oldgum101's review against another edition
1.0
Nothing of interest or anything new happened. It was just [b:Radiance|7886302|Radiance (Riley Bloom, #1)|Alyson Noel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317066100s/7886302.jpg|10211428] done again.
whisperedaria's review against another edition
3.0
Book Blurb: "Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi’s advice, she decides to cross him over. While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?"
I suppose this book is all right for younger teens, which is probably good since that's the audience for this book. But I found Riley Bloom extremely annoying. This girl definitely leads with her mouth and is slow in the reasoning department. This is one of the protagonists who are so dumb you want to hit their head against a brick wall. Despite being with a character who has been around longer than she, knows the situation better, and is obviously wiser, Riley continues to mouth off and generally mess everything up. Even AFTER this character proves himself repeatedly correct, she still insists on treating his advice as if he were "obviously crazy" (variations of this phrase are used several times in reference to him). The fact that Riley has obviously never even been taught history is evident when she asks why an African prince would go from a life of luxury to being whipped and tortured. Hello?The writing gets a little monotonous, with a lot of "Even though (reason pointing against what Riley thinks), even though (another reason), even though (another reason)...Despite all that, (Riley goes ahead and thinks what she wants anyway)." It's also bogged down with a lot of description. The climax nearly pulls the book out of its slump, which is why I give it 3 stars, but it doesn't quite pull it off all the way.
I would have liked to like this book, but due to the annoying nature of its heroine I simply couldn't enjoy it. A side note: the audiobook version of this has a wonderful voice actress, and I enjoyed listening to her even though the book was making me grit my teeth with annoyance.
I suppose this book is all right for younger teens, which is probably good since that's the audience for this book. But I found Riley Bloom extremely annoying. This girl definitely leads with her mouth and is slow in the reasoning department. This is one of the protagonists who are so dumb you want to hit their head against a brick wall. Despite being with a character who has been around longer than she, knows the situation better, and is obviously wiser, Riley continues to mouth off and generally mess everything up. Even AFTER this character proves himself repeatedly correct, she still insists on treating his advice as if he were "obviously crazy" (variations of this phrase are used several times in reference to him). The fact that Riley has obviously never even been taught history is evident when she asks why an African prince would go from a life of luxury to being whipped and tortured. Hello?The writing gets a little monotonous, with a lot of "Even though (reason pointing against what Riley thinks), even though (another reason), even though (another reason)...Despite all that, (Riley goes ahead and thinks what she wants anyway)." It's also bogged down with a lot of description. The climax nearly pulls the book out of its slump, which is why I give it 3 stars, but it doesn't quite pull it off all the way.
I would have liked to like this book, but due to the annoying nature of its heroine I simply couldn't enjoy it. A side note: the audiobook version of this has a wonderful voice actress, and I enjoyed listening to her even though the book was making me grit my teeth with annoyance.
lovegirl30's review against another edition
1.0
Review to come.
Meh, this was about as bad as the first one. Nothing ever happened. It was a pointless sequel. I won’t be reading the other two books in the series.
Meh, this was about as bad as the first one. Nothing ever happened. It was a pointless sequel. I won’t be reading the other two books in the series.
rainbow_bookish_owl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mrsjkamp's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty dark addition to the Riley series. I thought this series was for younger YA readers, but there was a lot of slave, murder, and horrible death talk in this one! Lots of bad memories for all the characters once they encounter Rebecca. But Riley is strong and persistent if nothing else. She's a strong MC, even if she's a bit overconfident and slightly bratty at times. She's growing up there in the Here and Now I guess!
danielcharlton's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
calicokaels's review against another edition
5.0
After reading Radiance, I was unsure if I wanted to continue this series or not. I didn't really enjoy the first book, but I decided to stick with it and read the second. I'm have to say, I'm glad I did.
In this second installment of the Riley Bloom series I feel the character of Riley grew A LOT. Sure she is still a stubborn 13 year old girl trying to find her place in the afterlife, but she starts caring about things other than herself. I'm hoping the series will continue to get better.
In this second installment of the Riley Bloom series I feel the character of Riley grew A LOT. Sure she is still a stubborn 13 year old girl trying to find her place in the afterlife, but she starts caring about things other than herself. I'm hoping the series will continue to get better.
caffeineandbookreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Very sweet, just like book one is very much targeted at a younger audience. It's an easy read with innocent preteen quirks.
This one takes a look at slavery in the age of plantation ground. Where a man could be a prince in his country one day and sold off as a slave in another the next day.
But the lesson that stood out the most for me was how you are in control, you can let hate and anger control you or you can choose to forgive, to find the small moment of silence in everything and let the anger go because if you let it it will control you.
Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it – Mark Twain
This one takes a look at slavery in the age of plantation ground. Where a man could be a prince in his country one day and sold off as a slave in another the next day.
But the lesson that stood out the most for me was how you are in control, you can let hate and anger control you or you can choose to forgive, to find the small moment of silence in everything and let the anger go because if you let it it will control you.
Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it – Mark Twain
mona254's review against another edition
4.0
I think I like Riley Bloom better than Ever (Immortals) right about now :) Great short read!