Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
After taking your suggestions and turning the poll over to the awesome VBC readers, we have an August group read. Prepare to rush to your local bookseller to buy Biting Cold by Chloe Neill (or just pre-order like the cool kids). This is the first time we’ve had a group read that comes out the month we’re reading it. That speaks to just how excited VBC readers are to find out if Merit and Ethan can come... 
Oh, readers, I’m gearing up for the Authors After Dark convention in New Orleans in a couple weeks. If you’re going, make sure to tweet me — @ChelseaVBC — to meet up. I’ll be attending with my real-life bestie Kristin from My Bookish Ways. Also, the August group read poll is at the end of this post… so make sure to read the whole thing. Cover Reveal for Immortally Embraced Angie Fox’s second Monster... 
As a general rule, our group read picks are not new releases. We like picking titles that are readily available in bookstores, internationally and in libraries. Once in a while, though, there is a book that almost every VBC reader leaps to buy on release day. So, am I surprised to see Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost take 60 percent of the vote in our July Group Read poll? Of course not. Once Burned is the...
The VBC Group Read went on hiatus in June. We’re revamping the process a bit. Several months ago several readers asked us to move the group read chat off Twitter and over to Goodreads. This just didn’t work. To make the most of the group read, the VBC associate reviewers (Candace and Jo) will be helping me out now. We’ll have weekly discussion questions over at the VBC Goodreads’ group and then a big...
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...
Chaos at VBC HQ has brought about another executive decision group read pick. Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles are a bright example of urban fantasy done right. They’re funny. They’re engaging. They have a hero worthy of fanboy and fangirl love. Basically, you should be reading them. The fourth novel Tricked comes out later this month, which makes April a great time to start up the series. If you have...
The results of the March Group Read poll were overwhelmingly clear. You guys want to re-read Dark Lover before the release of Lover Reborn. I get it. This month Vampire Book Club will be re-reading the very first Black Dagger Brotherhood novel and remembering just why we fell for the vampire warriors J.R. Ward so deftly crafted. If you haven’t yet joined the BDB bandwagon, now’s the time. There is a...
February has been filled with Character Love Letters and on-and-off chatter about Karen Chance’s Touch the Dark. Because of a death in the family at VBC HQ, we can’t lead the group read discussion for Touch the Dark. If you’re interested in leading a last-minute chat — either on Goodreads or Twitter — please let me know in the comments. In the meantime, let’s look forward to a March filled with books... 
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....
Your votes were clear this time. With a significant majority in our poll, the February group read is Touch the Dark by Karen Chance. The book is the first in the Cassandra Palmer series. The vampires here are good and bad, the heroine is mortal and you can expect vampire politics aplenty. Are you in to read this urban fantasy series opener with us? Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer #1) Karen Chance... 
