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The Monster Librarian Presents:
Reviews of Chick Lit with Fangs
Ever dream of dating something tall, dark, and deadly. Well many folks out there do. Chicklit with fangs has the irreverent tone, humor, and pop culture references common to chick lit with a female protagonist who is entangled with the paranormal in some way. Common paranormal elements are vampires, werewolves, psychic powers, and witches. The difference between “chick lit with fangs” and paranormal romances is that in a romance novel the core of the book is about the developing love between the hero and heroine, but in “chick lit with fangs” the heroine’s relationship with friends and family is often just as important.
Undead
and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson
Berkley, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-425-22773-2
Available: New and Used
MaryJanice Davidson's 8th installment of the Undead series (also known as the
Betsy the Vampire series) is written from two different perspectives throughout
the book. Half of the book is written directly from Betsy's point of view and
the other half is written from the view of Dr. Mark Spangler, who is one of
Betsy's roommates. Betsy, her boyfriend Sinclair, their adopted son BabyJon,
and her best friend Jessica fly off to Cape Cod at the start of the book to
visit the Wyndham Werewolves. They are on a mission to return the deceased body
of their fellow werewolf, Antonia, to them. The Wyndham Werewolves are more
accusing than welcoming, as they can't comprehend how one of their own could
have died protecting a vampire! Adding to the stress between the werewolves and
the vampires is BabyJon. The werewolves seem to be uneasy around him, but Betsy
can't fathom why they would be uncomfortable around a baby. It seems there
might be a bit more to BabyJon than meets the eye.
While Betsy is away, sister Laura, the Antichrist, has a bit of her own "party"
going on. She has sent their friend Tina away, brought in a group of Satan
Worshipers, and has even started killing vampires. Mark is doing everything he
can to get in touch with Betsy, but unfortunately every time he sends her an
e-mail he types it in text messaging shorthand and Betsy can't seem to translate
it. Sinclair tries to call Tina to check in after not having heard from Tina in
a few days and finds out that their phone service had been cancelled. It looks
like the only way to find out what is going on is to head home, but they can't
do that until they resolve the whole "war" with the werewolves on how it is
Antonia died. Just your average Betsy week, right?
Once again, MaryJanice Davidson has written a light, fun read that the reader
will fly right through and that leaves you wanting more. The quirky dialogue is
always what I most look forward to in a Davidson book and this one is no
different. In this particular book, I think some of the funniest lines were in
the emails sent from Mark to Betsy where he was using the text messaging
shorthand. Betsy was having a lot of trouble figuring them out, but it was fun
sorting them out. I mean, come on... who wouldn't know that "TSIATHTF" stands
for "The Shit Is About To Hit The Fan"? I am definitely ready to see what
happens next with BabyJon and Laura so would like to have had a longer book in
that sense, but it'll be well worth the wait for number nine! MaryJanice
Davidson's books are always a joy to read and are usually a one or two sitting
read. I just can't put them down! Highly Recommended!
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations
Review by Rhonda Wilson
Mermaid Series #3 -
Fish out of Water by MaryJanice Davidson
Jove, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-515-14549-6
Available: New and Used
The final book in MaryJanice Davidson's Mermaid trilogy starts off with
Fred buying a house and slowly obtaining unwanted roommates. Houseguest number
1... Jonas, Fred's best friend, who insists on dragging her around to help plan
his wedding, which Fred hates! And to make matters worse, her boyfriend, Prince
Artur, proposes to her! Now Jonas is all excited at the prospect of planning a
royal wedding for her. Can things get any worse? Wait! This is Fred we're
talking about. Of course they can! Enter... Thomas Pearson, marine biologist,
and the guy Fred chose over Artur. As if that isn’t enough bad news, let's add
one more houseguest to the list... Fred's long-lost father, Farrem, who she has
never met and who all the other sea folk think is their worst enemy. How's a
girl supposed to cope with everyone in such close quarters... especially when
one is her ex?
It's a shame that this is the end of the series, as I have really enjoyed the
characters in this trilogy. Davidson definitely could have continued on with
this series a while longer as there is much more potential, so I'm hoping that
more will come from these characters in spin-off stories somewhere down the
road. Dialogue is definitely Davidson's strongest suit and this book is filled
to the brim! Jonas had some of the quirkiest lines in the book and Fred's foul
mouth makes me think of times I want to say something to and don't. I admire
her for being so outspoken. She is never afraid to speak her mind, and that
shows in this book, as she spoke up to several of the head people, including her
own father. It's amusing as well, as they all tend to just laugh at her when she
goes off on a tirade instead of getting angry with her. I'll miss hearing about
Fred, but I did like the way that Davidson ended this book. I thought it was a
good finish. I think all readers of the paranormal romance genre will enjoy
this fun, fast-paced read. Highly Recommended.
