The Afterlife of the Party

Afterlife #1

by Marlene Perez

I didn’t even want to go to the party.

Seriously, I’d rather have stayed home with my librarian-witch grandmother and her mystical book club than go. But my best friend Skyler begged me. So I went.

And it was the worst party of my life. The last party of my life.

Not only was the band downright horrible, but the lead singer bit me afterward. And then stole Skyler.

Now I’m chasing down a band of angry vamps with my other best friend Vaughn in tow—and a buttload of feelings between us we can’t even begin to address. And worse, I’m changing into something else…

Let the afterlife begin.

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance, Witches, Young Adult Fantasy

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2021

About the author

Author of the paranormal teen mystery Dead Is series, the adult urban fantasy Nyx Fortuna series, and the new teen vampire trilogy, which starts with The Afterlife of the Party with Entangled Teen.
One of Ten Books to Pick Up After You've Sunk Your Teeth into "Midnight Sun"
https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelstroll...

Trilogy order
The Afterlife of the Party, Afterlife #1
I'm with the Banned, Afterlife #2
A Sucker for You, Afterlife #3

Nyx Fortuna series
Strange Fates
Dark Descent
Fortune's Favor

DEAD IS series is as follows:

DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK
DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND
DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR
DEAD IS JUST A RUMOR
DEAD IS NOT AN OPTION
DEAD IS spin-off
DEAD IS A BATTLEFIELD
DEAD IS A KILLER TUNE
DEAD IS JUST A DREAM
ww.marleneperez.com.

Twitter:@MarPerez
Instagram:marperezauthor

Welcome to Nightshade FB page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Welcome...

Reviews

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a ridiculous book, but in a fun way.

It starts with a group of three friends who are heading to a gig. It soon takes a darker turn when the band members turn out to be vampires and kidnap one of the girls to use as their own personal blood bank.

Skyler's two friends will do anything to get her back, and so begins a crazy journey full of (bad) music, stinky vamps and one teenage witch determined to raise hell.

First thing's first, Vaughn. I usually really like friends/best friends to lovers, but boy, Vaughn pushed all the wrong buttons for me. No matter what he did I couldn't start liking him.

The romance was a necessary plot point, especially for the rescue mission so I can't complain, but it just didn't do it for me.

Moving on to Skylar. She spent most of the book feeling dozy so we didn't get to know her that well. Still, she was a lot better than Vaughn. I wish I knew exactly how long she knew it was Tansy and Vaughn because that wasn't very clear. Was she protecting them the whole time or just from a certain point onwards?

Tansy was the best of the three, I really liked her, minus the Vaughn shaped flaw in her heart. She proved that she was ready to do whatever it takes to save her best friend and didn't stop there. She really can't see anyone suffer.

I also liked the cool grandma and Armando. I wish we saw more of them both.

Now for the other stuff. It was easy to read yes, and funny too. Although, occasionally the dialogue felt jumpy.

For example, one character would say something or ask a question and the other character would act as if that never happened and would say something else and the original asker seemed to forget they said anything as well. This happened even when only two characters were present in a scene, and there was no indication that they were being ignored on purpose.

And the battle scene at the end could've been written better, it was both anticlimactic and all over the place at the same time.

Honourable mention: I love that Tansy smells like a strawberry milkshake. That's the best smell.

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join Tansy as she embarks on a road trip with her friend/crush Vaughan. They’re following a band that’s on tour, but not because they’re groupies. They’re trying to save Tansy’s best friend, Skylar, from the clutches of Travis, the band’s lead singer. Travis is a vampire that’s been feasting on Skylar.

The first in a planned trilogy, The Afterlife of the Party sucked me in straight away. (See what I did there? 🧛🏼‍♂️) I felt like I already knew Tansy, Skylar and Vaughan, and enjoyed hanging out with them. I loved the name of the vampire’s band, ‘The Drainers’, and I was keen to learn all about Tansy’s witch heritage.

