Undead and Unreturnable (Queen Betsy, Book 4) (Berkley Sensation) Mass Market Paperback – May 30, 2006

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.

Christmas is approaching and Betsy is busy preparing for her wedding toSinclair. She is surprised when she is approached by one of the older vampires to write a "Dear Betsy" column for a new vampire newsletter, but quickly finds herself getting into the swing of things. Nick, the cop, is investigating the Driveway Killer, a killer who targets women who just happen to look like Betsy. When a ghost of one of the killer's victims appears to Betsy, what choice does she have but to help? From that point forward, things just seem to go down hill for Betsy. Her sister Laura, Satan's daughter, seems to be having parental problems, and Sinclair finds out that she can hear his thoughts during "intimate moments" and doesn't take it well...Is the wedding off?Betsy's back! Once again, MaryJanice Davidson's Queen of the Vampires returns with another side-splitting story in Undead and Unreturnable. If MaryJanice Davidson has written a book that has not caused me to wake my husband up giggling uncontrollably, then I haven't read it. Although I enjoy every book that she writes, I have to say that her continuing series about Betsy remains my favorite. Betsy is shallow one moment, and wise the next, all of which makes her such a fun character to read. The continuing development of her relationship with Sinclair is one of the reasons I eagerly await each book. In this fourth book, things have finally really heated up between them. After watching them circle around each other with hit and run encounters in the previous books, it was a pleasure actually reading them having a relationship. I'm already anxiously looking forward to the next addition of the Undead Series!Melissareviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Bought this for my mother. she says it a great book. She loves this writer and the series.

Betsy, reluctant Queen of the Undead and fabulous shoe maven, is back! And in this fourth full length continuation of her story we learn far more about yummy Sinclair & Betsy's relationship with him.Their wedding is postponed till the fall because because Betsy is trying to put the Perfect wedding together (much to her horny fiance's aggravation),John (remember book 2 Blades?)has moved in & is writing Betsy's afterlife story, Jessica is dating Nick the cop who is trying to catch the Driveway Killer, & that jerks victims are showing up as ghosts in Betsy's car! Add in Betsy starting a new career as a columnist in the vampire newsletter with "Ask Betsy" and her little secret about telepathy during nookie with Sinclair coming out - you might as well get her poor hubby an aspirin now!(If vampires needed them...)Read all of the Undead storys!Undead & UnwedUndead & UnemployedUndead & UnappreciatedUndead & UnreturnableUndead & Unpopular (coming June '05)As well as short stories:Dead Girls Don't Dance - from anthology CravingsBiting in Plain Site - from anthology Bite

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.

In which our fashionista Vampire Queen sees dead people, and they annoy her ...This vampire romance is the fourth of a series which incongruously combines chick lit romantic comedy and vampire thriller. Think "Sex in the City" meets "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," from the viewpoint of a new vampire. And in this volume, a bit like Ricky Gervais' character in "Ghost Town" she is also pestered by ghosts seeking favours ...The initial "Queen Betsy/Undead" series consists of the following six books, which are best enjoyed in this order:1) " Undead and Unwed "2) " Undead and Unemployed "3) " Undead and Unappreciated "4) This book,"Undead and Unreturnable"5) " Undead and Unpopular (Undead 5) "6) " Undead and Uneasy ."There is a "Queen Betsy" story in "Dead over Heels" which is a collection of three paranormal romance novellas. There is also a 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 second series could be described as a "marmite" storyline which some of those who enjoy the first series like and others hate. To date (July 2011) four books in the follow-up "Queen Betsy" series have been published, which are7) " Undead and Unworthy (Undead 7) "8) " Undead and Unwelcome (Undead 8) "9) " Undead and Unfinished (Undead Series) "10) " Undead and Undermined .""Undead and Unreturnable" is mostly told in the first person by Elizabeth Taylor, who prefers to be called Betsy for obvious reasons and is a most unusual vampire. Unlike other vampires, Betsy can say the name of God, and touch the bible or holy water without being burned or hurt.By the beginning of this fourth book, Betsy is partially reconciled to her new position as Queen of the Vampires, but some of the centuries-old ones are not at all happy to see a newcomer in this position.Betsy is trying to organise a big wedding to her partner Sinclair but has a number of problems to worry about. Apart from the irritating ghosts, her half-sister Laura is showing signs of having inherited her mother's temper - and when your mother is the devil that could be a real problem ...This is one of the shortest books in a series not known for length and is to some extent a "bridge" novel between events earlier and later in the series.Mary Davidson has great fun with the incongruity of mixing up the vampire genre with chick-lit romantic comedy. 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 series gets plenty of laughs by combining chick lit with Vampires, Frezza write 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 the "Queen Betsy" series is likely to enjoy all four of those, and vice versa, if you have read and enjoyed one of those books you may well enjoy this one.OK, this is never going to win the Booker Prize or any other great award for classic literature but if you have the right sort of sense of humour, it is pretty good fun. I can recommend both "Undead and Unwed" and "Undead and Unreturnable" and enjoyed reading the rest of the series. Undead and UnwedUndead and UnemployedUndead and UnappreciatedUndead and Unpopular (Undead 5)Undead and UneasyUndead and Unworthy (Undead 7)Undead and Unwelcome (Undead 8)Undead and Unfinished (Undead Series)Undead and Undermined

BOOK 4 ~ The one thing that I've noticed with these books is that they are fast paced and that the action never really lulls. Consequently, it is hard to resist reading them for longer than I really have time for! The writing style is simplistic and easy to read, even when one is really tired. The humour is uplifting and the characters are fun. Eric Sinclair (The King) is almost Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) like with his pride, quiet reserve, sincerity, misplaced protectiveness and passionate nature.The one drawback I have recently found is the increasing inclusion of the devil in these stories. I am a bible~based Christian and believe that the devil is a real entity (unlike vampires & werewolves) and so usually try to avoid books where he is mentioned as they make me uncomfortable.This book follows Betsy's increasing involvement with her newly discovered half sister, Laura ~ who just happens to be the daughter of the devil. Betsy finds herself torn, as although she enjoys being with her sister, Laura is increasingly showing a dark side that had hitherto been hidden behind a goody~goody facade. Betsy still finds herself subject to rebellion from her older subjects, who reject her idea of treating humans kindly and with compassion. Eric, who has hitherto been completely confident about the their intertwined destiny, is suddenly plagued with doubts when Betsy accidentally reveals a secret. There is a serial killer roaming their locality and his latest victim decides to start harassing Betsy (who, in addition to being a vampire, is also the Queen of The Dead) . . . . . . just another quiet week in Endina!

What could turn a serial killer, the daughter of the devil and murder into something funny? MaryJanice Davidson. That's who. Witty lines, characters that bounce off each other and much fun. This is a book to read. But not out of sequence. Loved it. Wish I could venture into Betsy's world.

I loved the concept and the story but so many books in they became samey!If they were unlimited,I would have voluntIf they were unlimited, I would haveHoovered them up, but knowing I had to pay ,I gave up _- shame as although the love interest is predictable,it's amusing.