Dead is Not an Option

I devoured these books in three days, they were so much fun to read. I assume this is the final book in the series and that makes me sad, because I really enjoyed the series and getting to know the characters. Perez throws some big twists at us in this last book, which I didn't expect. But everything resolves, if not perfectly, then satisfactorily enough for me. Though I'm not necessarily a fan of tied up and neat endings, it works well for the Dead Is series.

5th in the Dead Is series. This one has basically the start of a war between the weres and the vampes in Nightshade. Which does not bode well for Daisy and her sisters, two are dating weres while the other is dating a vamp. Daisy also is worried in the fact that she has not had any college acceptance letters and her boyfriend has signed a letter of intent for a school in Orange county. Can they survive a long distance relationship. This also has the return of Circe Silvertongue from the previous book and the introduction of Count Dracul. We also see the resolution to the Balthazar the pig and Lil the jukebox problem. Great super fast read.

Dead Is Not An Option by Marlene Perez is the fifth and final book in the Dead Is Series featuring Daisy Giordano, a part time psychic sleuth and senior at Nightshade High School. Daisy’s telekinetic and telepathic abilities make her a force to be reckoned with. She lives in Nightshade, California, a town inhabited by other paranormal-types such as vampires, witches, ghosts, mermaids, and werewolves. Her mother is a psychic investigator, while her father teaches part time at the university and continues to write his book about his experiences at being kidnapped and held hostage by the evil Scourge.

For Daisy, it is now springtime and she still has not received any college acceptance letters that all her other friends, including Ryan, show more have. At the same time, everyone is on edge and tensions are high after a series of attacks on young vampires and werewolves are causing a major rift at the council and among the students at Nightshade. The conflict carries over to the Giordano home as well, where both Rose and Daisy are dating werewolves, while Poppy’s boyfriend Liam is a vampire.

Celebrity chef/sorceress Circe Silvertongue is back in town, and Daisy has to try to convince her to free the spirit (Lil) she trapped in a jukebox long ago, and to also change her pet pig, Balthazar, back into the man he once was.

I haven’t read the first four books, but I will. In the meantime, I had the chance to read this via NetGalley.com, and am glad I did. Daisy is a spirited character with the spunk and energy of an adult twice her age. She is loyal to her friends, and will try to do anything to get Lil and Balthazar released from Circe’s spell. I enjoy the fact that she has some fun with her sisters who are already going to the university she has chosen. She fights off the Scourge with her abilities, and nearly dies in the process. She even gets fantastic news over the course of the book, and the choice she evenutally makes, sadly, won't be known to the reader since the series is finished.

I love Slim, the ghost who runs Slim’s Café, and Natalie his witch girlfriend who both seem to be genuine at heart. There is some real sadness when one of the characters father is killed by the leader of the Scourge, then there is a very happy ending for two who deserved nothing but the best after what they went through.

My only real complaint is that if felt as though the writer was in a rush to end this series, and thus part of the story was glossed over, or ignored completely. Maybe that was the intent all along. We shall never know since it’s been told that she is working on a spin-off to this series. show less

Like the four previous books in the Dead Is series, Dead is Not an Option is a cute, quick, fun read about Daisy Giordano, her family, their town of Nightshade and the bevy of supernatural creatures that live there.

Now a senior, Daisy is looking at colleges and wondering whether she will be leaving Nightshade--and whether she and her boyfriend Ryan will be going to different schools. But with no acceptance (or rejection) letters in sight for Daisy, she needs somewhere else to focus her attention. Of course, this being Nightshade, distractions are never in short supply.

There's a bit of a Fangs versus Fur (vamps against shifters) war going on with former friendships crumbling and new fights breaking out every day. Even if Daisy's own show more home. With one sister dating a vampire and the other two dating werewolves things are getting a little tense.

Can things settle down enough for Daisy to graduate and figure out where she's going?

I really enjoyed that Dead is Not an Option built on storylines from earlier books and also started new ones. It's nice to have characters that grow throughout the series--you get to see them achieve things but also change as they age.

This fifth book, however, seemed to lose course partway through. It started as a Vamps vs Shifters in an all out war around Nightshade story and I liked that. It was sort of a West Side Story meets Twilight fandom. But then that sort of fizzled out. It was resolved, but it sort of just stopped being the central storyline.

The ending did tie up some loose ends from other books in the series and some things were resolved from earlier books that I was happy to see. Overall, though, I think the book wasn't as strong as the others in the series.

(read thanks to NetGalley & the publisher HMH) show less

This is book 5 in the "Dead is... series.
1. Dead is the New Black
2. Dead is a State of Mind
3. Dead is So Last Year
4. Dead is Just a Rumor

My thoughts:
Although this book easily stands alone, I would suggest reading the whole series - in order. I enjoyed the story, but there were some references to previous happenings that left me feeling, not that I was lost but that I wished I had read the first four books before this one.

The characters are wonderful! I have to say that Lil (the jukebox) is my favorite supporting character! You can see that the characters have been well-developed during the series because they are so cohesive and their relationships are solid. The new relationship in the book is Poppy and her vampire boyfriend. The show more addition of Count Dracule is great.

The story line keeps you interested and wanting to know more. The author keeps you in the dark and guessing about the identity of the "bad guy" until virtually the end.

This is a great YA paranormal read! I would recommend it to anyone grade 8 and above. show less

The "Dead Is" series isn't meant to be deep but it sure is a cute, fun, and engaging series. I have read every book in the series now along with my teenage step-daughter and we have come to count on this series as one of our favorites. I was saddened to hear that this may be the end of the road for this series but that there is pehaps going to be a spin-off series although I haven't been able to find out anything more about that. I'd love it to be true.

"Dead is Not An Option" is the fifth and pehaps final book in the series about psychic teenaged Daisy Giordano. This is now the end of senior year in high school. Characters are getting their acceptance letters to college and preparing for prom and graduation. Unfortunately some scary show more things are happening. Some weres have been murdered and one of Daisy's friends from school is found near death after an apparant vampire attack. Is the dreaded organization "The Scourge" behind it? Are they the same people responsible for Daisy's father's kidnapping?

This story wraps up the questions surrounding the kidnapping and and the Scourge. It also wraps up an ongoing plot about the jukebox that seems to have a mind of its own and a pig that really isn't a pig. There are couple of good shocks to be had as well as a big revelation about another character. Overall there are happily ever afters all over the place and it leads the series to a nice, and satisfying ending. If you enjoyed the previous books, you just have to read this when and see how everything wraps up. show less

This is the first of this series that I have read. I received a copy of this from the publisher, and I can not wait to get the four books that proceeded it! I am very curious about many things, such as where the Scourge (I think of them as the monsters who hide in your closet) came from, and the story behind Slim (Mr. Invisibility). I wish there was a bit more description about some of these fun characters (and a bit less with the kissing).

But, I really enjoyed reading this story. There is action in it, suspense, a major twist, a bit of kissing, true and lasting friends, families who stick by each other and a bit more kissing. I think this is a wonderful book for an older child or YA to read, and I enjoyed reading it (and I'm WAY older show more than that! :P)

It took me just a little while to get into the story, but once I started piecing things together, I couldn't stop myself. I just had to finish it. show less