I appreciated that consent was addressed in a vampire story, although after the vampires were introduced there were a number of scenes that had me scratching my head. I do need to acknowledge that I read an uncorrected proof so it’s entirely possible that the things I struggled with may not be included in the final version. Having said that …

Rose and Thorn mostly wandered in and out of scenes and didn’t contribute a great deal to the story. I anticipate they will have a larger role in the sequels, and I hope they do because their characters have the potential to become very interesting. However, by the end of this book both they and the Paranormal Activities Committee they work for seem pretty irrelevant.

I didn’t always feel the urgency of Tansy and Vaughn’s attempts to find Skylar. Especially when Tansey found Skylar close to death, did a quick healing spell on her and then left her again.

Sometimes terms that had already been defined, like Bleeders, would be reexplained in later chapters.

Tansey says she told Granny the “entire story” but less than ten paragraphs later she mentions a key part of the story that she has kept from her.

I knew I’d have to tell her eventually, but I wasn’t quite ready for the look of disappointment I’d see.

The showdown that I knew was inevitable as soon as a certain character was introduced disappointed me. It was over and done with much too quickly for my liking. If someone is going to try to take out a Big Bad I want there to be more of a fight, and maybe a cliché Big Bad monologue to go with it. While there are still plenty of baddies left for our heroes to deal with in the sequels, if it was that easy to get rid of the Big Bad then won’t their underling’s deaths be even easier?

I hope the sequels reveal the identity of Tansy’s father and explain what the deal is with Connor. I want more time with Granny, who could become my favourite character if I got to know her better. I’d also love to see Tansy and her friends cross paths with other hidden world creatures.

Content warnings include the violent death of an animal and mention of sexual assault. Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with some scenes.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[Dr. Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted a copy of this by the publisher, Entangled Teen, in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this one!

The Afterlife of the Party is about Tansy who is a witch. When her best friend takes her to a concert, she doesn't think it will be life changing. Unfortunately, Skyler failed to mention the band was made up of vampires. When both Skyler and Tansy are bitten, Tansy know she needs to get them out ASAP and to her grandmother. With her grandma's help they get Skyler settled. But the next day, Sky takes off after the vampires. Tansy can't let her best friend be eaten or worse, so she takes off with her friend, Vaughn, that she's had a crush on forever, to find Skyler.

This was a wild ride! I really had fun with this one. I loved the exploration of witch and vampire powers. The striga vie witch-vampire hybrid was so interesting as well. I'm really curious to see what will become of Tansy now that she's a striga vie. I loved how much Tansy was willing to do to get her friend back. I love seeing friendship be celebrated and appreciated like it should.

I had so much fun seeing Tansy and Vaughn interact with each other. Especially when they decide to pose as a fake couple. It was so damn cute, and so clear that they're both infatuated with each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I'm curious to see what happens next!

Rep: white female MC who is a witch, white male love interest, side WLW couple.

CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, death, emotional abuse/mind control, gore, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, murder, sexual harassment, violence.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just got bored. I didn't care about Skyler (the bff). She seemed like a flake and it totally wasn't clear if this was her norm or if it was vampire influence. The world seems to run on whacky rules, too, and Tansy and her wannabe squeeze are too clueless to be real. Or, at least, to attach to as a reader. They're obviously into each other but can't seem to have a straight conversation. And it isn't helping that there's no clarity (or curiosity) on Tansy's status. Is she a vampire or not? Some hints yes (were those fangs in the cave), some no (she's walking around in daylight with no trouble).

I stopped caring when it became clear it was all going along the same string-of-events path with no real design or plot. One star for making a vampire/witch hybrid boring.

[Sofii♡ (A Book. A Thought.) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to thank NetGalley & Entangled: Teen for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, this book wasn't made for me, I was able to enjoy some scenes that made me laugh and I can also say that the positive thing about this book is that at least it kept my interest in knowing what would happen, even so, there's not much else to highlight. The plot itself is about vampires, there are a bit of boyish bands, travel and friendship too, it has a very old-school style in terms of structure and plot, which can be a fun factor, just didn't resonate with me this time, plus it didn't help the fact that it's pretty cliche. I felt everything quite flat, there are scenes that are absurd that come out of nowhere to keep the plot moving, the characters aren't strong enough to be highlighted and sadly I don't have much to say about the descriptions or the setting since there's not much development there.



