scary

UNDEAD AND UNWED by MaryJanice Davidson SPOILERS NOT INCLUDED -- 10:52:26 03/05/04 Fri
For those of you looking for yet another Vampire fix! This book is tooo funny! If you thonk your having a bad day...meet Betsy Taylor (yep, short for Elizabeth Taylor!) today is her 30th birthday and it ain't happy. The bus is late and of course the only available seat on it has gum in it! She's late to work, only to find that she has been laid off. Her birthday party is canceled due to a freak snowstorm and her cat Gizelle has run off again! Well, since Giselle is a "house-cat" she goes outside to retrieve her only to be plowed down and killed by a Pontiac Aztec! Now, you may think how could things get worse? Well they do and what she goes through is HILARIOUS!!!

This book was originally published as an E-Book for Ellora's Cave. So all you Ellora's Cave fans you may have already read this book. Well half of the book. According to rumor, Mary Janice added over 200 more pages which not only lengthened the story (well duh) but allowed her to explore and expand the plot. All to my great satisfaction!

So those fans of Susan Donovan, Jennifer Crusie, and SEP run, do not walk to the bookstore for your copy!

If rumor is true, Mary Janice had to tone down the sex. Now, if this accurate, the pages must have spontaneously combusted after reading CAUSE the scenes are HUGH 5+.

"Undead and Unwed" popped up as a recommended book for me from Amazon, probably because I buy a lot of vampire fiction--most recently "Dead to the World" by Charlaine Harris and "Dead Witch Walking" by Kim Harrison. It sounded like a fun book to read. I enjoyed "Bridget Jones Diary" and "The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing" and other chic-lit type books, so I thought I'd probably enjoy a chic-lit vampire book.

"Undead and Unwed" was fun, but it was a little more of a standard romance than I was bargaining for. Since Charlaine Harris only gets around to writing a book or two a year, it's probably worth reading if you're a big Sookie Stackhouse fan. If you haven't read them yet, I would recommend the Charlaine Harris' books as being more tightly written with better characterization. Christopher Moore's "Bloodsucking Fiends" is another favorite in the humorous, female vampire vein.

After reading the reviews of "Undead and Unwed", I expected the book to be a funny mix of chick-lit and fantasy. While the book can accurately be called chick-supernatural, it failed in the humor department. Davidson, the author, tried too hard to be witty. The first three chapters have more exclamation points "!" than I have ever seen before in my life. (really!!)

The main character, Betsy, was unlikable. It's like Davidson took Carrie from Sex in the City, dumbed her down and took away everything that makes her interesting--then made her a vampire called "Betsy".

This book isn't worth the time or effort. Read Kelley Armstrong or Tanya Huff instead of this series. Save yourself!