Undead and Unwelcome: A Queen Betsy Novel

This was another quirky romp in the Queen Betsy saga. As always, the wit & zippy dialogue were tasty brain candy. The Wyndam wolves (especially the future pack leader) were a nice change as well. Somehow, though, this book fell a little flat near the end with the sisters' battle. Overall, worth reading.

undead and unwelcome continues the saga of Betsy the Vampire Queen, and also proves that Mary Janice Davidson's special gift for creative writing only increases with each new novel, Go girl, you rock.

I was rather dissapointed in how short this book was. I am usually not the quickest reader, but it only took me one day to read this one. I still love the characters, and the story was a good one, but I wanted more! Would love to see the next Undead book be twice as long as this one was!

I got this book today and powered through in about an hour and a half. I smiled a lot and laughed a little.

Mary Janice Davidson clearly set out to isolate Betsy and force her to act on her own. Betsy does, and in the process, really comes to understand that she Is The Queen. My problem with the book is that I like the other characters; the ones who seem to have gone on sabbatical this time out. We have minimal interaction with Mark, Sinclair, Antonia and Garrett while Tina, Jess, Nick and John are fairly powerless to help our Betsy. My biggest problem was with Betsy's mom and sister, both of whom acted completely out of character.

It seems like I'm complaining more than I intended to. I'm really not. Undead and Uneasy is a classic MJD romp which is quick, fun and leaves you looking for more. Which is what I'm doing. Looking for more. So MJD write quickly, because I want to know what happens next. Okay?

Vampires and werewolves, a classic tale. I was prepared for eye rolling here. We met the Wyndam werewolves in the short story "Fiend in Need," and I actually liked them and would love to read their series in the future, but I just wasn't sure how this story was going to play out.

It was nice to see that at least some of the people in the clan hadn't totally lost their mind, but there was definitely a lot of it. I'm not going into much detail here because I don't want to spoil the previous book, which will make it REALLY hard to talk about this one.

Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I liked the look at the future pack leader and I liked the fact that Betsy couldn't just cute her way out of things but actually had to friggin' stand up for herself. I also was unsurprised by the BabyJon twist because I knew SOMETHING was going to have to happen for him to live with Betsy, but it was also entertaining, so that's a bonus. The part that I didn't like was the Marc/Laura story line. If Betsy weren't being utterly ridiculous about internet speak (which, don't get me wrong, I TOTALLY agree with), she'd have known what was going on much sooner. I just found the B Plot with Marc and Laura to be weak and unnecessary and it was more filler than anything else.

This book certainly makes up for the last one in quality and was a good read.

The eighth installment in the Betsey the Vampire Queen series, is like a prettily frosted yet sadly empty cake.

The story line for this episode is that the self-sacrificial death of werewolf Antonia in the previous book meant that Betsy, Sinclair, and Jessica, along with Babyjon, travel to New England to bring Antonia's body back to Wyndham Manor and her werewolf pack.

The conflicts between the pack and the vampires over Antonia's death, the oddities that arise with Babyjon, and Betsy's normal self-centered stance and her desire to still do the right thing, make for a good story, but the best ingredients in the world cannot make a satisfying dish when the technique is slap-dash, the good ingredients are diluted, and the spicy seasonings are going stale. Even the quick dialogue is a bit tiresome. Maybe because Betsy now doesn't age, she doesn't grow up either. Yes, she's accepting her responsibilities more than in the beginning, but there isn't the internal character development that, hopefully, most people have as life experiences make their impact on us.

The book has 282 pages. But most of the pages are filled with white space. An hour and a half read, max. Even with store discounts, etc., it amounts to a lot of money for a quickie. The 300+ pages of Lynn Viehl's intense Darkyn books are still only $7.99. I realize that a short really, really terrific read that might cost a lot is worth it, to me anyway. But the hardback Betsy books are not a really, really terrific read.

Oh, about the Marc and Laura subplot. I got the feeling it was just pasted in to provide the ties to whatever will happen in the next book. Will Marc find love? Will Laura destroy the world? It isn't a bad subplot. Just seemed to be a bit as if one adds a bit of walnut paste to a vanilla cake batter. May not be a truly bad thing in the proper setting, but hasn't really been blended in very well. Could I have done as well with it? Heck no, but I'm not a commercially successful writer whom I know can do very much better.

Do I still like the series and the characters? Yes. Are they getting a bit stale? Yes, kinda. Do the last two books' new cover design do anything for the stories? No. Will I buy the next Betsy book? I'll wait for the paperback, probably, unless there is more writing and substance and less white space. You know, it just occurred to me. These books are striking me more as Young Adult than paranormal romances. Almost down to the Juvenile classification, the limited amount of sex, notwithstanding. Hmmm, I just looked back to my old copy of Secrets Vol 6 which had the short story, Love's Prisoner, and realized how drastically MJD's writing has simplified. Now that was a story that has had me still thinking about the concepts in it, even to today. Light and frothy are fun, but to make them into hardbacks just doesn't work anymore. I am sorry, and I hate having to make a negative review of an author whom I have always liked, but MJD's publishers need a wake-up call or she'll lose the loyal audience she has been enjoying.

Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Vampires, is down to the wire on the wedding plans; she has just two weeks to the big day and she has yet to pick out a wedding dress. Her groom isn't being very helpful, Sinclair feels that the wedding is unnecessary as the Book of the Dead already recognizes them as married. He is getting grumpy and Betsy and he are not getting along.

While she finalizes the plans she faces one of her biggest obstacles to date. Unfortunately when Betsy needs everyone the most, no one is there for her; everyone has disappeared, leaving the Queen of the Vampires alone. Betsy is forced to fend for herself for the first time since she woke up Undead.

The best part of this book to me was the visiting Werewolves. While Betsy struggles through her days solo, we get an unexpected visit from Antonia's Werewolf family, the Wyndhams. The initial meeting between Betsy, Michael, Jeannie, Lara and Derik, was hilarious and fun. I hope they make a habit of appearing as I have missed them.

While I enjoyed this book, I couldn't love it like I have all the other Undead books. With Betsy's eclectic entourage MIA, the story was missing a lot of the laughs and action each of them usually draw. I really felt the void each character's absence left.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic to me and I couldn't help muttering "duh!" when Betsy finally put the pieces together. There was also a bit of unfinished business; Derik has an odd reaction to BabyJon and we never find out why. This is still very good read but not quite the great read I am used to by Ms. Davidson or this series. I gave this a 4 star rating, but I would say it is more 3 ½ stars.