2/5 ⭐⭐

You can find more of my reviews & fun content on my blog A Book. A Thought.


The book basically follows Tansy as she tries to save her friend Skyler from a gang of vampires while trying to discover the meaning of her feelings for her other best friend Vaughn. From here they'll find themselves in impossible situations surrounded by dangers and challenges which will push Tansy to make a decision as the last sacrifice to save the lives of her friends.


I think this book ended up being too childlike for me, I don't mean that I don't enjoy books with this youthful vibe where anything can happen as long as the plot continues to move, but in this case, it didn't work for me. I think the idea itself is fun, and I was super excited to read it just because there would be vampires and that's always an entertaining factor for me, and while I did enjoy that particular point, I think the execution itself and the way in which the author has handled the development of it is something disastrous at times, I don't want to sound mean, but I really think there were many ways to take the story down an interesting path and this hasn't been my favorite. There are a lot of good ideas in the book, but I don't know, it just felt too carefree to be 100% interested in what was going on.

There's a very great lack of descriptions and this makes it difficult to locate within the story in time and space, this is not always something that personally requires to enjoy a plot, but here I do think it would have been a great touch that would probably have done a lot more for the plot. On the other hand, we also have the development of the characters, and this is probably what I liked the least about the book, the characters themselves aren't remarkable nor do they really have anything that makes them special to me , plus many attitudes, especially from Tansy, are silly, and it's okay, I understand that the characters must go wrong to carry out and grow at some point, but OMG, she was desperate for me, I don't like this character and I feel like she has had too many opportunities within the story to re-vindicate herself and she hasn't known how to take advantage of them.


I had high hopes that the book would improve in quality towards the end and at some point, I almost thought it would, but it didn't, and it fell again to end in an unsatisfactory way for me. I think one of my biggest problems with the book is that it doesn't follow a clear line when telling the story, it's like random things happen all of a sudden to make it more "exciting" I guess. I can't deny that it has a lot of twists and turns and revelations, which makes it feel a bit more interesting when reading, but even so, a book doesn't stand up on revelations alone, so after the surprise and the initial shock again falls into being even a little repetitive and cliche at times. Although I must admit that romance hasn't been one of the worst I've read, it has adorable moments, which is good.

In some way, I can see the author wants this story to be sexy and funny something like True Blood but more youthful(? Or something like that, so maybe this crazy and reckless factor that characterizes it is here on purpose and is the style the author wants to give to the book, in that case, I can see other readers enjoying it without problems, perhaps I'm not simply the target for it, since a certain part of me expected a greater development of the plot, more explanations in general, and above all a seriousness that's lost as you progress through the reading.


I'll not judge the author based on only one of her works, nor it's my intention to speak badly of her style, I believe that each writer has a unique imprint that will always work wonderfully for some readers more than for others, so I would probably be willing to give her a second chance maybe with another type of genre.

This book isn't for me, and that's clear, but even so, I think it could work if you're looking for something light to read, it may be the absurdity of its plot and the crazy actions of the characters, as well as the youthfulness of their dialogues and paranormal factors works for you at the end. Obviously, I cannot recommend it as fervently as I usually do, since it hasn't been a book that I enjoy with that intensity, but even so, this is just my opinion and I hope it doesn't stop you from trying it if you feel like it. It's clear that I was looking for a much more serious, intense, and action plot, so this book really fell short in those aspects. I still think, from my humble opinion, that it could be an interesting plot with a little more work.











