Customer Reviews

Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Betsy, Book 4)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am a huge fan of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series and I look forward to all of the installments. Her tongue-in-cheek approach to vampires is priceless. I also love the characters, especially Betsy, Jessica, Sinclair, Tina and Marc. And the bantering that goes on between them is hilarious to the max. Undead and Unreturnable is another gem as far as the quick-witted bantering and some character development are concerned; however, the plot is so thin it is almost non-existent. Betsy has quite a busy schedule. She is planning a traditional wedding to her consort and reluctant groom, the dark, gorgeous and stylish Sinclair, is getting ready for Christmas, agrees to babysit her newborn baby brother, and tries to keep her eye on her devil's spawn sister Laura. And now she has to worry about a serial killer preying on short-haired blondes with light eyes as well. She has to be careful, for she fits that description, but she also has to find the killer after one of his victims' ghost bothers Betsy to no end. There are various fun moments throughout the novel.

This novel, like all recent Davidson books, is disappointingly short, not much longer than an outline. The serial killer plot is very underdeveloped and is resorted in a quick, unsatisfactory way. The novel consists more of lighthearted bantering between Betsy, Sinclair and Jessica. Tina and Marc appear in a few scenes and nothing more. If anything, this novel is more centered on Betsy and Sinclair's relationship. I like that Davidson develops their relationship further in this offering, but sometimes the book in general seems chopped up and uneven. There is also some development centered on Laura, Betsy's sister, and how she has become all the creepier since Undead and Unappreciated. There is also a rather dark scene with Sinclair and Betsy that I like because it adds character depth and growth into the mix, no matter how fleeting the aforementioned character depth and growth may have been though. The characters remain great. I love self-centered Betsy, the darkly gorgeous Sinclair and the quick-witted Jessica. The vampire/librarian from previous MJD vampire novellas called Marjorie shows promise in this series and so does former Blade Warrior Jon and his suspicious interest in Betsy's life story. I guess what I'm saying is that there are some good, substantial moments in this short, light and at times lopsided continuation of the series. The novel is without a doubt hilarious. I laughed out loud as I read the novel, so Davidson's abilities with creating quips in her dialogues are still intact. And I know that she is still the same talented storyteller who wrote gems like Love's Prisoner and Undead and Unwed and I hope she will go back to that style of writing. She does leave some interesting cliffhangers for future offerings. I only hope that she will take her time in creating something more substantial and less abrupt next time.

Okay, I said I wouldn't, but I saw it at my local Border's and I spent the money. It's better than the last but that's not saying a lot. Judging from how quickly this one came out and the length of the two most recent books in the series, I remain convinced that Undead and Unappreciated and Undead and Unreturnable were meant to be one book, but got split up into two short, unsatisfactory pieces for monetary reasons. In this book, a little more happens, and a number of set-ups were put in place for future books: Sinclair's declaration that Betsy can have a baby if a living human is the father. Sinclair's inability to read Betsy's thoughts becomes an issue, as the Book of the Dead says that he should be able to. Laura's powers grow, and she seems more and more comfortable with the Devilish side of her make-up. This book is as poorly edited as the last. At one point, Betsy is riding in a car with Laura and a ghost. Laura makes a comment about being dead...except that she's not dead. Presumably the ghost was meant to have this line. Oh, well, it's still fun, and it's hard to blame an author who's finally hit it big, but in the end, she'll sell more if she keeps her fans happy, and stuff like this just won't do it for very long.

Okay, in sports movies there is always that "darkest moment" where everything seems hopeless just before the feel-good end. The last book, "Undead and Unappreciated" could have been that, which explains why this one was so lackluster- It seems to be the end of the series (but it won't be. And I'm not so sure that's a good thing.)

Betsy, Queen of the Undead, rides again. But where was Tina the snarky? Where was Jessica the snarky? Where was Marc the snarky? In this one these funny characters basically chew the scenery, except there is a very tiny subplot where Jessica gets laid.

Queen Betsy and her sister Laura, daughter of the devil, spend all their free time together in this one, making it boringly wholesome for the most part. Or, that is, all the time she has when Bets isn't having, well, surprisingly boring sex with King Eric. And given what we know of him, how could it be boring? Yet, it is.

