Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
From VBC’s Chelsea: We’ve covered the best books of 2013, but we’re ready to look forward here at VBC. There are so many wonderful reads waiting for us in 2014. To help you get excited for new books, we’re going to post our reviewers’ most anticipated 2014 books. Add your favorites in the comments. Mary picked fun urban fantasy and more than one epic read. (See Amy’s, Krista’s and Amanda’s picks.) MARY’S... 
From VBC’s Chelsea: We’ve covered the best books of 2013, but we’re ready to look forward here at VBC. There are so many wonderful reads waiting for us in 2014. To help you get excited for new books, we’re going to post our reviewers’ most anticipated 2014 books. Add your favorites in the comments. Today Amanda gushes over VBC favorite Nalini Singh and several other stellar picks. (See Amy’s picks and... 
From VBC’s Chelsea: We’ve covered the best books of 2013, but we’re ready to look forward here at VBC. There are so many wonderful reads waiting for us in 2014. To help you get excited for new books, we’re going to post our reviewers’ most anticipated 2014 books. Add your favorites in the comments. Today Krista talks about several stellar urban fantasy titles coming in 2014. (See Amy’s picks.) KRISTA’S... 
From VBC’s Chelsea: We’ve covered the best books of 2013, but we’re ready to look forward here at VBC. There are so many wonderful reads waiting for us in 2014. To help you get excited for new books, we’re going to post our reviewers’ most anticipated 2014 books. Add your favorites in the comments. We’re starting off today with Amy’s picks, which include a January release (yay!) and a little of everything... 
It’s time for former Alpha Showdown champions to battle one another. We expect this is going to be a difficult round for everyone, especially these two alphas. The Beast Lord Curran from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series easily beat Simon in the first round. (Though to be fair, many commenters said they had to read The Others series to find out more about Simon. And they should! The books are awesome.)... 
VBC HQ Note: This post by Chelsea Mueller was originally published on Heroes & Heartbreakers in 2011. Since that time, J.R. Ward has brought us many more strong heroines. If you’re looking for more female leads from Ward, try the spin-off series beginning with Blood Kiss. That said, Chelsea still says the early BDB books are must reads. If you haven’t dived into this series, let’s talk about the power of... 
Have you fallen for an urban fantasy series and want more? We’re here to help. These ten book series epitomize things we love about urban fantasy. They may have influenced the subgenre or they’re the ones every urban fantasy fan has read. These are the books that showcase what we love—and expect—from urban fantasies. 1. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton We have to start here.... 
Update: Voting in this round is now closed. With an outstanding 79% of the vote, Kate Daniels is the winner. She will advance in the Alpha Showdown 2018 bracket. We’re into the quarter finals in our quest to crown the year’s Biggest Book Badass in the paranormal world. (Check out the Alpha Showdown 2018 bracket here.) The remaining Alphas have been all battle tested and come out victorious. Now, we’re... 
Sophia (Vampires in America #4) D.B. Reynolds Published: Jan. 19, 2014 (ImaJinn Books) Purchase: Amazon Review source: purchased Reviewed by: Kris Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Raphael. A brutal murder and assault in the Pacific Northwest brings...
Update: This was a close one, which is the best kind of finale. With 58 percent of the vote our 2017 Alpha Showdown Champion is Kate Daniels! It’s finally time to decide who will be the Alpha Showdown 2017 Champion. Every year this is the favorite match, and I love seeing how many readers love these characters. This time is extra special, though. For the first time in the seven years I’ve been hosting the... 
