What do you think?
Rate this book
Undead #11.5
Undead and Underwater
Betsy Taylor and the Wyndham werewolves are back in three all-new outrageous novellas from New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson.
MaryJanice Davidson “continues to put her own unique spin on paranormal romance” (Fallen Angel Reviews) in these hilarious and sexy new novellas featuring Undead Queen Betsy Taylor as she meets Fred the mermaid, an all-new female superhero, and Lara Wyndham, the daughter of the Pack leader of the Wyndham werewolves.
MaryJanice Davidson “continues to put her own unique spin on paranormal romance” (Fallen Angel Reviews) in these hilarious and sexy new novellas featuring Undead Queen Betsy Taylor as she meets Fred the mermaid, an all-new female superhero, and Lara Wyndham, the daughter of the Pack leader of the Wyndham werewolves.
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
62 people are currently reading
2829 people want to read
About the author
MaryJanice Davidson
142 books5,397 followersMaryJanice Davidson is an American author and motivational speaker who writes mostly paranormal romance, but also young adult and non-fiction. She is the creator of the popular UNDEAD series and the time-traveling historical fiction A CONTEMPORARY ASSHAT AT THE COURT OF HENRY VIII. MaryJanice is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author who writes a bi-weekly column for USA Today and lives in St. Paul with her family. You can reach her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
www.maryjanicedavidson.org
@MaryJaniceD
MaryJanice's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/maryjanicedav...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/maryja...
www.maryjanicedavidson.org
@MaryJaniceD
MaryJanice's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/maryjanicedav...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/maryja...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
September 7, 2018
The usual MaryJanice Davidson, which is to say, hilarious. I was surprised to find a few editing mistakes in a real book though.
April 23, 2013
Underwater / Super, Girl! / Crying Wolf on 4/22/2013
By the end, I was twitching and gritting my teeth in frustration! So due to dulling brain chemistry, here's my overly brief simplified review:
SUPER GIRL (2 STARS)- The story of an unassuming, slightly unwilling, moderately sarcastic super hereo. Hailey Derry works a 9-5(ish) job which, of course, she hates but is also kinda sorta the boss. Between dodging her co-workers, spitting nails & savings lives, Hailey must deceipher to identity of cryptic nasty note writer.
Though overall a little bland and lacking direction, it was still a rather cute story that provided a few laughs.
UNDEAD AND UNDERWATER (-1 STAR)- Queen Betsy and Sinclair are called to assist a friend of Fred the mermaid, Madison. In an effort to be liked (I think, it's actually not very clear) Madison pretends to be Fred. This gets her into trouble with a loony nutjob who blames Fred for something that doesn't even make sense.
Being a fan (or I used to be) of the Queen Besty Undead Series, THIS was the story I wanted to read. Frankly, it gave me a headache. I found the following extremely annoying: Madison saying "rilly" instead of "really," Sinkclair baby talking while acting dazed and confused, Fred and Betzy b*tching without getting to the point...ever, and the Megalomaniac & his "Skittles(a term that I didn't make up)" being too incredibly stupid to pull off a toddler's party let alone the intended evil murderous scheme! It just didn't make sense. Together Betsy's snark and Fred's dry sarcasim should have been hilarious, but instead felt forced and fell flat.
INCOMER (un-rated)- The final story is about Lara Wyndham. Unfortunatly, after the last story I just coulnd't read anymore. However, other reviews have said this is the BEST novella of the bunch. My advice would be to read this one and then work from the begining.
August 20, 2016
I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. Three separate stories tied together through MJDs wacky sense of humor. How else to make sense of a superhero who hides in plain sight as an HR manager who regularly writes herself up for tardiness? Fred the mermaid and Betsy the vampire reluctantly team up to stop some master criminals from destroying the oceans. And lastly the Wynwood pack gets in some licks when Michael retires as Alpha in favor of his daughter and promptly leaves town and leaves her with the aftermath of that decision. Not everyone is happy. All in all, light, funny and just what I needed.
March 12, 2013
Undead and Underwater is book 11.5 in the Undead Series by MaryJanice Davidson. I love the Undead Series, but this story drove me crazy. It was full of non-stop chatter between Betsy and Fredricka. It was like someone was shoving nails into my brain. I really didn't enjoy it and was disappointed that this was the next story is a series I love so much.
September 28, 2018
The first story was only okay and the third was a little confusing with all the jumping around in time, but the second story more than made up for them. Of course it is the one with the most Betsy. I also like Dr. Bimm. Bonus points for having quotes from Stephen King and Heathers.
August 22, 2019
I love the rest of the Undead series and gave all of those 5 stars. But, these three novellas just didn’t do it for me.
March 28, 2013
Original Post at Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust: Do You Like Mad-Cap Writing?
http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspo...
Originally the Queen Betsy series from Mary Janice Davidson was one of my favorites; Betsy was cute, weird, fun, self-involved. But then Betsy became more and more self-involved and crazier; at some point it stopped being cute and felt obnoxious. Then Mary Janice started messing with time and existentialism, and the story line just stopped making sense to me.
Originally I enjoyed MJD's wacky, high-energy writing style. But at some point it got a bit too wacky and I found it hard to follow. MJD writes with abandon.
When this collection of novellas arrived in the post I wanted to take a look to see what was going on with Mary Janice. Of the three stories I liked "Super, Girl" the most because it isn't based in a series I already know. Mary Janice's style seems to be even more frenetic and it's gotten hard for me to follow her prose.
Mary Janice's writing reminds me of old situation comedies: mad cap, all over the place, unsubtle, the girl who looks like she has no idea saves the day. Her characters do very weird things, like walk through bacon and broken crockery to have sex. Then other characters complain that those characters have violated the sanctity of the bacon. I expect one of them to turn, and look into the camera (if there were a camera) a la Doctor Evil with a comic moue and raised brow. Really it's like an old episode of "Three's Company."
