Undead and Unpopular (Queen Betsy, Book 5) Mass Market Paperback – May 1, 2007

MaryJanice Davidson continues her vampire series featuring the reluctant Queen Betsy Taylor and King Eric Sinclair with UNDEAD AND UNPOPULAR. Betsy doesn't like certain aspects of being a vampire. After all, the whole live-forever thing is a bit overrated since one has to actually consume blood. So, for her 31st birthday, Betsy has decided to give up drinking blood- although she hasn't yet told Eric this. Giving up blood makes Betsy a bit cranky, and she is less than thrilled when a contingent of European vampires finally show up to pay their respects to her as the new Queen. Much to her horror, one of the vampires, Alonzo, was responsible for forcibly converting her friend, Dr. Sophie Trudeau, to vampirism. Needless to say, Sophie wants revenge! Betsy also has to deal with babysitting her baby brother, BabyJon, her best friend, Jessica's, recent diagnosis of blood cancer, and planning her wedding despite Eric's total avoidance of all details associated with it. And don't forget that there is a zombie in the attic! Readers new to the series will probably wonder what the big deal is all about. The strength of the Undead series relies totally on the characters. Betsy is a sarcastic, sometimes airheaded, fashionista who was transformed into a vampire on her 30th birthday. Since then, she has become the Queen of the Vampires and acquired Eric as her consort. The humorous interaction between Betsy and Eric is always good for a laugh. However, if the reader hasn't been with the series from the beginning, this book will probably appear shallow and rather undeveloped. In addition, one must read the short story "A Fiend in Need" in DEAD AND LOVING IT or Garrett's transformation will make absolutely no sense. The zombie in the attic is perhaps a bit superfluous but this part provides most of the action of the story. Finally, there is a flash of something besides whining and fashion tips from Betsy. Despite the concerns, however, this reviewer enjoyed the book as it was like a short visit with some old friends. UNDEAD AND UNPOPULAR will appeal to the fan base of MaryJanice Davidson but will probably not attract new fans due to the shallowness of the plot. Regardless, this very short book is still an entertaining read!COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

MaryJanice Davidson has a uniquely humorous voice, which makes her the only romance author out there from whom I will eagerly purchase a book. The "Queen Betsy" series is one of my favorites in one of my favorite genres - the "silly vampire" books.In this, the 5th outing for the unlikely vampire queen, Betsy (from Minneapolis), we find Betsy a few days from her 31st birthday, which will also be one year from the day she was killed by being hit by an Aztek (what a plebian way to go!) and awoke as a vampire - horrified to find that The Ant (as she calls her stepmother) had dressed her for her funeral in absolutely dreadful shoes.Betsy is planning for her non-existent Surprise Birthday Party (which she doesn't want), as well as the wedding to her Vampire King Eric Sinclair, which is scheduled for three months away. Additionally, some hot-shot vampire big-wigs from Europe are showing up. To complicate matters, Sophie (a vampire friend of Betsy's) wishes to "turn" her boyfriend Liam, which leaves Betsy rather discombobulated. Until Betsy learns her best friend, Jessica, has myeloma, whereupon she finds herself pondering the same course of action for her friend. That is, of course, if she changes her mind about never drinking blood again. Then, when Sophie and Liam run up against the big shot European vampires - that's when things really hit the fan, because one of the European contingent is the vampire who killed Sophie and turned her into a vampire and she is out for blood. What's a benevolent vampire queen to do?Written with an always wry and witty outlook on life, the Betsy books are truly a terrific way to relax and enjoy a nice evening with a cup of tea. Do yourself a favor, pick up a couple and have a few laughs with Betsy!

Great easy read, but compared to her previous undead novels, I felt like there were too many things going on that didn't do anything for the overall plot. That, and so many characters were introduced that didn't have a major role that I was left thinking, "why have them at all?"

