Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Storm’s Heart (Elder Races #2)
Thea Harrison
Published: Aug. 2011 (Berkley Sensation)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 5 stars
Note: While this review is spoiler-free, it does assume you have read the first in the series.
After reading Chelsea’s review of Dragon Bound, I decided it was high time I bumped it up to the top of my TBR pile (it’s... 
I’ve had a higher-than-usual number of book recommendation requests on the VBC Facebook page and via Twitter of late. While I can, of course, just point you to the recommendations section, I decided to take a look at the most popular reviews here at VBC. Consider this post your quick access to the books reviews VBC readers found helpful.
TOP 10 MOST POPULAR
VBC REVIEWS
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine... 
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... 
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1)
Julie Kagawa
Published: Oct. 23, 2012 (Harlequin Teen)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Note: While there are no spoilers for this novel, this review does mention key points from other Iron Fey novels.
I think I may have to admit to being a bit of a Julie Kagawa fangirl. I have yet to find a book... 
A Low Down Dirty Shane (Misfits & Mayhem #1)
Sierra Dean
Published: Dec. 25, 2012 (Samhain)
Purchase at: Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars
A Low Down Dirty Shane is set in the same, wild world of Sierra Dean’s Secret McQueen series. Main character Shane works for the namesake of the urban fantasy series. While fans of Secret will get a kick out of it, you do not need to... 
A Trace of Moonlight (Abby Sinclair #3)
Allison Pang
Released: Oct. 30, 2012 (Pocket)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars
Like the earlier Abby Sinclair books—A Brush of Darkness and A Sliver of Shadow—A Trace of Moonlight wasn’t what I expected. That’s a lovely thing. Each book in this series has delighted me in its quirkiness and... 
Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles #5)
Kevin Hearne
Published: Nov. 27, 2012 (DelRey)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 5 stars
Note: This review will be spoiler free, but it does make reference to earlier books from the Iron Druid series. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out Chelsea’s review of the first book, Hounded.
When I picked up... 
We’re doing things slightly differently this year. This is the first year where we have associate reviewers at VBC. As such, it didn’t feel quite right to only include my top 10. So, you’ll find my 10 picks for the absolute best books of 2012 and below that a top 5 list from Jo and Candace, respectively. Plus, of course, we have your winner for the reader’s choice best book. (See the Best Of lists... 
I planned to write a detailed review of Karen Marie Moning’s Iced for this blog.
However, I participated in a round-table discussion post over at Heroes & Heartbreakers before I had finished the book. I was sure that I would have more to say about the novel by the time I finished. Here’s the thing, I still feel just as strongly about what works and what doesn’t in Iced as I did for... 
