ARC Review--The Afterlife of the Party by Marlene Perez

The bestselling author of the Dead Is… series is back with a snarky, hilarious take on the vampire romance novel.

When my best friend Skyler told me about this party in the Hollywood Hills, I was less than enthused. As it turned out, my feelings were more than justified. That party ruined my life.

Tansy didn’t even want to go to the party. It’s hard enough living in one of your best friend’s shadows and secretly in love with your other best friend.

And now she’s leaving it a vampire.

Now her best friend Skyler is stuck on the road trip from hell, on tour as a groupie with a literal band of vamps. Tansy sets out with Vaughn, her other BFF turned maybe more, to save Skylar’s life and take down the band. But when they find themselves in the middle of a vampire war, will Tansy be able to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her friends?

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