Radiance by Alyson Noel

Radiance by Alyson Noel
"Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley . . ."- summary from Amazon

So I haven't read the Immortals series yet though I have the first two books in my TBR pile but just wanted to state that right off the bat. I had no trouble whatsoever understanding what was happening in this book. It really is just a separate adventure. Ever is mentioned and plays a bit in the character growth but there's nothing here that suggests you need to have read Ever's series first.

Anyway, I really loved this book. It was just really cute but had some wonderful depth to it. This is a pretty short book (but it's paperback as it should be) but it works well and there is still good character development and it just feels like the right length for the story.

Riley is a great character and I loved her sense of humor. The interactions between her and Bodhi were probably my favorite parts of the whole book. I really liked the world building too that Noel did for Here and how everything works there; it was just very cool. Riley's first assignment with the Radiant Boy was really interesting to read too, and I'm looking forward to reading about her future assignments.

There's also a tiny excerpt of the next book, out in January. I can't wait to read more in this series and I really need to get to reading the Immortals series too!

If you want a chance to read this book, go to A Bookworm's Haven (a friend of mine) to enter a contest to win a copy! It ends September 10!

FTC: Received signed ARC at BEA (yes, I got to meet Alyson!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.