The female characters in each story seem to be more or less the same, although in "Incomer," Lara, the new Pack Leader on Cape Cod is younger and some how makes more sense to me as a leader than any of the other women or men in the three stories. "Super, Girl" is the only one without a Betsy appearance. I liked the mermaid, Fred's best friend. Jonas. He seemed the most dimensional but very similar to Betsy's ER Doc sidekick.
What is stated about Jack Gardner in the above description of "Incomer" does not hold up in the story. It may be from another part of the Wyndham Werewolf series.
The point of view in each story is a deep personal omniscience with an inside view of each character's head. Maybe the deeply personal feeling stems from Mary Janice writing the same character in different situations with different names and supernatural abilities. I strongly suspect they are based on MJD herself.
The author states, in one of several notes, that she realized that her heroines are all more or less reluctant women upon whom their heroism was thrust. Each is avoiding looking at their role and each has Mommy issues (if not here then in other tales). Betsy never wanted her job, Nor does Fred the Mermaid; Lara just is who she is and really has no choice about being the pack leader. It is the most consistent thing in the book. The heroines also look with ambivalence on their behaviors after action sequences, as when Fred exclaims that she isn't sorry she left the bad guys in the clutches of the vampires.
Other people might like this comedic, stream of consciousness writing style. I find it amusing in small doses, but I stop liking it when it prevents character growth. It can be funny or become confusing. I have a feeling you either love it or it hits you the wrong way.
http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspo...
Originally the Queen Betsy series from Mary Janice Davidson was one of my favorites; Betsy was cute, weird, fun, self-involved. But then Betsy became more and more self-involved and crazier; at some point it stopped being cute and felt obnoxious. Then Mary Janice started messing with time and existentialism, and the story line just stopped making sense to me.
Originally I enjoyed MJD's wacky, high-energy writing style. But at some point it got a bit too wacky and I found it hard to follow. MJD writes with abandon.
When this collection of novellas arrived in the post I wanted to take a look to see what was going on with Mary Janice. Of the three stories I liked "Super, Girl" the most because it isn't based in a series I already know. Mary Janice's style seems to be even more frenetic and it's gotten hard for me to follow her prose.
Mary Janice's writing reminds me of old situation comedies: mad cap, all over the place, unsubtle, the girl who looks like she has no idea saves the day. Her characters do very weird things, like walk through bacon and broken crockery to have sex. Then other characters complain that those characters have violated the sanctity of the bacon. I expect one of them to turn, and look into the camera (if there were a camera) a la Doctor Evil with a comic moue and raised brow. Really it's like an old episode of "Three's Company."
The female characters in each story seem to be more or less the same, although in "Incomer," Lara, the new Pack Leader on Cape Cod is younger and some how makes more sense to me as a leader than any of the other women or men in the three stories. "Super, Girl" is the only one without a Betsy appearance. I liked the mermaid, Fred's best friend. Jonas. He seemed the most dimensional but very similar to Betsy's ER Doc sidekick.
What is stated about Jack Gardner in the above description of "Incomer" does not hold up in the story. It may be from another part of the Wyndham Werewolf series.
The point of view in each story is a deep personal omniscience with an inside view of each character's head. Maybe the deeply personal feeling stems from Mary Janice writing the same character in different situations with different names and supernatural abilities. I strongly suspect they are based on MJD herself.
The author states, in one of several notes, that she realized that her heroines are all more or less reluctant women upon whom their heroism was thrust. Each is avoiding looking at their role and each has Mommy issues (if not here then in other tales). Betsy never wanted her job, Nor does Fred the Mermaid; Lara just is who she is and really has no choice about being the pack leader. It is the most consistent thing in the book. The heroines also look with ambivalence on their behaviors after action sequences, as when Fred exclaims that she isn't sorry she left the bad guys in the clutches of the vampires.
Other people might like this comedic, stream of consciousness writing style. I find it amusing in small doses, but I stop liking it when it prevents character growth. It can be funny or become confusing. I have a feeling you either love it or it hits you the wrong way.
December 20, 2014
This is a book of 3 novellas all by MaryJanice Davidson. I was very intrigued to see that one of the stories is set from the perspective of Betsy Taylor in the Undead series crossing with the Fred the Mermaid Trilogy. The Mermaid Trilogy was a favorite read of mine and I was excited to revisit old friends from that world. This is the story from which the title of the book gets its name. One of the other stories features the Wyndham Werewolves 20 years in the future and Betsy and Fred make a small cameo appearance. The third story was a completely unrelated story to any of the three worlds.
In Undead and Underwater, Vampire Queen Betsy is called upon by one of her subjects to go to Boston and resolve a situation. There we also meet Dr. Fred Bimm, mermaid and marine biologist, who is asked to help resolve the same situation by another person. The hilarity that happens when these two meet is priceless. Sometimes, especially when an author writes multiple series, you play the "what if?" game and imagine your favorite characters meeting. Well, apparently, Ms. Davidson played it as well, and wrote this story out of that "What if?" If you are fan of either series, you really have to check this one out.
Incomer, is another wonderful play on the "what if?' game. Take the the Wyndham Werewolf pack, who have already been successfully crossing with the Undead Betsy world, add in Fred the Mermaid and then set it 20 years in the future. Here we get a look at how young Lara is handling life as the new Pack Leader. It is a great little glimpse into where some of our favorite characters from the Wyndham series have ended up and just very nicely lets us know that everything turns out great for them. Betsy and Fred have only a small cameo appearance, but it is enough to catch us up on how they are doing.
