Out Now from Entangled Teen
Content Warning: Biting, blood, action sequences, murder, manipulation
About the Author: “Marlene Perez is the author of many paranormal and urban fantasy books, including the bestselling Dead Is series for teens (Clarion). The first book in the series, Dead Is the New Black, was named an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers as well as an ALA Popular Paperback. Dead Is Just a Rumor was on VOYA’s 2011 Best Science Fiction, Horror, & Fantasy List. Marlene’s latest release is the YA vampire trilogy, The Afterlife of the Party, I’m with the Banned, and A Sucker for You, were published by Entangled Teen. She grew up in Story City, Iowa and is the youngest of twelve children. She lives in Orange County, California with her husband and children” (Bio from the author).
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I am a sucker for vampires, especially transformation stories. I’m always looking for a new immortal series to capture my attention. The Afterlife of the Party series did just that through high school drama with a paranormal flare. Managing being a teenager and crushes is hard enough without tacking on being a vampire. However, the main character Tansy’s life changes when she is bitten at a party and becomes a half-witch-half-vampire. While the story was somewhat predictable at times, it was a fun world to escape to that left me wanting to see how Tansy’s story ended. Some elements were rather cheesy considering the paranormal and hormonal aspects of the story, but the transformation of Tansy and her best friend Vaughn’s relationship was fairly accurate. I liked that the friends did not seamlessly become a couple or have an unrealistic, perfect relationship. The series also had a good amount of mystery and action mixed in with the paranormal and romance elements. Pick up The Afterlife of the Party series to meet Tansy and the gang and watch their funny antics play out.
“Maybe most people would think they were hallucinating or being pranked if their best friend suddenly sprouted fangs and a bad attitude, but I was a Mariotti.”
Tansy Mariotti’s biggest problem is the fact she’s secretly in love with her taken best friend, Vaughn. That is, until her other BFF, Skylar, talks her into attending an exclusive party in Hollywood Hills featuring the new hit band The Drainers. Their music sounds awful on the ride over, but Tansy can’t help but feel slightly mesmerized by the group in person, along with the other cult groupies all in white. However, she quickly realizes that something unnatural is happening when the lead singer bites her, and she grows her own pair of fangs. It turns out Travis is the prince of the vampires and takes Skylar hostage, leaving her fate up to Tansy and Vaughn, whose true feelings for one another come to light as they are thrust into a vampire war.
“It stays with you, even when it’s self-defense, even when you know they deserve it. I don’t want to become the kind of ruler who can kill without thinking twice.”
Tansy didn’t ask to become the queen of the vampires. The side effects of being a half-witch-half-vampire are already hard enough, especially no longer being able to spend the day at the beach. Despite being unsure of how to rule the vampire kingdom, she also has teenage problems of her own when her (finally) boyfriend Vaughn comes back from Texas, but something isn’t right about him—he seems more muscular and is wolfing down slabs of meat. On top of that, Skylar’s ex Connor is back without any explanation of why he disappeared, and The Drainers are under a new alias—The Thirsty Thieves—with a mysterious drummer. The puzzle continues as Tansy juggles being a normal teenage girl with her role as the queen of the vampires.
“Tomorrow, I had to hunt down my terrible mother in the city that never sleeps.”
Tansy and the pack have their work cut out for them in the final installment of The Afterlife of the Party. Tansy’s evil mother, Vanessa, has been compelling her boyfriend to love her. However, things get even messier when it turns out that she is actually Vaughn’s dad’s secret girlfriend. Tansey’s mother and Vaugn’s father decide to flee to Vegas to elope, but Tansy, Vaughn, and their friends are hot on their trail to stop the wedding and figure out Vanessa’s wicked plot. Tansy is sure it has something to do with the mysterious blood ruby that arrived at her door. In order to stop Vanessa, the group must rely on Tansy’s newly discovered father, and Tansy must figure out where she fits into the family she never knew that she had.
Emilee Ceuninck, Pine Reads Review Lead Writer & Editor