Coffehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors Book Review

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
(Walker Books, Hardcover, 2009)
Rating:

Katrina is working hard to save her family's coffee shop, getting up early every morning and working every afternoon and weekend. One morning she spots a homeless guy outside the coffee shop and she leaves some coffee and a pastry for him. Little does she know that her act of kindness was directed at an angel—and that he now must grant her whatever she desires. After a couple of botched wishes, Katrina realizes that all she wants is a certain irresitible angel.

I picked up this book, excited for the unique premise. In the plethora of fairy-tale retellings, I haven't yet come across a book where a girl is granted wishes from an angel. Katrina is a compelling heroine and her battle to save her family's coffee shop was the real strength of this book. Her entrepreneurial flair drove the plot of the book and I turned the pages, waiting to see what her next big idea would be. The romance aspect of the novel, which is billed as the main plot line on the back of the book, fell far short of Katrina's quest to save the business. Malcom, the angel, came across as provincial and two-dimensional. He only had a couple of scenes with Katrina and it wasn't at all apparent that he was attracted to her until the last couple of scenes. I love coffee, teen entreprenuers, and the idea of a wish-granting angel but, in the end, I wasn't really all that infatuated with Coffeehouse Angel.