The final story in the book is call Super, Girl! This short story is set in Savage, Minnesota. We are introduced to Hailey Derry, head of Human Resources and a superhero known as the It Girl. Her two worlds are colliding. Someone keeps sending her cryptic post-its notes at work and she keeps having to rescue more and more people, which keeps her away from work. The point of view keeps changing back and forth between Hailey and Jaime Linus, the new hire and guy that Hailey has the hots for. The story was campy, funny, and yet retained a sweetness to it that was refreshing to see.
Let me say, I love MaryJanice Davidson stories. She writes great dialogue and although the stories seem outrageous and inconceivable to reality, they somehow manage to stay relate-able to the everyday person. I know when I read one of her stories, she is going to leave me with a smile on my face. And she doesn't disappoint. If you are on the fence about the Undead series, the Wyndham Werewolves series, the Fred the Mermaid series or even one of Ms. Davidson's many other series, check out Undead and Underwater. This is MaryJanice Davidson at her best, snarky, campy and just laugh out loud funny. 4 stars on Goodreads.
In Undead and Underwater, Vampire Queen Betsy is called upon by one of her subjects to go to Boston and resolve a situation. There we also meet Dr. Fred Bimm, mermaid and marine biologist, who is asked to help resolve the same situation by another person. The hilarity that happens when these two meet is priceless. Sometimes, especially when an author writes multiple series, you play the "what if?" game and imagine your favorite characters meeting. Well, apparently, Ms. Davidson played it as well, and wrote this story out of that "What if?" If you are fan of either series, you really have to check this one out.
Incomer, is another wonderful play on the "what if?' game. Take the the Wyndham Werewolf pack, who have already been successfully crossing with the Undead Betsy world, add in Fred the Mermaid and then set it 20 years in the future. Here we get a look at how young Lara is handling life as the new Pack Leader. It is a great little glimpse into where some of our favorite characters from the Wyndham series have ended up and just very nicely lets us know that everything turns out great for them. Betsy and Fred have only a small cameo appearance, but it is enough to catch us up on how they are doing.
The final story in the book is call Super, Girl! This short story is set in Savage, Minnesota. We are introduced to Hailey Derry, head of Human Resources and a superhero known as the It Girl. Her two worlds are colliding. Someone keeps sending her cryptic post-its notes at work and she keeps having to rescue more and more people, which keeps her away from work. The point of view keeps changing back and forth between Hailey and Jaime Linus, the new hire and guy that Hailey has the hots for. The story was campy, funny, and yet retained a sweetness to it that was refreshing to see.
Let me say, I love MaryJanice Davidson stories. She writes great dialogue and although the stories seem outrageous and inconceivable to reality, they somehow manage to stay relate-able to the everyday person. I know when I read one of her stories, she is going to leave me with a smile on my face. And she doesn't disappoint. If you are on the fence about the Undead series, the Wyndham Werewolves series, the Fred the Mermaid series or even one of Ms. Davidson's many other series, check out Undead and Underwater. This is MaryJanice Davidson at her best, snarky, campy and just laugh out loud funny. 4 stars on Goodreads.
May 3, 2013
I was so pleasantly surprised by how much a liked the first story. Of course going in with very low expectations helped, I suppose. I've been so disappointed in everything I've read my the author in the last few years, and she used to be so reliable for laughs and comfort. But this felt more like the old MJD to me, maybe because it was a fresh story and new characters. As much as fans want stories about the characters we've grown to love, at some point the authors lose their way. Certainly Betsy isn't funny or fresh anymore. But this story was sweet. They romance was somewhat believable, not quite the annoying insta-romance that I dislike so much. It's hard to build a likable romance in a short story, so I give her points for that. And the premise was really cute. I didn't laugh out loud, but I was amused. It was a good story.
Fred and Betsy's story was just eh. Although MJD said in the intro that she makes every story and book she writes able to be read independently of any series, an awful lot of the story was spent filling in background about Fred and Betsy's pasts. There was almost no action or plot at all. It was just a "cute meet." Too much talk, not enough action.
Lara's story had good parts, it was a fun idea to see how she grew up and became pack leader. But MJD kind of summed up the problem herself when she had one of the characters say, "Why are we all talking like it's 1995?" All of the skank and dude and other silliness wasn't silly, or fresh, it was old. Just because her iPad unfolds doesn't make it seem futuristic or original. And brining Betsy and Fred into it in the beginning was fine, but making Betsy part of the solution to the problem made Lara seem weak. Sean was a good character, but the rest of the story was just done before.
Most fans are going to love Betsy and Fred's story just because it's them, think Lara's story is kind of cute and not even read the first story, which was the only complete story in the book. Having to spend so much of the stories dealing with the past and establishing who the characters were left no time for any action or character development, it was just talk, talk, talk. They were not objectively good stories. They were only fun if you're fans of the characters, and the characters deserve better by now that all of that talk. I just hope some more people will give the first story a chance and see that at least it's something cute, fresh and new. It felt like the start of something that could be fun, like the Alaska series. There are so many authors now who I used to love and auto-buy every book, but they're stuck in never-ending series that don't feel like they have a focused plan and are losing their charm and relatability with every book. End the series. Start something new and fresh. Like Super, Girl! It had potential. That kind of fun and humor is still in her and I'd like to see more of that.
Fred and Betsy's story was just eh. Although MJD said in the intro that she makes every story and book she writes able to be read independently of any series, an awful lot of the story was spent filling in background about Fred and Betsy's pasts. There was almost no action or plot at all. It was just a "cute meet." Too much talk, not enough action.