First Thoughts 03/10/21

I was hopeful that it will get better as the story progressed but it didn't. I think this is the kind of book that is a hit or miss for me and this time, unfortunately, it was a miss.
I think the idea is fun and has a lot of possibilities to explore, but I felt it too immature in terms of the character voices which are quite flat as well, and the scenes are somewhat absurd. It reminded me a bit of Riverdale but paranormal, I don't know why lol, it's that kind of plot that you know is kind of everywhere & absurd, but I understand that it has moments that can be enjoyed.
Still this wasn't for me.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

tansy didn’t even want to go to the party that caused her best friend to go missing and left her with vampire bite marks. now, she’s on a mission to get her friend back, while worrying that she might be becoming a vampire herself…

honestly, this wasn’t a bad book; it was just way too similar to every other ya vampire book out there for me to fully enjoy. nothing about this book really stuck out to me, i guess except for tansy being a witch (which wasn’t a huge plot point) and what happened at the very end? still, i might continue this series to see what happens.

[Carole (Carole's Random Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I had fun with this book! I like vampire stories so I decided to give this book a try. I hoped to find an entertaining story within the pages, which I did, but I did really expect to find a unique tale with a good dose of humor mixed in. I found this book to be very entertaining and I am glad that I decided to pick it up.

Tansy goes to a party at the start of this book, along with her best friends Skylar and Vaughn. Skylar's boyfriend is in a band, The Drainers, who will be playing at the party. It becomes evident pretty early on that this is not your normal party and soon Tansy and Vaughn learn that Skylar's boyfriend and his band are really vampires. And they want Skylar and Tansy for themselves.

I liked the characters in this book. Tansy is a witch and after she is bitten at the party strange things start to happen to her. I loved that she was willing to do whatever it took to save her best friend and Vaughn was right there with her. Vaughn and Tansy made a very strong team and I think that they really tried to do what was best in every situation. They were both very brave and I found them to both be very competent.

I enjoyed the lighter tone of the story. There are some terrible things that happen in the book but those scenes were balanced out by the more comical parts of the story. There was quite a bit of excitement in this book and there were times that I was really worried that Tansy and Vaughn were not going to come out of everything in one piece. I loved that the book was able to keep me guessing and there were some pretty big surprises along the way.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought this was a well done young adult vampire story with great characters and enough excitement to keep things interesting. I am looking forward to finding out what in store for Tansy, Vaughn, and Skylar in future installments in this trilogy.

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from Entagled: Teen via NetGalley.

[novelsnerd · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how I finished this book. I was soooo excited to read it but it was so not well written. I felt like I was reading conversations between 13 years old. Even 13 years old are more insightful. Cliche lines were used in cliche manner which were not fun to read at all.


I had high expectations for this book. Sad to say it wasn't even an average. I literally skimmed pages, because I didn't want to dnf it.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the author.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What was a group of vampires called? A gang? A bite? A bite of vampires. I liked it. Fear was making me silly."

**A big heaping hug to Entangled for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest review.**

I love the fact that vampires are back. I know, I know, they never went away and blah blah blah, but you know there was a really long lull after Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and True Blood ended. There were some smaller titles, but nothing really hit as big as the aforementioned. There are now some HUGE titles coming out this year that tickle me pink. I'm all about the fangs and the blood and the lore. I love me some humor too, witty banter, and ridiculous scenarios. That's where this book comes in.

Tansey is a teenager with teenage problems except her best friend decided to get herself enthralled by an emo band of vampires. Oh, and she's a witch which causes lots of problems when she tries to extract her friend only to find herself bitten. Now a half-vampire/half-witch, she and her crush embark on a journey to get their friend back all while fighting their feelings for each other.

This a quick, fun-filled bloodfest chock-full of magic, female friendships, romance, and a group of sexy vampires who play sh**y music to lure victims. It's so funny to think about it. I mean, these vampires are so super lame that I couldn't wait for them to get staked. Let me add: they may be sexy, but these vampires are not all sparkly. They're actually disgusting. If you've ever been on a band's tour bus, or even a teenage boy's bedroom, you get it. But ok, times that by a hundred and you have the living conditions of four vampires.

I had a few minor issues that I need to point out. I did find some of the scenes very choppy with things tied up rather quickly. I found myself a little jarred. This may have to do with the fast pacing, but I don't know... Another thing was Tansey and all her powers. Things pile up on her very quickly, and I'm curious to see how the author deals with it all in book two. I do have hopes that the story will be tighter and things will be much clearer as the story progresses. Fair not! I am in for the long haul.

