Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Can you believe it’s already time to start talking about the Alpha Showdown? We’re ready to start playing favorites, are you?
For those uninitiated—hi, new subscribers!—every may VBC hosts a little battle royale with your favorite alpha characters with tons of giveaways and lots of fun.
Here’s how it works: VBC readers nominate their favorite characters who exemplify alpha status—male or female, leaders, warriors, general badasses—and we place the top 16 vote-getters into an NCAA-style bracket. We’ll have bloggers champion for the different characters and matches will be posted on this site where readers will get to vote on which character advances.
Previous Alpha Showdown champions have included Darynda Jones’ Reyes, Karen Marie Moning’s Ryodan, Ilona Andrews’ Curran and Moning’s Jericho Z. Barrons. So, we expect this year’s alphas to bring it.
Last year we modified the rules to allow characters to be nominated from any book regardless of publication date. VBC readers seemed to like that, so we’re keeping the new rule. That means you’re welcome to nominate anyone provided they’re from a novel with paranormal or supernatural elements (a.k.a paranormal romance and urban fantasy, mostly).
Also, every step of the Showdown will include giveaways. It’s our fifth year hosting this super fun event, so expect some stellar books and prizes to be offered. We utilize Rafflecopter widgets to handle nominations (below!) and the actual voting when the Showdown happens.
To kick off the giveaway action, we’ll pick three people who nominate characters for the Alpha Showdown 2015 to receive their choice of any book VBC has listed in a new release post (all linked here for your prize perusal). Not too shabby, right? (And, yes, it’s open internationally provided the Book Depository can ship to your location.)
THE DETAILS
Either Raffe or Penryn from Susan Ee’s Angelfall/World After/End of Days! They are both freaking kick ass! And Merit from Chloe Neil’s Chicagoland Vampires is also awesome. But there are so many awesome people to choose from!
Mad Rogan from Burn for me by Ilona Andrews, The Kraken King by Meljean Brook and Death from The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole. All badasses
Reyes Farrow for certain!! Jackson Deveaux. Wrath, always Wrath.
I nominate Wrath of BDB. Don’t think a hero has made me more weak in the knees than this vamp!
the Showdown is always great. I nominated Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter and Gin blanco by Jennifer Estep.
Well Ryodan from Fever series by Karen Marie Moning of course =D I mean RYODAN !!! Do I really have to explain more ?? Because we’re all conscious that he could have write a book for every badasses of the world about how being the biggest badass ><
"I am your sword and your shield. I am your wolf and your steed. Mountains will tremble at my approach, for they know I will tear them apart if they stand between us. But you need not be afraid, Zenobia Fox, because my heart is iron and my will is steel, and before the new moon rises, I will come for you"
Sooo they are all badass and hot so there should be no doubt =D
Well first Ryodan from Fever series by Karen Marie Moning of course =D I mean RYODAN !!! Do I really have to explain more ?? Because we’re all conscious that he could have write a book for every badasses of the world about how being the biggest badass ><
“I like sex for breakfast, kid. I eat early and often.”
Then there is also Connor “Mad” Rogan from the last series by Ilona Andrews Hidden Legacy. I loove him, he’s totally badass with a touch of humor and a really bossy attitude =)
“I would really like to know”, he said with genuine curiosity. “The next time I kill someone, I’d like to do it in a way that doesn’t freak you out.”
Finally, I read some months ago the Iron Seas series by Meljean Brook and I would looove to see the Kraken King alias Ariq in the alpha showdown because HEY this is the guy who broke the bad guys in two, jumped from an airship straight into the ocean and TOTALLY kick ass ><
"I am your sword and your shield. I am your wolf and your steed. Mountains will tremble at my approach, for they know I will tear them apart if they stand between us. But you need not be afraid, Zenobia Fox, because my heart is iron and my will is steel, and before the new moon rises, I will come for you"
Sooo they are all badass and hot so there should be no doubt =D
The baddest Alphas are the women. No one expects them! Go Jane Yellowrock!
I’m seeing and agreeing a lot with the Mad Rogan nominations as well as The Kraken King! Both great choices!
Simon Wolfgard from The Others Series by Anne Bishop
Mad Rogan from Burn for me by Ilona Andrews
Ariq Noyan from The Kraken King by Meljean Brook
Oh Simon, how could I let him slip my mind? He is quite the Alpha!
JANE YELLOWROCK! Because she is a woman who kicks all the ass.
Alphas have to be male?
Nope! We’re equal opportunity alpha lovers here.
Oh, I agree with Karey. Jane Yellowrock is a natural leader and protector of those she has sworn to protect and innocents alike. And *totally* badass!
Love love love Wrath and Quinn and Tohrment!!! Anybody J.R. Ward writes about.
