Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Chasing Magic (Downside Ghosts #5) Stacia Kane Published: June 26, 2012 (DelRey) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Review by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars Note: This review assumes you have read earlier novels in the Downside Ghosts series. If not, please see our review of the first book in the series, Unholy Ghosts. Chess Putnam has always struggled with feeling unworthy. Having someone... 
Finding Magic (Downside Ghosts novella) Stacia Kane Published: June 4, 2012 (DelRey) Purchase at: Amazon Rating (out of 5): 5 stars One of the reasons I recommend Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts books so often is the remarkable character development. Heroine Chess has hard edges, deep-seated issues and a big problem with seeing herself as valuable. While Kane provided more insight into Chess’ past in... 
Round 8 of the Alpha Showdown 2012 puts a human in the ring, but if anyone can hold their own amid the weird stuff it’s Terrible. Drug enforcer Terrible knows a thing or two about magic and ghosts — it goes with the territory of being a part of Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts world — while Kate Daniels has plenty of experience with supernatural types of all flavors as the heroine of Ilona Andrews’ series of... 
Sacrificial Magic (Downside Ghosts #4) Stacia Kane Published: Mar. 27, 2012 (DelRey) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Note: This review contains no spoilers for Sacrificial Magic, but assumes you have read the three prior novels. If that is not the case, please check out my review of the first novel Unholy Ghosts. Chess needed to grow for the Downside Ghosts series to... 
Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer #1) Karen Chance Published: 2006 (Roc) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 3 stars The Cassandra Palmer series has a ton of potential. Karen Chance creates a unique world with powerful conflicts and a heroine forced to come into new abilities. This first book was hit-or-miss for me, but the tone and characters make me want to continue the series.... 
Street Magic (Black London #1) Caitlin Kittredge Published: 2009 (St. Martin’s) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars Pete has spent 12 years convincing herself magic doesn’t exist. She saw her crush killed by something. Everyone told her Jack was dead, magic and ghosts don’t exist and she focused on facts. Years later she’s a Detective Inspector for Scotland Yard and... 
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) Kendare Blake Published: Aug. 30, 2011 (Tor Teen) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 4 stars Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood was refreshing for me. It’s not light and it doesn’t shy away from creeping you out a bit. It tackles the ghost story and urban legend tale from a different angle. The wry wit of protagonist Cas prevades the novel,... 
There was no question this month which book you wanted as the group read. Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood took an early lead in the poll and just continued to garner more and more votes. I’m excited because this one has been atop my to-read pile for too long. (Again, thankful for VBC readers’ excellent taste!) It’s YA and has some of the classic girls-meets-boy vibes, but in this case the boy kills... 
One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6) Jeaniene Frost Published: Aug. 30, 2011 (Avon) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 4 stars Note: This review is spoiler-free, however, it makes reference to events in earlier Night Huntress books. If you’re new to the series, take a look at my review of Halfway to the Grave. Cat’s always interesting when dealing with the ‘borrowed’ powers... 
I’ve made no secret of my love for Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress novels. It has a strong woman, an alpha male and vampires — so, it’s no surprise it’s up my alley. But it’s more than that. Jeaniene is one of those authors who makes the fantastic real, makes the impossible plausible. Not only do you get great paranormal romance, urban fantasy and bit of mystery in her novels, but she makes you believe... 