Lara's story had good parts, it was a fun idea to see how she grew up and became pack leader. But MJD kind of summed up the problem herself when she had one of the characters say, "Why are we all talking like it's 1995?" All of the skank and dude and other silliness wasn't silly, or fresh, it was old. Just because her iPad unfolds doesn't make it seem futuristic or original. And brining Betsy and Fred into it in the beginning was fine, but making Betsy part of the solution to the problem made Lara seem weak. Sean was a good character, but the rest of the story was just done before.
Most fans are going to love Betsy and Fred's story just because it's them, think Lara's story is kind of cute and not even read the first story, which was the only complete story in the book. Having to spend so much of the stories dealing with the past and establishing who the characters were left no time for any action or character development, it was just talk, talk, talk. They were not objectively good stories. They were only fun if you're fans of the characters, and the characters deserve better by now that all of that talk. I just hope some more people will give the first story a chance and see that at least it's something cute, fresh and new. It felt like the start of something that could be fun, like the Alaska series. There are so many authors now who I used to love and auto-buy every book, but they're stuck in never-ending series that don't feel like they have a focused plan and are losing their charm and relatability with every book. End the series. Start something new and fresh. Like Super, Girl! It had potential. That kind of fun and humor is still in her and I'd like to see more of that.
May 31, 2013
I don’t really know why I continue to read MJ Davidson’s books. She has proved a long time ago that she really isn’t that great of a writer and her books are just getting silly and ridiculous. But I guess I have a hard time giving up on a series once I’ve started it; I want to wait it out and see how the series ends. I started out the Queen Betsy books thinking they were cute and fluffy and something I could read to pass the time when I didn’t have anything better on my to-read. But since the 4th or 5th book, things have just started to go downhill fast.
This book is a combination of three novellas, one of which features Betsy Taylor, Queen of the Undead. The other two are about the Wyndham Werewolves and an all new female superhero. I have not read he Werewolves books, nor do I intend to.
The SuperGirl story was just ridiculous. Hailey Derry is a superhero that can eat anything and absorb its energy. She eats things like staplers and makes a poor attempt to hide the fact that she is “it girl.” She is chronically late for her dayjob and has a seemingly poor relationship with her co-workers as she is constantly late and surly. There was no character development, no danger, no conflict… nothing! The romance part of the story didn’t make sense and was poorly written and I have no intention of reading any more books about this silly super hero.
Undead and Underwater was the next novella, which featured Betsy and the mermaid Fred. I haven’t read Fred’s books and don’t really have the desire to after this novella. Betsy and Fred join forces when a human from the New England Aquarium calls for help and they have to save the underfolk. Betsy and Fred don’t exactly hit it off, but you get the sense that beneath the hostility and sarcasm, the two actually kindof like each other. Sinclair makes an appearance and Fred’s friend Jonas shows up and hits off a friendship with Betsy. There just wasn’t any meat to the story. I came away disappointed.
The third story was about Lara Windham, packleader of the Windham werewolves. MJD tried to bring the three stories together at this point by having Lara call Betsy and Fred for help, but it didn’t really work. I kindof liked the parts where they were describing their new ipads that fold out as opposed to the old “clunkers” that didn’t even fold. Other than that, there weren’t really any redeeming qualities.
All in all I thought this collection was a flop. I won’t read the Fred series or the werewolf series by MJ Davidson and I am seriously considering cutting my losses and giving up on Betsy.
March 9, 2013
All Things Urban Fantasy
Super, Girl!
This short story was incredibly cute and extremely hilarious. Hailey Derry has the type of superpower I would love to have where anything I eat can be transformed into super powered energy to fight crime with. I loved how she went about her daily routine trying to poorly hide the fact that she was “It Girl”; a name she despises as much as she does many other superhero cliches that are mentioned throughout this story. I wish there were more stories (full length or novella!) with Haliey as this was my favorite story in this book.
Rating: 4/5
Sexual Content: very mild short sex scene
UNDEAD AND UNDERWATER
This story brings together two of MaryJanice Davidson’s characters from her Undead and Fred the Mermaid series and since I was not familiar with either character I was very happy to have the character summaries in the Forward to better understand the histories of Betsy and Fred. UNDEAD AND UNDERWATER continues with the absurd humor and quirkiness of SUPER, GIRL! Helpful Forward aside, I was still confused about who was who and even what was happening for the first three chapters which in a short story is a little worrying. While the story peaked my interest in picking up one of the Fred the Mermaid books, I found the plot to be a little too convoluted and I had to re-read sections just to understand what was happening.
Rating: 3/5
Sexual Content: N/A
INCOMER
This is a short story from Davidson’s Wyndham Werewolves series set twenty-five years in the future. I liked the worldbuilding and loved that they had an alpha of a pack just peacefully decide to retire instead of be killed in a dominance fight like so many other werewolf novels I’ve read. I was not a huge fan of the narrative leaps from character to character and into the past. I understand that they explained character motivations and relationships, but to me they brought the plot and story momentum to a screeching halt. Narrative leaps aside, INCOMER was a fun introduction to the Wyndham Werewolves series and I would have to say it has one of the most messy and funny sex scenes I’ve ever read.
Rating: 4/5
Sexual Content: graphic sex scene
Super, Girl!
This short story was incredibly cute and extremely hilarious. Hailey Derry has the type of superpower I would love to have where anything I eat can be transformed into super powered energy to fight crime with. I loved how she went about her daily routine trying to poorly hide the fact that she was “It Girl”; a name she despises as much as she does many other superhero cliches that are mentioned throughout this story. I wish there were more stories (full length or novella!) with Haliey as this was my favorite story in this book.
