It's been a couple months since Undead and Unwed. Betsy has still not adjusted to the fact that she is queen of the vampires and that with that title comes responsibilities. Betsy is determined that she will regain some semblance of a life and for her, this means getting a job and paying her own way through life. It should be simple right? Well, it might have been were it not for the fact that someone is killing vampires in St. Paul and as Queen of the Vampires, it's Betsy's responsibility to keep her people safe.In case you are wondering, Betsy doesn't get anymore likeable in Undead and Unemployed. Betsy remains extremely vapid, whiny and just plain sarcastic. I don't think I have disliked a character this much since Charlene Harris's Aurora Teagarden and believe me, that's saying something. At this point, I am just going to go ahead and give up on any kind of character development in this series. Yes, I know it's early but Betsy is simply beyond hope at this point, even if she claims to be a feminist.Betsy's relationship with king and consort Eric, continues to be stormy at best. On the one hand, I can understand Eric's frustration with Betsy's intentionally obtuse attitude towards everything vampire. Betsy has access to the Book of the Dead which will inform her about her role in the life of vampires and what she can expect as their queen. It would make sense for Betsy to read it from cover to cover but of course, Betsy cannot be bothered but whines when she gains new information from Eric and Tina, which she could have learned on her own, had she bothered to read the damn book.Eric is controlling and possessive in many ways. Normally that kind of behaviour in a male love interest is beyond irritating to me but I cannot see any other way for Eric to make Betsy see the real danger she is in. I do however think that Eric took it a bit too far when he showed up at Betsy's job, demanded that she quit and when that didn't work, attempted to use his powers to force Betsy's boss to fire her. This scene is the only shining moment in the book for Betsy."My queen," he said, glaring down at me, "does not work.""This one does," I said shortly. "And do you hear yourself? Jeez, I knew you were an ancient motherfucker, but even you must know women can have jobs now. And dammit! You made me say 'motherfucker' at work."It's the only time where Betsy stands her ground and it actually makes sense. Yes, vampires are dying but Betsy should have the right to earn her own income as she sees fit and not be dependent upon Eric or Jessica for money.Speaking of Jessica, it's clear that her main job is to support Betsy's lifestyle. When it turns out that Betsy's home is infested with termites, it's Jessica to the rescue with the purchase of a mansion. When Jessica is not pulling out her wallet, she is acting on Eric's behalf to bring Eric and Betsy together because she has determined despite Betsy's denials that Betsy has it bad for Eric. Jessica is so lucky that she even gets an invitation to Ant's party because of her wealth, which apparently overrules the colour of her skin. Jessica snarks about being offered chicken and watermelon to eat. Yes, it's racist but I still believe that Davidson adds these knock you over the head racist events because she really doesn't know how to write characters of colour. Racism is something that Davidson portrays casually. A good example of that is the exchange between Mr. Harris the cab driver and Detective BerryRead More
My review for http://fangsorfur.weebly.com/Undead and Unemployed the second installment in MaryJanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series is paranormal romance meets chick lit: This book picks up where the first book (Undead and Unwed) leaves off. In the first book we are introduced to Betsy Taylor a sarcastic, funny, designer shoe loving woman who gets laid off from her job as a secretary then is killed in a pedestrian-car wreck. She wakes up in the morgue, dressed in an unflattering suit and cheap knockoff shoes thanks to her stepmother who is jealous of Betsy and her designer shoes. Betsy leaves the morgue after realizing she looks different, men react to her differently, and she can't die, which she finds out through trial and error. Eventually finds out that she's a vampire through deduction and a persistent man who shows up at her door.. Armed with friends old (Jessica) and new (Marc) she figures out how to function evening to evening in her life. Betsy meets the two camps of the vamp world, that of the evil Nostro and that of the mysterious and sexy Eric Sinclair. Betsy finds out that she is not a typical vamp, but the foretold queen of their kind. She constantly rejects this, but helps Sinclair defeat Nostro and consequently that leaves her in a position to rightfully unite everyone under her rule. Sinclair ends up being her consort/sort of husband through omission, which Betsy thinks he tricked her.The second book picks up where Betsy is looking for a new job to support herself and not rely on others. She ends up selling designer shoes at Macy's. Jessica, Marc and Betsy move into a large upscale home together after all the time they were spending together and all the vampires that come and go to swear allegiance and help Betsy transition as queen. The house quickly becomes vamp central and headquarters for the king and queen. However, Betsy has to team up with Sinclair and others to find out who keeps killing vampire women on Wednesday nights. An old allegiance to the deceased Nostro secretly pays a teenage reject group of vampire slayer vigilantes called the Blade Warriors. They target tall blond females that match Betsy's description. It turns out the Blade Warriors were practicing their slaying skills for their unnamed benefactor. The Blade Warriors attempt to attack Betsy, she escapes, and they follow her to her house where they eventually question what they are doing and befriend Eric, Betsy, and the others. The benefactor is revealed as a former Nostro supporter who thinks Betsy is a false queen. Betsy discovers this after she is wrongly terminated from her dream job at Macy's. The Nostro supporter is subsequently killed after Eric comes to save Betsy yet again. Betsy more or less embraces who she is while solving this mystery. The end of the book leaves us off where Betsy is undead, sort of unwed, and unemployed again. Undead and Unemployed definitely provides more action in this storyline and definitely charms readers into continuing to find out about Betsy's world. The negative side to this book is the brevity of the story, use of foul language (if you aren't used to it), the shallowness that Betsy sometimes portrays.
