Riley Bloom Books In Order

Publication Order of Riley Bloom Books

The Riley Bloom series is a series of children’s novels by New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noel, best known for writing “The Immortals” series of novels. After the first novel in the series became so successful on the bookshelves and was praised by critics, Noel published several more titles in the still ongoing series of novels, that were just as successful as the first. As opposed to her highly popular “Immortals” series of novels, the author writes for a younger and more innocent audience. The lead character in the series of novels is Riley Bloom, a young and innocent like girl who dies and goes to the land of “The Here and Now” to start a new life as a soul catcher. The first novel in the series was “Radiance” that the author first published in 2001 to introduce Riley, the lead in the series who has become one of children’s fiction most popular characters. While at first glance the novels seem so similar to the “Immortals” series of novel and even share the same character, the novels are a little bit different. Riley who was quite annoying is quite an intriguing character in the Riley Bloom series. The novels in the series are light, quick, and fun reads with a few important messages for the young reader. Given that they are written for a younger reader, their messages and stories are more enjoyable, heartwarming, and less complex than the author’s previous works.

The Riley Bloom series is set in an alternate universe where the innocent and younger Riley is trying to find perspective in a new world. She has found herself in a new world of the “Here and Now”, where she has shed her annoying typical little sister personality as she finds a job as a soul catcher. Life in the afterlife is not a bed of roses full of leisure, as she discovers that she will have to work catching souls, which she turns out to be very good at. She is under the tutelage of Bodhi who is a nerdy but cute boy that will help her in her quest to become a soul catcher. Soul catching is a huge responsibility in the afterlife, and Riley may have to be more mature in her decisions and actions than she has ever been. However, the biggest thing bothering the young girl is that she is perpetually stuck at twelve years, and will never attain the elusive age of thirteen. While it is a source of frustration for the lead character, it may be put down to the stubbornness of a child at that age, who for the most part never listens. However, despite her early struggles she makes a for a very good soul catcher, though she often has to deal with some of the worst of spirits who are obsessed with revenge and refuse to leave the world they know. Nonetheless, the main idea of the series of novels is that one can still attain their dreams and be useful to their society no matter their age.

Riley Bloom is a charming and adorable girl that is as stubborn as hell, particularly with regard to her convictions. But despite her single-minded focus, and over confidence, she is also a fun, compassionate, and caring young girl who is looking to find herself and where she really belongs. When we are first introduced to Riley, she just died together with all her family except for her sister Ever. Riley now lives with her dog Buttercup and the rest of her family in a nice little cottage in the world of the “Here and Now”. However, Riley and all the other spirits can move freely between the two worlds, and so she can get to see her sister whenever she wants. However, the afterlife is not about relaxing and laying back doing nothing for eternity as she soon finds out. Summoned to the Council, she is informed that she is to help convince souls to cross into the afterlife from the world. These souls either love haunting people or claim unfinished business, and Riley has to do her best to make them understand their business in the world is done. Under the tutelage of Bodhi, Riley learns to adapt to her new life in the “Here and Now world”. She is desperate to become accepted in her new world but still wants to remain herself, to reach thirteen, and to find a boyfriend just like she would if she was still alive on Earth. Her frustration at not fitting in and being accepted see her in constantly shifting moods and outfits though she provides nuggets of wisdom that is so grown up for someone her age.

“Radiance” the first novel in the Riley Bloom series of novels opens to Riley having just arrived in the “Here and Now”. The “Here and Now” is an afterlife universe where people who die go to continue their lives. She is living with her whole family and her dog Buttercup in a small cottage in a pleasant neighborhood. She is soon summoned to the Council that runs the “Here and Now”, and is informed that in the afterlife, she needs to find something to keep herself busy with. Given her personality, she is assigned the task of Soul Catcher, one of the most prestigious of jobs in the afterlife. Alongside Bodhi, a nerdy and impossibly cute boy who is also her teacher, they return to earth to try to convince a boy named Radiant to move into the afterlife. Radiant is a teenage boy that has refused to leave his parents castle that he has been haunting for centuries. None of the soul catchers sent before have been successful in convicting him to cross into the afterlife. Will Riley be the one that finally manages to do so?

“Shimmer” the second novel in the Riley Bloom series sees Bodhi, Riley, and Buttercup enjoy a well-deserved vacation after successfully convincing Radiant to move into the afterlife in the first novel. But Riley goes against Bodhi’s advice and crosses over a vicious black dog that turns out to be a big mistake. The dog leads her to Rebecca a young soul that is one of the most vicious and vindictive souls that has refused to move into the afterlife. Rebecca is the daughter of a former slave plantation owner who was killed in the eighteenth century during a slave revolt. Bitter at being murdered, the young Rebecca has never moved on and is keeping her fellow ghosts in perpetual bondage, trapping them in the worst memories from their slave years. Faced with one of the most vindictive of persons, could Riley persuade Rebecca that she needs to forgive her killers even as she deals with her own nightmares?