Rating: 4/5
Sexual Content: very mild short sex scene
UNDEAD AND UNDERWATER
This story brings together two of MaryJanice Davidson’s characters from her Undead and Fred the Mermaid series and since I was not familiar with either character I was very happy to have the character summaries in the Forward to better understand the histories of Betsy and Fred. UNDEAD AND UNDERWATER continues with the absurd humor and quirkiness of SUPER, GIRL! Helpful Forward aside, I was still confused about who was who and even what was happening for the first three chapters which in a short story is a little worrying. While the story peaked my interest in picking up one of the Fred the Mermaid books, I found the plot to be a little too convoluted and I had to re-read sections just to understand what was happening.
Rating: 3/5
Sexual Content: N/A
INCOMER
This is a short story from Davidson’s Wyndham Werewolves series set twenty-five years in the future. I liked the worldbuilding and loved that they had an alpha of a pack just peacefully decide to retire instead of be killed in a dominance fight like so many other werewolf novels I’ve read. I was not a huge fan of the narrative leaps from character to character and into the past. I understand that they explained character motivations and relationships, but to me they brought the plot and story momentum to a screeching halt. Narrative leaps aside, INCOMER was a fun introduction to the Wyndham Werewolves series and I would have to say it has one of the most messy and funny sex scenes I’ve ever read.
Rating: 4/5
Sexual Content: graphic sex scene
April 8, 2013
"I'm sorry. I had no idea you were clinically insane. I'll leave you to... that."
I understand that MJD's writing has always had a bit of a manic sort of feel to it, something that has only increased as the years have gone by. In a lot of the recent Betsy books, this feeling of falling into the middle of a conversation you'll never quite catch up has worked against the books. I'm not sure what it was about Undead and Underwater, but I immediately fell into step with each story and this isn't something I can say has happened all that often in any recent MJD book.
Super, Girl! starts off odd (which is a compliment in this case) and circles back around to present a work model for any and all companies. And yes, this includes working alongside a superhero who is forever late to meetings. So many holidays, so little time! The superhero/super-villain face-off was actually the least strong part of this story, but it was entertaining enough.
Undead and Underwater brings the possibly longed-for team up of Fred the mermaid and Betsy the Vampire Queen. It's helpful if you've read any of the previous books in either series but brief recaps with questionable 'facts' are presented. Betsy's dialed down quite a bit, though part of this could and probably should be attributed to the fact that the story is told from Fred's side of this team-up.
My favorite bit might be when Fred realizes Madison isn't exactly who all the "rilly, rilly!"s would imply she is.
Incomer jumps to the future after the terrible Kardashian Riots of 2025 (seriously, this alone should make this something worth flipping through. President Fey!) when Lara Wyndham takes control of the Wyndham Werewolves after her father chooses to simply step down rather than, I dunno, die. There are flashbacks to Lara's childhood as well as her brother's, but the majority of the action centers on Lara's first couple of days on the job.
Bacon is violated, sex is had, and Betsy and Fred show up in cameo roles for this installment. The majority of the zany hijinks come courtesy of Sean, Lara's younger brother, so this is the least manic of the three stories.
Overall, this is one I borrowed from the library but will be buying ASAP.
I understand that MJD's writing has always had a bit of a manic sort of feel to it, something that has only increased as the years have gone by. In a lot of the recent Betsy books, this feeling of falling into the middle of a conversation you'll never quite catch up has worked against the books. I'm not sure what it was about Undead and Underwater, but I immediately fell into step with each story and this isn't something I can say has happened all that often in any recent MJD book.
Super, Girl! starts off odd (which is a compliment in this case) and circles back around to present a work model for any and all companies. And yes, this includes working alongside a superhero who is forever late to meetings. So many holidays, so little time! The superhero/super-villain face-off was actually the least strong part of this story, but it was entertaining enough.
Undead and Underwater brings the possibly longed-for team up of Fred the mermaid and Betsy the Vampire Queen. It's helpful if you've read any of the previous books in either series but brief recaps with questionable 'facts' are presented. Betsy's dialed down quite a bit, though part of this could and probably should be attributed to the fact that the story is told from Fred's side of this team-up.
My favorite bit might be when Fred realizes Madison isn't exactly who all the "rilly, rilly!"s would imply she is.
Incomer jumps to the future after the terrible Kardashian Riots of 2025 (seriously, this alone should make this something worth flipping through. President Fey!) when Lara Wyndham takes control of the Wyndham Werewolves after her father chooses to simply step down rather than, I dunno, die. There are flashbacks to Lara's childhood as well as her brother's, but the majority of the action centers on Lara's first couple of days on the job.
Bacon is violated, sex is had, and Betsy and Fred show up in cameo roles for this installment. The majority of the zany hijinks come courtesy of Sean, Lara's younger brother, so this is the least manic of the three stories.
Overall, this is one I borrowed from the library but will be buying ASAP.
October 12, 2013
Meh.
The first story I did not get at all. It was really hyper and random and had no sense of actual plot (pesky things like beginning, middle and end.) It also had nothing to do with the Undead and... series. Total fail.
Second story was ok. Still a bit hyper and disjointed but had enough information that even though I've never read the Fred the Mermaid books, I had a passable time getting through the story. Besty comes off slighly more coherent here (at times) but it's annoying how characters from the Mermaid world are simply clones of the Undead world. (Like Fred's friend is a Marc clone except, no he's not gay, just uber metrosexual. Whatever.)
Third story was not as bad as the first, but not as good as the second. (Not that the second was really terribly good to start.) It takes place in the future and makes awkward attempts at poking humor at "outdated" things (as in, things from the 2000's) Always comes off hokey. Also, I just didn't feel like I knew or terribly cared about the characters since they don't actually exist in the "present" of the Unead books in that form. (i.e. the main character, Laura, is a toddler I think currently.)
All in all, just a week trilogy of stories. Absolutely no need to buy this one. In fact, there's little reason to even read it since none of it directly relates to the Undead series at all.