After the events of Undead and Unworthy (book 7), Betsy finds herself in a tense situation. Returning the body of Antonia the werewolf to her Pack, isn't exactly the Vampire King and Queen's idea of a good time. But politics aren't always fun, so Betsy and Eric head to Cape Cod in attempt to make peace with the Werewolves. While events are unfolding on the Cape, things back home are spiralling out of control for Marc. Laura has slipped a little to the dark side, and without the Vamps around to help him Marc is left with a desperate situation.

The first part of Undead and Unwelcome seems to be mostly a recap of what happened in book 7. There's quite a bit of explaining who all the characters are and an endless amount of retelling the story of Antonia's death. Personally, I think by book 8 in the series it's time to stop with the endless exposition. (If people want to get caught up they should read some of the earlier books. Fans already know who everyone is.) Things do pick up in the second half of the book when the story finally starts to move forward, but I wouldn't call this one of the more eventful Betsy stories. And there's a definite lack of character development. Much of the story occurs during internal dialogue from Betsy and Marc, while Sinclair and Jessica barely even have lines. There is some interesting development with BabyJohn, which I enjoyed, but not a lot else happens in this outing.

Definitely one of the slower stories in the Betsy series, I think Undead and Unwelcome would have worked better as a short story with all the repetition cut out.

MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Unwelcome (Berkley, 2009)

There's been a lot of grumbling about Undead and Unwelcome, the eighth book in MaryJanice Davidson's once-popular Queen Betsy series. (Actually, it must still be popular, or there wouldn't be enough of us left to gripe about it every time there's another release.) And unlike in previous episodes, I can kind of understand it. Davidson has set herself up a monster premise here, no pun intended. This is a book that should feel weighty, or at least as weighty as a chick-lit book can feel. This is a turning point in the entire series. And yet... it's not. It's just business as usual. Which leads me to the obvious recommendation here: if you like business as usual, MaryJanice Davidson flavor, you're going to like this book. If you don't, then you won't. Simple, isn't it?

The events of the last book have left Betsy and Sinclair with a rather large problem: Antonia is dead, and they have to take the body back to her pack for burial on Cape Cod. Jessica insists on tagging along, and Betsy doesn't protest too much when she realizes she's getting a built-in sitter for BabyJon. They head out to Cape Cod, and what a surprise, things are tense, but there are a number of opportunities for Betsy to discover things about her family, as well as about herself. Speaking of her family, the main flow of the narrative is interrupted periodically by frantic emails from home; Marc is keeping her (and us) updated on Laura's activities, which are becoming increasingly dangerous as she attempts to go to extremes to put her demonic nature to use for the Church. But since neither Betsy nor Sinclair speak text, they have no idea what Marc is saying and ignores the emails...

...which are actually the best part of the book, assuming you can read text. (There's some clarity offered in Marc's diary entries. I'm annoyed that Davidson took such a cliched route to get where she wanted to go in this book, but am willing to cut her some slack since, again, the Marc/Laura storyline is the best part of the book.) Still, that's not to say the rest of it is awful. I know I'm in the minority on this one, and I am more than willing to admit that if I'd actually bought the book, I'd probably have had the scales tipped slightly the other way (I got it from the library, as usual), but I found it enjoyable enough, in that empty-calories-marshmallow-fluff-chick-lit sort of way I always find MaryJanice Davidson's books enjoyable. Just know that, given a number of the other reviews to be found on the store for this book, your mileage may vary. Widely. *** ½

You are cordially invited to the wedding of
Elizabeth Anne Taylor and Eric Sinclair
607 Summit Ave
Midnight, July 4, 2007

RSVP by June 25, and don't be like one of those jerks who don't RSVP and then shows up with three people. Seriously.

In the days leading up the The Big Day, Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor seems to have a full house--and the wedding guests have yet to arrive. Along with her human buddies, there's a ghost, a werewolf and a Fiend crashing at her place. And though her fiancé, Vampire King Eric Sinclair, conveniently disappears when the conversation turns to seating charts and flower arrangements, he does manage to make his oh-so-sexy presence known at other moments.

Betsy knows the next few weeks won't be smooth sailing--but she never expects just what's in store for her. Cold feet are no surprise, especially with an undead groom. But when Sinclair truly goes missing--and not just to avoid wedding preparations--along with most of her friends and loved ones, Betsy is frantic. Alone and afraid for the fate of everyone she loves, Betsy can't trust anyone as she tries to find them and whoever is behind all the disappearances. And what happens next will shake the foundation of the vampire world forever in the best-selling series that according to The Romance Reader's Connection, "breath(es) new life into conventional vampire lore."
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Betsy is having a hard time dealing with all the goings on of the wedding and every one is driving her crazy. Her best friend is sick and her son to be husband is MIA and her room mate / doctor has not came home or answered any of her calls , the werewolf and ex fiend vamp who lives in her basement have deserted her, even her ghost the hangs around has decided to take a vacation. Now Betsy is left alone to finalize all the wedding plans by her self . The wedding is in two weeks she still has not picked a dress. Now to top it all off on top of every one missing she is now taking care of her baby brother (i will not spoil why).. then to make matters even worse she has a were wolf alpha and his enforcers breaking down her door and kicking her ass to find out were there pack member has gone.

Will she find out why every one has deserted her? Can she pull off this wedding?

This was my favorite book so far it was not as funny but still very humorous. It had more action and a great story line. I loved how well this book flowed to gather and it had a surprising ending that i had not seen coming. I love Mary Janice's wit she is great. Betsy will keep you going for sure.

FISH OUT OF WATER
MARYJANICE DAVIDSON
Paranormal Romance
Jove
Sensuality rating: Sweet
ISBN# 978-0-515-14549-6
304 pages
$7.99
Print- Available now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Fred the mermaid has made her decision and she has chosen Artur the prince of the Black Sea. Somehow in the midst of the mermaids coming out of the closet per say she has become the mermaid spokeswoman. As if she has time for that with helping her best friend plan for his upcoming wedding.

By picking Artur over Thomas she thinks she is over him. Boy was she wrong. Seeing him again and only rekindled her flickering spark for him. She thinks she will be okay as long as she stays away. Of course having him come and stay in her new house might make it a little hard for her to stay away. But he is not her only house guest. Her real father has surfaced and come to meet his long lost daughter, but his appearance might not be so innocent. He is the number one suspect in the plan to over throw Artur and his father's kingdom. On top of having her real father show up out of the blue, her mother and step father decide to pay a visit and boy does that make things awkward. You would think a girl could rely on her best friend to help her out but he is too busy playing suckey face with his fiancé and plan his own wedding. When can a mermaid get any peace?