Heads up, read MJD's Dead and Loving it before you pick up this book so that you understand the latest happenings of George, the somewhat pet vampire. Otherwise you might be very jarred by the difference in his character.That said, the Undead series is always a frolicking and original read. I do have to say that I blinked and found myself finished with the book due to its short length.Just before her 31st birthday Betsey, unwilling Queen of the Vampires, has a lot on her plate. A delegation of wealthy, powerful European vamps is in town, one of her freinds whose a vamp finds her murderer is part of said delegation and demands retribution, another freind is considering being turned, there is a killer Zombie lurking in the attic,she has a wedding to plan in just three months, ghosts are literally popping out of the woodwork, and the biggest shocker - drum roll please... her bestfriend, Jessica, has blood cancer. Now amongst everything else, Betsey must look into her conscience and consider bringing her bestfreind over to the dark side. If all that isn't enough, her plan to give up blood is causing issues for her, future hubby Sinclair, and her house mates. But it's always a laugh a minute as Betsey struggles through the not-so-diplomatic issues of being ruler of the Undead!

A year later and poor Queen Betsy isn't any less frazzled or wiser. The problems appear and sort themselves out while revolving around her and her entourage. I did feel a bit up in the air with the start of th his one, as several things had changed, especially with a certain "feind". Although it didn't detract from the story it was a bit confusing.

This is the fifth instalment in the "Queen Betsy" comedy series which combines chick lit romantic comedy and vampire thriller.There are a number of memorable first lines in the series - the first book began with the words "The day I died started out bad and got worse in a hurry." This fifth book begins, as the heroine is approaching her 31st birthday and the first anniversary of her death (deathday?) with the words"There's a Zombie in the attic."Only in this series could the Queen of the Vampires open the door of her mansion to find her stepmother on teh doorstep, be handed her baby half-brother to babysit for the night, and be told "It's not like it's really an imposition right? You'll be up all night anyway."That's at the same time as Betsy is planning a wedding when uninvited guests show up from Europe - very old, very powerful vampires - supposedly to pay their respects to the new Queen - and her best friend gets some very unwelcome news.As with the first four books, this contains lots of supernatural plotting, parodies of vampire thriller stories, and ridiculous situations, particularly the incongruities caused by the combination of two rather different genres. The wacky sense of humour and new twists in the incongruous way the story mixes up "Sex in the City" with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" had me laughing out loud more than once.Elizabeth Sinclair, nee Taylor, (who prefers to be called Betsy) is a fashionista and former model, who to her own astonishment has become Queen of the Vampires. She has some unusually difficult family and relationship problems * A sister who is the antichrist, and is rebelling against her parent the devil by trying to be good (but has lethal ideas about how to do so) * A fiance/husband who is King of the vampires * Both mortal and supernatural friends.The first six books of the series form a consistent and reasonably complete storywere more or less resolved in number six, "Undead and Uneasy." The seventh, "Undead and Unworthy," kicked off what Mary Janice Davidson calls a new "story arc." This book, "Undead and Undermined" is the fourth part of that new story.Here is a list of the Queen Betsy stories to date (December 2013). The original six part comic series comprises:1) " Undead and Unwed (Undead Series) "2) " Undead and Unemployed (Undead Series) "3) " Undead and Unappreciated (Undead Series) "4) " Undead and Unreturnable (Undead Series) "5) " Undead and Unpopular (Undead 5) "6) " Undead and Uneasy "There is a "Queen Betsy" novella, set at about the same time as book six, in Davidson's collection " Dead Over Heels ," one of the three paranormal romance stories in that volume, and another in the similar collection "Undead and Underwater."Then there is the follow-up series, which MJD describes as "a new story arc" featuring the same central characters, begining two months after the events of both "Undead and Uneasy" and "Dead over Heels". This consists to date of7) " Undead and Unworthy (Undead 7) "8) " Undead and Unwelcome (Undead 8) 9) " Undead and Unfinished (Undead Series) ".10) This book, "Undead and Undermined"11) "Undead and Unstable"12) "Undead and Unsure"In my opinion you will get most out of these books if you read them in order. I would start with "Undead and Unwed" and work on from there.Most of the "Queen Betsy" books are told in the first person by Betsy Taylor/Sinclair. Her style of narration is very "sex in the city" which may grate slightly on some readers, but I soon managed to get used to it. To give you an idea of that style, the first words of the series are "The day I died started out bad and got worse in a hurry."Mary Davidson has great fun by mixing up the vampire genre as in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or Laurell Hamilton's "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" series and Chick-Lit romantic comedy as in "Sex and the City." This series is way over the top, fairly sexy, and often very funny.An interesting comparison with other authors who have written entertaining comedies by combining incongruous genres would be with Marianne Mancusi and Robert Frezza.In the same way that this book gets plenty of laughs by combining chick lit with Vampires, Frezza wrote two very funny books which combined Vampires and Science Fiction ("Mclendon's Syndrome" and "The VMR Theory") and Mancusi combined chick lit with time travel in "A Connecticut Fashionista at King Arthur's Court" and "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest." Anyone who likes this book is likely to enjoy all four of those, and vice versa, if you have read and enjoyed any of those books you will probably like this one.OK, this is never going to win the Booker Prize or any other great award for classic literature, and it is fairly raunchy, so not suitable for children. However, if you have the right sort of sense of humour, it is good fun. If you enjoyed the rest of the series, and can face staying with it after the kick in the teeth at the end of "Undead and Unfinished," you will probably like "Undead and Undermined." Undead and Unwed (Undead Series)Undead and Unemployed (Undead Series)Undead and Unappreciated (Undead Series)Undead and Unreturnable (Undead Series)Undead and Unpopular (Undead 5)Undead and UneasyDead Over HeelsUndead and Unworthy (Undead 7)Undead and Unwelcome (Undead 8)Undead and Unfinished (Undead Series)

