Fangs for the Fantasy

It's been a couple months since Undead and Unwed.  Betsy has still not adjusted to the fact that she is queen of the vampires and that with that title comes responsibilities.  Betsy is determined that she will regain some semblance of a life and for her, this means getting a job and paying her own way through life.  It should be simple right?  Well, it might have been were it not for the fact that someone is killing vampires in St. Paul and as Queen of the Vampires, it's Betsy's responsibility to keep her people safe.

In case you are wondering, Betsy doesn't get anymore likeable in Undead and Unemployed. Betsy remains extremely vapid, whiny and just plain sarcastic.  I don't think I have disliked a character this much since Charlene Harris's  Aurora Teagarden and believe me, that's saying something. At this point, I am just going to go ahead and give up on any kind of character development in this series. Yes, I know it's early but Betsy is simply beyond hope at this point, even if she claims to be a feminist.

Betsy's relationship with king and consort Eric, continues to be stormy at best.  On the one hand, I can understand Eric's frustration with Betsy's intentionally obtuse attitude towards everything vampire.  Betsy has access to the Book of the Dead which will inform her about her role in the life of vampires and what she can expect as their queen.  It would make sense for Betsy to read it from cover to cover but of course, Betsy cannot be bothered but whines when she gains new information from Eric and Tina, which she could have learned on her own, had she bothered to read the damn book.

Eric is controlling and possessive in many ways.  Normally that kind of behaviour in a male love interest is beyond irritating to me but I cannot see any other way for Eric to make Betsy see the real danger she is in.  I do however think that Eric took it a bit too far when he showed up at Betsy's job, demanded that she quit and when that didn't work, attempted to use his powers to force Betsy's boss to fire her.  This scene is the only shining moment in the book for Betsy.

"My queen," he said, glaring down at me, "does not work."

"This one does," I said shortly. "And do you hear yourself? Jeez, I knew you were an ancient motherfucker, but even you must know women can have jobs now.  And dammit! You made me say 'motherfucker' at work."

It's the only time where Betsy stands her ground and it actually makes sense.  Yes, vampires are dying but Betsy should have the right to earn her own income as she sees fit and not be dependent upon Eric or Jessica for money.


Speaking of Jessica, it's clear that her main job is to support Betsy's lifestyle.  When it turns out that Betsy's home is infested with termites, it's Jessica to the rescue with the purchase of a mansion.  When Jessica is not pulling out her wallet, she is acting on Eric's behalf to bring Eric and Betsy together because she has determined despite Betsy's denials that Betsy has it bad for Eric.  Jessica is so lucky that she even gets an invitation to Ant's party because of her wealth, which apparently overrules the colour of her skin.  Jessica snarks about being offered chicken and watermelon to eat.  Yes, it's racist but I still believe that Davidson adds these knock you over the head racist events because she really doesn't know how to write characters of colour.  Racism is something that Davidson portrays casually.  A good example of that is the exchange between Mr. Harris the cab driver and Detective Berry

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