Even the Ant is relegated to nothing in this book that seems...well, flat. Nothing really happens.

Bets can see ghosts and goes on errands, helping them talk to their loved ones. Jon, of the Blade Warriors from book 2, moves in and does a biography on Betsy that turns into a book...named "Undead and Unwed". Gee, how...original.

Betsy tells Eric a deep dark secret and this time, it's he is who is afraid of her. But now the honeymoon is over, and they seem like an old married couple, and about as interesting. Yet Eric remains very fleshed out and matures well in this book, grudgingly I admit Betsy is still as dumb as ever but more patient.

Laura loses her temper and it seems...could the prophecy be true? Will she take over the world? Unknown, as it's not explored as well as it could be; a good plot left to trail off. George becomes more human-like and learns a new stitch, but that's about all.

Oh, a serial killer is running around Minneapolis and his last victim is the only funny, snarky character in the book, following Bets around. But that plot fizzles as it only really crops up in the last 50 pages and is resolved instantly, tying into the bare bones "is Laura evil?" plot (that will surely be all that drives book 5.)

It's nowhere near as funny as the last 3 and the plot just doesn't grab me. If you haven't read this "Undead' series yet, skip it. For a funny heroine that always keeps going, I would say get hooked on the Stephanie Plum novels of Janet Evanovich. If you're a fellow long-time fan, well, all we can do is hope the next one is a little better.

Don't blow 20 some odd bucks on this. Wait for the paperback version, just head to the library or bookstore and read this if you can't wait.

And P.S. - hope this gets back to Ms, Davidson. Please stop using the word "rape" so callously, I, like many others, find it offensive. You use it too lightly and it undermines what a horrible crime it really is.

Those of us who were hooked on Maryjanice Davidsons Queen Betsy series from the start tend to sometimes be a little more critical of them than others. I've seen other reviews that complain the novels are growing complacent and uneventful. I happen to be one of the few who disagree with that sentiment.

In Undead and Unreturnable, we find Betsy getting used to her newfound love for the sneaky Eric Sinclair (a man she had originally sworn to loathe forever after he tricked her into becoming Vampire Queen, while simultaneously making him the Vampire King, and her consort). But (finally) Betsy realized she really loved Sinclair, and he truly loved her, but navigating the murky waters of her relationship with him is harder than she thought it would be -- not to mention the added problems of dealing with the fact that her half-sister, Laura, is actually the devil's daughter who is fated to take over the world (and is currently starting to show some of her darker insticts), her King and consort is avoiding her after she had shockingly revealed to him that she can read his thoughts when they are in their most intimate moments, the Ant just had a baby, and bizarrely relies on Betsy to babysit every waking minute, a former vampire killer is now hanging around the mansion making lovesick puppydog eyes at her, and a very grumpy ghost named Cathie is following Betsy around and harrassing her, demanding that Betsy catch and punish the serial killer who murdered her -- plus, Christmas is fast approaching! To put it bluntly, poor Queen Betsy has her royal vampire hands full!

This latest Queen Betsy novel dutifully upholds the legacy that the previous novels have set down -- namely, it is meant to continue the same lighthearted and entertaining wit. These books should never be taken too seriously. If you are wanting them to be something they aren't, you will always be sorely disappointed. Appreciate them for the light and easy read that they are. The merits of the plot don't bother me, as long as the characters I love continue on in their array of crazy vampire hijinks, which they do!

If you like how the series has gone so far, then you'll like this one as well (although now that Betsy and Sinclair are officially a couple, you should definitely be prepared for far more sex scenes.

This is a review on the Audio Book version of Undead and Unreturnable by Mary Janice Davidson, read by Nancy Wu.