FISH OUT OF WATER is the third and final book in the Fred the Mermaid series. This whole series Fred has been caught between two men and just when you think she has finally picked one, things suddenly change. This was a fast paced, story with plenty of plot twists. One thing I have always loved about Fred is her attitude towards everything and this story has the same old Fred. By the end of this book Fred has definitely made her decision and chose one of the guys. I was very happy with the one she chose but I feel so bad for the other. I hope that MaryJanice Davidson decided to do a spin off series with some of the characters because they are just too good to let go of.

MaryJanice Davidson is the fantastic author of the Fred the Mermaid series, Betsy Series and several others including a YA series. To find out more about her and her exciting stories please visit her website at [...]

Jennifer
Enchanting Reviews
March 2009

At the end of Undead and Unworthy, Queen Betsy Book 7, Betsy's friend Antonia, a werewolf, selflessly threw herself in front of Betsy when Chief Hamlin tried to kill her. Even though the gun wasn't loaded with silver bullets, the result was fatal. Now Betsy, her husband Eric Sinclair and her best friend Jessica are on their way to Cape Cod where they will deliver Antonia's body to the pack of Wyndham werewolves that shunned Antonia in the first place.

Even though the pack never fully accepted Antonia, there is a lot of bitterness towards Betsy who they blame for her death and Betsy has some serious doubts about getting home without getting staked.

Meanwhile back at home trouble is brewing for Marc and Tina in the form of Betsy's half sister Laura, the daughter of the devil herself!

First I have to say that no matter what, I am a huge Queen Betsy fan and I will continue to read each and every book in the series. Now that I have that out of the way I have to say that I was very disappointed with this book. I read it on one afternoon, in practically one sitting but there was just no "meat" to the story. I feel it just didn't have enough of a plot to be a standalone book even with the dual storylines. It read like it a continuation of book 7 that was turned into its own book by adding the problems with Laura.

This is definitely not a standalone book in the series and I only recommend it if you're already committed to the series like I am.

Betsy Taylor is looking forward to the happiest day of her life. Well, perhaps not the happiest, but she plans to at least make it a close second. She's marrying Sinclair, the Vampire King. The marriage is all about Betsy, because to Sinclair, they're already married and she's already the Vampire Queen. To Sinclair, there's no reason to go through with all of the preparations for the marriage and the actual ceremony itself - other than it is what Betsy dearly wants.

With a cool $3 million to spend, Betsy is sure that the wedding will be perfection - if she can only find the perfect gown, the perfect invitations, the perfect cake and make all of her guests behave perfectly. She's just sure that the wedding will make up for the fact that she and Sinclair can't have a baby together.

Putting her undead heart and soul into the preparations, Betsy goes full steam ahead, willing to bulldoze anyone who gets in her way. However, one problem does crop up that would prevent the wedding from going ahead as planned. Despite Betsy's determination, she can't have a wedding without a groom. When Sinclair goes missing, she must find a way to hold it all together, and still find him in time for the wedding.

UNDEAD AND UNEASY is a hilarious romp through the life of the cheeky, vain Vampire Queen. Although the heroine is extremely selfish, she's certainly up to the task of finding her lost groom, endearing readers along the way. Author Mary Janice Davidson's characters are a real riot, and the plot and subplots are masterfully written. All in all, I found UNDEAD AND UNEASY to be a real page-turner - a fun and enjoyable read that I'd recommend to other fans of the series.

I actually liked this one much better than the previous two. I am still quite disgruntled that the books are so, so very short. The series never had much substance to it, but I feel like the stories have been even lighter than usual. Midway through this book I was thinking to myself how enjoyable it was and how real Betsy felt to me for the first time in a long time. The plot of the book was worth investing in: Marc is at home with just Tina and Betsy's sister Laura (the devil's daughter) for company. Everyone else is bringing a body back to the werewolves in Cope Cod for burial and an inquisition into the death. Laura has completely gone nuts and is really acting like the daughter of Satan. Marc is desperately trying to get ahold of Betsy and company but can't. Betsy is trying to make nice with the werewolves and battles her own guilt over the death. So I am reading all this and thinking this is getting very involved and deep...this is really good. I bet this plot continues into the next book seeing as how close I am getting to the end. Nope. Disappointment abounds when in the last three mini chapters every plot thread is resolved in a nice, tidy, and completely unbuyable way. So because of that I can't actually bump this up to a four star book. However the storyline and the character's were much more enjoyable and more complete than I have come to expect. This just proved to me Betsy CAN be enjoyable and as fun as the first half of the series...

My only complaint about this books is... it's way too short. I was left wanting more, more Betsy, more MJD humor, more Wyndhams, more EVERYTHING. Not since the first Undead book (Undead and Unwed) had I been on pins and needles wanting to be just sit down with MJD and find out what she has in store for Betsy. Forget about having her write it down, I want to just morph into her brain and get the info this instant.

I'm not going to go into what happened in the book, because I don't want to mistakenly spoil the book for others. As it is there's too many spoilers in the reviews. All I got to say is Betsy finds herself alone, with no help from friends, her vampire servants, Sinclair (sigh, sexy, sexy Sinclair), and Jessica is getting worse. With her wedding being just a couple weeks away, she is not at all ready, and that includes finding a dress, seating the guests, sorting out the flowers, meeting with the caters, oh and where the heck is her blushing groom? With everyone she loves pulling a disappearing act (either dying or just ?), Betsy has to figure out where and how to have her perfect wedding. Then the Wyndham werewolves came knocking (heavily with fists and Jeannie brought her gun), well things just got more and more interesting. How will our girl hold up? What has happened to cause everyone to disappear? Oh and there's a curse involved. Betsy even got to reconcile with someone that had been wronged by the vampire clan that she cares for.

Oh darn, I hope I didn't give away too much. My only disappointment with the books is how Nick acted towards Betsy. I was quite disturbed to read about his actions. Granted it was out of love, but I have a feeling Detective Nick will be an issue in the future. I just hope Jessica doesn't get hurt. Anyway, I hope I didn't tip off too much about the plot. And MJD, PLEASE WRITE QUICKLY!

Life used to be simpler for grumpy Boston Aquarium expert Fredrika "Fred" Bimm. That all changed when the Undersea Folks came out of the oceanic closets to reveal themselves to the surface dwellers in an effort to reduce ocean pollution. Fred has feet and tail in both worlds.

Underwater King Mekkam has hired Fred as his public relations consultant with the land humans, a job she tolerates though she is media phobic. Meanwhile Prince Artur continues his pursuit of her, wanting her to announce their engagement although she has not quite agreed to marry him. Human Dr. Thomas Pearson also wants Fred and does not hide his affection for the half breed. However, Fred is worried as the Undersea Folk are starting to vanish for no apparent cause and her biological merman father Farrem, exiled for a failed coup attempt, has suddenly entered her life; making her wonder if he using her to take the throne.