Ethan and Merit from Chicagoland Vampires continue to awe me with their power and badassery. I was also blown away by Mad Rogan in Ilona Andrews’s Burn for Me.
JANE YELLOWROCK gets my vote!!!
Dee-Ann Smith is quite the badass in my book!
Gin Blanco’s got my vote this year. Go Gin!
JZB. Always.
Yay! I love when it’s Alpha Showdown time! I nominated Garrett Reed (London Steampunk Series), Charles Cornick (Alpha & Omega Series), and Will Thorne (Darkest London Series) because there needs to be more variety. And I’m sure that the popular alphas I love like Curran, Bones, Adam, etc will be nominated too.
Yay for variety! A little fresh meat keeps it interesting.
Surely there’s no one as badass as Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake?
Jane Yellowrock is the ultimate Alpha.
I got my three champions all picked out and one is new, I feel hard for Mad Rogan. Chelsea, I would love to pitch him and one of my other two, if not all!
Noted. 😉
Rowan Whitethorn from Heir Of Fire by Sarah J. Maas is my ultimate alpha!!!
I vote for Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson and C. E. Murphy’s Joanne Walker.
It’s soooo hard to pick. There are so many….
Jane Yellowrock and Gin Blanco. Awesome female alphas.
I want more women in the showdown, so I nominated Jane Yellowrock and Mercy Thompson. However, I couldn’t leave the Martok out, so I had to nominate Bran, as well.
So many great entries, this years competition should be fun.
I nominated Jane Yellowrock, vamp-ass-kicker extraordinaire, because she (and her Beast) are such badass vampire hunters that even the vamps hire them to take down rogues.
Of course I had to choose my 3 favorite alpha males from the Black Dagger Brotherhood…Wrath, Vishous, and Zsadist.
voting for: WRATH, LONG LIVE The KING!!!
Definitely Ethan and Merit from Chicagoland Vampires. Mad Rogan from Burn For Me. Nevada was pretty kick ass too. But always, always BARRONS and Mac from Fever. Ryodan finally deserves a spot too. I didn’t always think he did.
I love this showdown! I’ve discovered so many great authors through here. I nominated Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson, Jeaniene Frost’s Vlad, and Larissa Ione’s Revenant. I wish we could nominate more than three. This was too hard.
Curran by kate daniels serie by ilona andrews …I love him !! so much My lion
Any of the Sexy Alpha males from the Protector series by Teresa Gabelman should win.
Agree!! With that one Donna 😉
Right? I had a hard time picking just 3
My 3 picks would be Vishious from Black dagger brotherhood Master Z from Club Shadowlands and my favorite Ruger from Reapers Legacy.
Looking forward to find more great books to read!
The Black Dagger Brotherhood. KING Wrath son of KING Wrath the Fair. Wrath is such a male of worth not only for his leadership as King but for the love and care he shows his people. Wrath is more than willing to bleed to protect those he loves that’s including his Shellan, his young, The Brothers and their families. Wrath has taken the old way’s of his people and has revised them to bring his people where they need to be in the world they live in now. His people voted him in as King for life and he is humbled by their affection. Long Live the KING!
JZB will always be number 1 but gotta nominate Lor also from the fever series… Loved his parts in the book!
Raphael (Vampires in America) by DB Reynolds, Slade (The Protectors Series) by Teresa Gabelman and Damon(The Protectors Series) by Teresa Gabelman.
Ethan Sullivan
Lorcan from Ancients of Light Series, Any of the men from Teresa Gableman’s The Protectors Series! There are so many many other one too!
So hard to pick just 3 when there are soooooo many alphas out there!!!
only 3? ok… (this will be very difficult.)
Ethan and Merit from Chicagoland Vampires and Mercy Thompson Briggs
are you really sure that i can give more names??? (Gin, Curran, Kate, Barrons …. 😉 )
I liked everything as before, though I’d love some character pictures if possible 🙂
Hmm. I’ll think on that one, Aly.
Braith and ETHAN hot alphas by Erica Stevens and Brenda K. Davies
Agree!!
i think both lor, jericho,and ryodan should be on the alpha show down. karen marie moning has the hottest alpha males their are!! ive really gotten into lor from her new fever book burn. he’s one hot,hot guy!!!
Gotta nominate Terease Gableman’s VC Warrior Slade. He’s a vamp, a doctor, a warrior and wears the hell out of a white muscle shirt!
Revenant – Larissa Ione
Simon Wolfgard – Anne BIshop
Mad Rogan – Ilona Andrews
Also, Curran, Reyes, Vlad, Gin, Kate, Mercy but I have a feeling that they will make it in, so I didn’t nominate them, since I could only do three.
Haha…. I also picked Rev and Mad Rogan! 🙂
I nom’d Gin and Vlad.