Undead and Unwed

Queen Betsy, Book 1

By: MaryJanice Davidson

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

MaryJanice Davidson's cult hit Undead and

Unwed is a delightful mixture of Sex and the City and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Waking up in a tacky coffin and wearing off-brand shoes, Betsy Taylor can't believe the horrible turn her life has taken; then she discovers she's a vampire. Soon, Betsy becomes a participant in a power struggle between the forces of darkness. With only her friend Jessica and the hunky vampire Sinclair to help her, this new "Queen of Vampires" will have a tough time getting her afterlife straight.

Dying for more? Don't miss the other titles in the Undead series.

©2004 MaryJanice Davidson (P)2006 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Sexy, steamy, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davidson's chick-lit foray into the paranormal is delightful." (Booklist)

It wasn't very good but it makes you smile

I was grinning like an idiot listening to it. That being said it was a remarkable mediocre to straight-up cringingly bad.

Cute!

The story was cute and entertaining. I will definitely continue the series to see what Betsy gets herself into next!

Poor choice of narrator

Nancy Wu seems to get the gist of attitudes but is unable to consistently distinguish between the characters. There is a lot of dialogue in this series (I've just finished book 3) but the only character who is readily identifiable is Jessica. All others need a speech of several sentences to get their own identity from Wu.

Although there is a decided link between Betsy and Eric, there is not a lot of romance in the story. It seems to mostly be antagonism and giving in to attraction that somehow suddenly becomes love (book 3) though I feel it's more to do with sympathy than anything else.

Betsy is a shoe-crazy, designer-label-only, egotistical air-head with a good pair of friends and a great sense of humour. The books haven't made me laugh outright but the story is entertaining enough so far.

I'm not sure it's worth a second credit to buy book 4, though. If it was free or in the Romance package, I'd probably listen to it but at this point it's just not worth listening to Nancy Wu's poor performance again.

Fun

Hey phone lady read. The vampires Corky and it has a touch of love story perfect to keep your mind off things

Well....meh

The story was ok, but the performance was too much. So annoying to hear.

Silly but cute!

This book was a bit silly but I laughed so much! It made my day. It took a while to get accustomed to the narrator. But again I think she was a good fit for this book!

looking forward to Betsy's other adventures

Love sassy Betsy and her adventures. Great Narrator. Colorful characters. Lots of sarcasm and humor. Not for prudes.

Different than any vampire book I’ve ever read!

This book was great. I already own a physical copy and have read it a while ago. But listening to Nancy Wu she does an excellent job at captivating the audience. I laughed out loud more than once which gave me weird looks by people around me. Lol

Such a fun book!

I actually despise what most people call "chick lit" and lots of people have described the Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson as chick lit meets vampires.

I suppose that is an accurate description, but the reason I hate chick lit (in general) and the reason I find this book so hilarious is basically the same: a really shallow-seeming heroine. Here the shallowness isn't complete (Betsy has her moments and you can see that she has some deeper feelings, if you search really hard for them), but the very shallowness is part of the reason these books are so funny.

The Queen of the Vampires is obsessed with shoes? Designer names? What anyone and everyone is wearing? Too funny!

Nancy Wu, who gives voice to Betsy in this first person novel, is letter perfect. She sounds just like Betsy did in my head when I read "Undead and Unwed" for the first time.

Give this book a chance,even if you aren't a chick lit fan. You won't regret it.

Fun Paranormal Series

I took this book with me on vacation last month, and had more than a few laugh-out-loud moments while reading it.

Life was hard for Betsy Taylor - she couldn't always afford the newest and hottest styles of shoes, and she worked for a boss who neglected to do small things, like pay the taxes on his employee wages. A few months ago, she was attacked by some foul smelling nasties - though at least that led to her meeting a yummy detective. Then she gets hit by a car and dies. Game over. Right?

Nope. She wakes up, and is powerfully thirsty. Somewhere along the lines, Betsy has become a vampire, and life was hard enough with a pulse.

Betsy's take on the undead life is a howl, and I promise you won't be let down if you're looking for a light, fun tale peppered with some romance and a lot of laughs. It's like an undead Janet Evanovich novel.