#6 Undead and Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

With her 31st birthday right around the corner, and plans for her upcoming nuptials chewing up so much of her time, Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor really doesn't have the time or patience to deal with the faction of European vampires that have decided to finally come and pay their respects to the Vampire Queen and King. Not only are they snotty and stuck-up, but one of them is also responsible for the death of fellow vampire and friend Dr. Sophie Trudeau. And Sophie's definitely holding a grudge since Alonzo simply drained her blood and left her for dead in a dark alley in Paris back in 1892. So now, on top of everything else, she's expected to decide the fate of this arrogant ass too?! With her brother BabyJon pooping up a storm, Betsy's definitely got her hands full!

It's been nearly a year since I visited Betsy because I wanted to catch up on her Wyndham Werewolves, who start to make appearances (as minor characters) in some of the Betsy books now. So I read the 2 short stories in the Secrets 6 and Secrets 8 anthologies, the short stories in Dead and Loving It, and the full-length novel Derik's Bane, all within the previous year before picking up Undead and Unpopular.

Like the previous books in the series, Undead and Unpopular was a quick, light read. You feel as if the whole novel could have happened in a single day or two, and in fact, I think it probably did, or a week at most. *grin* If you're looking for a wonderful story and intricate plot line, don't look here; this series is pure fluff! But the characters are likable and funny—not quite hilarious, but certainly chuckle-worthy—and the action is never dull. I'll be looking forward to Undead and Uneasy, the next in the series, which I hope to squeeze in soon so I can be fully caught up on this series. :)

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#64 Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel by Ronda Thompson

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

On the night of her senior prom, shy, awkward Shelly Billington discovers that she has the ability to shapeshift into a werewolf, particularly when she's feeling scared or threatened. Unfortunately, that was the first and only time she's fully transformed, and superjock Tom Dawson paid with his life that night. Granted he had attempted to rape her and her rage took over, but still...

Now 7 years later, having fled that small town in Texas where it all went down, she's changed her name, her identity, and—one of the fortunate side effects of the change—her looks. She's now Lou Kinipski, successful supermodel living in a swanky high-rise in New York City. For the past 6 months however, Lou's been having strange nightmares... and strange "hairy" outbreaks that coincide with the moon's cycle. And two women who look very much like Lou have been murdered. I think her past is about to catch up with her... now!!!

I had recently read the Midnight Pleasures anthology, which included a short story by Ronda Thompson. That was my first introduction to this author and I really liked her style. I expect to eventually read her Wild Wulfs of London historical romance series via bookrings from CandyDarling, but was quite happy to find this stand-alone novel by Ms. Thompson which was just published last month. I do hope she decides to continue these characters in a series of their own as I really liked this book a lot.

I'd say it leaned more towards paranormal chick-lit, in the style of MaryJanice Davidson's Betsy Taylor series, as opposed to paranormal romance. We didn't have any sappy happily-ever romance/relationship issues. Lou's got her own real-life problems, but prefers to let the world think she's just an airhead supermodel with no brains. Her best friend Cindy is a lesbian, a makeup artist, and knew her back when she was still Shelly Billington. The many situations they get themselves into are touching, humorous, and fun. I truly enjoyed this book!!

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#57 Heiress for Hire by Erin McCarthy

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Amanda Delmar is a 26 year old Chicgo socialite and heiress to a multi-million dollar company. She'd been living the good life back in Chicago, with her dad footing the bill for everything from her apartment and huge closetful of designer clothes, to her luxury trips around the world and all her day-to-day living expenses. With all her parties and superficial friends, she was the epitome of FAKE! But when her Dad suddenly cuts off her money supply, the life lessons she learns are the most valuable ones of her life.

Going in, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book since I'm still deciding whether or not I like chick lit. :-P A few of the chick lit books I've read, Jennifer Crusie for instance, read much too romance-y for my liking. This book however, wasn't too sugary at all and I'm glad I gave it a chance. :-) It had a great deal of humour and a number of laugh out loud moments. And I should've known as soon as I saw her refer to someplace as "East Bum Fuck", a term I use quite often myself, that I'd really relate well to this author. LOL

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#51 Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this going in... would it be just another silly chick-lit paranormal wannabe? Fortunately, that wasn't the case here. Shanna Swendson has some talent, and this book didn't come off like a standard chick-lit trying to jump on the paranormal bandwagon either.