If you enjoy dark, quirky books, this is it.

**Find me @celiamcmahonreads on Instagram for all your booksta needs

[By Book and Bone (Sally) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was much worse than what I expected (I mean obviously or I wouldn't have read it).
I've clicked between 1 and 2 stars three or four times because I feel bad giving it one star. I didn't expect The Afterlife of the Party to be ground breaking. I was just looking for a fun book, maybe a bit silly.

It's silly alright but the writing is so poor, that it is a painful read. There are continuity mistakes, inconsistent characters, horrendous fight scenes that are difficult to even follow.
Tansy is the worst for being inconsistent. One minute she's sobbing at the smallest thing or convinced her boyfriend doesn't actually like her. Next, she's trading insults with the King of the vampires (who shows up out of no where and has no personality).

There's this sort of 'and then this happened, and then this happened and then and then...' like a small child is telling you the story. The romance is badly set up. I think the author made a poor decision having it so obvious that the two friends liked each other from the beginning... because later the narrator acts like it's unclear. It's frustrating to read!

[Tânia]

I told you that vampires are coming back in 2020! 😜 I can't lie: I'm excited The Afterlife of the Party because it's a vampire book. And, once again, it's also a book about strong female friendship and we need more of that. Females are friends, not rivals.

Blog // Instagram // Twitter // Redbubble

[Hannah B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Help??? I actually really liked this and am totally gonna read the sequel. It was unhinged but I don’t know why the reviews are so low?? Vaughn is a hunky love muffin and I was interested in basically everything going on. I got confused at some plot points but understood everything by the end. Transitions between chapters were a bit funky nuts but the tone was likable and I like Tansy as well.

The narrator was also great and I wish she narrated more YA books. She’s also one I can listen to at a comfortable 2.0x speed so the book cruised along.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Afterlife of the Party was interesting. I didn't really hate it, but I also didn't love it. In the beginning, it was pretty obvious that the band was filled with vampires. I thought it was hilarious that our main girl, Tansy, kept saying that they sounded horrible on the radio. Then they magically sounded better live.

Of course, one would think autotune, but that would mean they would sound horrible live and better on the radio? Push comes to shove, and she soon realizes that they are vampires and she's in trouble. Well, not just her but her friends too. Enter Vaughn and Skylar.

Now we know that Tansy has a huge crush on Vaughn and Skylar is her best friend forever. It just so happens that Skylar is in love with the lead singer of the band. Also, Vaughn magically has a crush on Tansy too? Which, yes, kind of surprised me but I think it only really came out when she was dating her ex.

On top of all that, Tansy is a witch. On other word, it means her blood smells freaking delicious to these vampires. The romance, drama, and little reveals were kind of interesting too. Even if things got cheesy at times.

In the end, I feel like things are heading in to trouble town. She's the Queen and Vaughn is heading off to Texas. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[anna ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

This was a pretty fun, pretty quick and engaging read.

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Marlene Perez brings a fun take on the vampire lore we all know and love with her newest book, The Afterlife of the Party! When Tansy's best friend falls in love with a vampire, she and her friend, Vaughn, chase after her across the country trying to rescue her. This was definitely a story that runs on the lighter side of vampires, so it's the perfect read if you're looking to get into the whole vampire book world!

Tansy and Skylar are best friends, Tansy is even willing to go to a club to see a band play terrible music. But since Skylar fell head over heels in love with the lead singer, Tansy is willing to make the sacrifice for her bestie. Except, Travis ends up being a vampire, and a sucky one at that, no pun intended! Lol. And when Skylar runs away with her "love", Tansy is ready to chase after her and shake some sense into her BFF. Joining her, is her longtime crush and friend, Vaughn, who is also willing to go the distance to rescue a friend. The bonds of friendship truly run strong in this one!

Plus side to this story? Tansy is a bonafide witch! She was raised by her witchy grandmother after her mother dumped her there as a child and ran off to get herself killed.