I really loved the first book of this series, Undead and Unwed, I liked the idea of a Vampire Queen who was Blonde and Tall and the ultimate girly girl, complete with a shoe fetish. The first two books were basically there to lay down the premise, to have Betsy discover her powers and her duties to both those she surrounds herself with (vampires and humans alike) and to those she is Queen of, although in my eyes she never gets beyond her own hang ups regarding her love life and her love for shopping. By the third book, Undead and Unappreciated all Davidson has done is introduce new characters and make them trod through boring storylines until you get to the end and wonder how a book series could spend so much time...on nothing. Onto the fourth book, I still had high hopes that Betsy would grow beyond banal sex scenes, shopping for shoes, berating her stepmother, babying her roommates, and ignoring her duties as Queen instead focusing her energy on making her boyfriend marry her. Seriously, that is what the first three are basically about! I know she discovers new powers, and that would be exciting if she did something with them besides go to starbucks in the daylight, and wonder endlessly about accessories! This book is about solving some local murders, and really all of 5 pages are devoted to just that, the rest are spent on yet again more boring sex, fights with her boyfriend, and her talking like a 16 year old hyped up on power bars. Are we supposed to care about her pending wedding? And the planning for it? Or her choice of pajamas, or what her family is doing? Not me. I want to see how she will grow into leading her people, how she will gain the entire planets vampire populations respect, but what do I get " my boyfriend is so totally hot" and "I would sell my soul for those shoes" and " oh crap I cant get a pedicure"

Now onto my views on Nancy Wu, who reads the audiobooks. She stinks, not just stinks, but she doesn't even comprehend what she is reading, I have caught her reading in a voice for one character, when its another. She makes a sexy male vampire sound like a drawling butler, a 21 year old male college student sound like he is 14 and in a bad news bear movie. Nancy is asian, and she sounds like it, and therefore our blonde betsy sounds like Mulan on No-Doze. I have listened to 4 audiobooks worth of terrible valley girl/cheesy vampire accents and I cant take it anymore. Her reading sex scenes is embarrassing to hear, in no way, shape, or form are they the least bit steamy, sexy or provocative.

So that's it for me, books, audio books or otherwise. Save your time and energy and go read the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris if you like amazing vampire literature that is also smart and sexy

I'm not going to write a plot summary. Amazon provides that and too many other reviewers do also. This was not one of her best in this series. I really enjoy this series but I'm not sure if she meant to have it together with another book and the publisher split it or she wasn't on her game or what it was. This book rambled on and really didn't have a plot. The serial killer plot was there the whole book but they really weren't working on it. It was mostly Betsy talking to Jon or Eric about nothing. I wouldn't recommend this book except to get to the next one. I would wait and hope that she puts a bunch of the books together then this one won't be so noticeably short.

I loved the first three books, apparently I loved the sexual tension between Eric and Betsy. The fourth book fizzled with a loud zzzzzzzzz. I was just annoyed throughout with the cliches, and it didn't keep me hooked.

I usually would briefly summarize the plot in my reviews, but there really isn't one to write about. It feels like a "days of our lives" soap opera of Betsy's life...she and eric are in love, she and eric have a fight, then she and eric make up, re-wash and rinse. I wouldn't mind this as much except Betsy is getting more annoying with each book. I keep waiting for her to grow up and be more queenly. Her though process is like a 13 year old, and I just want to shake her and tell her to grow up. I feel like the author is making Betsy more immature so that she can put Betsy in sillier situations (that anyone with a brain can figure out in 2 minutes) to get a cheap laugh from the readers. This is one book in the series that you can skip without loosing anything.

To be honest, I truly think Betsy's demon sister is a better character to read about. Maybe the author could do that after Betsy's story fizzles out...like the next book.

The last 2 books, and the short stories are just not the same Betsy I fell in love with. After books 1&2 I had to read all the MJD books I could find, and I liked a few of the other books. But Betsy was my fav. Untill I got the 2005/2006 books(I only buy paperback) I find them to be rushed, and fall WAY short. If you want a good read try the Southern Vamp books by Charlaine Harris or the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Both are put out just as fast and the books keep getting better and better. I am not sure if I will get the next undead book now, to bad for the queen she will be missed.

MJD's quirky dialogue continues to delight! Betsy is still learning to cope with discovering a long-lost half-sister, Laura, who is literally the spawn of satan (and wouldn't you know her stepmother had been temporarily possessed by the Devil!), being Queen of the Vampires, and living with her consort, Sinclair. Sinclair is becoming frustrated with Betsy for repeatedly pushing back their wedding date when he discovers that she can hear his thoughts. Her stepmother has another child and she spends time babysitting and interacting more than she would like with her stepmother as a result. Meanwhile, a serial killer called the Driveway Killer is stalking the area and of course Betsy unwittingly becomes his target. I enjoyed this light and amusing read.