Book Review – Undead and Unemployed by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead and Unemployed
The 2nd and 3rd installments of this series have been my favorite so far, and I believe it is due to the romantic tension between Betsy and Eric. Despite being furiously angry at Eric for “tricking” her into becoming his “wife” (as per vampire law), and ruling by her side as king to her queen, she can’t deny her attraction to him. While she does her best to snub him, and combat his every move, she finds herself unable to resist and ends up tangled with him in the most intimate situations.

In book two of the series, Betsy, despite being “comfortably set” in her living arrangement, decides to become employed. She winds up with her dream job working in the shoe department for Macy’s. While all seems to be going well enough for her, vampires under her rule are being murdered, and being queen, she must help find who is responsible.

During a late night undercover plan, Betsy is used as bait to attract the potential vampire murderers. After an unsuccessful night, her vampire team leaves, and she finds herself alone at her car, being shot at by a group of teenagers that have named themselves the “Blade Warriors”. They claim to be doing God’s work and after further investigation, Betsy’s team discovers that they have been enlisted by a priest, who receives anonymous funding and instructions on which vampire to kill next. Who could be funding them? I’m not telling, but it’s worth the read as you will chuckle all the way to the end!

Here are some moments that I found hilarious:

Witty internal dialog when Betsy comes home to find her best human friend Jessica, sick with the flu:

I noticed that she hadn’t had time to turn on the bathroom light in her headlong gallop, and had initially missed the toilet. Oh well, the wall needed re-painting anyway.

This was a laugh out loud moment even as I re-read now. Betsy is at work (Macy’s shoe department, helping a customer), when Eric Sinclair shows up to give her a hard time about her decision to get a job. As she asks her customer if there is anything else she can help her with, she hears his deep voice behind her:

“I have a question.”

All the hair on my arms stood straight up and I nearly shuddered. I knew that voice. Eric Sinclair, bad-ass vampire and all-around sneak. And my consort, God help me. How’s this for ludicrous: most of the vampires think I’m their queen, and that Eric’s their king. My king.

I straightened up and stared off in the distance, cocking my head attentively. “Yes Satan?” I turned slowly, and faked a big smile for Sinclair. “Oops! Sorry, Sinclair. I got you mixed up with someone else.”

Another amusing moment when Betsy struggles internally with her feeling towards Eric:

“Seriously. I don’t want him, I never wanted him.”

Okay, that last one was  a lie. I mean, I wanted wanted him, you know, like you want a juicy steak, but I didn’t want to be married to him, not without him at least asking. Which he never did. Not once. Was that so much to ask? A marriage proposal? I didn’t think so. Not that anybody asked my opinion. Oh, God forbid, anybody should ask my opinion!

In this novel, the friendships between the diversified characters continue to grow, and we are introduced to some new characters that will be integral to future works.

The tone of this series is similar to a weekly sitcom, and Betsy’s clever dialog is of a similar style to that of the mother in the “Gilmore Girls”. Witty, somewhat “snarky”, a touch of drama, a bit of romance (and tension), lots of laughs, and very easy going all around.

4 stars

Tagged as: 4 stars, mary janice davidson, vampires