The third Fred the half-breed mermaid tale (see MAKING WAVES and SWIMMING WITHOUT A NET) is the usual zany comedic romantic fantasy that MaryJanice Davidson is renowned for consistently writing. The story line is action-packed on land and under the sea. Fred remains the crank queen of both worlds out grouching Oscar, but this time has a cause for her irritability as she now knows who she gets it from as her biological father threatens her two worlds. Fans will enjoy this fine entry while wondering whether Fred will select Artur, Thomas, or neither; going in neither is the heavy favorite.

Harriet Klausner

The Undead series aka Vampire Betsy series takes place in Minnesota, in this book Elizabeth, known as Betsy is coming upon the final two weeks until the wedding to her King and Consort Eric Sinclair. She is the Queen of the vampires and while the Book of the Dead (think vampire Bible) already says that the two are already married and will rule together for the next thousand years, she still wants the ceremony. Sinclair is willing to go along with this because he loves her, but will do so kicking and screaming the entire way, until he vanishes, along with Betsy's best friend Jessica, her roommates Antonia (a psychic werewolf who doesn't change), Garret, Marc and her half sister Laura (daughter of the devil).

Jessica has a legit excuse, she's in the hospital dealing with cancer, but the others are just gone and the timing couldn't be worse what with Betsy's father and step mother dying in the car crash and leaving her baby half brother to her to raise. Betsy loves her little brother very much but she's worried and frantic to know where everyone is as her support system is stripped away from her and she is forced to deal with not just the wedding plans on her own, but also finding where everyone is and what the hell was keeping them.

Add to this the werewolf pack from Derik's Bane (Antonia's pack) wanting to know where Antonia is because she hasn't checked in for the month and a power hungry vampire librarian and you have a busy two weeks in the life of the Vampire Queen.

In this third and final installment, Fredericka (Fred) Bimm,a marine biologist, has taken a leave of absence to be the liason for the Undersea Folk who have decided to go public to the humans.

She misses fellow marine biologist, Thomas, who left with another mermaid in book two. She spends her time with Prince Artur, who is wanting Fred to become his wife and the future queen of the Undersea Folk.

Fred, who is part human and part mermaid, just wants to be alone and sort out her life, maybe swim in the pool. But her BFF Jonas has other plans. He is getting married to Fred's boss, and needs Fred's help to plan the wedding.

Between cake tasting, dodging Prince Artur's proposal, and mentally dealing with Thomas's abrupt return, Fred is out of her element. To top things off, Undersea Folk are coming up missing, and her long, thought dead father appears on her door step!

Full of MJ's famous wit, FISH OUT OF WATER will leave you in stitches! A fun, under the sea adventure that will keep you lavishly entertained. You can read it on land or by sea :D This one is definitely the best of the trilogy and you won't want to miss it.

Life used to be simpler for grumpy Boston Aquarium expert Fredrika "Fred" Bimm. That all changed when the Undersea Folks came out of the oceanic closets to reveal themselves to the surface dwellers in an effort to reduce ocean pollution. Fred has feet and tail in both worlds.

Underwater King Mekkam has hired Fred as his public relations consultant with the land humans, a job she tolerates though she is media phobic. Meanwhile Prince Artur continues his pursuit of her, wanting her to announce their engagement although she has not quite agreed to marry him. Human Dr. Thomas Pearson also wants Fred and does not hide his affection for the half breed. However, Fred is worried as the Undersea Folk are starting to vanish for no apparent cause and her biological merman father Farrem, exiled for a failed coup attempt, has suddenly entered her life; making her wonder if he using her to take the throne.

The third Fred the half-breed mermaid tale (see MAKING WAVES and SWIMMING WITHOUT A NET) is the usual zany comedic romantic fantasy that MaryJanice Davidson is renowned for consistently writing. The story line is action-packed on land and under the sea. Fred remains the crank queen of both worlds out grouching Oscar, but this time has a cause for her irritability as she now knows who she gets it from as her biological father threatens her two worlds. Fans will enjoy this fine entry while wondering whether Fred will select Artur, Thomas, or neither; going in neither is the heavy favorite.

Harriet Klausner

The Undead series aka Vampire Betsy series takes place in Minnesota, in this book Elizabeth, known as Betsy is coming upon the final two weeks until the wedding to her King and Consort Eric Sinclair. She is the Queen of the vampires and while the Book of the Dead (think vampire Bible) already says that the two are already married and will rule together for the next thousand years, she still wants the ceremony. Sinclair is willing to go along with this because he loves her, but will do so kicking and screaming the entire way, until he vanishes, along with Betsy's best friend Jessica, her roommates Antonia (a psychic werewolf who doesn't change), Garret, Marc and her half sister Laura (daughter of the devil).

Jessica has a legit excuse, she's in the hospital dealing with cancer, but the others are just gone and the timing couldn't be worse what with Betsy's father and step mother dying in the car crash and leaving her baby half brother to her to raise. Betsy loves her little brother very much but she's worried and frantic to know where everyone is as her support system is stripped away from her and she is forced to deal with not just the wedding plans on her own, but also finding where everyone is and what the hell was keeping them.

Add to this the werewolf pack from Derik's Bane (Antonia's pack) wanting to know where Antonia is because she hasn't checked in for the month and a power hungry vampire librarian and you have a busy two weeks in the life of the Vampire Queen.

In this third and final installment, Fredericka (Fred) Bimm,a marine biologist, has taken a leave of absence to be the liason for the Undersea Folk who have decided to go public to the humans.

She misses fellow marine biologist, Thomas, who left with another mermaid in book two. She spends her time with Prince Artur, who is wanting Fred to become his wife and the future queen of the Undersea Folk.

Fred, who is part human and part mermaid, just wants to be alone and sort out her life, maybe swim in the pool. But her BFF Jonas has other plans. He is getting married to Fred's boss, and needs Fred's help to plan the wedding.

Between cake tasting, dodging Prince Artur's proposal, and mentally dealing with Thomas's abrupt return, Fred is out of her element. To top things off, Undersea Folk are coming up missing, and her long, thought dead father appears on her door step!

Full of MJ's famous wit, FISH OUT OF WATER will leave you in stitches! A fun, under the sea adventure that will keep you lavishly entertained. You can read it on land or by sea :D This one is definitely the best of the trilogy and you won't want to miss it.

