A review by bookloversofi
The Afterlife of the Party by Marlene Perez

2.0

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.