The first story I did not get at all. It was really hyper and random and had no sense of actual plot (pesky things like beginning, middle and end.) It also had nothing to do with the Undead and... series. Total fail.
Second story was ok. Still a bit hyper and disjointed but had enough information that even though I've never read the Fred the Mermaid books, I had a passable time getting through the story. Besty comes off slighly more coherent here (at times) but it's annoying how characters from the Mermaid world are simply clones of the Undead world. (Like Fred's friend is a Marc clone except, no he's not gay, just uber metrosexual. Whatever.)
Third story was not as bad as the first, but not as good as the second. (Not that the second was really terribly good to start.) It takes place in the future and makes awkward attempts at poking humor at "outdated" things (as in, things from the 2000's) Always comes off hokey. Also, I just didn't feel like I knew or terribly cared about the characters since they don't actually exist in the "present" of the Unead books in that form. (i.e. the main character, Laura, is a toddler I think currently.)
All in all, just a week trilogy of stories. Absolutely no need to buy this one. In fact, there's little reason to even read it since none of it directly relates to the Undead series at all.
March 19, 2013
I thought the last couple of Besty books were so not in tune with the first of the series and wasn't really looking forward to this one until I learned that it would be a mashup of the author's series, I thought that had potential.
I sort of like It Girl, but felt like I was missing something as I don't remember reading anything like this from the author. I do wish that my company had the liberal holiday policy that this company did. I loved how everyone knew Hailey's secret, but let her think that they didn't.
Undead and Underwater was just bad! I hoped that Fred would make Betsy more tolerable, but the two of them just grated on my nerves and that is not taking in account the simpering intern that kept saying "rilly". Enough said.
Incomer was my favorite of the three. What little we have seen of Lara the feral mini werewolf has made me laugh, so learning that this one fast forwarded to her being an adult was great! I loved how she found her mate and how she dealt with a threat on her first day as an alpha, so great!
I sort of like It Girl, but felt like I was missing something as I don't remember reading anything like this from the author. I do wish that my company had the liberal holiday policy that this company did. I loved how everyone knew Hailey's secret, but let her think that they didn't.
Undead and Underwater was just bad! I hoped that Fred would make Betsy more tolerable, but the two of them just grated on my nerves and that is not taking in account the simpering intern that kept saying "rilly". Enough said.
Incomer was my favorite of the three. What little we have seen of Lara the feral mini werewolf has made me laugh, so learning that this one fast forwarded to her being an adult was great! I loved how she found her mate and how she dealt with a threat on her first day as an alpha, so great!
May 1, 2013
This whole book was really rather Blah. =(
Super Girl-Meh, this story was just plain confusing. It felt like I was missing parts. In an attempt at keeping "It" Girl's identity a secret it just left holes in the story. A few local references kept me reading but really the story was not good. =(
Undead and Underwater- This puts some of MJ's favorite characters together. Betsy and Fred must work together to stop some crazies. This story is wrought with side talking and general Betsy mayhem. Sinclair was basically not there which really sucked. This was my first meeting of Fred, I am not sure I will continue with her story.
Incomer- This is a Wyndham Werewolf story. It takes place in the future when one of the children takes over as Alpha. I ahve to say this story was very confusing. There were time jumps, references to current phrases and technology as "old" and some rather confusing references to events that haven't occurred. This was just not that great for me.
Super Girl-Meh, this story was just plain confusing. It felt like I was missing parts. In an attempt at keeping "It" Girl's identity a secret it just left holes in the story. A few local references kept me reading but really the story was not good. =(
Undead and Underwater- This puts some of MJ's favorite characters together. Betsy and Fred must work together to stop some crazies. This story is wrought with side talking and general Betsy mayhem. Sinclair was basically not there which really sucked. This was my first meeting of Fred, I am not sure I will continue with her story.
Incomer- This is a Wyndham Werewolf story. It takes place in the future when one of the children takes over as Alpha. I ahve to say this story was very confusing. There were time jumps, references to current phrases and technology as "old" and some rather confusing references to events that haven't occurred. This was just not that great for me.
May 7, 2013
I don't even know what to say about these 3 short stories, let alone what to rate them! MJD's protagonists are (sometimes) stupid, vapid, self-absorbed, and somehow likeable. I know! I don't get it either. The only drawback was the hint of the cold, evil Queen Elizabeth that comes out briefly in the 2nd story. I hated the book Undead & Unstable. I read this series because it makes me full on giggle, chortle, and/or cackle at various points. Not because the good guy is going to become the worst bad guy ever someday--maybe.... I like Betsey best when she is herself! And what happened to Sinclair? He went from arrogant pushy alpha-stud to a cardboard suit that does the Queen's bidding when she snaps her fingers! When did he become a non-character? Pretty Disappointing. (Sorry, excuse my rant.) This book has some of the fun that we learned to love MJD for, so go & read it!
April 21, 2013
Three novellas, Super Girl I rate 1 1/2 stars , not worth writing about .
Undead and Underwater, rated 1 star. getting tired of whiny Betsy, Queen of the Undead. She really needs to mature. and finally Incomer where it is Lara Wyndham's job to take her breed to safety after the Kardashian Riots. Really, Kardasion? Would rate this 1 star. In fact, I wished that I had not stayed with the book and simply stopped reading but I like to give any author the benefit of the doubt and hoped they improve with each story. Not so in this case.
Undead and Underwater, rated 1 star. getting tired of whiny Betsy, Queen of the Undead. She really needs to mature. and finally Incomer where it is Lara Wyndham's job to take her breed to safety after the Kardashian Riots. Really, Kardasion? Would rate this 1 star. In fact, I wished that I had not stayed with the book and simply stopped reading but I like to give any author the benefit of the doubt and hoped they improve with each story. Not so in this case.