Katie Chandler is just your ordinary girl living in New York City... so ordinary in fact, she's actually pretty special. As an Immune, magic has absolutely NO effect on her; all the glamour and illusion used throughout the world to mask the use of magic doesn't work on her at all. She can see right through it, which makes her a hot commodity to MSI, Inc., that's Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc.

After being recruited by Rod and that hot guy, Owen, from R&D, Katie goes to work for MSI as a Verifier, and learns that all the things she used to try to write off in her head as "that's NYC for ya" really are there!

And to top it all off, she's just learned that an evil wizard who once worked for MSI is attempting to introduce a number of manipulative spells to the market, which will cause all kinds of chaos and mayhem. And if that happens... oy, our entire world as we know it could come to a screeching halt! Fortunately, it's Katie to the rescue!

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#3 Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

This was an enjoyable read. Most of the characters from previous Full books are still here, but this one focuses on Maggie, the town's doctor (pediatrician mostly). Carl Lee Stanton, an old boyfriend of Maggie's, has escaped prison and is headed to Beaumont, SC. And an unwelcome visit to Maggie and her daughter Mel is first on his list! Fortunately, a sexy FBI agent has been sent to protect them...

I can't say I like this series as much as the Stephanie Plum books, but they're entertaining nonetheless. One thing I didn't care for though is that towards the end, a few of the characters ignored or overlooked a few important clues that were telling them Carl Lee had arrived in town. I found myself thinking, what'd y'all just take a stupid pill or something? LOL

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#66 Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights by Kyra Davis

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

This was a fun read, and I enjoyed all the characters. I'd forgotten the specifics and other character details since I'd read Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte, but it was fairly easy to get back up to speed. And though there were references to incidents which happened in the previous book, not knowing the specifics wasn't detrimental to the story, it simply gave you a little more insight into some of the characters.

Someone has shot Sophie's brother-in-law, Bob, and the prime suspect is none other than her sister Leah. Sophie will do whatever it takes to prove her sister's innocence, so she hires Anatoly, a hottie PI whom she thought was trying to kill her in the last novel, to work with them.

Sophie's friends are a hoot... Dena owns a sex shop and is very open and vocal about all things sexual, Marcus is a gay hairdresser, Mary Ann is fairly down-to-earth and probably one of the pegs that holds the group together.... Dropping Leah, an ethnic Martha Stewart, and her "devil-in-disguise" 18-month old son Jack into this mix keeps the banter lively and flowing.

The mystery to try to figure out who killed Bob and why is deep and difficult to figure out. But with Sophie and Anatoly on the job, with no help from the police thank-you-very-much, they're sure to get their man (or woman)! I was kept in suspense right up until the very end.... I like when a mystery is able to keep me guessing and on my toes the whole way through.

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#29 Bridget Jones's Diary: The First Columns by Helen Fielding

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

This was an interesting look at how Bridget Jones first started out. I think it kind of worked out to be like a first draft for the book, as she used a lot of the same events that happened to Bridget, though there were a few additional characters I didn’t recognize from the book. I think there were some mistakes too. Like on page 12, she talks about Tina’s relationship with Richard, who turns out to be Vile Richard, whom in the books is Jude’s on-again, off-again guy. And in this scene, Jude, who’s acting more like Shazzer, is going on about what emotional fuckwits men are. Later in the book, though I forget what page, it’s Jude who’s with vile Richard, more like in the books, but Jude also dated Bridget’s dad or something… something that didn’t happen in the books. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this discrepancy with the Richard thing.

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information. See more progress on: read 100 books in 2006.

#23 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Crusie and though not my usual genre, I think I liked it better than Fast Women. It started off slow and the first chapter had a hard time holding my interest. I had just finished a cozy mystery, Owls Well Ends Well by Donna Andrews, and the slower pace of Temptation kept putting me to sleep. I almost thought I’d have to put it down before finishing the first chapter. Since I was traveling at the time, and at the 2006 BookCrossing Convention, I had my share of other books to choose from instead of starting this one. Fortunately, I kept at it though, and the pace picked up as additional characters were introduced.

