Showalter takes the premise that life is just a dress rehearsal literally, because she posits an afterlife divided into three realms: Troika, Myriad and Many Ends. Candidates sign on for either of the first two (the first is bathed in sunlight, and considers that free will/individual actions as important; the second is swathed in darkness, and thinks that fate overrides all, and that individuals cannot prevent the grind of its wheels). If, at the end of their Firstlife, a person is Unsigned, they end up in Many Ends, which roughly corresponds to Hell. The competition for spirits runs high as Troika and Myriad have been at war forever (though I don't recall being told why they are at war), and spirits are inducted into each realm's army. 
 Apparently critical to the cause (we're told this in the opening pages) is one Tenley "Ten" Lockwood, a 17 year old girl who is confined to the Prynne Asylum. Prynne is designed to help (by any means necessary) its inmates sign to one of the two realms, but Ten isn't having any of it. Fortunately, two super hot guys, one from each realm, are sent to recruit her to their respective causes. Why yes, Teen Harlequin is the publisher, how did you guess? 
 I hated the first half of the book, and as I slogged through it I kept hoping it would get better. Fortunately for me, it did, as I liked how the story unfolded in the second half. That's the reason I give the book 2 stars. While I realize it's part of a series (what isn't these days), I don't feel the need to continue on with it.