What do You think about Undead And Unemployed (2004)?
After reading Undead and Unwed, I thought Sinclair was a hero with jerk tendencies. Now after finishing the second book of the series I'm feeling like Sinclair is filtered through Betsy and he's not as much of a jerk as I first thought. I realize that the reader only sees Sinclair from Betsy's point of view since the whole book is from her perspective, but throughout the whole book I kept feeling like I wasn't getting to know Sinclair at all. The author does a really good job broadcasting Jessica's personality along with Betsy's, but Sinclair just seems to get lost along the way.I'm still enjoying the series so far, and don't plan to drop it, but I'm not as enthralled by it as I was the first book.Completely unrelated side note…having a vampire named Eric in a series that’s not the Sookie Stackhose series is a little distracting. Every time someone calls him Eric and not Sinclair, I keep expecting Eric Northman. Is it horrible of me that I’m picturing Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Sinclair? He doesn’t fit the description but that's still who pops into my head while I’m reading.
—Lindsay
Undead and Unemployed is the 2nd book in Mary Janice Davidson's Queen Betsy Series. Elizabeth Taylor - a.k.a. "Betsy" - a.k.a. Her Majesty, Queen of all Vampires - has had a rough couple of months. After being killed, (and coming back from the dead, btw) she has had nothing but trouble. In the first book in the series, Undead and Unwed, Betsy was integral in the over-throwing of the old vampire ruler, and in doing so became the de facto "Queen of the Vampires" (whether she likes it or not.) Unfortunately, many of her new "subjects" refuse to acknowledge her - calling Betsy a false Queen - and as if that's not enough, Betsy's house is crawling with termites, she needs to find a job with night hours, and Etienne Aigners did not put out the lavender pump this season! Oh, and there's a serial vampire killer on the loose - what's a vampire Queen to do?I am so glad I gave this series another chance! Undead and Unemployed is a better book than Undead and Unwed (book 1.) It is fun, fluffy, and fantastic! Betsy is exactly the kind of Queen the vampires need - smart, sensitive, and sassy as hell. She is a charming and captivating heroine - I am definitely in her thrall and totally hooked on this series now. Undead and Unemployed is a light, fast read - more like a "vampire sitcom" than your typical doom and gloom, dramatic vampire story. I read it in a single sitting, and couldn't put it down! The mystery/suspense aspect of the story was extremely compelling, and the cast of characters - Sinclair and Tina, Betsy's guides in the afterlife; Jessica and Tina, her "urban family;" and of course the "Blade Warriors," a gang of adolescent vampire slayers - all make for some hilarious scenes that had me laughing (and snorting) out loud!With interesting plot twists and and entertaining characters, Undead and Unemployed had built on the foundation set out in Undead and Unwed, and taken the story in a delightful new direction. I will be picking up book 3 today - another new series for Susan!
—Susan
Hmm, hab ich bisher auf deutsch oder auf englisch geschrieben?Egal, heute gibts deutsch.Böööööööööööses Buch!Gelesen hab ichs während ner Prüfugnsvorbereitungsphase.Eigentlich gar keine Zeit, aber, ein Kapitel wird doch gehen, das darf man sich doch erlauben...Oh, jetzt muss ich das nächste aber auch noch lesen...Und das danach...Und das danach...usw...Verdammt. Halbes Buch weg...Dann kann ichs jetzt auch zuende lesen.Soviel zum Thema lernen an dem Tag, aber ich hatte Spass!!!Weglegen war für mich bei dem Buch keine Option.Wieder wunderbar leicht und flüssig zu lesen, so viel toller als Fachliteratur fürs studium...Ich freu mich aufs nächste.
—Tina
