**spoiler alert** I am actually annoyed by this one, to the point where I am actually going to rate for the first time.
I see it compared to Good Omen**spoiler alert** I am actually annoyed by this one, to the point where I am actually going to rate for the first time.
I see it compared to Good Omens but cosy. Which sure I guess that would be an apt comparison, if this has one whit of the humour or even the intelligence in meaning behind it. The cosy part…I guess if you classify cosy as “you must have your brain off to enjoy it” then sure. Myself, I do not. I love cosy fantasy and my brain could not turn off on this one in particular.
First the characters: Holly is bland paste with almost no character traits. She bakes and is nervous at all times. Oh wait. She knows French too. Woohoo yay for great love interest dynamics. Gadriel was fine, but weirdly boring and human. I found their gender-fluid dynamic at first very interesting but soon very annoying when I saw that their “thinking in a different form” resulted in no difference of thinking, nor any real change beyond dressing different. It came off as very shallow. Though to be fair, everything in this book was shallow. However being a “cosy” fantasy doesn’t excuse this, Becky Chamber’s novella series about the Tea Monks is very purposeful and thoughtful, while maintaining a cosy atmosphere. This lacked any thoughtful depth.
My main source of criticism is something that I don’t see touched on at all. It’s the creepy sin system that is portrayed in the story. It is a bureaucratic point tally that apparently all Christians in that world have that their corporate Heaven puts upon humans that aren’t working to the intensity and degree capitalism demands. Taking a break for mental health: sin. Stopping for a minute to pet a cat: sin. I know it’s supposed to be satirical, but where is the social commentary? Gadriel saying how she disagreed with the system? Yet the entire story puts the angels (not the fallen) as the good guys. Being too good leads to misery and having a fallen in your ear leads to misery. This would be interesting if anything changed by the end. But nope, the system remains and is reinforced as the Right way.
This book touches on grief and the complicated feelings surrounding it. However it spends about 15 sentences discussing it, and spends the rest of the time with Gadriel moaning about how Holly doesn’t like chocolate. Again falling into, nothing in this book has any depth to it. I could see that the school system is Atwater’s passion. However is there a reason why this British school feels so North American? Why not just make it Canadian?
Holly was such a nonevent character any feelings coming from her are layered in beige and watered down. Ella was more of the focus, and the framework of the story should’ve been build more around that. If we had Ella as the center and Gadriel show up under mysterious circumstances with mysterious events start happening around them, the mystery aspect might have moved the story forward much more than boring counseling monologues.
Coming to Ella and the “magic” system; this annoyed me so much. We have the fallen angels powers acting like inner voices or intrusive thoughts. However the way the book seems to be written makes them more into impulsive actions rather than thoughts (except for non Christians and special Holly of course). Which makes it borderline mind control. Of minors. A huge chunk of this book was spent following an angel around mentally manipulating children and it was never really shown to be something humans could resist or overcome. Guess free will ain’t it anymore.
I truly didn’t see how this story was cosy. The humour lacked, the story was bland, the characters were mid and the fantastical aspects were gross in ways I am not really sure how to convey. I realize I am probably one of the very few with this opinion, as of now this is sitting at a 4.25 rating. ...more
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