Undead and Unwelcome ~ Book Eight in the Queen Betsy Series by MaryJanice Davidson

Publisher: The Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Group
Pages: 282

(US Cover Release Date: June 2, 2009)

From the Cover: Betsy Taylor has problems that only a vampire queen/suburban wife could possibly understand. Such as taking the body of her werewolf friend Antonia who died in her service to Cape Cod, where she's not sure if the Wyndham werewolves will welcome her with fangs or friendship. Meanwhile, her posse back in St. Paul is sending frantic e-mails alerting Betsy to her half-sister's increasingly erratic behavior. Looks like the devil's daughter is coming into her own and raising hell.

(UK Cover Edition)

(I had to show both covers because I think I'm partial to the UK cover, more like the old cover art.)

Queen Betsy has the ominous task of bring Antonia Wolfton back home to Cape Cod to the Wyndham werewolf pack. Betsy already feels terrible, Antonia took a bullet to the head trying to save Betsy's life. Soon after, Antonia's vampire lover committed suicide by pitching himself onto a wooden fence, effectively staking himself. He couldn't live in a world without Antonia. If Betsy isn't feeling guilty enough, her half-brother, BabyJon, is under her guardianship after she accidentally wishing his parents to death. Betsy, Sinclair (her King husband), Jessica (best friend), and BabyJon leave for Cape Cod with Antonia in tow. It's been a really bad week for Betsy.

The Wyndham wolf pack is waiting somberly for the return of the fallen wolf, Antonia, who the entire pack was afraid of and who was the outcast of the pack with her inability to change into wolf form. Little did they know that Betsy had, again accidentally, fixed that particular defect in the slain wolf. Although they may not have wanted Antonia within the pack, they're not pleased with her death in the service to the vampire Queen.

While Betsy is in Cape Cod doing her duty to the Wyndham wolf pack, her half-sister, Laura, the spawn of the Satan (Satan had been inhabiting Laura's mother at the time of her conception and birth) has gone ever so slightly off her rocker back home in St. Paul. She's imprisoned Tina (Sinclair's maker and minion), killing wayward vampires, and reeking general havoc in Marc's life (room mate to all the said people above). And he's constantly emailing Betsy TCHRN ASAP - only she doesn't understand cyber-eese and has no idea what's going on. Will the werewolves eat Betsy or just shred her into bits? Will BabyJon ever let anyone else hold him? Will Laura kill all of Betsy's vampires in her Queendom? Will Satan finally win?

Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson is the continuing story of Queen Betsy Taylor Sinclair, Queen of the Undead. She's new to vampirism, only having been undead for three years. And yet somehow, she is the the prophesied Queen of the vampires. She's a narcissistic expensive shoe loving vampire who really would prefer not to be Queen. Betsy is a heroine with attitude, the only problem is that she doesn't know what the heck she's doing most of the time, and it only gets her into more trouble. Her husband, Eric Sinclair, is the strong silent type of hero, that is until someone messes with his queen and wife. Then he's very not silent. With or without his silent attitude, his very presence demands everyone's attention. From his hot body or the power he exudes, he's a force to do reckon with.

I have to say that MaryJanice Davidson is one of my favorite authors and I've been trying unsuccessfully to avoid all the reviews available for this book. I found this book to be fun and entertaining. It was a little jarring at first to have two plots going on at the same time and maybe this book should have been billed as Laura's story, but it really was split between what was happening in Cape Cod and St. Paul, a little confusing at times, but after the first couple of plot switches, I had no trouble following the change of pace. I really enjoyed MJD's "The Story So Far" where she catches the readers up on what has happened to this point in Betsy's story. I do like the old cover art for this series better than the new covers. With the last book, MJD said she wanted to take the series in a new direction, hence the new covers, but I enjoyed the direction that the series was going in and the old covers as well. Some have said that this book was darker than the others in this series. I agree it was a little darker, but still fun and wild. I think I was looking for something like the earlier part of the series, but maybe this is the new direction the MJD wants to take the series in. I laughed with Betsy's misadventures, her uncouthness, and her ability to see passed all the crap and tell it like it is. I can happily recommend this book for lovers of the series, starting with this book as a first read might be a little confusing, and it was well through the time it took to read. This was shorter book than I thought it would be and I read it quickly in one sitting. Another fun beach read. MJD also has a novella in Faeries Gone Wild, not in the Queen Betsy Series, released the same day as Undead and Unwelcome, and I will be reviewing it soon. For more information about all of MJD's fun and wild books, please visit her website and her blog.