November 26, 2013
Wow what was this!? Thought I would see where Betsey avoids becoming evil, but...maybe I missed it in some other book? These stories were badly written and felt very forced and I know that as novellas they didn't have a lot of pages to develop a story, but you know a little effort would have been nice.
December 24, 2014
An entertaining short story about shoes, mermaids, oh and some side story about bad guys wanting revenge on the Undersea Folk.
"Betsy Taylor had been the most horrible wonderful person she had ever met. Or the most wonderful terrible person."
"Betsy Taylor had been the most horrible wonderful person she had ever met. Or the most wonderful terrible person."
March 18, 2013
Look, I like chicklit. I like vampires. These are two of my guilty pleasures and I've liked this series well enough to keep reading but I am juuuuuuuust about ready to say no more. I couldn't get through even one of these three novellas. Not one.
March 5, 2015
Book was meh. Loved being introduced to new characters and following up with one, but there was nothing stand out about this entry. More and more Betsy is seeming more like a character I follow out if habit than general interest.
October 4, 2013
Not sure what happen with this one! it was awful! I have read and loved 90% of everything she wrote!
March 14, 2014
I got to page 22 before my head wanted to explode ... had to stop reading... Sorry..
February 23, 2020
I only read this to continue the Betsey series. Not impressed with the mermaids
November 20, 2020
I am getting pretty sick of the Queen Betsy series to be honest. It’s quite repetitive and not much happens, but I’m so close that I’m determined to finish it! I enjoy it at points, but find myself rolling my eyes quite a bit. I wasn’t quite sure whether to skip this book, as it’s just a novella collection. However, the last time I skipped a novella in this series, the author made the (poor) decision of introducing a new character, who she proceeded to mention regularly for the rest of the series. I thought it would be a good idea to listen to this collection just to avoid the possibility of a reoccurrence.
Actually, I enjoyed the first story quite a bit. The protagonist was good, sweet, and unaware of the people around her. I liked the banter between her and her coworkers. Oh, and the superhero angle was a nice change. It was nice how everyone rallied around her in the end. 4/5
The second story was the one I read the book for, featuring Queen Betsy and a mermaid whose series I have not actually read. It honestly came off a bit like the fanfiction I used to read wherein characters from Harry Potter met characters from other series. A bit ridiculous, but still fun. I liked the contrast between Fred and Betsy, as well as having a protagonist who both appreciated and rolled her eyes at the Vampire Queen. Still kinda predictable though, having read so many other Queen Betsy books. 3/5
The third story was my least favourite, although admittedly I haven’t read the author’s Windham Werewolves books either. I am, however more familiar with the characters, as there has been a fair bit of crossover so far. I liked Lara and Sean themselves. However, the whole romance kind of felt like insta-love to me, even though I know there had supposedly been a connection for years. I know it’s hard to develop a romance in a novella, but screwing in a dining room so quickly a secondary character has to get out of the way is pretty ridiculous. I know it happens in Betsy’s books all the time (I roll my eyes then too!) but Lara and Jack had hardly interacted at this point, so it seemed extra absurd. The story itself was kinda cliche when compared to the other two, as they all followed the same basic “formula”, complete with cliche bad guys to defeat. 2/5
Overall: 3/5 November 20 2020
Actually, I enjoyed the first story quite a bit. The protagonist was good, sweet, and unaware of the people around her. I liked the banter between her and her coworkers. Oh, and the superhero angle was a nice change. It was nice how everyone rallied around her in the end. 4/5
The second story was the one I read the book for, featuring Queen Betsy and a mermaid whose series I have not actually read. It honestly came off a bit like the fanfiction I used to read wherein characters from Harry Potter met characters from other series. A bit ridiculous, but still fun. I liked the contrast between Fred and Betsy, as well as having a protagonist who both appreciated and rolled her eyes at the Vampire Queen. Still kinda predictable though, having read so many other Queen Betsy books. 3/5
The third story was my least favourite, although admittedly I haven’t read the author’s Windham Werewolves books either. I am, however more familiar with the characters, as there has been a fair bit of crossover so far. I liked Lara and Sean themselves. However, the whole romance kind of felt like insta-love to me, even though I know there had supposedly been a connection for years. I know it’s hard to develop a romance in a novella, but screwing in a dining room so quickly a secondary character has to get out of the way is pretty ridiculous. I know it happens in Betsy’s books all the time (I roll my eyes then too!) but Lara and Jack had hardly interacted at this point, so it seemed extra absurd. The story itself was kinda cliche when compared to the other two, as they all followed the same basic “formula”, complete with cliche bad guys to defeat. 2/5
Overall: 3/5 November 20 2020
July 20, 2024
This book is not only a fun read, but it neatly fills in interesting details in two of the excellent & fun MaryJanice series at the same time!
The first story is potentially a teaser for a new series (at least I hope so!). We meet Hailey Derry who is an unusual undercover superhero. She meets someone new at her day job who she finds fascinating.
The second story was initially going to be my favorite, as it gives us a delightful mashup of the Queen Betsy series with Fred the Mermaid 🧜♀️. Fred has a problem she has to solve and just the initial meeting with Betsy alone is worth reading as the snark flies high. Just to spice things up, Betsy finds Fred’s lifelong friend Jonas to be a definite kindred spirit of fashion. This provides the opportunity for lots of fun all by itself.
However I have to say that the last story is the most fun I’ve had in reading MaryJanice stories in quite a while! Besides the many opportunities Lara takes advantage of to prove that the snark is strong with this one, we are given an alternate future timeline where some of our latest tech is so obsolete that it is utterly unfamiliar to most of the characters. Lara has her first serious challenge to her thirty hours old Pack leadership and a few other things thrown in. We also get to meet her brother Sean as a more fleshed out individual than before, which hopefully means that we’ll see more of him in future stories.