MaryJanice Davidson, Undead and Uneasy (Berkley, 2007)

So, finally, can we get on with this wedding thing? Of course not. Queen Betsy and the gang are back in Undead and Uneasy, the sixth book in MJD's Queen Betsy series. After the events of the last book, there should be clear sailing, yes? Sinclair has come around to the idea of the ceremony (as much as he can, anyway). Except that, well, he's a groom, cold feet and all. (I will resist the urge to add a parenthetical Betsy-esque pun about dead man always having cold feet here. Oops. Sorry.) Tina is off in France, guaging the European vampire society's reaction to the events in book five. Marc and Jessica are, of course, at the hospital. Garrett and Antonia are off... somewhere. And here we have the crux of the book-- Antonia's pack want an audience with her, and Betsy has no idea where she is. So, actually, Queen Betsy is back-- but where's the gang?

Publishers' Weekly called the narrative "too cute," and to an extent I can understand what they're on about. But then, comparing a chick lit series to a horror series, as they do, seems kind of silly; it's a lot better when you think of it more as Jennifer Weiner, but with fangs. Yeah, they're cute, but they're readable and funny, if a bit gratuitous at times (Betsy has developed quite a mouth over the past few books, and it's getting to the point where it's on the verge between amusing and annoying). I'm still enjoying this series immensely. *** ½

Fred the mermaid's life has gotten entirely too interesting. Granted, she no longer has to worry about exposing her secret since the Undersea folk have made themselves public, but now the masses of ordinary humans who don't grow tails when they hit the water are fascinated by merfolk and Fred has become something of a celebrity now. Furthermore, she has to help plan a wedding, thankfully not her own, but there's a certain prince pressuring her to do that, too. Then, there's the situation with her natural father, who turns out to be not dead after all, her other potential paramour coming back to town, and the little matter of Undersea folk suddenly disappearing.

**** Can Fred hope for happily ever after? She's certainly no shrinking violet "little mermaid" type, but she's just as much fun in a different way. Snappy, sardonic humor is Ms. Davidson's trademark, and she does not disappoint her fans in Fish. The only drawback is seeing the series end, but knowing when to call a halt is a strength. Though the story does hint at sensuality, there is nothing nearing erotic content, so this is a perfect novel for those who have moved beyond her Jennifer Scales series but are not ready for Queen Betsy or some of the more provocative titles. ****

The last several books in this series have been disappointing, lacking much of the wonderful humor of the first book and seeming more like episodic short stories. However, with this installment, MJD has taken much more time with a plot that has actual danger and suspense, resulting in a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Because many of the characters don't come into play until the conclusion, a lot of the amusing interactions are missing, and some of the relationships seem unnecessarily strained (particularly with Lara). The reader definitely needs to have read all of the previous novels first to understand the various relationships and previous plot references. But we do get to have great fun with the werewolf contingent, which makes up for a lot.

We finally see Besty come into her own and vanquish a worthy foe in an unexpected manner. The book should have been longer, and the "marriage" at the conclusion was given short shrift, all things considered.

To sum up, not as quite as good as the first novel in the series, but definitely a good read with some (but not enough!) of the dry wit that will leave most readers anxiously awaiting further adventures of the Queen of the Vampires.

The climax of the seventh Queen Betsy book ended in a shocking way for such a light'n'frothy series: the death of one of Betsy's friends.

And "Undead and Unwelcome" is all about the fallout between the vampires and werewolves, and all the problems that Betsy has to deal with when she takes Antonia's body home. MaryJanice Davidson manages to infuse her latest adventure with the vampire queen with plenty of pathos, a tinge of weirdness (what is UP with BabyJon?) and gentle humor, but the subplot involving Betsy's devilish sister somehow doesn't fit into this puzzle.

Betsy and Sinclair fly off to the castle-like citadel of the Pack, with Antonia's body in tow -- and they're rather surprised that the Pack immediately starts showing great grief and/or resentment about Antonia's death, since they almost drove her out. Betsy isn't too happy about the situation, particularly since the unfriendly werewolves outnumber them by thousands -- and they're all too happy to blame Antonia's death on her.

But Betsy being Betsy, she doesn't intend to take all this unjustified criticism lying down. And to make matters a little weirder, she's lunching with a pregnant crazy woman who claims to be Morgan le Fay's reincarnation, babysitting little alphas, facing down a werewolf council, and wondering what's up with Babyjon. Said infant causes Derik to utterly freak out, and Michael keeps forgetting that he's even there. Very weird.

In the meantime, Marc is left home with Betsy's saintly-yet-demonic sister Laura, who is being stalked by gangs of roving Satanists (no, I am not making this up). Marc tries to help Laura with her ongoing problem... but he unwittingly triggers a change in Laura, showing that there is nothing more evil than an obsessive do-gooder...

I have to give MaryJanice Davidson credit -- not many authors of urban-fantasy would adopt a frothy, slightly ditzy chick-lit approach, and even fewer would use that frothy ditzy approach to handle the subject of death and grief. But she does a pretty good job blending her tongue-in-cheek vampire queen's antics and problems even as she deals with the messy aftermath of Antonia's death.

And though the main story is about the overhanging possibility of a werewolf/vampire war, Davidson keeps some focus on Betsy's oft-comedic antics (fanging out during a playground brawl) and amusing dialogue ("What, are you a superstar pregnant ninja warrior or something"). Even a tense showdown with the devil worshipers has an edge of humor ("I want you athholth out of my houth!").

The problem? Well, quite honestly the subplot about Laura LHM (losing her mind) and GITTPOE (giving in to the forces of evil feels rather clunky when slapped next to the main storyline. It does admittedly lead to a (literally) smashing finale, and some plot threads left hanging for future books.

Betsy's still managed to be a likable vampire queen -- she's kind of flaky and a bit self-absorbed, but she shows plenty of guts (telling off the Pack) and quite a bit of maternal warmth. The supporting characters are also warmly likable, including Betsy's delicious husband Sinclair, her sassy buddy Jessica, and the wide array of werewolves -- from the mellow Michael to the prickly Derek. And Laura has some serious soul-searching to do after this, given how scary she can get.

"Undead and Unwelcome" explores what happens after a werewolf death, and fortunately MaryJanice Davidson writes it like a good souffle -- neither too light nor too heavy. The subplot feels rather tacked on until the climax, but it's still a pleasant light read.

