Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Today, we continue our series of character love letters. Laurie London’s vampire romance novel Bonded by Blood just hit shelves and it looks amazing. Abigail over at All Things Urban Fantasy — whose taste we trust — gave it a four-star review and said “If Twilight was written for girls, Bonded by Blood is written for women.” Yeah, that alone has it on our shopping list. Add to that the final paragraph of... 
My Fair Succubi (Succubus Diaries #3) Jill Myles Published: Dec. 28, 2010 (Pocket) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 4 stars Note: If you have not read the previous Succubus Diaries novels, we suggest you read our review for the first novel Gentlemen Prefer Succubi as we’ll be including spoilers from the previous novels in this review. However, if you’ve read books one and two,... 
It was a close call in this month’s group read poll, but Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade claimed the title with 29 percent of the votes. (Cynthia Hand’s Unearthly was a near second at 27 percent.) We are incredibly excited you guys are ready to read Nightshade, because we love this book. We tapped it as one of our Best Books of 2010. We talked Cremer into telling us about writing a sexy book without any sex... 
We’ve only read a taste of Regan Hastings’ Visions of Magic, but we’re excited for the full novel, which hits shelves on Feb. 1. (Pre-order it from Amazon or the Book Depository now.) All that said, though, Regan Hastings is actually a new pen name for a popular contemporary romance author. (We’re talking double-digits of books in the Romance section.) She’ll reveal her ‘other’ name soon. We’re keeping... 
Well, damn. To say you guys liked the YA love interest poll would be a complete understatement (you can vote here). Heated debates over Russian God Dimitri from Vampire Academy and our snarky boy Jace from The Mortal Instruments laced the comments. Also, you really loved hating on Team Edward. As a matter of fact, to the commenter Emelia who left quite possibly my favorite comment ever, email me. I will... 
Kiss of Darkness Loribelle Hunt Published: Jan. 24, 2011 (Carina Press) Purchase at: Amazon for Kindle Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars Kiss of Darkness has the elements so many of us enjoy: a love story to get wrapped up in, missions with certain death and plenty of supernaturals to cover your favorites (vampires, werewolves, demons). I owe Loribelle Hunt a thank you for a mental escape in her paranormal... 
Blood Destiny (Blood Curse #1) Tessa Dawn Published: Dec. 2010 (Charles River Press) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 2 stars Ed. note: This review does contain spoilers, but they are hidden with white text. You will need to highlight the page to read any spoiler content. Jocelyn Levi is a government agent visiting the Rocky Mountains investigating cult activity. Instead she...
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) Jeaniene Frost Published: 2007 (Avon) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Catherine Crawford kills vampires. She’s been hitting the bars to find undead to slay since she turned sixteen and her mother finally told her what she is: half-vampire. Incredibly rare, Cat’s mom was raped by a vampire. She holds the vampire part of her daughter... 
Gentlemen Prefer Succubi (The Succubus Diaries #1) Jill Myles Published: 2009 (Pocket) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars Jackie woke up in a dumpster with a homeless guy claiming the only reason he took her purse was she was dead. For a day. The formerly frumpy museum docent (a.k.a. tour guide) finds herself transforming into sexual catnip. Struggling with her new need... 
We had six giveaways alongside our 2011 Winter Book Preview posts. And more than 1,000 people entered them. We take that to mean you’re just as excited as we are for these books. Before we list the names of the winners, we want to remind everyone that we still have one contest open right now. You have through Jan. 1 to enter to win your choice of any of the Winter Book Preview titles. Oh yes. (Plus, the... 
