I received this book in exchange of a honest review. 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.  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.
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 and want to read the next book.

This one wasn’t for me! I had a really hard tome staying focused. I’m really bummed about this I really feel like it needed to have been read through not for grammatical errors but story flow errors.

This was hilarious. Usually, I'm not a fan of paranormal romances, besides Twilight, but this was a fun one.

Actual Rating 1.5 stars
This was a difficult read for me. The characters  are supposed to be late teens but they come as much younger, whinier and immature. The situations they find themselves in are incredibly disturbing for a younger audience. There is darkness in the world and older men who do prey on younger women but I felt this is a subject matter for a more mature audience. 

The writing was inconsistent and difficult to follow as scenes jumped ahead and left me feeling like I had missed something. I was uninterested in the characters or their fates and simply skimmed ending of the book as I don't like to not finish a book. Particularly when I received it for review. 

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Entangled Teen for providing me with temporary e-arc (an early, sneak peek of the first stage printer proof) through NetGalley.
My rating is for this specific draft of the title which is entitled to change after I read the finished draft of this title.
Expect a detailed review on the finished arc around the publishing date i.e. February 2021.

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.

Where to start...



I had high hopes for this one. I liked the concept, and the open chapters drew me in (I read this is 2 days) but retrospectively....the writing is juvenile at best. I’m not too far removed from a high schooler, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a high schooler talk/think the way these characters do. There was definitely some times where I felt a careful comb through by editing would have helped but overall...meh. 

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Thank you to the publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, quick read, but not what I would consider scary!  Not sure if it was meant to be a fun spin on vampires, missing friends, etc., but if so it nailed it!  I could be wrong though, as maybe my constant darker reading is skewing my view.  I do know it was a bit unique and original, a fun plot, with amazing character development!  Do recommend to those who like a lighter book on scary subjects!  

Will buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Right from the start of this book, I was sucked in and had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. I loved the Vampire aspect of this book and felt like it was executed well, without it being cheesy. The characters in the book were great, it was swoon-worthy, as well as unique and compelling. I would highly recommend this book!

The Afterlife of the Party is about a girl named Tansy, who is convinced to go to a party with her best friend Skylar. At the party, Tansy realizes that the band is all vampires, and that her best friend is leaving with the lead singer. The next morning, Tansy finds out that Skylar never came home.

Tansy and her crush/best friend Vaughn embark on a roadtrip to try to find Skylar and bring her home. This book was entertaining, and it’s a fun read for the Halloween season. The one issue that I had with the story is that when you find out that Tansy is a witch, I expected to see her use more of her witchy abilities to try and save Skylar. There seemed to be a lack of witchiness throughout the story that I felt was needed.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

We are in October, well more like the end of October. And we all know what this means, right? HALLOWEEN SEASON!! Sorry got a bit too enthusiastic there! “The Afterlife of the Party” is the perfect Halloween read if you still don’t know what to read for these last few days of the spookiest month of the year. Everyone knows that we need a lot of distraction from our daily lives and I do think that Marlene Perez did a great job at doing so. I enjoyed reading her book. The book is full of scary vampires and also not so scary ones. And of course we have witches. I’m always a fan of witches in books and I swear I couldn’t get enough of the magic.

I found it nice to see the notion of friendship in this book. Tansy is like the best friend everyone should have. I’m not even kidding. She even goes to parties she doesn’t want to go to support her best friends and this party was one she definitely shouldn’t have gone to. Because her life definitely did get messy because of this party. The reader should be glad she did though, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to read this book.

In order to save her best friend, Tansy and her other best friend Vaughn have to go through a horror trip but both of them are totally ready to sacrifice themselves.

I have to admit that I found the book to be a bit lengthy and I had to rush through the middle part because I found it to be really long. Other than that I enjoyed reading “The Afterlife of the Party“. It was suspenseful, mysterious and spooky!

Overall, “The Afterlife of the Party” is the perfect fall read if you want to read something mysterious and spooky.

It was a lot of fun reading this book: it's highly entertaining and engrossing. it was the right book to read when you need something light and humorous.
It's a humorous, fast paced story with a cast of likable characters and a good world building.
I thought it was a standalone but now I'm hooked and can't wait to read the next instalment.
It' recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Afterlife of the Party was an okay read. At times it felt almost like a parody. With vampires making a comeback this year, you've got to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, Afterlife really doesn't. It did start off interesting but quickly fizzled. I've also been in a terrible reading slump so maybe it was just me losing interest. 

Thank you to Entangled Teen for giving me the opportunity to read this book and for being on the Vampire wagon. 🧛‍♂️🧛‍♀️

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.

It appears that Skyler has been bitten enough times to make her anemic or willing to do whatever she is told. It that weren't enough, Tansy runs into Travis without Skyler, and Travis tries the same act on Tansy. Surprisingly, Tansy is immune to him but Tansy will eventually end up with a desire for blood since one bite apparently starts the transition. Tansy refuses to leave Skyler to her own horror story. After all, they connected over their absentee mothers who left them behind for greener pastures. Thanks to her grandmother Mariotti who raised her after her own mother dumped her and disappeared, Tansy knows that the paranormal world exists. 
 
That means witches, vampires, werewolves, and yes, ghosts. Therefore, putting two and two together, Tansy realizes that Skyler has fallen in with vampires. Skylar has a physical bond to Travis that can only be broken if he's dead. That means Tansy and her friend Vaughn Sheridan must travel across country in order to save a very unwilling Skyler as well as other girls who have been lured into this nightmare. To make matters worse, being bitten by a vampire turns Tansy, who is apparently a witch, into something that hasn't been seen in a long while. Tansy is not only immune to glamour but after she's bitten, she's able to use magical mesmerizing to save her life.
 
