When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother's coffee shop, she leaves him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over, never expecting this random act of kindness to turn her life upside down. The adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is actually a guardian angel on a break between missions, and now he won't leave until he can reward Katrina's selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Fame and fortune seem like the obvious requests, but after two botched wishes, Malcolm knows Katrina is hiding something from him. But how can she tell him the truth, when her heart's desire has become Malcolm himself?
Alright! Maybe I can call this history since this is going to be my very first non-academic-related book review. Going back to business, I'd give Coffeehouse Angel five perfect stars. And, here's why.
First, I just love Katrina Svensen's character and the whole teenage life struggle. I love how Suzanne built an average character, not the Queen Bee in school but also not a loser. A teenager struggling to find out what she's good at since people say that everyone is good at something, struggling to find what she truly desires since her friends know exactly who they want to be in the future is very realistic. I believe we all pass through a certain stage in our lives when we ponder on what it is that we really want. The Closet of Failure is also something remarkable; it is a brilliant idea. It did not simply serve as a constant reminder of Katrina’s failures, of the things she started but was never finished. I’d like to believe that it was put there to tell us the fact that as humans, it is impossible for us to forget our failures. Like Katrina’s Closet of Failure, our failures would always be there, not to discourage us, but to always remind us of the lessons we’ve learned and the better person we’ve become.
Second, I almost got caught into the idea that Katrina was actually in love with her best friend, Vincent, especially when she cried after seeing him and Heidi holding hands. I know readers have been warned at the beginning that the story’s not going to be like others wherein best friends fall in love. But, the story was told at Katrina’s point of view. So, who knows? Maybe at that point, she didn’t see herself in love with her best friend. But along the line, she actually did. She just denied it to herself and to everybody else. But, of course, that was not the case. And, it was good that she wasn’t in love with her best friend. I liked it. Katrina and Vincent were great as best friends. I also like how Suzanne confused her readers regarding Katrina’s feelings, whether she was in love with her best friend or with the angel.
And, the third reason why I love the book was because of Malcolm, the angel. I’m not being bias here, but maybe I am. I don’t know why, but I think I have this prejudice for angels. After falling in love with Patch in Hush, Hush, here comes Malcolm. He is just mysterious, warm, beautiful, hilarious, curious, and he wears a kilt. Isn’t that just weird but cute at the same time? Malcolm’s an angel, an angel messenger to be exact. And, he can do things out of the ordinary. But despite such power, he was weak and vulnerable. He needed Katrina. That just made me love the book more. And, oh, what really him hilarious was his curiosity. He wondered about the world far from his own and tasted it, even if it was against their law.
Finally, everything that happened during the Solstice Festival was magical, romantic, funny, and selfless.
Katrina was a damsel in distress. And, she had both heroes and heroines to her rescue: Vincent, Elizabeth, Elliott, Anna, Irmgaard, The Boys, and Malcolm. But, Katrina wasn’t like any other damsels in distress; she also saved herself. She did not just sit there and waited for her prince to come to her rescue. After all her woes, she did something; she helped herself instead of letting misery unfold before her very eyes. She did not let herself become miserable. And, of course, any other fairy tale wouldn’t be complete without the prince (but for this case, Malcolm was an angel), the kiss, and the happy ending.
