Angels and Airheads by Anne Brooke

Title: Angels and Airheads
Author: Anne Brooke
Publisher: Torquere Books
Length:: Short story/11 pgs/5k
Buy the book: Publisher

Blurb:

Ricky has been secretly in love with his best friend Jez forever, but he’s never dared confess his feelings because he thinks Jez is too high-class for him. One evening, while sharing a quiet evening with Jez, a mysterious angel, Madred, appears and tries to persuade Ricky to take a chance on love.

Too bad Ricky doesn’t believe in angels. Madred is forced to take desperate measures in an attempt to show the reluctant Ricky the truth. When the angel leaves, can Ricky find the courage to declare himself to Jez, and what will happen to their friendship if he does?

Review:

Ricky and Jez have been friends for years, and though they’ve seen each other through a variety of relationships, they’ve never hooked up. Ricky has always wanted to, though. He just never believed someone like Jez would ever be interested in a guy like him. During a quiet night in at Jez’s, Ricky gets a surprise visit from a creature that claims to be his guardian angel. He’s there to give Ricky one last chance at the love he wants, but it’s up to Ricky whether or not he acts on it.

This short story delivers exactly what it promises. The prose is simple and unchallenging, sweetly tinged even when Ricky is questioning the validity of Madred’s existence. It engages from the first sentences, with Ricky and Jez bantering back and forth, establishing the foundation of their friendship and the basis for what is to come. The light mood prevails upon Madred’s introduction, but with the angel’s arrival comes the most prevalent of the story’s drawbacks. While the two heroes are nice enough, neither stands out as very original or distinct. Ricky is a bit of a player with rough edges, while Jez is quieter, nicer, prettier, and far more stable. They’re guys you’d encounter in everyday life. Under normal circumstances, their characterizations would add to the story’s verisimilitude. Here, they end up fading into the background, because Madred ends up far more interesting than either one of them. Then he’s gone halfway through the story. He leaves a hole that, try as they might, neither Ricky nor Jez completely fill.

That’s not to say that the story doesn’t have its own adorable charm. It does. For this short space, it’s a simple, nice romance, with a reluctant hero prodded gently into pursuing his dream. The sex isn’t graphic, but there’s a gentle emotionality to it that compensates for any lack the reader might find. I didn’t miss it at all. It’s appropriate for what the plot promises. Readers expecting a smutfest will be disappointed, because this isn’t it. Instead, they’ll get an amiable, romantic morsel, satisfying for the moment.