COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL
by Suzanne Selfors
Self-deprecating to a fault, Katrina is also fiercely loyal—to her quaint Pacific Northwest town, to her Grandma Anna’s sadly outdated coffeehouse and to her high-achieving friends Vincent and Elizabeth. Katrina’s focus on others lets her neglect her own entrepreneurial ambitions, so the task of nudging Katrina toward fulfilling her dreams and desires falls to Malcolm, the unnervingly cute and apparently homeless guy Katrina finds sleeping behind the coffeehouse. Malcolm is actually a low-level angel toiling as a messenger for Heaven, whose tendency to grow overly involved with the humans he meets lands him in hot water. After a series of false starts—he’s busy with a challenging delivery, she’s seething with jealousy when Vincent begins dating her nemesis, the daughter of a loathsome rival coffeehouse owner—girl and angel work together to save Anna’s coffeehouse and get Malcolm out of trouble with The Boss. Although the plot lacks momentum and the romance between Katrina and Malcolm is over almost before it’s begun, there’s sufficient charm to get readers—steaming mug of coffee in hand—through a chilly afternoon. (Fantasy. YA)