Blog Tour Short Story Review: The Celestial Assignment (R&R Book Tours)
Happy Friday Everyone,
We made it through the week, hooray!
I hope you’ve had a nice, productive workweek and make some nice plans for the weekend.
I’ve been able to manage my daily routine a lot better this week, so I’ll take that as a positive. Also, it was a short week since I had Monday off, so I can’t really complain too much.
Alright, so today’s post is a special blog tour short story review of The Celestial Assignment by Theresa Braun, hosted by R&R Book Tours.
I actually had no idea who Theresa Braun was before this. All I knew was that this was a short story, so of course I decided to give it a go!
Author Blurb
Theresa Braun
Bio:
Hmmm. What’s this? Looks like Ms. Braun left her computer on and her Goodreads bio open.
This should be fun.
What can we say about Theresa? I mean other than the fact that she’s weirdly obsessed with smiley faces :-). Like, seriously obsessed >:-*. It’s kinda scary :-O.
I think she thinks she’s from Renaissance England or Venice or something. I never could figure out which one it was. (She’s really bad at doing accents.)
She likes romance novels and crime TV, which are pretty much the same thing when you think about it. Ha! Am I right?
She has a hell of a singing voice. Seriously. It’s, like, seventh circle of hell bad.
She likes editing. A lot. Just wait till she gets a load a this.
Cats. Shoes. Chips and salsa. In that order.
Yeah, that last part didn’t make sense to me either.
Short Story Review
Blurb
After a sudden death, Will, a misguided angel, is tasked with protecting a baby girl. Watching over her as she grows up and navigates the world appears a harsh punishment for his past failings. Can he redeem himself, or will he fall further from grace?
“I devoured this phenomenal sorrow-filled piece in one sitting, but Braun left me with so many questions I had to think about. She creates a world that’s vivid, lush and visceral, while setting the reader up for heartbreak and despair. Amazing read, can’t recommend ‘The Celestial Assignment’ enough.” –Steve Stred, author of Ritual
The Review
I gave this short story three and a half celestial stars!
As this is a short story I won’t focus too much on the details of the plot. The blurb pretty much says it all. An angel is tasked with an assignment to a baby girl after he suffers a terrible death.
At first glance, he treats this assignment as a boring obligation, but it grows into much more than that. Can he achieve redemption and better his former ways, or is he destined to the same fate all over again?
This story had a lot of good elements.
For starters, I like anything to do with supernatural creatures, be they angels, demons, ghosts, or any spirit in between. Our main character is an angel, and a very unlikely one. He’s constantly got sex on the brain, only seems to think about himself, and is very very snarky.
I liked this character because I feel like so many people are this way, plus I like characters with attitude. He had some good progression throughout the story while sticking to his basic personality, which was good. I didn’t want him to suddenly turn into a goody two shoes because that would’ve ruined it for me.
The concept and plot were good too. Angels are assigned to humans and protect them in dire circumstances. Though it leaves them with much time in between life-threatening events, Braun doesn’t bore us with mundane details. Through time, Will begins to soften just a bit, learning as his charge Celeste does through life and making him a better person as an effect. It’s very subtle and gradual, and I liked that.
If I had to pick at anything, I would maybe say that this story didn’t stick with me. Yes, the writing style was good, and I was entertained, but it didn’t necessarily wow me. Afterwards I moved on to other readings and didn’t seem to give the story too much further thought. Which is fine, truly.
Short stories are a very brief departure into fiction. I guess I just kind of wanted more of a lasting effect.
But overall, I did have a good time reading this short story. If you like the concept of angels, definitely give it a try!
That’s A Wrap!
Thanks so much for stopping by for this special Jaunts & Haunts post! I hope you enjoyed your time here, and thank you R&R Book Tours for making all of this happen!
If you’d like to check out Theresa Braun’s work, you can find out more at the links below, as well as other participants in the blog tour.
Thanks again, and happy reading!
Author’s Social Media Links
Book Links
Blog Tour
February 17th
Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com
Banshee Irish Horror Blog (Spotlight) www.bansheeirishhorrorblog.com
Sophril Reads (Review) http://sophrilreads.wordpress.com
February 18th
The Magic of Wor(l)ds (Spotlight) http://themagicofworlds.wordpress.com
Tales of a Natural Spoonie (Review) https://talesofanaturalspoonie.com/
The Faerie Review (Review) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
February 19th
Didi Oviatt (Review) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com
Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com/
Vick’s Bookish Writing Blog (Review) https://vicksblogcom.home.blog/
February 20th
Ity Reads Books (Review) http://www.ityreadsbooks.home.blog
Cup of Books (Review) https://cupofbooksblog.wordpress.com/
My Bookish Bliss (Review) http://www.mybookishbliss.com
February 21st
Scarlett Readz & Runz (Review) https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
Phantom of the Library (Review) https://phantomofthelibrary.com/
Cup of Toast (Review) https://cupoftoast.co.uk
Jaunts & Haunts (Review) https://jonathanpongratz.com/
Entertainingly Nerdy (Review) https://www.entertaininglynerdy.com
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Haha, I love Ms. Braun’s bio. It’s a good lesson on why you should never leave your computer on and walk away if you have cats.:-)
Thanks for sharing your review, Jonny!
Lol yeah, I was so jealous of that bio!
Sure thing!
Great review. Thanks.
Thanks so much for reading and for having me on your site! 🙂
Of course, I had fun!