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information. See more progress on read 100 books in 2006.

#19 Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

I didn't think this book was quite as good as the previous one, Undead and Unappreciated. I also found a few editing mistakes which forced me to go back and reread things a couple times so I could figure out what MJD really meant. Like one time she referred to something that Laura supposedly said, but it totally didn't make sense, so after I reread it, I realized it was the ghost Cathie who probably said that. A few other instances of transposed words, or something running on so I had to reread. And I bring it up only because I didn't see this kind of thing in any of her previous stuff I've read. All that aside, I was beginning to appreciate how books 2 and 3 had a lot more story to them, and instead, this book seemed more fluff, kinda like the first one. It was still funny... not hilarous, but a quick read that had me chuckling none the less.

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#17 Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJanice Davidson

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

This is the 3rd book in MJD’s Undead series and it was great! I swear this series is getting better as it goes along. Either that or Betsy is just growing on me! LOL In this book, Betsy finds out that her stepmom was possessed by the devil for 10 months and now she’s got a 20 year old half-sister who’s the devil’s daughter and destined to rule the world! I only wish these books were a bit longer. At 271 pages (and fairly large type), it’s a really quick read. Quirky, funny, and left me wanting more!

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more links and information. See more progress on read 100 books in 2006.

#70 Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
This was a quick read, but fun and action-packed, a great first novel from this author. Unlike some other readers, I had the true murderer figured out about half way through, but I enjoyed the red herrings nonetheless. And even though I knew “whodunit”, it was enjoyable to discover all the clues being left and how everything fit together. I’ll be on the lookout for future books from this author.

See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more reviews and information.

See more progress on: Read 125 books in 2005.

#67 Bridget Jones's Guide to Life by Helen Fielding

This was a cute and quirky, funny little read, just perfect after finishing The Edge of Reason as I just did. It's Bridget's form of a mini self help book, imparting all the wisdom she's gleaned in her adventures, such as cooking tips, dating advice, etc. Her methods, though delusional, are true-to-form Bridget. :) Thanks to sabeena29 for sharing this!

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#66 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Date Started: Thursday, September 29, 2005
Date Finished: Monday, October 3, 2005
My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
My Review:
I liked this book about as much as the first one, though this one was a lot more different from the movie than the first one was.

Like in the first one, I found myself constantly criticizing Bridget for everything I see wrong with her—her lack of self-esteem, her inablity to see the consequences of her actions, and her continual tardiness. I mean, I'm a continually tardy person myself, but I wouldn't do something stupid like go out shopping when my plane is due to leave in a few hours. That's just asking for trouble. Heck, I refrain from leaving the house the entire day I'm leaving to go anywhere till I have to leave to catch the plane.

In any case, though I found myself constantly scolding her in my head, her actions and those of her friends, are amusing indeed. The fact I'd find myself chuckling at Bridget's stupidity, despite the fact that I thought she was an idiot, allowed me to give this book a rating of 8 anyway. :)

Now that I've read both Bridget books, I've got a small 50 page copy of Bridget Jones's Guide to Life to read as part of a bookring. Looks like fun!

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#49 Full Bloom by Janet Evanovich

Date Started: Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Date Finished: Saturday, July 30, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 7 stars
Comments:
I liked this book, though perhaps not quite as much as Full Blast, the 4th book right before this one. Still, a few laugh-out-loud moments and scenes that stay with me for a while and make me chuckle even then is how I determine the mark of a good book, and in that regard, this book certainly did not disappoint. I went through the entire book thinking I knew who the murderer was only to be surprised by a twist ending so I appreciated that.

This book will be starting it's journey as a bookring very shortly... See the BookCrossing journal page for this book for more information and reviews.

#45 Full Blast by Janet Evanovich

Date Started: Thursday, July 14, 2005
Date Finished: Friday, July 15, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 8 stars
Comments:
I liked this one better than the one right before it, Full Speed, perhaps because of the supernatural aspect added by Destiny the Psychic, or maybe because of the talk of aphrodiasiac-laced brownies or sexy lingerie. ;) And a killer that's targeting people responding to the newly added personal ads of Jamie's newspaper. Because of this, Jamie and Max (her silent partner in the paper) find themselves in the middle of the investigation.