What happened to this series? I was a big fan -- telling all my friends about it. It was fun, fresh and interesting but now it's old, tired and unforgivable. IMHO, the books have gone down one step in quality each since the fantastic "Undead and Unwed" and I no longer hold out any hope they'll improve. The author repeats herself so much I found myself screaming "we fans knew that before and you've told us that three times in this book already!" while reading this story. The characters are acting like parodies of themselves or like other people all together. Jessica's name in the previous books was Watkins but here that's changed to Wilson (I fear writer error and/or a complete lack of an editor) and the back of my copy tells me that the main character's name is Betsy Taylor and that this story is all about "Becky" and her new troubles. SERIOUSLY? Did no one edit this?

Also, the author's new technique of starting most chapters five sentences in from where she should and therefore making the reader have to read ahead and then go back so they can understand who was talking and the context of what was being said is incredibly annoying. And as much as I love Marc Spangler -- why did we have to have whole chapters where he calls himself "dude" as he supposedly writes in his journal? While I didn't have to guess who was writing those chapters, it still felt forced and irritating to me. I'm so sorry I wasted my time reading this and I am only thankful I didn't spend my money on it having seen in the last couple of books the slide this series was entering. I'm disappointed in the author, the editor and these beloved characters that are no longer themselves or interesting in any way.

This series is frightening , yet light hearted reading. It is fun , the characters are so likeable . I like the mix of edge of seat scariness with fun mixed in. It's different from anything else I have read. It's the only vampire series I even read at all.

This book by Davidson is a very interesting vampire book. Learned some things about vampires and others by reading this books. The characters are interesting and the plot certainly was different. Enjoyed reading the book and I think others will too.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"

The author puts a fantastic spin on the traditional moribund, mute mermaid of the fairy tales by creating a character who is not shy about expressing her feelings in very direct and crass terms. She is a scientist who happens to be a mermaid. She's lovable, with two romantic rivals in this novel in addition to her very handsome metrosexual, Aveda-loving best friend. This novel was completely entertaining, but may have worked better as a novella. There just was not much meat to it. At times it seemed more like a sketch than a fully realized novel. The plot and characterization could have moved more from outline to development. The author's typical gaffes persist in this novel. (For example, Barb is accidentally described as "Barb's boss.") These mistakes are completely unworthy of MaryJanice Davidson. Nonetheless this is a fun, adventurous little series with admirable creativity. If you want a very fast, entertaining, light read, give this book a try!

Betsy, Queen of Vampires, along with husband Sinclair, heads to the werewolf palace in Cape Cod, bringing the body of their friend and werewolf Antonia. The werewolves were not big on Antonia while she was alive, but now that she's dead, they're hungry for revenge and seem likely to take it out on the vampires. Meanwhile, with Betsy away, her sister, Laura, decides to stop running from the Satan-worshipers who have hunted her down and start putting them to work. Betsy ignores Mark's frantic e-mails because he uses too many acronyms for her taste and doesn't have a clue that Laura just might be pushing the world to armageddon--all with good intentions, of course.

The Betsy series started funny but has definitely run down. UNDEAD AND UNWELCOME is certainly readable and occasionally entertaining. Betsy, with her self-absorbed, blonde-ditz, but essentially good personality, makes a wonderful protagonist as queen of the vampires. Sinclair remains dark, sexy, brooding, violent, and uh, did I mention sexy. To me, UNWELCOME seemed more like setup than an actual novel. We learn that little Babyjon is more than just a baby, and that sweet Laura may be heading in Satan's direction despite (or perhaps because of) her attempts to do good. That's about it.

Author Mary Janice Davidson can string words together, can paint a wonderful character profile, and makes characters who would normally seem unattractive come to life in a way that makes them sympathetic. This time, I thought the plot failed to hold up all of the superstructure.

I have mixed feelings on this series. I really like the premise, the concept is clever, and the basic storyline is entertaining. I definitely would rather have seen this series continue longer than the Betsy series, as that one is done. But there are definitely flaws.

While I like MJD, I love her sense of humor and I think she is a good storyteller, she is not a very good writer - and there is sometimes a large distinction between the two. I mostly get the sense that she is just "phoning it in" and trying to fill up pages. All of her books are very short, printed double-spaced with large font, as though the publishers are trying to make the books appear to be longer than they are because they have to meet requirements for numbers of pages. They aren't fooling anyone. I think MJD has even written in her acknowledgments comments about having a hard time meeting her deadlines - and I think it is evident in the finished product. If she spent a little more time polishing the writing and giving us a little more of a plot and less patched together scenes, her books would be so much more enjoyable because the characterization and humor is there.

Another criticism I have is that the Fred the Mermaid series is written in a supposed third person point of view, but reads more like first person, complete with thoughts and feelings. She should have stuck to first person for this series. It very much has the feel of a book written in first person that someone went back and changed a few pronouns to make it read as third person after it was already written. It is so noticeable that the "she" when Fred is mentioned jumps off the page because it feels so much like it is Fred's point of view that that the third person perspective seems forced. I don't know why she chose third person for this series, unless it was to have more of those patched in scenes written from another POV like Jonas's, or if it is because the Betsy series is written in first person and she was trying to make a distinction. First person and third person are two different types of writing - they aren't always interchangeable. Speaking of things interchangeable, the characters are pretty much an echo of the Betsy series, as someone else mentioned. The main character in each series is very similar including personality and sense of humor, manner of speech, etc. Jonas is essentially a blend of Jessica and Mark, etc.

On a positive note, the books are funny and if you have a sarcastic sense of humor you will find them entertaining. This is extremely light reading (more so than even the average Romance novel) and can be read in one sitting, or in small chunks of time. The type of book you can put down and come back to a week later - or more - and have no trouble picking up where you left off. For light and fluffy paranormal romance, this is worth reading.

If I'm reading the author's acknowledgements/preface/introduction rightly, then this is probably the last volume in the series about Betsy, Queen of the Vampires. And the somewhat crowded feeling, as if a few too many things were happening and being crammed all into one book, reinforces that suspicion.

That said, it's always better for a book to have too much happening rather than too little. And since we already know that the series is lightweight, if some of the action is improbable for the characters involved, or flat-out silly to think someone would ever do that, well, that's part of the series: several of the characters have always been purely stereotypes for the sake of laughs. Either you learn to live with that, or don't.

