Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
![Round 2: Secret McQueen vs. Ethan Sullivan [Alpha Showdown 2013]](http://vampirebookclub.net/wp-content/uploads/et_temp/VBC-HomeofAlphaShowdown-67822_200x200.jpg)
It’s officially time for Alpha Showdown 2013! You made your nominations and we have 16 of the most badass, alpha characters from urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels locked into the bracket. Only one will be named champion and today’s first bout is sure to end in a knockout.
Round two brings two lethal badasses to the ring. Ethan may be used to being in charge, but Secret isn’t much... 
At the very beginning of Character Love Letters 2013, we had author Chloe Neill share a love letter from Jeff to Fallon, both from her Chicagoland Vampires series. Then we asked readers to share a love letter to their favorite Chicagoland character. So many of you went with Jonah. We like ‘em smart and strong, so I’m not surprised. Jackie from Literary Escapism can’t resist his charm,... 
House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7)
Chloe Neill
Published: Feb. 5, 2013 (NAL)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Note: I can’t really discuss House Rules without mentioning the ending of Biting Cold. If you aren’t up-to-date on the series, expect spoilers. However, I won’t give away anything about House Rules.
Oh, Merit, how... 
Any fan of Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires series knows there’s more to it than just Merit and Ethan. The full cast of characters make the world come alive. In recent novels we’ve seen Jeff Christopher, shifter and computer whiz, fall for the alpha’s sister Fallon. He may still crush on Merit, but his heart belongs to Fallon.
While we’re all antsy for tomorrow’s... 
Did you really think we’d let February come and not get romantic? Please.
For the third year in a row, VBC is hosting the Character Love Letters event. We talked nine stellar authors into having their characters write love letters to one another. Better yet, we’re giving away their books, too. Just who agreed to participate? Check out the author schedule:
Feb. 4 – Chloe Neill
Feb. 6 – Nina... 
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, I’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for February 2013. All dates are U.S. and tentative. Also: Click the title of any book to visit the Amazon page for pre-order or purchase goodness.
I’ve included genre classification with each book: UF is urban fantasy, PNR is paranormal romance, F is fantasy and...
Like many avid readers, I’ve developed some reading quirks. Most of you have heard about my series anxiety. I get a copy of a much-anticipated book in a favorite series and then let it sit on my coffee table. I don’t want it to disappoint. I have to mentally prepare myself for it. It’s a problem. I know. Eventually, I dive in and devour the pages, coming out the other side as a happier... 
Every year, I compile the standard year-end best books list—read 2012′s best reads list—and it’s a hard task narrowing things down. What’s harder though is picking the ten heroes from novels published this year to make my annual swoon-worthy list. Last year Eve Silver’s Lokan took top honors and the year before Stacia Kane’s Terrible was causing fevers all over the... 
It’s so much fun seeing what book y’all are recommending as the best book of 2012. (Many of you have named some of the ones you’ll see in my top list. You have excellent taste.) If you haven’t voted yet, you still have time! Plus, by nominating your favorite book you get entered to win any book VBC has reviewed—and that is more than 250 choices.
For those of you who have been...
Does anyone else feel like November sneaked up behind them? Seriously. I’m on you to November. On the upside, this means I’m staring to plan the Best Of list for this year and we get a nice explosion of awesome reads. Don’t forget, we’re reading Iced by Karen Marie Moning this month, and there are new discussion topics over at the Goodreads group.
I Always Want More Ethan... 
