Book Review Double Feature: Undead and Unemployed/Undead and Unappreciated

Title: Undead and Unemployed / Undead and Unappreciated

Author: MaryJanice Davidson

Review Number: 47

Genre: Chick lit/Paranormal

Stand Alone/Series: Books 2 and 3 of Queen Betsy series

Summary:

Undead and Unemployed: Betsy Taylor is back in this sequel to Undead and Unwed. Not willing to “live” off her friends, she lands her dream job selling shoes at Macy’s, much to the dismay of her consort/King, Eric Sinclair, who is as loyal, protective, and hot as ever. Not that Betsy has any interest in him (or does she?). And now, vampires in her kingdom are being attacked and staked by a mysterious gang. Can she solve the mystery in time to save her kingdom? Can she stop spending all her wages on shoes? Can she resist the charms of Eric Sinclair – does she want to?

Undead and Unappreciated:Most women would love to live as royalty, but Betsy has found that being vampire queen has more problems than perks, except for always being awake for Midnight Madness sales. It may be easy to find blood (yuck) in the dark of night, but try finding a strawberry smoothie. And employees at her nightclub Scratch have been giving her nothing but grief since she killed their former boss. Some people…
But Betsy’s “life” takes an interesting turn at a baby shower for her wicked stepmother, who lets it slip that Betsy has a long-lost half sister. Now twenty years old, this woman just so happens to be the devil’s daughter…and destined to rule the world.

Why did I read the book: Book 1 was light and funny and I wanted more.

Review:

In Undead and Unemployed, Betsy Taylor is still trying to come to terms with her new situation: that of Queen of Vampires and consort to Eric Sinclair. Refusing to be a proper queen she decides it is high time she finds a new job – something to keep her nights busy and to bring some needed money, she’s been living off her billionaire friend Jessica’s money and she has had enough of being a leech (sorry, couldn’t resist). She finds her dream job at Macy’s shoes department to the chagrin of her family and friends. But she can’t avoid her duties for long as vampires are being killed and they are turning to her for help. On top of that, she has to deal with the news that her stepmother is to have a baby, must find a new place to live and her friends decide on a big mansion at the poshest part of town where she finds out another tidbit prophesized in the Tabla Morto: that she can see dead people- other than vampires that is.

In Undead and Unappreciated, Betsy is more at ease with her new role as vampire Queen but some surprising news come to disrupt her life once again – more prophesying from the Tabla Morto , now telling her that she not only has a half sister but that she is the daughter of the Devil and is bound to take over world. Only Betsy can find her and stop the evil creature. Sick and tired of learning things little by little from the Tabla Morto she decides to sit down and read the freaking book already – without taking much notice to the fact that one that reads the book in one go, suffer from dire consequences – in her case, she turns evil and in the few hours under the influence of the book, she cause havoc around her and almost loses all that is most dear to her.

These are really short books (about 200 pages each) , fast-paced and with a well-balanced mixture of action , romance and funny moments. It was hilarious to see how proud she is to have found such an amazing job, never anyone felt so much pride at selling shows to people – it’s like Al Bundy in the bizarro world.

Or how she finds out about her half-sister and how she wants to take matters in her own hands. Her relationship with her friends is very cool and there are moments that are so sweet and tender , your heart can not help but to go to Betsy. Her mind works in illogical ways and she is prone to give people headaches if they try to follow . Eric Sinclair says and it is exactly how I feel: she is just …too…adorable.

And talking about Eric Sinclair, their relationship is one of the best things in these books for me. The fact that they become consorts against her will after having sex in Undead and Unwed still bugs her. As a woman, all she really wants is for him to ask her to be his wife, not to go around saying they are already married because of a prophecy – but because she can never really get this across to him, or even at first, acknowledge the fact to herself things get complicated before they can be solved. In book three she finally come to terms with the fact that she loves him – which everyone already knew.

As with the first book, these two sequels are good for winding down after a busy day at work. They are less laugh out loud hilarious than book one, but have a little bit more of plot, and they are still a lot of pure, Unadulterated fun! I am hooked.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Any parts with Eric Sinclair. I loved the part, in Undead and Unemployed when he thinks Betsy is dead and the narration shifts from first person (Betsy) to allow us to read Father Markus’ diary narrating the events:

Then Eric Sinclair, as formidable and frightening, a creature as I have met in my long days, just went to pieces. It would have been touching if it hadn’t been so terribly, terribly sad.
He cradled her in his arms and sank to the floor. His coat billowed around them as they fell. He whispered her name, over and over, and caressed her face with trembling fingers, and blocked all of us out.

Additional thoughts: I would love to read more quirky funny books such as these. Any recommendations?

Verdict: Pure fun. I really recommend this series. Betsy is such a riot and so sweet.

Rating: 7, Very Good.

Reading Next: Devilish by Jo Beverley