Tansy has to wade through Bleeders aka Sundowners who are one bite away from becoming vampires themselves. She has to fight off Travis's Father who is a big deal in the vampire community and knows that Tansy is something quite dangerous. She has to deal with a shocking surprise that will upend her entire world in one swift kick to the head. (No Spoilers!) Then there's Rose and Pac who belong to a group called Paranormal Activity Committee who weave in and out of the story, but they don't really offer solutions or help Tansy out against Travis and his vampire hordes. 

Tansy is a decent main character. She's a loyal friend which makes her compelling, and her fiery and bold attitude is captivating and her Grandmother and her "book Club" tend to offer more answers to questions that Tansy hasn't arrived at yet. The book ends on a twisted note. There are vampire hunters to deal with, Tansy's new status to wade through, and a relationship with Vaughn that could lead to good things, or a major flame out.

A fun YA with an important underlying message, the Afterlife of the Party is a refreshing read perfect for Halloween.

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.

When Skylar disappears with the band, Tansy and her would-be crush and best friend Vaughn will embark on a roadtrip to follow the band to their next concert venues in hopes of finding Skylar. While Skylar’s presence seems to continuously elude the pair, Tansy and Vaughn discover all the other young women who need their help too. What started out as a quest to save her friend, has now turned into a quest to save the world.

With the publication of another book in that other popular vampire series recently, I was drawn into Afterlife of the Party because I was really feeling the YA vampire vibe.

Afterlife of the Party has the most wonderful campiness about it. I do not mean that as a bad thing whatsoever. While reading, it brought back memories of watching like part seventeen in a horror movie franchise. Not quite as good as the original, and reaching to some far-fetched heights, but still mighty entertaining all the same.

I liked the play on the romanticizing of the vampire. Yes, Skylar is drawn to the band, as are many others, but it’s through compulsion. If she were able to think clearly she would be running in the opposite direction from these predators. Tansy, who by virtue of her witchy roots, is able to ward off the compulsion and see their true natures which she describes as everything from rotting to putrid to greasy to dirty, is not the, dare I say, sparkly, ethereal visage we are often given.

While I can take all these aspects and enjoy the story, I do have to review it and in focusing a more critical eye, things pop out that may not have bothered me otherwise. Such as the abruptness to some of the character’s movements. On one page you have a character who is critically wounded (a page before they were almost dying) and then turning to the next page they’re up and walking around like nothing happened. This is just one instance, but it is something that happens constantly throughout in varying situations. Enough that I had to keep going back and making sure I didn’t skip the moment where we hear about so-and-so’s miraculous recovery. It felt like the book was written in small snippets and then pieces together to make a whole but without the important parts that make it cohesive.

Plus, the story doesn’t seem to know, yet, how to utilize Tansy possibly becoming a vampire while also having magic in her family, specifically witches. She seesaws too much between owning her inherent powers, and not believing they’re real. It comes across a little messy. I don’t think it helps Tansy deal with who she’s becoming if she doesn’t believe in who she was before.

If you are able to get past some of the inconsistencies within the story, I think Afterlife of the Party is enjoyable. It definitely sets the mood for the fall season. As the first book in an apparent series, I’m hopeful it will get stronger with each book.

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!

I don't like being harsh in my reviews but I can't help but say, this book reads like a bad joke. It's true that I haven't picked up paranormal fiction in a while and I'm no fan of vampires, that's exactly why I had such high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately, it's not what I expected. The story is good. I even liked the characters but the way it's written, the downplaying of serious situations, the dialogue that is cringe-worthy... It just wasn't fun reading it at all. In fact, I had to force myself to keep reading.
It's possible that I'm over paranormal fiction or maybe my expectations were too high, but whatever the case, this isn't something I'd recommend to anyone.

There is a special place in my heart for stories that do not take themselves seriously, that add in a ton of humor and life references (in this case horror movie history). Afterlife of the Party is exactly that type of read. The story is humorous and bold, interesting, snarky, and even a bit campy but only in the best of ways. I am a huge fan of 80’s and 90’s vampire movies and I think this story fits that genre perfectly. 

We meet the main characters and almost immediately the story takes off, with the premise being: a woman who goes to a party (full of vampires) and gets turned all while trying to save her friend. 

The action is based loosely on vampire lore and the secondary characters really add spark to this adventure. Just when you think things will be easy or familiar the author makes a left turn and I found myself caught up in the next adventure.

I loved getting to know the main characters, their relationships, and the crazy amount of adventure this story took them on. I cannot express how much fun I had with this read and a lot of moments that had me laughing out loud. I have not been so entertained in a quite a while! 

This is a lite and easy read, a story that is purely for fun as there is not a serious note within the pages. This is exactly the kind of read I love between my darker ones to level out my emotions. I will be adding this story to my yearly Halloween list and will continue to enjoy it for years to come. SO MUCH FUN!!

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I will be positing this review on release day (February 2st, 2021), on the following sites as well as recommending this story in many Facebook groups. My posts will consist of my review and/or option of the book, the links to buy and any graphics I can find to share:

Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, Kobo, BN, Google books and any other retailer website it is available on. 

My blog/bookstagram page: https://www.instagram.com/elysian_fields_reader/

My twitter bookfocused page: https://mobile.twitter.com/ElysianFieldsRe

My personal Facebookpage: https://m.facebook.com/elysian.fields.520

In Facebook groups that are YA focused or with readers who enjoy YA stories, as well as horror, humor and other related groups.

I have already posted on the sites that have allowed early posting: Goodreads, Bookbub.