I positively loved the road trip vibes this one gave off since Tansy and Vaughn are on the road chasing a tour bus filled with vampires. Along the way, they run into a few mysterious girls who happen to be hunting down Travis as well for their own secretive reasons.

This was a fun and cutesy kind of story, but I'll admit, it was also a bit cheesy at times. Think Vampire Academy, the movie. You go in expecting a killer awesome story with a bit levity and you basically get the opposite, a snark filled story that is still pretty entertaining in the long run. It just wasn't the atmosphere I had been hoping for. Yes, the description does boost about this one being a "hilarious take on the vampire romance novel," but yet, it wasn't quite what I thought it would be when it said that. It wasn't punny, which I kind of thought it was going to be after that remark. It was more just comedic. Which there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I guess I just went in thinking we'd have a bit more seriousness to it than what actually happened.

Though it was rather cheesy, I did enjoy the romance that blossomed between best friends, Vaughn and Tansy. It became clear (and poignantly obvious) that they each secretly liked each other, but it took awhile for them to finally just get together. I mean, you knew who it was coming, hint "romance" novel! But it was still a bit darling how they finally did get together.

There were some surprises along the way to this one. I knew it was a trilogy going in, but it soon became a guess as to whether it'd be a continuous trilogy or one where you have separate adventures and each comes to a conclusion in the end. Well, this is definitely the former! Things do get wrapped up to a point in this one, but I can see a full resolution coming in the final book versus the next book. It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens along the way!

All in all, I'd highly recommend this one to vampire lovers of all kind and if you're looking to get into the genre itself. The Afterlife of the Party is a light-hearted read filled with vampires of the dark and dangerous kind and there's also a great emphasis on the bonds of friendship, love, and a good dose of magic and mayhem in between! A delightfully fun read overall!



Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars



The Afterlife of the Party releases February 2, 2021

[Katie Prouty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The first rule of the hidden world is you don't talk about the hidden world."



Skyler, Tansy, and Vaughn are the three 🧍🏼‍♀️🧍🏽‍♀️🧍🏼‍♂️best friends that anyone could ever have (I hope you sang that). Sky and Tansy connect over their absentee, NOT cute made for TV/Disney mothers. Vaughn is gorgeous 🥰 on the outside but growly and cuddly like a teddy 🧸bear on the inside. But girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend! He's off limits. 🙅🏼‍♀️ Maybe. Skyler had apocalyptically bad taste in music yet somehow convinces music lover, Tansy, to tag along with her to watch a band 👨🏻‍🎤🤘🏼perform in the Hollywood Hills. Worst. Party. Ever. You know how sometimes you crave 🍫chocolate? Since the party, Tansy had been getting that feeling a lot. But it wasn't chocolate she craved. It was blood🩸. That's right... unenthusiastically attends party, leaves as a saucy vampire.🧛🏻‍♀️ Eep! Where's Sky? Stuck as a hashtag Bleeder on a tour bus with a literal band of vamps actually called The Drainers. Friends-to-lovers (?), Tansy and Vaugh set out to save Sky and take down The Drainers. However, the lead singers (eek- he makes your ears bleed) dad is the numero uno, the big cheese, the guy in charge, the big bad vampire daddy. Yikes! That could be a problem🙈. Kill the head vamp, reverse the transformation. Got it. In the middle of a vamp war, will Tansy face the consequences or make sacrifices in order to save her bestie? The Afterlife of the Party is the perfect 🍂fall or 🧙🏼‍♀️🎃 October 👻 read. The snarky dialogue and pop culture references were clutch 👏🏼👌🏼. Marlene Perez's other series has been optioned by Disney for television and I could absolutely see TAOTP being pitched to studios as well.

Thank you, thank you, Entangled Teen for an advanced copy!

🎶 song: Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish 🎶

[Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the fun and lighthearted paranormal read I needed right now. It's easy to root for Tansy's adventure to save her BFF and the slow-burn romance brewing between her and Vaughn is entirely swoon-worthy. Looking forward to the next book in this series!