Contains: Adult language, Adult Situations
Review by Rhonda Wilson
Stakes
& Stilettos by Michelle Rowen
Forever, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-50584-0
Available: New
Michelle Rowen
brings Sarah Dearly back for her fourth book in the Immortality Bites
series. Dearly has recently been turned into a vampire and has just started
adjusting to things when she stumbles into a witch, Stacy, with a grudge. Stacy
decides to make Dearly's adjustment period a bit more complex by placing a curse
on her that turns her into a bloodthirsty nightwalker instead of the sweet
vampire that was able to drink from the carton rather than the neck. Sarah has
to race against the clock to find a way to make Stacy reverse the curse before
it becomes permanent and Sarah is stuck as a nightwalker forever. Along the way
she looks for assistance from her best friend, George, her boyfriend, Thierry,
and the Red Devil, a masked stranger who saved her from getting staked. As she
seeks a solution to the problem of her curse, Sarah is also trying to figure out
who the Red Devil is, and if he's for real. In the midst of it all, she’s
trying to figure out how to get Thierry to marry her, despite the fact he's
already married. If anyone can handle it, Sarah can!
Stakes and Stilettos is yet another fun read in the
Immortality Bites series. This series has been fun from the start and Rowen
has kept it interesting all the way through. The more I read this series the
more I find myself getting deeply involved with the lives of the characters.
They all have unique personalities and are very likable, despite the wicked
personalities of some (i.e. Thierry's wife, Veronique). I really have nothing
negative to say about this book other than it left off with a major cliffhanger
which made me want the next book immediately! I had a great time reading this
book and will continue to read this series and anything else Rowen puts out. I
think all fans of the paranormal romance genre would enjoy this series. Highly
recommended.
Contains: Mild Sexual Situations
Review by: Rhonda Wilson
Dead
and Dateless by Kimberly Raye
Random House Publishing Group, 2007
ISBN: 034549217X
Available: yes
Dead and Dateless is the second book of a series that falls into the ever-popular chick-lit meets vampires genre. In this book , a female "born-vampire" who prefers to get her blood from a bottle fights her attraction to a "made-vampire" and tries to run a dating agency for paranormals while on the run from the cops on a murder charge. A good vacation book and a fun read, it is worthwhile to track down the first volume, Dead End Dating, especially for readers waiting for their next MaryJanice Davidson fix. Recommended for public libraries. Contains: Sexual Situation Entry by Havoc.
How to Marry
a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, July, 2005
ISBN: 0060751967
Available: New and Used
Vampire Roman Draganesti just sank his fangs into something
he shouldn’t. Dentist Shanna Whelan is running from the mob. Roman’s mission is
to make the world safe for vampires and mortals by providing synthetic blood.
Shanna is terrified by the sight of blood. In the midst of mafia assassination
attempts, vampire terrorist attacks, market studies, and CIA kidnappings, and in
spite of Roman’s nosy harem and Shanna’s father’s psychic vampire slaying team,
Roman and Shanna manage to fix his fangs, conquer her fear, outwit everyone
who’s out to get them, and redeem each other through love. How to Marry a
Millionaire Vampire is suspenseful and funny, with some great secondary
characters. It’s a wild ride, with a hopeful ending and a story arc that
suggests Sparks will be back to continue her story of love and war. There is a
sequel, Vamps in the City, which showcases a few minor characters in this
book. It’s much campier and doesn’t really advance the story arc suggested in
this book, so I suspect we’ll see more books set in Roman and Shanna’s vampire
universe. Contains: references to sex toys, graphic erotic sex, and terrorist
violence. Recommended.
Undead and
Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
Berkley, May, 2006
ISBN: 0425210812
Available: New and Used
The adventures of Betsy Taylor, vampire queen and shoe
fashionista, are continued in the fourth installment of the series. Undead
and Unreturnable doesn’t have quite the snap of the first few books: Betsy’s
not quite as acerbic, the dialogue’s not quite as witty, and now that she’s
decided she’s in love with Eric Sinclair, tall, dark and vampire, their
conflicts seem pretty superficial. Of course, we have the reappearance of Laura,
the devil’s daughter and Betsy’s half-sister, and of Jon, a former vampire
slayer who wants to write up Betsy’s life story for his English class. Throw
Christmas, a brand-new half-brother, and a serial killer into the mix, and you
get an overstuffed but still entertaining plot, and an overcrowded but still
enjoyable houseful of characters. Undead and Unreturnable could use some
trimming, but readers of Betsy’s adventures should still enjoy this book.
Contains: violence, murder, steamy sexual situations. Other titles starring
Betsy Taylor include: Undead and Unwed, Undead and Unemployed, Undead and
Unappreciated, and Undead and Unpopular.