I had messaged Faithful-Reader at the beginning of the week for her address, but haven't yet heard back. I plan to wait about a week, in case she's on vacation, and message her again, plus post an ISO message in the forum. If I still haven't heard from her after all that, waiting about 2 weeks, then I'll move on to the next person after her in the list, and send all 3 books together.

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#44 Full Speed by Janet Evanovich

Date Started: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Date Finished: Thursday, July 14, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 7 stars
Comments:
I didn't like this one quite as much as Full Tilt. Like it's predecessor, it was a quick and fun read. The part with the preacher Harlan's sermon seemed to drag on a bit too long. There were a few twists and turns to the mystery, but nothing too exciting. Fortunately, Evanovich's writing can hold even the dullest story together. I liked the dog Fleas, he added a more personal level to the characters. I'm not sure why Jamie is denying and dragging out her attraction to Max though... I mean, get with the program girl! Live for the moment! You've got this gorgeous hunk drooling all over you, and you're dragging your heels because you're wondering if it's the right thing to do?! Whether your feelings for him are just lust?! So what?! This aspect of her character really bugged me, so I was glad to finally see her letting down her resolve in this latest book and stop being such a stick-in-the-mud!

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#43 Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich

Date Started: Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Date Finished: Tuesday, July 12, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 8 stars
Comments:
This was a quick but fun read. Billie and Nick are no longer primary characters in these later stories, and they are only referred to briefly, with regards to raising Max from 16 on. This book also contained more of a mystery than Full House, as I believe all of Evanovich's later books do. I believe the next book in the series, Full Speed, picks up where this one leaves off, with Max and Jamie heading to Tennessee to try to find the preacher and get some answers from him about the corruption that was unearthed in Beaumont in Full Tilt.

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#41 Full House by Janet Evanovich

Date Started: Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Date Finished: Wednesday, July 6, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
Comments:
This was a really quick read, and a fairly interesting book. I was afraid it'd be all romance with little to no mystery or intrigue, but I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, it can probably only be loosely categorized as a mystery, but probably a cozy mystery.

The main character, Billie, falls for Nick, who's known around town as a sexy womanizer, love 'em and leave 'em type. But in Billie, Nick finds something that he's been missing in his life. This story deals with his struggle as much as hers, in overcoming their hesitancy surrounding their feelings for each other. Nick, because Billie, divorced with 2 children, represents stability and a stark departure from his wild ways. While from Billie's perspective, Nick represents danger, and thinking back to her unfaithful husband, the kind of man who cannot be trusted. The story progresses with both characters working out their feelings toward each other, while in the background, a rash of break-ins and other goings-on are plaguing Billie's neighborhood (which is where the mystery part comes in). The mystery part comes to a head towards the end when the Billie is put in danger by someone she thought she could trust, and of course, Nick arrives to save the day.

In conclusion, I was happy with the way it all turned out, and though not as good as the Stephanie Plum series, I'm interested enough to read the rest of the books in Janet Evanovich's Full series.

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REVIEW: Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Date Started: Thursday, June 16, 2005
Date Finished: Thursday, June 23, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 6 out of 10 stars
Comments:
This was a fairly good book, the author is definitely a good writer, although I wouldn’t really claim that the genre of this book is one of my favorites,therefore I probably wouldn’t rate it as high as others would.

That said, there was enough suspense and mystery, though romance was definitely the overriding theme, to keep me interested. The characters were interesting, although I did feel like hitting a few of them over the head more than once. :)

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REVIEW: Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson

Date Started: Friday, April 29, 2005
Date Finished: Monday, May 2, 2005
My BookCrossing Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
Comments:
Another funny read. I liked this a little better than Undead and Unwed. Betsy has settled into her role as the Queen of the Vampires a bit more, though still not completely, and she’s still learning new things about herself in the process. She’s still trying to deny her attraction to the gorgeous Sinclair, but does wind up having another sexual interlude with him later in the book. :)

This second installment in the Undead series adds a bit of murder mystery to the whole vampire twist, which I believe adds more to the book and story itself. A group of vigilantes is going around staking vampires, and Betsy is on the hit list! Soon enough, the vigilante group is discovered but who’s their anonymous donor, sending them the money and weapons to do their dirty work?

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