Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
![Are you ready for Iced? [H&H]](http://vampirebookclub.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Iced-KMM-53352_200x200.jpg)
Based on the tweets I received after posting the October new release list, nearly every one of you is excited for the release of Iced by Karen Marie Moning. It makes sense. Her Fever books featuring Barrons (our first Alpha Showdown champion) and MacKayla are the most addictive I’ve read*. I’m very much looking forward to reading Iced, but I’m also nervous about it. Will Moning’s engaging writing style... 
I’m starting to think we, as readers, actually love cliffhangers. Or at least love to hate them. Really. Earlier this week, we talked about those gasp-inducing, anxiety-causing cliffhangers on the VBC Facebook page. And while it was easy to name the one that gutted us the most — favorites were Karen Marie Moning’s Dreamfever ending and Chloe Neill’s Hard Bitten — it was always from a beloved series. We... 
At VBC HQ we’re knee deep in Alpha Showdown 2012 preparations. This means it’s a great time for a re-read. As such, we’ve picked Karen Marie Moning’s Darkfever as the May group read. Many of you have mentioned — on both Facebook and Twitter — how you were surprised not to see Jericho Barrons defending his Alpha Showdown 2011 title this year. While there were no new books to make him eligible, it feels... 
Into The Dreaming (Highlander #8) Karen Marie Moning Published: 2006, re-released with bonus content on April 26, 2012 (Delacorte) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Reviewed by: Candace Rating (out of 5): 5 stars “Take my hand, Aedan. That’s all you need do.” “You doona know what these hands have done.” “Take my hand, Aedan.” “Begone, lass. A woman such as you is not for the likes of me.” “Take my... 
Hear Jericho Barrons have sex. What?! Yeah, you actually read that right. Kind of. Last year, Karen Marie Moning wrote a sex scene from Jericho Z. Barrons’ point of view as a prize for him winning our 2011 Alpha Showdown. And it was epic. And sexy. Well, Karen had the voices of MacKayla and Barrons from the audio books record the scene. It’s not free, but it sure is sexy. You can get the full details,... 
Recently, I’ve written a couple posts for Heroes and Heartbreakers looking at damaged heroines and the urban fantasy locales that will never make a tourist guide. The more I think on it, the more thankful I am not to be in the shoes of so many of the protagonists from my favorite books. Honestly, it might sound interesting to be a Guardian in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, but after reading... 
From VBC: Like we could have a Character Love Letters feature and not write to the champion of our Alpha Showdown? Pssh! Bells says what we all think to Barrons in the letter below. She tells him he’s an arrogant jerk, but we love him for it. Remember why you wanted to say his name by reading her letter to Jericho Z. Barrons. Dear Barrons, Let me start this letter off by saying… you rock my world! I knew... 
This month’s group read — Kristen Painter’s Blood Rights — has characters with chemistry that pops off the page. Only they aren’t a couple. Chrysabelle and Mal’s interactions ripple with tension and unspoken desire. They like each other, but both think it’s a bad idea. The complexity of their fight against intimacy is made exponentially complicated by the fact Chrysabelle needs Mal’s saliva to keep... 
This week has already been crazy at VBC HQ. While getting everything prepped for Fall into (Urban) Fantasy, I also popped in at Heroes & Heartbreakers twice. First, I shared five YA alpha heroes that are sure to make adult readers swoon (Dimitri, Prince Ash and Jace lead the list). Then, I wrote up a recap of the Night Huntress series thus far. If you haven’t read the earlier books, but still want to read... 
During our Alpha Showdown in May, Karen Marie Moning promised fans an exclusive Barrons point-of-view sex scene if he claimed the top title. And, of course, he did. We’ve all waited, and Karen is finally ready to give us nearly 5,000 words inside Barron’s mind as he gets intimate with Mac. Enough talk: Here’s the Barrons POV sex scene from Karen Marie Moning. 