Vamps in the
City by Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, April, 2006
ISBN: 0060752017
Available: New and Used
The title is a little deceiving: you won’t find four single
women looking for vampire love in the big city here. The premise is original,
though: Darcy Newhart, an unwilling vampire and former television reporter,
applies for work at DVN(Digital Vampire Network) and gets the green light to
produce a reality show, The Sexiest Man Alive. Wealthy vampire Roman Draganesti
has fallen in love with a mortal and released the ladies in his harem, who are
mostly at a loss as to what to do next. On the show, Draganesti’s former harem
will choose a new master. Darcy decides to puncture a little vampire arrogance:
unknown to the judges and viewers, half of the contestants are mortal. Our hero
is Austin Erickson, a powerful psychic working undercover for the CIA’s
“Stake-Out Team.” Darcy and Austin definitely have chemistry, but the vampire
harem steals the show. Sure, they’re superficial, bigoted, and quarrelsome, but
they are also very, very, funny, and by the end of the book you can see they’ve
grown up quite a bit. The book’s ending was a bit of a letdown, but it was
certainly different from what one expects in the average vampire romance. A
note: The sexism and bigotry in Vamps in the City is hard to stomach, but it’s
satirical in nature. If you can get past the yucky network executive at the very
beginning, you’ll probably enjoy the book enough to want to read the next one.
This book is the sequel to: How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
Contains: steamy sexual passages, obnoxious sexism and bigotry, minimal gore and
violence. Entry by Francesca the Librarian
Undead and Unwed. By MaryJanice
Davidson
Berkley, 2004.
ISBN: 042519485X (paperback)
Available: New and Used
Elizabeth (Betsy) Taylor’s birthday really bites. First, she’s fired from her
job as a secretary, then an SUV hits her and she wakes up dead. The rules don’t
seem to apply to her: she can enter churches, sunlight doesn’t kill her, and
holy water just makes her sneeze. It’s not enough that her stepmother stole her
Manolo Blahniks and put her in cheap knockoffs for the funeral, now she’s the
prophesied queen of the vampires, to her great annoyance. Adjusting to vampire
life isn’t easy: she gets mired in “vamp politics”, and it seems like she’ll
have to choose sides: repulsive, beastly Nostro or fabulously handsome, sexy,
and obnoxious Sinclair. Is it too obvious that she picks the sexier of two
evils? The vampires are the ones who are horrified- by her irresponsible,
compassionate, contrary ways and her very human nature. The dialogue is a
scream- Betsy gets better one-liners than Buffy ever did- and the sex is steamy.
The relationship between Betsy and Sinclair is unresolved at the end of the
story, which is okay, because it means you get a sequel which is equally funny
and sexy. If you’re ready for a break from serious vampire fiction, look up
Undead and Unwed. You won’t be sorry you did. Contains graphic sexual
situations, references to suicide and rape. Highly recommended.
Sequels: Undead and Unemployed
Undead and Unappreciated
Undead and Unreturnable
Undead and Unpopular
By Francesca the Librarian
Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen
Warner Forever, January, 2006
ISBN: 0446617008
Available: New and Used
An addition to the "chick-lit" genre of vampire romance, with a sad lack of either horror or romance. Rowen is trying to create another Betsy Taylor: unfortunately, her heroine, Sarah Dearly, lacks Betsy's attitude, morals, dialogue, and fashion sense. She has no chemistry with Thierry, the master vampire who made her promise to help him kill himself if he shows her the vampire ropes, and outside of one awkward groping scene there's not even any sex to keep it interesting. She's got more chemistry with Quinn, a vampire hunter turned vampire who can't seem to decide whether he wants to kill her or date her. Rowen does create some very funny situations: Sarah's a vampire because her blind date decides she'd be a great undead girlfriend, and she discovers her cousin's married a vampire when she's asked to sign for a keg of O negative blood at the wedding. There's nothing too horrible about Rowen's vampires- sunlight, crosses, and holy water don't affect them, and they work as accountants, bartenders, and executive assistants. They don't have to bite people, they can just order up blood from delivery guys who get it from willing donors. The main disadvantages of vampirism seem to be an inability to keep down your lasagna and those pesky vampire hunters. An okay read to fill your time while you wait for MaryJanice Davidson to finish the next installment in the Betsy Taylor saga. Mild sexual situations, violence, references to suicide.
By Francesca the Librarian
Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries
MaryJanice Davidson’s “Queen Betsy” books
Kimberly Raye’s “Dead End Dating” books
Katie MacAlister’s “Sex and the Single Vampire”
Mom lit with fangs
Julie Kenner’s Carpe Demon: Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom
Michele Bardsley’s Don’t Talk Back to Your Vampire
Horror Romance Series List by Havoc
Sherrilyn Kenyon's Darkhunters. Vamps and weres meet made-up Greek mythology in this on-going romance series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Primarly set in New Orleans (and no, she has no idea what she's going to do now that Katrina has hit) and featuring a slew of hunky immortals and the badly named women who woo them. The series is most known for its insanely in-depth and intricate mythology and the fact that she has clearly in love with her hero, Ash. Shelved in romance, and featuring lots of sex, this series is actually a lot of fun. It should really, really be read in order if only because with each book, the mythology gets deeper and harder to follow. Also of note: Kenyon's website and yahoo groups do a disturbingly good job of blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, as during chats and in the groups, she has various friends who role play characters of hers for the rest of the people participating. The whole dark hunter world is fascinating if only because I can't think of any other writers who have done quite so detailed a job of trying to place their books in the real world.
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