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This has been an intense Alpha Showdown. We have our first ever female alpha in the championship round. We have a newcomer in the finale. And we had some of the hottest contested battles in a long time (more than 10,000 votes when Kane fought Barrons). Take a look at the bracket for a recap of how it all went down.
Kane as proven himself against some all-time favorites like Jane Yellowrock, Mercy Thompson and Barrons. Kate Daniels defeated powerful alphas like Naasir, Raphael and Charles Cornick. This is going to be a hell of a match. Who will win and be crowned victor of Alpha Showdown 2016?
Your votes will decide!
We’ve lined up excellent bloggers to fill you in on why each alpha deserves to advance. Read the pitches, and then make the call.
You know him from: Blackthorn Series by Lindsay J. Pryor
First appeared in: Blood Shadows (Amazon)
Supernatural status: Master Vampire
Championed by: Tracey Rogers from Tracey Rogers Author
They say you always remember your first and you will remember this first timer. Step forward vampire, Kane Malloy. Not just any vampire, Kane, leader of the east side of Blackthorn, is a master vampire. A dual feeder, he’ll take your blood and your energy too. And you’ll thank him for it. With some serious skills, this bad boy can take down both the third and the fourth species.
Master vampire and a master of sex, Kane isn’t purely a vamp of action, he has the cunning label snagged too. He’s a game player, cleverly building his alliances and earning loyalty. He’s waited patiently in the shadows for years, plotting vengeance for the death of his sister, Arana, whilst remaining mindful of the Blackthorn prophecy and the looming war ahead. His enemies fear him and rightly so—with no soul, Kane will dare to go there. You want dark? Kane will go as dark as it gets.
Some say he’s a bad ass anti-hero, I say he’s a bad ass anti-hero—but maybe a little misunderstood. Fiercely protective of those he loves, he has his tender moments. So tender they’ll make you weep. He has a cobra tattoo guarding his heart, but still he let Caitlin in. But this vamp sure as hell doesn’t sparkle. He’ll have males fearing for their lives and females falling at his feet—with only his killer smirk. You’ll definitely want Kane on your side, you’ll want Kane all over you. Did I mention he has skills? Oh and a bow! Luscious navy eyes and a bow. Hello hotness.
‘I’ll make you feel as alive as I can. I’ll make your pulse race and your heart beat so fast it hurts.’ – Blood Dark
You’re asking for an alpha—he’s here. Kane’s loyal to those who deserve his loyalty and ruthless to those who don’t. Please don’t underestimate this vampire, he’s already sussed out the competition and smirked.
You know her from: The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
First appeared in: Magic Bites (VBC Review | Amazon
Supernatural status: Your guess is as good as mine. Can we just say badass?
Championed by: Amy from VBC
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say most of you are already familiar with Kate Daniels. She’s been one of the staples of the annual Alpha Showdown since its inception in 2011.
Kate began the series trying to project herself as that of a lowly merc. Hiding does no good because it’s clear very early on that she’s packing some whopping power. With her predilection for finding trouble in all its forms, Kate has had plenty of opportunities over the course of the series to flex her muscles—both with her unmatched ability with her sword, and with her inherent knowledge of magic.
Kate has faced Gods, demi-gods, vampires, mages, legendary creatures, shifters gone loup, egotistical warlords, plus her own maniacal father—just to name a few. She’s come out on top each time not only because she’s a skilled fighter, but because she has the knowledge and understanding of so many religions and mythologies, and she uses that knowledge in cunning ways to thwart her enemies time and time and time again.
Putting all that aside, though, this is the year for the first ever female Alpha Showdown winner. No one deserves that title more than Kate Daniels.
Now for some facts*:
Kate Daniels has made it farther in the competition than any other female contestant.
Not only is she the most nominated female, she’s also one of the most nominated competitors in general for the competition (male or female).
Besides Kate, only Kate’s honey-bunny, Ethan Sullivan, and Bones have been nominated as many times. And out of these Kate has bested both Curran and Bones in past years (Kate has yet to be put up against Darth Sullivan, but I’m confident that if that comes to pass she’ll wipe the floor with him too).
You, dear fans, have made the effort to vote Kate Daniels into the competition year after year and now is your chance to crown her the 2016 Alpha Showdown Champion!
When the time comes click Vote: Kate Daniels.
*All research was done by yours truly, any errors are my fault.
Who are you putting your money on: Kane or Kate?
At the request of Alpha Showdown voters, we’re leveraging traditional polls for the voting, but also keeping reading for your chance to win awesome books. Your to-be-read pile could always use more. Trust us. Each poll will be open for 48 hours.
Participating in the Alpha Showdown is all about fun, and free books equal fun, right? We hope you’ll find lots of great new reads during this year’s Alpha Showdown, and to help that along, we’re giving away some stellar reads.
For the championship round, we needed an championship-level prize. So how about an ARC of Nalini Singh’s Allegiance on Honor?
Come on people!! It has to be Kate!! Vote for Kate!!
Kate! I have yet to read the other series, but Kate to me is the ultimate alpha. She protects her people and those that are helpless, plus shes a badass!
Kane Malloy all the way!!!!!!
Kane Malloy all the way for me….he is one Hot Badass Sexy as hell Master Vampire…..no one messes with him
I say Kate, I don’t know the other one. Since he made it this far I suppose I should check him out!
Yes Tanya do go and check Kane out in the Blackthorn series u will not be disappointed.
It have to be Kate!!!
kane is one of the hottest vamps and one of the best all time vamp character’s their is!!! love this bad boy!!
