"Not your usual vampire book!"

I had heard a lot of things about this book so I had high expectations for it when I started reading it. I'm happy to relate that this book lived up to those expectations and more. I highly recommend this one but make sure you don't have bladder problems because if you didn't before starting this book, you may by the time you finish it!

Elizabeth (Betsy) Taylor was having a very bad day. For one she was laid off from her job. Sure, she was just a secretary but she knew everything about running that office. How would they get along without her? Secondly, she was run over and killed while chasing her cat. Third she woke up in the funeral home in a coffin for goodness sakes. How could this be? She was dead. Why couldn't she just stay dead?

Then things just got worse from there. After trying to off herself in several different ways, she admitted that something very strange was going on. When she saves a woman and her little girl, the little girl informs her she's a vampire. No way! The problem is she's not a normal vampire. Churches don't bother her, holy water doesn't hurt her, she can hold crosses and the sun doesn't burn her. Things get weirder and weirder by the minute.

This is only the beginning of this hilarious laugh a minute not your ordinary vampire book. Oh, I forgot to mention that Betsy adores designer shoes. She spends nearly her whole salary on the latest and greatest shoes! Give her a pair of designer shoes and she's yours! Then there's this rumor that she's Queen of the Vampires. What's that all about?

Needless to say, I haven't gotten much done in the way of real life these past couple of days. I just had to get this book read, right? All I can say is I cannot wait for MaryJanice Davidson's next book though I don't know how it can live up to this one. I'll just have to wait and see!!

Reviewed by Kathy Boswell
Posted January 25, 2004

Originally published in ebook format by Ellora's Cave in 2002, UNDEAD AND UNWED has been revised and expanded for Berkley Publishing Group.

Summary

From Just Laid-Off Secretary to Queen of the Undead...

It's been a helluva week for Betsy Taylor. First, she loses her job. Then, to top things off, she's killed in a car accident. But what really bites (besides waking up in the morgue dressed in a pink suit and cheap shoes courtesy of her stepmother) is that she can't seem to stay dead. Every night she rises, with a horrible craving for blood. She's not taking too well to a liquid diet.

Worst of all, her new friends have the ridiculous idea that Betsy is the prophesized vampire queen, and they want her help in overthrowing the most obnoxious, power-hungry vampire in five centuries -- a badly dressed Bela Lugosi wannabe, natch. Frankly, Betsy couldn't care less about vamp politics, but they have a powerful weapon of persuasion: designer shoes. How can any self-respecting girl say no? But a collection of Ferragamos isn't the only temptation for Betsy. It's just a lot safer than the scrumptious Sinclair, a seductive bloodsucker whose sexy gaze seems as dangerous as a stake through the heart...