#TheAfterlifeoftheParty #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. Read more reviews! http://dreamerjbookreviews.blogspot.com

[Bárbara]

DNF'd at 35%
I tried my best to finish this book but there's no way I can. Time to move on.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Afterlife of the Party is the first book in the Afterlife series by Marlene Perez. The afterlife of the Party is a young adult paranormal romance with a great dose of humor added in. This is not your typical vampire story and I loved it! I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and in general, read more books by Marlene Perez. This book, and trilogy is going to be great for fans of young adult paranormal like enjoy lighthearted fun reads. It's like a paranormal rom-com, with a slow burn romance that is totally swoon worthy. I really loved this book.

In The Afterlife of the Party, we meet our main character Tansy. At the start of our story Tansy is dragged to a party by her friend Skylar, where her boyfriend and his band are playing. Tansy goes to the party with her best friends Skylar and Vaughn. Everyone quickly learns that there is more to this party than meets the eye. The band, called the Drainers, are really vampires (hehe), and Tansy ends up getting bitten and Skylar gets taken by the band. So Tansy and Vaughn set out to save their friend. This book was a lot of fun. Tansy and Vaughn set off after Skylar and the band, all the while Tansy is dealing with becoming a vampire. Technically, she is a a half-vampire/half-witch combo, and I have to say it was pretty interesting to learn about her capabilities.

There is romance along the way, lots of bad guys and adventure for our friends to get into. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride  The Afterlife of the Party took me on. I can't wait to see what is in story for our trio in the next installment. There are some interesting secondary characters, like Granny, that I hope to see more of in the next book as well. Bottom line: If you are a fan of young adult rescue adventure stories with plenty of paranormal action thrown in, then I think The Afterlife of the Party will be a lot of fun for you. I appreciated how lighthearted this book felt. It really felt like a unique vampire story. All I have to say is- bring on book 2!

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever need a quick, fun, Young Adult witch/vampire adventure comedy, definitely read this book!!

Tansy and her very attractive best friend Vaughn go on an adventure to save their other best friend Skylar from being a personal blood bank from a literal (music) band of vampires called The Drainers (such a creative name!)

There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this story. I liked Tansy and her deep rooted family secrets that come to light (are the parents alive or dead?). I also liked the fake dating trope (one of my faves). Finally, I loved the blend between the classic vampire myth and the original myths created for this novel.

What I wasn’t a huge fan of: the ending was super anticlimactic. Not saying it wasn’t fun, but I’m saying the Big Bad kinda just….POOF. Also, there was no real closure with the parent that might be dead or alive…it just kinda…happened. There wasn’t even a “I’ll see you next time… 😈.”

But I am excited to read more from the sequels—and most likely have all my questions or concerns processed and answered! Looking forward to the sequel!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult / Paranormal
*Rating* 3.5

*Thoughts*

The Afterlife of the Party, by author Marlene Perez, is the first installment in the authors Afterlife trilogy. 17-year old Tansy Mariotti ends up attending a party with her best friend Skyler Avrett to see a band called "The Drainers" whose singer she's fallen in love with. Since best friends tend to make sacrifices for each other, Tansy ends up going to keep Skyler out of trouble. But, things aren't as simple as they seem. Skyler hasn't exactly been truthful about her dealings with Travis, the lead singer. In fact, it appears she's been keeping secrets for months without saying anything to her alleged best friend.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...

[jut · Rating 1 out of 5]

i choose to read this one because i thought tansy was a boy........this says a lot, and then there's no lgbtq+ or poc representation on this book, bruh

[Thindbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

*This book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

This was not my type of book sadly. This book is about Tansy who goes to the party with her best friend, Skylar, who is now sired to a vampire. Tansy and Vaughn go on a trip to get her back and try to bring the vampires down. The writing for this book was just not for me. I felt that the plot structure wasn't done well and that the story was kind of everywhere. There wasn't much of a world-building or anything but small pieces of information here and there. I didn't like the pacing and felt that it was rushed. I was hooked at the beginning of the story but towards page 50, I started to lose interest. There were some scenes in the book that I enjoyed like the trip Tansy and Vaughn took together to find Skylar.