Superficial and supernatural, hilarious chick lit novel. Betsy Taylor returns again in Davidson's book in the 'Undead' series. It's the same airhead, shoe obsessed queen of the vampires we met in the first novel.Betsy is a former model and is still a fashion fanatic. At the start of the series, on the morning of her disastrous 30th birthday, she is working as a secretary. Her main interests are designer shoes, designer clothes, and her cat. In quick succession she gets fired, loses her cat, and is killed in a car accident. It is a great surprise to her when she rises again as a most unusual vampire. It is even more of a surprise when, through a sequence of bizarre events, she becomes queen of the vampires.Needless to say vampire politics of the same nasty kind interfere with her life, but our heroine wins through in the end, displaying unexpected strength and compassion. A light weight book, but very funny.Still laugh-out-loud funny. I raced through this book cover to cover, loving Betsy's ditzy and self-obsessed attempt to adjust.For those who are not aware of the series, here the list of Queen Betsy stories I read to date:1) "Undead and Unwed (Undead Series)"2) "Undead and Unemployed (Undead Series)"3) "Undead and Unappreciated (Undead Series)"4) "Undead and Unreturnable (Undead Series)"5) "Undead and Unpopular (Undead 5)"6) "Undead and Uneasy"7) "Undead and Unworthy (Undead 7)"8) "Undead and Unwelcome (Undead 8)"9) "Undead and Unfinished"10) "Undead and Undermined (Undead/Queen Betsy)"In my opinion you will get most out of these books if you read them in order. I would start with "Undead and Unwed" and work on from there. Know there are more recent book but have not read them yet.It is not a great literature and it does not pretend to be (I think that was clearly established from the first book) so I find the negative reviews a bit petulant to be honest, you can't start moaning about short chapters, bad writing and unlike-able characters after 9 books into a 10 book series.If you want an easy read novel a decent story and have some laugh then go for it.

This one goes on a bit and doesn't really seem to have much of a plot. I was also confused by the appearance of so many characters. It felt like I'd missed a book, and indeed it seems I have as there's a short story which introduces these new characters which is not in the series. This book felt very rushed and not very long at all. Hoping the next one is better.

I've loved all the books in this series until now - While I did read this one to the end, and enjoyed most of the story, I feel the books are starting to lose their sparkle. I love Betsy and Eric, but I am not sure if I'll continue on any further.

Love this book, can't wait to get through the series!