Undead and Unforgiven
A Queen Betsy Novel
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
“MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series is laugh-out-loud funny.”—Heroes and Heartbreakers
New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson is back. So is Betsy Taylor, “everyone’s favorite vampire queen” (Bitten by Books) and this time Betsy’s going viral…
If Betsy Taylor has learned anything about ruling Hell it’s: 1) She can't do it alone, and 2) She doesn’t have to. She’s got the help of a devoted vampire king, a dateless zombie, an exhausted new mom, an unshowered cop, a bitchy ghost, a kindly dead priest, and her late stepmother (“Go Team Satan 2.0!”). But the latest major hurdle in her afterlife is so big she can’t even see it until it’s on YouTube.
Betsy’s father and half sister Laura (a former Antichrist with a grudge) have teamed up, for what sinister purpose Betsy can't imagine. The former Antichrist didn't take kindly to getting what she wished for, and has decided that's entirely the fault of the vampire queen. What that means for Betsy is trouble (more than usual, even) and possible exposure to an unsuspecting world.
Meanwhile Hell is having a deleterious effect on Betsy's friends ("I didn't think it was possible, but the damned are getting meaner."), the newly dead are confused about Hell's new rules ("A buddy system? Really?"), and the vampire king is trying to poach on Betsy's territory. Betsy loves her husband, but that's not the same as trusting him. Before long the king and queen of the vampires aren't speaking to each other, the mansion on Summit Avenue is a war zone, and Betsy's getting calls from a werewolf, a mermaid, and worst of all, her mother ("What do you mean you can't babysit?"). No one said life after death would be easy, but c'mon: this is ridiculous.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Vampires, crosses the finish line of her series next year, will she be walking tall in her Manolos, or will she be limping wearily? What was once fresh in Davidson's groundbreaking urban fantasy series now reads as stale in this worn-out 14th installment (after Undead and Unwary), even though Davidson continues to stay current with pop culture references and maintains her deft hand at humor. Betsy attempts to modernize hell in the form of the Mall of America while keeping her consort out of it and handling her half-sister, the former Antichrist, a social media maven who is much more dangerous without her powers. The wit and zaniness fails to cover up the novel's slow pacing, and many scenes are just punch lines.