Always feel as though Kate should win the Alpha Showdown!
Kate all the way!
Kane is cleaning house.. all the way to Number one! Kane all the way !!
Absolutely Kane!! He’s definitely my alpha and if you don’t know who he is – check him out. He won’t mind and you won’t be sorry!!
Kane Malloy without a doubt! He is the baddest sexiest vamp! Vote Kane Malloy!!
OH NO!! KATE AND KANE!!! This is going to be a tough one!!
It has to be Kane Malloy!
Kane all they way! Great series. Love it.
Kane all they way! Great series. Love it.
#TEAMBLACKTHORN!!!
Team Kate let’s go!!!
Go Kate Go!!!!
It’s still Kate :).
He has a quality that makes us believe in him as a leader and his intense feelings for Caitlin melt our hearts. He is Alpha.
Come on Kate!!!
Come on everybody – get behind Lindsay and Kane and vote for Blackthorn. It really is a fantastic series of books and I can’t wait for the next one. Go hard…
Kate!
No contest…it’s gotta be Kane Malloy!! A true master vampire
Come on guys! Kate, Kane… are you sure you guys aren’t voting for the wrong person? Are you sure you weren’t supposed to be voting for Kate and pushed the wrong button? Come on! Kate can handle whatever baddie comes her way, handles her very large and very armed family… She is a true alpha!
I think Kane is getting many more votes because the Author of that series has posted links to this site for the contest. While at the same time Ilona and Gordon Andrews are on vacation, so their website has been very quiet lately. It is helping to drive the traffic to this site for the vote. Kane has been one of the biggest vote getters this entire competition.
I voted for Kate and I LOVE KATE DANIELS series!
I was wondering why every time he came up there were 1000 more votes than any other battle. I wish the Andrews weren’t on vacation!
Brad that’s a tad unkind. Did you see Kane got 6000 votes last round and Barrons c5000?! And KMM is far better known and with more social media links than Lindsay Pryor. There are few Brit authors in this space and her publisher is tiny. So, maybe holidays are beside the point. Maybe Kane’s fans just love him. Besides there’s always wireless if you want it.
Brad, you need to check out the Blackthorn series, it is awesome, as is Kane. Kane all the way!
kate should win! and i hope i win too!
Go Kate Go!
I’m not familiar with Kane but now I’m going to remedy that. But I must go with my gut and pick Kate!!
Good luck with the Kane’s series.. I tried it because of the Showdown, not impressed.
Give the Blackthorn a series a try just for the heck of it! You may still hold Kate as your #1 but find that you have another great series to read and look forward to! For us readers, there’s no such thing as too many books to read and love!
Go Kate!
Always Kate she rocks!
Have not read Kate, but based on the contest, she must be good to be here so I will give her a try – but I was introduced to PNR with the Blackthorn series, so in this contest, my heart belongs to master vampire Kane. If you read the series, you’ll know why. This contest has recommended so many new books to me. I am thrilled to have such powerful recommendations for new stories to read – thanks everyone! 🙂
And if you read Kate, you will understand why she is here and deserves to finally win. Kate has taken down worse than Kane.
Doesn’t matter to me
Oh, I do hope Kate manages to pull ahead! She deserves the win, not some “anti-hero”. Plus vamps are so over-represented.
And whoo-hoo: Allegiance of Honor for the giveaway?! Count me in!
Come on Kate! She owns the undead!
Guess it’s a good thing Kane isn’t “undead” then ;P
KATE!!!
KATE DANIELS FOR THE WIN! 🙂 thanks for the fun event!
Kate Daniels all the way!
Kate deserves to win this…..We never get a female to the finals….Kane might be mighty but it will be Kate that is still standing if these two fight…..Go Kate!
Blood Shadows was the first book I read about vampires that I already didn’t know the plot too. The world in which Kane Malloy belongs, Blackthorn is a worth it’s weight in gold. It’s not the same boring stories about vamps PNR became famous over, it’s about much much more. For those who like characters who are in depth, unconventional and living in world that is seen from a unique prospective yet understandable for the reader, definitely give Blood Shadows and Kane Malloy a try. If it’s not ur cup of joe, than to each their own. #TeamBlackthorn #TeamKane
Kate all the way!
Kane
I can’t take it! Every choice of mine should have logically won, yet I have been shot down. KATE! KICK HIS ASS!!
My choices were strong, popular, winners. Yet a newcomer named Kane took their spots? Please, Kate, beat him!!
Lori
I know the feeling I was gutted when Raphael lost to Kate. I didn’t see that coming! I thought he’d be in the final. I”ve voted Kane in the other rounds too as I absolutely love Blackthorn.
I think I’ve only read one Kate Daniels book, I guess I need to put the next one on my tbr. As she was good but I just forgot about her.
Let the best alpha win!
Kane all the way for me! I love the Blackthorn series! Embarrassingly I have never heard of Kate, so I shall have to remedy that! I’ve found so many new books to add to my tbr, thanks to this showdown. Which is what it’s really about.
Read the Magic series! It’s GREAT!!!!!
Kate hands down, she controls vamps, she magical, and she’s so badass with her sword.
WHO DO WE WANT?
KANE MALLOY!!!
WHEN DO WE WANT HIM??
NOW!!!!!
Kane all the way!!
<3 <3
I’ve loved Kate Daniels series for years….I’ve never met Kane, though im very intrigued his name keeps coming up, so im off to Amazon….
Kate Daniels
Kane!! The Blackthorn series is a wonderful dark heroic world to get lost in! Nice to see so many people get to experience and enjoy these amazing books.