In Undead and Unwed, Betsy Taylor is laid off from her job as a secretary, killed in a car wreck, then wakes up as a vampire in a casket at a funeral home. She loves designer shoes (think Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, and Manolo Blahniks), is obsessed with her appearance, and doesn’t mince words. Betsy, along with two human sidekicks, is thrust in the middle of a vampire feud. She doesn’t want to pick a side and certainly doesn’t want to follow any vampire rules. I quickly devoured this hilarious novel and enjoyed every bite.
I found this book months ago in the “paranormal romance” section in a used book store. While I’m not into romance novels I’m all in when it comes to the paranormal – from novels by Anne Rice to Charlaine Harris to Stephanie Meyer. And it’s not just books, I enjoy television shows like Supernatural, Grimm, and The Walking Dead as well. On the back cover this book is described as “chick lit meets vampire fiction” and I think that’s the perfect description.
Released in 2004 the book has a few references that you won’t find in literature published today. For instance Betsy needs to save her friends quickly so she can make it home in time to tape Martha Stewart on her VCR. Yes! I still have a fondness for VHS tapes. As a matter of fact I still used one up until about two years ago. I’m just VERY SLOW when it comes to technology. Don’t judge me haha.
By chapter five Betsy accepts her fate as a vampire and sets out to reclaim what's been taken from her since her "death." Betsy shows up to her father’s house and listens in on her father and stepmother (Antonia) arguing about possibly missing a cruise because the funeral home “lost” Betsy’s body. In one of my favorite scenes, they’re shocked to see her.
The look on my stepmother’s face was well worth the misery of dying and coming back. “Oh, good, you’re still dressed. Anyway. Here I am. Ant, where the hell are my shoes?” Dead (ha!) silence, broken by the crash of breaking glass as the stepmonster’s wineglass hit the floor. The color drained from her face all at once, and for the first time I noticed she had a fine network of crow’s feet around each eye.
Needless to say Betsy got her beloved designer shoes back. I’ve read a lot of vampire books and this is the first time I’ve read a scene like that one. I enjoyed this book so much about halfway through I ordered the next four in the series which has a dozen in all. I leapt with glee when they arrived in the mail. Once I’m done with my 12 books in 12 months challenge I’ll finish out the series.
Davidson does a great job with bringing the reader into Betsy’s world. Even after becoming a vampire Betsy is still very human. She’s easily persuaded by high fashion, wants to lead a “normal” life and begrudgingly becomes the Queen (as predicted in the prophesy). Thus, she’s invisible – crosses, sunlight, and other traditional methods for killing vampires don't work on her.
By the end I was still laughing and wondering what the next adventure for Betsy would be. To my surprise there’s an excerpt from the Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris, a book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I’ve already the series but it was nice to see that Undead and Unwed is something I was bound to come across.
When I am dead, I hope it may be said: ''His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.''
– Hilaire Belloc
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