For those of you who haven't read other books in the series, you really should read them in order; the events of this book make no sense unless you already know who the players are. Don't try and read this one first just because it's easily available, thinking that if you like it, then you'll go back and read the rest of the series. Doesn't work that way. You've gotta already know about Betsy's dad and stepmother, about her half-sister Laura and who Laura's mother was, about why Jessica has a mansion full of weirdos. Some of what you need to know isn't even in the series directly; the whole thing about Antonia and Garrett is from a novella contained in an anthology of Davidson's werewolf series stories, Dead and Loving It (ISBN-13: 978-0425207956). (No, I don't really know why a book of werewolf stories has a title as though it were mainly about vampires.) That said, to give you an idea of whether the series is for you at all, you should know how it stacks up against other vampire series. Davidson writes humorous romance; she's not a fantasy writer first and then a romance writers. The vampires in this series are fairly traditional as to powers; they are not "out" in society nor considered legally human; mostly, they lead lives separate from humans, not holding down "day jobs" or trying to socialize outside their own kind. Several of the volumes have murder mystery plots; others are more frivolous. There are no deep, dark thoughts of immortal life and its meaning, nor any attempts at deep explaining why and how vampires exist at all. Even when there's eeeevillll, it's a rather superficial sort of evil. The vampires are a mixed bag between evil and neutral characters. There are numerous other supernatural beings: ghosts, werewolves, the Devil - but other than those beings, this is pretty much our world, our time, our Minnesota - it's not a separate fantasy universe.

As far as the plot itself in this volume, I think that between the publishers' reviews and all the rest, you don't need me to tell you more. Let me say that I'm a bit tired of the Booke of the Dead. Enough happens to enough of our regular characters to feel that Davidson has tied off a lot of loose ends, again hinting that it's the last book in the series. Perhaps one of the most unusual events in this volume is: Betsy actually realizes that she's whining. And makes an attempt to deal with it.

In short: if you've been reading the series, you've gotta read this one. If you haven't been reading the series, don't start with this one. And if you prefer your vampires dark, brooding, and discussing their immortality, lack of souls, and all the other philosophical implications of their condition, this is not where you're going to find it. But if you're looking for easy-reading humor with snappy dialog and just enough plot to hold the humor together, then this should be your cup of tea.

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the brain (or place where one should be) of a ditsy blond? Who's dead? Whose sister is the daughter of the Devil? And who has a whole lot more power than anyone that crazy about designer shoes should have?
Betsy Taylor has the IQ of Tweety Bird. Alive or dead, human or vampire, her blithe materialism, dizzy logic, solid integrity, heroic defense of her BFFs and hilarious adventures are a delightful sendup of supernatural romance, material girls, haute couture, and the clueless and inexplicable triumphs of the unfairly beautiful.
Betsy Taylor is adorable.
The best part of this delicious series is being inside Betsy's head and seeing things from her point of view, which means trying like hell to follow the labyrinthian tangles that pass for thought in her pure and slightly off-kilter psyche.
Both as a reader and a librarian, I think this series is charming and wonderfully engaging and I hope Davidson writes many more.

Like the immediately preceding book in the series (Undead and Unworthy (Queen Betsy, Book 7), this book is darker and less light-hearted than the earlier books in the series. I started reading the series precisely because it was a lighter, less serious type of vampire book and the darker trend is not as pleasant.

Most of this book has little to do with Betsy, Sinclair and the vampires and more with the Wyndam werewolf pack from some of the author's other books (see Derik's Bane (Berkley Sensation),Dead and Loving It and Dead Over Heels). It was OK but if the earlier books had this lack of fun, I doubt I would have read much of the series.

I've read tons of fantastic reviews for this series but I just don't get it. I started the series in the middle and thought that might have something to do with me not caring for the books so I started at the beginning even rereading some of them. It still didn't help. I can usually understand why a character seems whiney or selfish in a story. There's usually some underlying reason for it. Not here. Betsy is one of the hardest characters to get behind. She's rude, incredibly whiney and selfish to the point where you can't even root for her. And this story... if you can call it that. There really wasn't one. For the first 3/4 of the book Besty is either complaining or feeling sorry for herself. Nothing really happens. When the climax of the story finally happens it's given all of maybe 30 pages. The wedding was given 2??? The 3 million dollar wedding and we get 2 pages. The only thing in these books going for it is the connection between Betsy and Sinclair and he was hardly in the story. I'm not a big fan of the books but the author can for sure write steamy intimate scenes... we didn't get any of those either! I guess what I'm getting down to is... I'm done with these books. I won't be picking any more of them up. For vampire chick lit there's much better available.

Undead and Uneasy is primarily about how Betsy deals with things when she suddenly finds herself companionless. She grows more into her role as queen of the vampires, and several loose ends from the previous books appear to be tied up... but not quite all (I'd like a resolution for the remaining Fiends, for example).

The easy, snarky humor of the first few books (particularly the first 2 in the series) doesn't appear quite as much, but this could be due to the darker content, including a surprise revelation near the end of the book. In addition, the cast of characters, the conclusion to the mystery, and the wedding itself appeared to be dealt with very quickly.

All in all, this is still a fast, enjoyable read and has its moments but it definitely could have been a little longer.

Life isn't easy for Fred the Mermaid these days. Since the Undersea population has come out of hiding, she has been an ambassador to the media, being the only human/mermaid hybrid in existence. On top of that, Prince Artur is still after her hand in marriage, and Thomas Pearson will not stay out of her thoughts...or her life.

This is another fun romp through the undersea world with a light mystery to be solved. Again this novel is very short, taking only two days to read, but the characters are lively and Fred has grown on me more with each book in the series. I recommend this entire series for some fluffy summer reading on the beach with margarita in hand.

The latest installment of the MaryJanice Davidson's Betsy the Vampire Queen series is a little darker than the previous five. Undead and Uneasy marries the Betsy series with the Wyndham Werewolf series bringing both groups of characters together in a mirthful clashing of vampire and werewolf culture.

Betsy is preparing for her imminent wedding to Eric Sinclair, Vampire King, even though the Book of the Dead proclaims them to already be married under vampire law. Without warning, her friends and family begin to disappear; some die, some leave of their own volition, some are kidnapped, and some are kept away by coincidence, but it leaves Betsy alone with Derik and Michael of the Wyndham werewolves to discover what has happened to everyone she loves.

Betsy Taylor's usual smart mouth is tempered a bit by the worry she has over Jessica who is on death's door due to cancer. She is also forced to visit Jon Delk, the hunky teenage vampire killer who has a crush on her, which she handles with aplomb. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she finds herself in custody of BabyJon and is forced to let go of some of her selfishness in order to care for him. Even though Queen Betsy seems to mature a bit in this novel, Davidson splashes much pop culture into the plot and Betsy still talks, and thinks, like a shallow valley girl from California rather than Queen of the Vampires but without as many snappy, sarcastic musings as usual. Even as Davidson tries to grow the series, she is strangling it from refusing to let the plot and characters expand.

The plot seems somewhat recycled with Betsy concentrating on holding onto her humanity, but for no good reasons except that she is stubborn. While the series began as a lighter, humorous, romantic paranormal novels rather than the serious and more violent writings of authors such as Kim Harrison, Lilith Saintcrow, or Laurell K. Hamilton, Davidson's soda pop seems to have lost its fizz. It looks as if this may be her last vampire novel to see the light of day.

