Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Review and Giveaway! ~ Radiance by Alyson Noel

From the back cover: 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 . . . 
At first this book sounded like it would be a cute story. However I had not previously read Evermore and didn't realize at the time that this book is a continuation of sorts. It took me almost the whole book to "figure out" the back story. You definately want to read Evermore first. Now, taking all of that into account, overall I enjoyed the book but it just isn't the type of book I would normally read. It started out very light and interesting as we see Riley getting use to the Here and Now and finding out what her role (or job) will be. Once she is assigned as soul catcher, I thought we would see her go through some training or a little more in depth about where she was and what "life" will be like for her. Instead however we find her on her first assignment and that's where the book takes a dark turn. If you are into that kind of thing then this would be a great book for you. Riley is a very spunky girl and I loved her view on things. I did like the ending (I won't give it away) and this series will be a great teen read.

Now for the giveaway.....  This book is coming out on August 31. I will pick one winner (randomly) to win my ARC copy of Radiance on August 31. This book was only read once by me and still looks brand new, no creases! To enter the contest please sign up as a follower to my blog and then post a comment telling me your favorite mystery author.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Macmillan Publishers.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

17 comments:

  1. Oh yay I get to be your first follower! My favorite mystery author(s) are Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I love everything they write together and separately.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary D
    zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

    Yay!! I get to be your second follower lol
    Honestly, Ms Noel is one of my favorite authors, in fact I just bought the first 3 books in her *immortal* series ... LOVE EM!!!

    I've got to agree with Autumn above, I've been readin Preston & Child forever ... since Relic came out ... and they are incredible! The Pendergast series is wonderful and I highly recommend it to everyone :)

    To pick a different mystery favorite, Dan Simmons is amazing as well ... his books usually have the touch of paranormal (like Preston & Child). I finished The Terror a few months ago and it just blew me away!

    Thank you for holding such a nice giveaway, I'd be thrilled to win this :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite mystery author is James Patterson. He keeps you on your toes and sometimes can actually make you feel sorry for the murderer. Can you imagine that? He is such a good author.
    Pokadots1121@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think Sue Grafton has some pretty good mystery books. I'll go with her. Thanks for the giveaway.
    caliblue7 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. New GFC Follower. My favorite mystery author is James Patterson. Thanks.
    pinkpeonyblossom at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. My favorite is Mary Higgins Clark.
    I follow you now.
    razorfire7 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Favorite mystery author is Harlan Coben.....

    I am a follower of your blog

    journey through books@ gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Favourite mystery author is Jodi Piccoult - her novels are deeply confronting yet gets us to think about the world in a different light. Just followed you.
    angelazhang702@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Favourite mystery author is Dan Brown. I love his thriller stories, each chapter keeps me reading on. Every time I read one of his books I can literally feel the hairs sticking up from my back. His books are really powerful and spike more feelings from me rather than a horror movie actually would.

    mashimaro_18 (@) hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. John Grisham is my favorite. I am a follower.
    dianarod23 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. My favorite mystery author is Dan Simmons ... he knows how to weave them!

    jlelliott08 [at] gmail [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
  12. My favorite is Jeffrey Deaver. I am a new follower.
    peacelily_2006(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite. I am a new follower and would love to be entered in this ARC giveaway! Thanks for the contest ♥
    veltara@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. My fave mystery author would have to be Dan Brown.

    misled.ghosts(AT)gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I absolutely LOVE alyson Noel. No boubt about it ! She is absolutely my favorite, now, and forever ! The Immortal Series are UH-Mazing !

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite mystery author.

    ReplyDelete