"Sexy, sassy smart vampire tale"

Betsy's life, to put it bluntly, sucks. A few months ago she was attacked by a mob of feral homeless people. Her stepmother hates her. She's just been fired from her secretarial job, which means no more designer shoes for a while (her obsession with fashion outdoes all four of the ladies on Sex in the City, although she has much better taste). Her cat has run away. Things couldn't get worse, could they?

Wrong.

After rescuing the cat from an oncoming car, Betsy wakes up in a coffin. Even worse, her stepmother has chosen a cheap pink designer knock-off suit (Betsy doesn't do pink or knock-offs)and cheap shoes as her attire for eternity. Now she's a zombie, and a badly dressed zombie at that. In an attempt to set things right, she attempts to commit suicide in a number of ingenious ways -- but none of them work. It begins to dawn on her that she's a vampire -- but a vampire who can walk in daylight, is unaffected by holy objects or ground or words, and can control her thirst, as well as seduce anyone she's interested in. After realizing that her stepmother has stolen her clothing and shoes, she takes back her possessions and runs into her best friend Jessica, who is glad she's a vampire, not a corpse. Her pal and her mother try to convince her that Undead is a lot better than Really Dead, but Betsy doesn't buy it, especially after she realizes fanging the cute cop who handled her assault case has turned him into a vampire junkie.

Unfortunately not everyone is thrilled at her resurrection - - especially not Nostradamus, the leader of the local vampire coven who sees her as a threat. (For a change, the Evil Vampire isn't gorgeous like Lesta or Spike; this one is short, pudgy, balding, and self-important.) His rival, Sinclair, a real hottie who will remind you of Anita Blake's Jean Claude, wants to use Betsy against Nostradamus, because there's this legend about a vampire queen, and Betsy fits the description to a T. Whether she likes it or not, she's soon up to her pierced ears in vampire politics.

What makes this book stand out from its fellows is Betsy's engaging, irreverent personality. A born smartass, she tosses out quips and insults with the ease of Whoopie Goldberg or Robin Williams. She refuses to play by anyone else's rules, has no patience with self-important people, alive or undead, and just wants to get on with her unlife. In a genre where far too many protagonists are whiny clones of Rice's Louis, Betsy is a refreshing change. I hope there will be more books about her in the future. This is a wonderful bon-bon of a book, perfect for a light read, a tale as sexy, sassy, and smart as its heroine. If you like Buffy and Angel (Betsy reminds me of Cordelia on Angel, when she's grown out of her bitchiness but retained her sarcasm), this is a book you'll chortle over evilly.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted August 7, 2002

Summary

Betsy Taylor is having a helluva week. She's been laid off, her stepmother boycotted her birthday party (again), her cat isn't speaking to her, she can count on one hand how often she's gotten laid in the last 18 months, and she's dead.

As if this wasn't bad enough, she can't seem to stay dead. She rises each night in search of unholy sustenance and designer footwear. Worse, the other vampires are convinced she's been Foretold...in other words, she's the new vampire queen.

More concerned with her looks than vamp politics, Betsy just wants to keep her head down and adjust to her new liquid diet. Trouble is, the only vampires who want her more than the good guys are the bad guys. And when the good guys are ruthless, and the bad guys are unhinged, and they ALL want to have sex with her to cement their power base, it's tough for a modern girl to keep her shapely butt out of trouble...and out of bed.

UNDEAD AND UNWED is rollicking, sexy good fun, sure to get your pulse rate up and your funny bone throbbing!