Book 43 of 2008: The Royal Pain by MaryJanice Davidson

Book Description:

Marine biologist Dr. Shel ("Never Sheldon") Rivers has a problem. Some princess expects him to wait on her, hand and dimpled foot. His boss is taken with the royal redhead -- brunette, whatever, it's not like he keeps track of that stuff -- and nobody realizes that he just wants to be left alone in his lab. All alone. All the time. Weekends, holidays -- it's all good.

Now here's Miss Royalpants, insisting that he escort her around the marine institute, explain what he's doing, kiss her until her toes curl -- no, wait, that was his idea. She's not even apologetic about being born into a royal family! Says it's his problem to overcome, not hers. Which leaves him with one option: to kiss her again. And again. And...

So she's nothing like he expected. In fact, Dr. Rivers can see that this fantastic, exasperating woman has problems no princess should ever have to deal with. And he has an idea to help her get some much-needed sleep. Of course, it involves getting very, very tired beforehand, but if she's up to it, then so is he...

In this delightfully madcap sequel to The Royal Treatment, the Baranov family is back and as unpredictable as ever, and a prickly princess and cranky Ph.D. are about to discover that love conquers attitude every time! So she's nothing like he expected. In fact, Dr. Rivers can see that this fantastic, exasperating woman has problems no princess should ever have to deal with. And he has an idea to help her get some much-needed sleep. Of course, it involves getting very, very tired beforehand, but if she's up to it, then so is he… In this delightfully madcap sequel to The Royal Treatment, the Baranov family is back and as unpredictable as ever, and a prickly princess and cranky Ph.D. are about to discover that love conquers attitude every time…

My Opinion:

I'm still debating on whether I liked this one more or less than the prequel, THE ROYAL TREATMENT. I liked different things about each of them. I know that Laura said she liked this one better, but I still think I really liked the first one a lot. This one also seemed to cut off abruptly to me. (unless I'm getting them confused which is quite possible as well as I read this a couple of months ago... LOL!!!)

I am currently in the middle of 3 in this series, THE ROYAL MESS, so hopefully I can get back to it in the near future and complete the trilogy.

Book 39 of 2008: The Royal Treatment by MaryJanice Davidson

Book Description:

Alaskan Royal Family Book 1 - Alaska is an independent country with it's own royal family. The king, who likes to mingle with his subjects incognito, meets Christina, a loudmouth chef who speaks her mind using vividly colorful phrases. The king invites her to the castle; she thinks for a job interview but he sees her as a worthy bride for his crown-prince, David. Can Christina's confident personality carry her through planning a royal wedding and a royal family crisis? See how Christina and David's relationship goes from arranged to blistering in spite of the cold climate!

My Opinion:

I can't believe I am just now getting around to starting on this series. I've had this book for quite some time and now that I've read it I can't believe what I was missing out on. This book was hilarious!!! Since I was going to see MaryJanice at Borders again this past week I had decided I wanted to start in on more of her books and this was the series I started... I think I made a great choice. This is one of her non-paranormal series. It is a contemporary romance, but as with pretty much all MJD books, it's chock full of comedy. I love her snarky/sarcastic sense of humor! She's a riot! I'll definitely be reading the other 2 books in this series very soon!

Book 38 of 2008: Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson

Book Description:

Seventh in the hilarious New York Times bestselling series featuring Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor—now with a hot new look.

"No one does humorous romantic fantasy better than the incomparable MaryJanice Davidson" (The Best Reviews), and nobody reigns over the undead with more savvy than her heroine Betsy Taylor, back to rule the nights as Vampire Queen––and survive the days as a new suburban bride. But it's not all marital bliss. Betsy's husband, Sinclair, has been perusing The Book of the Dead, Betsy's being hounded by a ghost who's even more insufferable in death than in life, and a pack of formerly feral vampires has decided to pay an unwelcome visit…

My Opinion:

Ahhh... it felt good to be back in the "Betsy Universe" again! It's always torture waiting for the next MaryJanice Davidson book to come out as there is a usually about a year between books within each series of hers and then the books are such quick reads that you want the next one right away. This is the case... yet again! I just finished UNDEAD & UNWORTHY and I can hardly wait for the release of the next in the series. This was probably one of the best books in the series though I'm never good at comparing them as I don't retain well enough to remember exactly what happened in each book. The storyline has taken a turn in this 7th book of the series and as MJD notes in the "A Note to the Reader" section this is considered a new story arc within the Betsy stories and there will be a trilogy to the arc. A lot took place in this story and I can definitely see Betsy making a lot of changes within herself. She seems to be starting to adapt to the role of queen a bit better, but thank goodness she's keeping her smartass attitude that we all know and love.

I'll be going to Borders on Thursday to see MJD in person again and hear her speak so I'm really looking forward to that and hoping to find out more about her plans for Betsy beyond this book.

Book 17 of 2008: Dead Over Heels by MaryJanice Davidson

Book Description:

Three all-new paranormal stories of lust, laughter, and love from the New York Times bestselling author, including an original novella featuring Undead queen Betsy Taylor.

With her trademark "sassy dialogue, lusty lovemaking [and] irreverent humor"* New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson delighted fans with her wickedly sexy and wildly funny anthology, Dead and Loving It-stories in which the worlds of the Wyndham Werewolves and Undead Queens collided. Now she returns to that sensual and irresistible after-dark realm of werewolves, vampires, and mermaids in three more original novellas--including an all-new Betsy Taylor novella.

My Opinion:

Undead and Wed: A Honey Moon Story
This story follows up Betsy & Sinclair’s wedding. I couldn’t believe Jessica and Nick decided to "crash" their honeymoon. LOL!!! The story was classic and I about died when the shoe got stuck in the wall. I do wonder how Nick will be getting along with everyone after the events in this story. Only a bit longer to wait for UNDEAD AND UNWORTHY. YAY!!!

Survivors
Fred the mermaid doesn’t actually show up in this story, but it tells a bit about the adventures of a loan guy, Con Conlinson, who is stranded at sea, and is being followed by a "silver severed head" better known as a mermaid. HA HA!!! Enter Ree, the beautiful mermaid, who ends up having to rescue Stupid Con and help him survive. This story had me laughing at several points and I hope the characters appear in future mermaid stories by MJD.

Speed Dating, Werewolf Style
Okay, so Laura was telling me about this book and how this story wasn’t all that great... yada yada. Well, let’s just say that I made the mistake of taking this book with me to lunch the other day and while I’m sitting there eating my Wendy’s chili I read a part in the story that makes me laugh so hard I actually choked on my chili! Due to that scene and many, MANY others this became my favorite story of the anthology. I just kept thinking that one day that I may end up doing some kind of speed dating thing like Cain does in this story.