Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
A couple weeks ago I joked on Twitter that I was in need of a book boyfriend Advent calendar. There was quite a bit of “yes, please!” from others, but no one could find a good one. Clearly, this was up to me. So, to make the chaotic holiday season a little more fun and a lot more sexy, we’re going to feature a book boyfriend every day for the next 25 days. That’s right. Welcome to VBC’s 25 Days of Book... 
We’ve been good about the giveaways here of late. (We promised!) However, we’ve been limiting the contests to the U.S. and Canada because shipping is expensive. But I love all of the VBC readers, so today we’re doing an international giveaway. Not just any giveaway either. I’ve picked three of my favorite—and most recommended—books to be the prize here. Think of it as the Taste of VBC Giveaway. We have... 
Earlier this week Book Riot ran a post featuring the 20 most-loved literary characters. It was a fun post and I certainly saw a few of my favorites there, but as I went to go and share the link via VBC’s Facebook page I stopped myself. As lovely as the list was, it wasn’t too heavy on the fantasy end of things. Sure, Gandalf and the Harry Potter gang were there, but it leaned much more toward the... 
One for the Wicked (Dark Mission #5) Karina Cooper Published: April 30, 2013 (Avon) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 4 stars Note: This review does not contain spoilers. (Yay!) However, it does make reference to events from earlier books. While I’ve tried to minimize spoilers for those titles, I do suggest you begin with the first Dark Mission novel. Read the... 
Karina Cooper’s Dark Mission series is one of my favorites. You’ll find it on the VBC paranormal romance recommendations page for a reason. All her couples spark with sexual tension. It doesn’t matter if they’re running from the bad guys, trying to decide which side they’re on, saving lives or, you know, making soup. The chemistry is there. When I finished Sacrifice the Wicked, I thought we only had one... 
I adore Karina Cooper’s Dark Mission books. They’re dark paranormal romance. There’s magic and witches and government shenanigans. Oh, and lots of tension-fueled romance. The final book, One for the Wicked, comes out in April, but there will be a sexy, all-money-goes-to-charity novella called Wicked Lies releasing on March 5. It features Jonas (you’ll see him below) and gets him an appropriate happily... 
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 place. There are returning favorites... 
Sacrifice the Wicked (Dark Mission #4) Karina Cooper Published: Sept. 25, 2012 (Avon) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars Note: This review, as always, is spoiler free for the current title. However, it assumes you’ve read the earlier books in the Dark Mission series. If you haven’t, please check out my review of Blood of the Wicked instead. Karina... 
Note from Chelsea/VBC: I adore Karina Cooper’s novels. Her Dark Mission series offers excellent world building with a huge wallop of sexy. I strongly suggest starting with the first book in the series Blood of the Wicked (VBC review), and continuing from there. Today Karina agreed to stop by and talk about the volatile nature of the couple in Sacrifice the Wicked (Dark Mission #4): Parker and Simon. The... 
It’s Independence Day in the United States. Typically, this is celebrated by eating foods cooked on a grill and enjoying fireworks. (And probably also complaining about how hot and/or sticky it is outside and trying to find the bug spray in your purse.) But this is Vampire Book Club. I can’t show you pretty explosions in the sky. I can however, recommend five heroes from books released in 2012 who will... 
