"Dead and Loving It" is a laugh a minute

If you haven't read any of MaryJanice Davidson's books on the Wyndham Werewolves or Betsy Taylor the vampire queen, I wouldn't start with "Dead and Loving It."

Don't get me wrong, I myself laughed until my sides ached when reading "Dead and Loving It," but if you don't have any background on the werewolves and vampires that populate Davidson's world, you'll probably be lost.

A collection of four stories, the first tail, er tale, is "Santa Claws" the story of Alec Kilcurt, the most powerful werewolf in Europe. In "Santa Claws," he is in Boston to pay homage to American pack leaders Michael and Jeannie Wyndham's baby.

Feeling a bit jealous and out of sort, Michael goes for a stroll and meets the sidewalk Santa of his dreams, Giselle Smith.

In "Monster Love," vampire Richard Will meets Janet Lupo when he "rescues" her as she's about to be mugged. after Janet flattens Richard a couple of times ( he was just a little hungry), and he admits he's a vampire they make a date for the next night.

Unfortunately, Janet's pack leader calls her about an hour before her date so she has to head home. Richard, who arrives for their date just as Janet is about to leave, sees this as rejection and kidnaps her.

When Janet comes to, she reads him the riot act and tells him she has to leave, admitting she's a werewolf and when the pack leader calls you have to answer.

Well, of course, Richard knows there's no such things as werewolves, so Janet just bides her time until the full moon, when she warns him he's going to be in for a surprise.

In "There's No Such Thing as a Werewolf, " blind werewolf and doctor Drake Dragon left his pack years ago. There's not much tolerance for physical handicaps among the packs, so Drake lives his life among humans.

And he's doing just fine even though he's a little lonely. That is until he meets Crescent Muhn, a homeless woman with a predilection for leaping off tall buildings because she's convinced she can fly. And oh yeah, for some strange reason Drake can see her.

The last tale in "Dead and Loving It" is "A Fiend in Need" where fans finally find out George the Fiends. And Betsy, remember she's the vampire queen, and her friends discover that werewolves exist when werewolf seer Antonia comes to call.

"Dead and Loving It" is full of laughs, but a word of warning, if you like your romance book to leave some things to the imagination, this is not the book for you.