousness of that is not ignored.
But Gadriel finds Holly, who seems strangely immune to temptation; and
Holly's niece Ella, and her school situation; and this is the sort of
book in which inevitably that leads to Gadriel taking a job as the
school counsellor.
Millie goggled at him. "Are you blackmailing us with maths?" she
demanded.
Mr Sweet pointed at her approvingly. "I am!" he said, in an upbeat
tone.
All right, perhaps there's nothing utterly profound and original to be
found here, but it's still an enjoyable romp with interesting people
about whom I quickly came to care, and genuine threats of peril for
them. Recommended for basically everybody.