Berkley Sensation, March 2004

Betsy (Elizabeth) Taylor's day starts badly when she oversleeps, misses her bus, and gets laid off. But when her cat escapes and she's hit by a car and instantly killed, things turn downright ugly. She awakens in unstylish clothes, an undead in very bad makeup. Finishing the job the car started seems like a good idea but drowning, electrical shock, jumping off buildings, even walking into a church don't do the job. Betsy is stuck being undead whether she likes it or not. Of course the idea of drinking other people's blood--that's just icky.

Not knowing the vampire rules, Betsy proceeds to break all of them--telling her family and friends she's back, not drinking blood for a while, answering her own phone when she's supposed to be dead. But when the other vampires find her, they aren't pleased and insist that she join their organization--or else. Betsy might not be the brightest bulb around, but she is self-centered and not one to be pushed. Somehow she intends to keep her independence, both from the cartoonish leader of the undead and from Eric Sinclair, the super-sexy leader of the opposition. And all this talk about her being Queen has simply got to be nonsense.

Author Mary Janice Davidson combines a fascinating, self-absorbed, sassy, shoe-obsessed, but still wonderful protagonist with enough action-adventure to please the reader looking for a bit more. Sinclair is definitely one hot vampire, but Betsy's reaction to him--and unwillingness to simply fall for him--makes the story far more compelling than the usual instant attraction thing.

Fans of paranormal romance or of vampire fiction will definitely want to grab this one. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on my next Mary Janice Davidson book. Well done.

See more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Mary Janice Davidson.

Four Stars

Reviewed 10/06/04

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