Big Love by Saxon Bennett, Layce Gardner

Big Love
by Saxon Bennett, Layce Gardner
Pages: 219
Date: August 30 2016
Publisher: Square Pegs Ink
Series: None

Review
Rating: 4.75
Read: September 22 2016

Four things to note immediately:

1) This is neither my first guardian angel book, nor first lesbian fiction guardian angel book;
2) This book is somewhat . . . wildly insane - I can imagine opinions diverging similarly wildly (though I just looked and the vast majority of the people who have rated the book have given 5 stars - 64% of the readers have given 5 stars);
3) This is a very readable book - one so readable I gulped it down before I could even note on GoodReads that I was 'currently reading' it.;
4) This is my fourth book that I've read with Bennett on the 'by-line' and first that also includes Layce Gardner listed on the cover.

Right. So then. This is a silly, wacky, sweet, hilarious book about an easily distracted guardian angel and a specific human, her 'protectee' (plus Nell's (the human's) friends; also plus one or two of Zing's (the angel's) friends).

Zing, as noted, is easily distracted and Nell is kind of boring. So Zing was off playing with a 'footbag' (the phrase used is 'Hacky Sack', but that's technically a trademark name. It's like saying 'I went and made a xerox copy.' - though that's kind of a dated example).

Got distracted, see, I get distracted as well.

Okay then. Zing is Nell's guardian angel. One day while Nell is walking a city street while also texting her love, she fell down a manhole. Because Zing is easily distracted. And thought Nell was going to stay with the others until the light changed. But Nell was distracted by her phone and 'died'; while Zing was distracted by a hacky sack.

Bertha, Zing's boss, is quite pissed to find the human rubbing her head and looking around the field of marshmellows (I've this vague recollection that Nell ended up falling and falling and when she stopped, she landed on marshmellows - in an area adjacent to heaven; marshmellows might not have been involved though). Bertha's pissed because it wasn't Nell's 'time to die'.

Next thing Nell knows, she's in a hospital room waking up to two people talking - Annabelle and Zing, both angels. Though Zing's in a human body now. She's going to be there to make up for her mistake and try to help Nell.

Zing's been around for a while, but hasn't really paid too much attention to human things. So acts like she was 'born yesterday'. Taking things literally. Gobbling donuts, etc. Part of the wackiness is that Zing recalls that Annabelle's 'human' is the kind to help stray dogs and the like. So - she, Zing, needs help - as in a place to stay, a bath, some food, etc. So she wanders over to that person's place (once she's kicked out of the hospital, oh, didn't mention that). She wanders over by spotting an 'old wrinkly woman' sitting on a bench. And bluntly says something like 'old woman, does this bus . . .' go to . . . hmm, I forget how she worded it . . . higher class area. 'Old woman', who is dressed all in purple but for a red hat, takes Zing under her wing and leads her to where 'Miracle' (the name Annabelle and Zing use for Shelia, Annabelle's human) area.

I didn't mean to include all that above, but it's an example of the wackiness. The part where people just respond to her in a positive way. And just, for the most part, accepts when she, Zing, says things like 'I'm a guardian angel'. Which several in the story do - including Miracle, and Nell.

Right, so. Zing mingles with the humans (going to an amusement park, getting a job at a bakery - where Nell and Carol work, etc.) while the humans circle each other in both friend and romance ways. And Nell continues her longish relationship with 'Dove', the author who she's never meet in person, or talked to on the phone (they text, but not talk).

Bah. I'm not doing this review thingie correctly.

Book is good. Readable. Funny. Wacky. Romance occurs between more than one couple. Silliness occurs. I enjoyed the book.

September 22 2016