Undead and Unemployed by Maryjanice Davidson

Author: Maryjanice Davidson
ISBN # 0749936460
Publisher: Piatkus
First Published: 2004
230 pages
Rating: 7/10

The Blurb:
'And the first who shall noe the Queen as a husband noes his Wyfe shall be the Queen's Consort and shall rule at her side for a thousand yeares.'
~ The Book of the Dead

'If that rat bastard Sinclair thinks I'm going to be his wife for a thousand years, he's out of his f----- mind.'
~ From the private papers of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I, Empress of the Undead, Rightful Ruler of the Vampires, Consort of Eric I, Lawful King

Nothing can make Betsy Taylor give up her shoe fetish - even dying and rising as the new Queen of the Vampires. Only being royally undead doesn't mean there aren't still credit card bills to be paid. Luckily, Betsy lands her dream job selling designer shoes at Macy's Department Store. Things couldn't be better - except for her new friends who keep pestering her while she's at work. As if she has time to socialise when there are deliciously sinful shoes to try on - and buy at a discount. It seems there's been a string of vampire murders in town and they're all clamouring for Betsy to do something about it. The worst part is she'll have to enlist the help of the one vamp who makes her blood boil: the oh-so-sexy Eric Sinclair. Only the last time she ran into Sinclair she accidentally fulfilled an ancient prophesy - and ended up married to him...

The Review:
Every now and again, it’s nice to take a break from the heavier, deeper, darker books and try something lighter that won’t tax the little grey cells too much, and if that’s what you’re looking for, you could do a lot worse than the second in the Undead series. This is fun, frothy and lighter than air, but it’s also got a great line in humour. The characters are, well, they’re caricatures, but they’re really funny ones. There’s sarcasm dripping from almost every line, but when you’re reading it you just don’t give a damn – you just want to keep turning the pages to get to the next laugh.

This is one of the easiest reads that has come my way in a long time – in fact, it only took a couple of hours to finish – and is the perfect pick-me-up when you’re feeling down; especially if you are the kind of woman who loves Sex and the City and has a shoe fetish.

Actually, there’s enough of a plot here to keep you interested, even if it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work it out, but when all you want is to kick back and relax, that’s exactly what’s needed. Don’t expect a sensational, Booker Prize-worthy tome, but do expect a gaggle of giggles and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ll certainly be continuing with this series, just to see where it goes…