So yes, I strongly encourage fans of MaryJanice read this, but it’ll be more fun & make more sense if you have read at least the first four or five Betsy books, all three Fred the Mermaid books and at least some of the Wyndham Werewolf books.
The first story is potentially a teaser for a new series (at least I hope so!). We meet Hailey Derry who is an unusual undercover superhero. She meets someone new at her day job who she finds fascinating.
The second story was initially going to be my favorite, as it gives us a delightful mashup of the Queen Betsy series with Fred the Mermaid 🧜♀️. Fred has a problem she has to solve and just the initial meeting with Betsy alone is worth reading as the snark flies high. Just to spice things up, Betsy finds Fred’s lifelong friend Jonas to be a definite kindred spirit of fashion. This provides the opportunity for lots of fun all by itself.
However I have to say that the last story is the most fun I’ve had in reading MaryJanice stories in quite a while! Besides the many opportunities Lara takes advantage of to prove that the snark is strong with this one, we are given an alternate future timeline where some of our latest tech is so obsolete that it is utterly unfamiliar to most of the characters. Lara has her first serious challenge to her thirty hours old Pack leadership and a few other things thrown in. We also get to meet her brother Sean as a more fleshed out individual than before, which hopefully means that we’ll see more of him in future stories.
So yes, I strongly encourage fans of MaryJanice read this, but it’ll be more fun & make more sense if you have read at least the first four or five Betsy books, all three Fred the Mermaid books and at least some of the Wyndham Werewolf books.
August 2, 2017
The only thing saving this three-part story from 1 star is the second story featuring Dr. Fredrika Bimm. The opening tale("It Girl") and the last tale (a snoozer about the werewolf pack of Cape Cod) were complete snoozers full of unlikeable characters. "It Girl" had potential. It was a clever story, but it fell flat on its face. Previously I had liked the werewolf storyline, but this was so boring that I only finished because I was so committed to the book at that point that I felt like I may as well finish. And while the second story saves the rankings from the abyss, let's be clear that it wasn't great. It was acceptable. It was better than the other two. It wasn't ... bad.
Between this and my last effort into the Betsy Taylor books, I think it is safe to say that my time with MaryJanice Davidson has come to pass. Her books were entertaining once upon a time, but it's getting further and further in the rearview.
Between this and my last effort into the Betsy Taylor books, I think it is safe to say that my time with MaryJanice Davidson has come to pass. Her books were entertaining once upon a time, but it's getting further and further in the rearview.
September 15, 2019
love MJD!
but not sure what she's doing w/the undead series.
i'm a little behind so i know there's been stuff online about it. I did read some of it and wondered if i would continue but since I already stopped w/2 other series i read that i didn't like what was happening, i decided to continue w/this one.
the good thing about this book is that it did have Davidson's great humor.
and i do like the fred & betsy characters (2nd story), as well as the werewolf ones (3rd story). glad to see betsy & fred teaming up which was cool.
the bad is that it wasn't that great.
the first story: "Super, Girl!" was just bad. i didn't understand it.
the second story: "Undead and Underwater"was a little better but too long.
the third story: "Incomer" is the best one of the three, though i wasn't too keen on it being the future thing but whatever.
but not sure what she's doing w/the undead series.
i'm a little behind so i know there's been stuff online about it. I did read some of it and wondered if i would continue but since I already stopped w/2 other series i read that i didn't like what was happening, i decided to continue w/this one.
the good thing about this book is that it did have Davidson's great humor.
and i do like the fred & betsy characters (2nd story), as well as the werewolf ones (3rd story). glad to see betsy & fred teaming up which was cool.
the bad is that it wasn't that great.
the first story: "Super, Girl!" was just bad. i didn't understand it.
the second story: "Undead and Underwater"was a little better but too long.
the third story: "Incomer" is the best one of the three, though i wasn't too keen on it being the future thing but whatever.
July 6, 2021
Betsy is still acting silly in the story, which makes me feel ashamed that she represents Vampires during the meet up with other species 😞. As for the other main character, Fred from Fred the Mermaid, I haven't read the series yet, and there's some spoiler in the story, which is unavoidable.
Fred reminds me of Antonia, the werewolf in the Undead series, while Jonas is more like Marc. It would be nice if there's a part where Jonas meet up with Marc in the main book. Overall, the story is okay, and what we learn so far, which related to the Undead series, is that Sinclair is crazy about the two puppies they adopted.
P/s: I only read the Undead and Underwater story to avoid reading any spoiler if I decided to read the Wyndham Werewolf series in the future. I'm not sure if there's a series for the other short story - Super, Girl!
Fred reminds me of Antonia, the werewolf in the Undead series, while Jonas is more like Marc. It would be nice if there's a part where Jonas meet up with Marc in the main book. Overall, the story is okay, and what we learn so far, which related to the Undead series, is that Sinclair is crazy about the two puppies they adopted.
P/s: I only read the Undead and Underwater story to avoid reading any spoiler if I decided to read the Wyndham Werewolf series in the future. I'm not sure if there's a series for the other short story - Super, Girl!
February 20, 2020
Well this was a bit different. A novella of three short stories in one book, with Betsy, The Vampire Queen stuck in the middle of them. They were all great stories, as the reader is introduced firstly, to Superhero Hailey Derry, who eats everything in sight in order to convert to energy that she uses to fight crime secretly, or so she thinks, then there is Fred, half human, half mermaid and an Ocean Biologist, and lastly, Lara Wyndham, newly appointed and undaunted, Leader of a Pack of Werewolves even at her very young age. Connections with Betsy become clear as the stories unfold and it is as intriguing, humorous, feisty and exciting as always.... Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews