Dead Is Not an Option by Marlene Perez Book Review

Dead Is Not An Option by Marlene Perez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Press, I received an advance e-copy of the book Dead Is Not an Option by Marlene Perez to review.  

The town of Nightshade is like no other - populated by paranormals such as vampires, werewolves, psychics, and ghosts as well as humans.  Mostly, the citizens get along, and for more than 50 years a truce has been formed between the Weres and the Vamps and has held up.  However, the Scourge seek to rid the town of all paranormals and are up to their old tricks.

Psychic part-time sleuth Daisy Giordano is finishing up her senior year at Nightshade High.  She is fretting over her lack of college acceptance letters, but doing her best to put on a cheerful face as she works her part-time job at Slim's diner and hangs out with her Were boyfriend Ryan Mendez, son of Nightshade's chief of police.  Ryan has announced his intentions of going away to college, and Daisy is bummed at prospect of their relationship perishing because of distance but tries her best to make the most of the time remaining.  She has intentions to work on breaking the enchantment that has trapped her friend Lily Varcol in a jukebox and turned her fiance Balthazar into a pig.

Out of the blue, however, Elise Wilder, a Were is attacked and left for dead.  As chance would have it, Daisy is the person to find her and call for help.  Later, a Vamp is left in the beach in the sun and badly burned.  Suddenly, it's Weres versus Vamps and the town's truce seems a thing of the past.  Daisy is sure it isn't Weres or Vamps behind the unease but the Scourge only she is not sure how to prove it.

This was a light read, and obviously a play on the whole Twilight series.  I don't know if I'd read another book in the series.  The story-line was so-so, and I could spot the obvious bad guy before the big reveal towards the end.  The undying teenage love theme throughout did get a bit sappy and unbelievable for my taste, and much was alluded to the earlier books in this series, which I hadn't read and which left me feeling at lost ends.  Probably, if you desire to read this series, you should start at the being and not with this book.

Not a bad read, but not one that stands out either.


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