I didn't feel much connection with the characters in this book. For me, I thought Tansy was annoying and she could have saved her best friend multiple times throughout the story. I did enjoy Vaughn but not so much through the romance for the couple in this book was cute. There were many side characters that just popped in and out of the book though I wish they were more involved. The biggest problem for me in this book was that the antagonist wasn't really an antagonist. He acted like a kid at some time and the major antagonist was taken down easily even though he showed up in the last 30 pages.

This wasn't my type of book even though it had vampires and witches which I enjoyed in a paranormal book. I guess I was expecting more of a book like House of Night or The Vampire Diaries. There were some minor things I enjoyed about the book but other than that it wasn't my read for 2021. I was super excited for this book but sadly it just wasn't my type of reading.

[Kenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sadly not my cup of tea.

The positive is that I was interested enough to find out what happened. I read the whole book, there were moments I really liked and I was really into the book.

Negative, the writing style just wasn’t for me. Several times throughout the book the character kept repeating herself. It made it obnoxious to continue. It lacked real feeling for me, I couldn't connect to the characters in any way. At some point I thought the characters could be redeemed but nope they fell really short for me. Except for Vaughn, his character I liked.

I really wanted to like it and I think that's why I read the whole thing. I wanted to give it a fair chance. But again, this wasn't for me, I hope others will enjoy it more than I did.

I am reviewing this in the most polite way I can possibly manage. It just wasn't a book or writing style for me. I truly wanted to like it.

[Andhisnosestuckinabook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun and addictive read. I breezed through this and was absolutely gripped can’t wait to read book 2!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a fun dance between magic, vampires, bffs, romance, and a pinch of quirkiness, this is a light read with a dark beat.

After being dragged to a party she never wanted to go to in the first place, this teenage girl finds herself heading against a band of vampires, who leave death and blood in their wake. Unfortunately, her best friend is on her way to become their super-groupie with more than a few bite marks to show for it. Add a strange past, a witch grandmother, a hot guy, and a pair of very strange paranormal agents, and this girl is in for the strangest moments the afterlife can offer.

If you're looking for a refreshing story which packs tons of subtle humor into a furious vampire hunt, this might be what you're looking for. I'd shove this one into the direction of a 'wild and crazy ride' category. The mix is quite original as it take very violent scenes, hits upon sexual abuse, slams groupies and cliches, nests with hot guys and romance, and weaves in a wild chase which borders on the edge of humor. And it was fun.

I did read this one in one sitting simply because it was an easy read and did have me wondering what in the world would happen next. And yet, the writing wasn't nearly as tight or smooth or flowing as it could have been. There are tons of sudden revelations, scenes which are raced over without depth or enough set-up time, and beats in the plot which just drop away and leave gaping holes. It many ways, it resembled the vampire band's music—not the best but for some reason, still hypnotizing. For all of the technical issues, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the read.

So, I'm finding this one very hard to rate and will simply go at it as fast and furious and ridiculous as the read itself. Because sometimes this is exactly the kind of read a person needs.

I received an ARC copy and got a read I was fun, snarky and oh-so unexpected.

[Caroline | caro.library · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun and cheesy paranormal romance featuring vampires and witches (along the lines of Crave), but it was just not good. The writing was not good. Tansy’s internal monologue was cringey. The romance was very immature. The world and supernatural lore were underdeveloped and confusing. All of the characters were very flat and illogical; they always either overreacted or underreacted to everything. It was quick read, but it just didn’t make sense to me. I almost DNF at about 100 pages, and I probably should have.

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[Ashley Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witches hunting vampires… I LOVE IT!! This story is adorable in all the right ways! I like that there doesn’t seem to be any veil between the human and paranormal world in this book. The fact that the two worlds mingle and intertwine and even interbreed is entertaining. The depths of the love between the main characters is almost shocking. They would literally do anything for one another, making the scenes feel as real as possible. I recommend this fun read!!

** A very special “THANK YOU” to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the { #Gifted } copy of this book to read and review.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Abandonment
Sexual harassment
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction
Emesis
Kidnapping
Loss of autonomy (mind control)
Animal death