The vampire king and queen, newlyweds Eric Sinclair and Betsy Taylor feel obligated to accompany the corpse of werewolf Antonia back to his New England-based Wyndham Pack since he died saving her undead life. They leave the twin Cities for the Cape with Betsy grieving and feeling survivor guilt while her spouse fears a cross paranormal species war is coming.

50,000 plus howling werewolves scream for their blood so the werewolf council demands an accounting as to why one of their own died protecting a vampire. In St. Paul, Betsy's half sister Laura fears for her sibling's life and being the daughter of the devil plans to take action against her enemies. The Minnesota royal supporters struggle to keep her from going over the deep end and causing the hostilities to heat up which Eric hopes to prevent from happening. Alas adding to the cross paranormal mess is the royals' legal ward of her infant half-brother BabyJon who has fangs flying everywhere; hell even Eric who did not want to be a daddy for a few more centuries is over the edge when it comes to the baby.

The latest Undead and ... tale is a fast-paced wild ride filled with much darker but as hilarious humor as its predecessors. Now two years as the queen, Betsy still struggles with the intra and inter etiquette between the supernatural species as well as with humans and vamps; she especially struggles with those who pee and those who never urinate (don't ask what is left). The story line is loaded with off beat zaniness as Eric expects an unwelcome greeting in Cape Cod while St. Paul is out of control. Betsy puts the potential cross species war in proper perspective: her shoes have no scratches so far.

Harriet Klausner

This comedy vampire thriller is number eight in a series which combines chick lit romantic comedy and vampire thriller - from the viewpoint of the new and particularly incongruous Queen of the Vampires.

Imagine a cross between "Sex and the City" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and you've roughly got the idea.

Judging by the other reviews a lot of readers thought this series is losing its edge: I didn't. Essentially the author milked the comic potential of the original plot dry in the first six books, so she started on a new storyline. I thought this worked quite well, and that this was one of the funniest in the series, though obviously some of those who liked the orignal stories disagree.

In this book the heroine and involuntary Vampire Queen, Betsy Taylor, has some unusually difficult family and relationship problems -

* A sister who is the antichrist, and is rebelling against her parent the devil by trying to be good (but has some lethal ideas about how to do so)

* A husband who is King of the vampires

* A baby half-brother, whose guardian she has been since her father and stepmother died, who may have some unusual characteristics of his own, and

* said stepmother occasionally comes back as a ghost to haunt Betsy, and last but not least, this book also includes ...

* Fifty thousand angry werewolves, to whom Betsy is trying to explain how one of their fellow werewolves got killed in her house ...

The plotlines of the first six books were more or less resolved in number six, "Undead and Uneasy." The seventh, "Undead and Unworthy," kicks off what Mary Janice Davidson calls a new "story arc" - she also says that this will be a trilogy. This book, "Undead and Unwelcome" is the middle book in that trilogy, So the full list of Queen Betsy stories to date is

1) Undead and Unwed
2) Undead and Unemployed
3) Undead and Unappreciated
4) Undead and Unreturnable
5) Undead and Unpopular
6) Undead and Uneasy
7) Undead and Unworthy
8) Undead and Unwelcome

There is also a "Queen Betsy" novella in Davidson's book "Dead over Heels" which is a collection of three paranormal romance stories. In my opinion you will get most out of these books if you read them in order: I would start with "Undead and Unwed" and work on from there.

Most of the "Queen Betsy" books are told in the first person by Betsy Taylor, although some chapters of this one are narrated by her friend Doctor Marc Spengler. The first words of the series are "The day I died started out bad and got worse in a hurry."

Betsy is a former model and is still a fashion fanatic: at the start of the series, on the morning of her disastrous 30th birthday, she is working as a secretary. Her main interests are designer shoes, designer clothes, and her cat. In quick succession she gets fired, loses her cat, and is killed in a car accident. It is a great surprise to her when she rises again as a most unusual vampire. It is even more of a surprise when, through a sequence of bizarre events, she becomes queen of the vampires.

At the start of this eighth book, Betsy and Sinclair have to convey the body of one of their werewolf friends, who was killed in book seven, to the home of the pack. The werewolves are not happy and there is a serious danger of war between the werewolves and vampires.

Meanwhile, Marc suggests to Betsy's sister Laura an imaginative idea for for how to deal with the hosts of devil-worshippers who keep turning up and asking her for instructions. At first the idea appears to be brilliantly successful, but then Laura takes it much too far ...

Mary Davidson has great fun by mixing up the vampire genre as in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or Laurell Hamilton's "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" series and Chick-Lit romantic comedy as in "Sex and the City." This series is way over the top, fairly sexy, and usually very funny.

An interesting comparison with other authors who have written entertaining comedies by combining incongruous genres would be with Marianne Mancusi and Robert Frezza.

In the same way that this book gets plenty of laughs by combining chick lit with Vampires, Frezza write two very funny books which combined Vampires and Science Fiction ("McLendon's Syndrome" and "The VMR Theory") and Mancusi combined chick lit with time travel in "A Connecticut Fashionista at King Arthur's Court" and "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest." Anyone who likes this book is likely to enjoy all four of those, and vice versa, if you have read and enjoyed any of those books you will probably like this one.

OK, this is never going to win the Booker Prize or any other great award for classic literature, and it is fairly raunchy, so not suitable for children. However, if you have the right sort of sense of humour, it is good fun. I can recommend "Undead and Unwelcome" and also enjoyed reading the rest of the series.

As the countdown to the wedding of the millennium continues, Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Vampires, is unhappy; for a change it has nothing to do with shoes. Her house is jammed with visitors some permanent from all walks of life including some dead like a ghost, a werewolf, and a Fiend.

Meanwhile her fiancé Vampire King Eric Sinclair seems to vanish at the first hint of a wedding ceremony. His vanishing act with his bloodsucking buddies angers Betsy who is tired of taking care of the wedding. Now a werewolf pack is camped nearby just as Betsy begins to investigate what happened to King Eric as his disappearance seems more than just cold feet.

The latest "Undead" romantic fantasy is like its predecessors an irreverent amusing tale as the Big Day nears. Betsy feels overwhelmed with guests and unwanted crashers arriving while her stud pulls a Houdini and vanishes. She gets angrier because she still needs to find the right shoes instead of saving her hunk of a fiancé. Fans of the series will enjoy this lighthearted entry wondering whether the royal couple will make it to the altar on time.

Harriet Klausner