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 prophesied 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...

This book was cute and funny. Betsy (Elizabeth) Taylor is so not like any other vampire you've ever met (or read about). Holy water, crosses, even sunlight cannot hurt Betsy, and as she learns to come to terms with her newly undead life, she learns the ropes of Vampires 101 from the tall, dark, and gorgeous Sinclair, whom she both lusts after and despises all at once. The other vampires she's met have begun to notice these differences in Betsy as well and claim her to be their prophesied Vampire Queen, a job which Betsy vehemently denies. A battle ensues in which the tyrannical Nostro, who has ruled the vampires for hundreds of years, must be overthrown in order to return peace to the vampire community.

The quirkiness of this book had me laughing out loud at times, and I'm looking forward to reading Undead and Unemployed, the next in the series. The short story by Mary Janice Davidson in the Cravings anthology, Dead Girls Don't Dance, takes place between the events of Undead and Unwed and Undead and Unemployed. Betsy and Sinclair only make a minor appearance in that story, with the focus being on Andrea, a vampire making her way from Chicago to St. Paul to pay homage to the new Vampire Queen.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to a PaperBackSwap.com member in New Haven, CT.

Mass-market paperback received in the mail from Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA, through PaperbackSwap. Funnily enough, I got Undead and Unemployed from another BookCrosser through PaperbackSwap. The first book in the Undead series. Read more at maryjanicedavidson.net.

From Booklist
Betsy Taylor—former model, newly unemployed secretary, 30, and still single—wakes up after being flattened by a small SUV in a tacky coffin wearing cheap knock-off shoes. Her mother is glad she is back, albeit as a vampire, but her stepmother is enraged that Betsy has reclaimed her designer-shoe collection. With a wealthy best friend and a newly acquired doctor pal who is not susceptible to her formidable allure, she sets out to right wrongs but is abducted by Nostro, a tacky 500-year-old vampire who rules the undead roost. It seems that Betsy is an anomaly: a vampire who doesn't burn in sunlight, can fight the urge to feed, and is not repulsed by religious articles, all of which may make her the prophesied Queen of the Vampires. Teaming up with gorgeous vampire Eric Sinclair, who is in her opinion a major pervert, she takes on Nostro and his minions. Sexy, steamy, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davidson's chick-lit foray into the paranormal is delightful.

Includes a sneak peek at Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris. I loved this book so much that as soon as I finished it, I started Undead and Unemployed. I can't wait to read Undead and Unappreciated, which was published in hardcover this month, and Undead and Unreturnable, due out in October.

This book is a mix of two genres (vampire erotica & chick lit), which made it a great change of pace from all the chick lit I've been reading. Betsy is smart, snarky, doesn't take shit from anybody, and doesn't think she's nothing without a man. She literally kicks ass!

Mailed to firrantello in Morganton, North Carolina, USA, in trade for Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block. (I'm also including Undead and Unemployed as a RABCK.)

Thanks editorgrrl!
I was only expecting the one, getting both was a great surprise!

I read a short story by Mary Janice Davidson in a vampire compliation (Cravings or Bite, I can't remember which) and wasn't terribly impressed. After reading this one though, my opinion of her writing has gone up. This book made me laugh out loud, and I rarely do that with books. Sinclair reminds me a bit of my ex, but since Betsy is nothing like me, I can safely laugh at it all I want :)
Amusing quick read.

My daughter (firrantello) put this in my "to be read" box and I'm glad she did! A "hoot and a half"! Quick easy read. Just the thing when you want something light. This is a definite must read.