Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
We’ve had big changes at VBC this year. For starters, we now have multiple reviewers. In addition to me (Chelsea), you see regular posts here from Jo, Candace, Mary, Amanda, Amy, Krista and Amber. So, while last year we broke it out by reviewer for the best books, that would make for a very long list with a lot of repeated books. So, this year it’s curated. Yep, the VBC team put our collective heads... 
The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) Richelle Mead Published: Nov. 19, 2013 (Razorbill) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Review Source: Purchased Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Note: While we won’t spoil the details of The Fiery Heart, this review does expect you’ve read the previous Bloodlines books. If not, we suggest you check out the review of Bloodlines. Every time I finish one of... 
I’m ridiculously excited about the upcoming release of The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. It’s the fourth book in the Bloodlines series (a Vampire Academy spin-off), and the end of The Indigo Spell set the stage for things to be heavy on the romance and the angst. Both things I love. (You guys knew that, didn’t you?) So how am I dealing with the wait? By devouring the book trailers put out by Penguin...
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, I’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for November 2013. All dates are U.S. and tentative. Also: Click the title of any book to visit the Amazon page for pre-order or purchase goodness. I’ve included genre classification with each book: UF is urban fantasy, PNR is paranormal romance, F is fantasy and YA is young adult.... 
Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1) Richelle Mead Published: June 4, 2013 (Dutton) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Review Source: Publisher provided copy in exchange for honest review Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 2 stars Richelle Mead’s new adult series Age of X had significant potential, but unfortunately Gameboard of the Gods tries to do too much and the reader connection is lost along... 
There was just too much good news this week to skip on the Book Bits. Are you ready to get excited for upcoming books? (Silly question, I know.) Terrible’s Book Has a Cover and I Love It I’ve been talking about Stacia Kane’s forthcoming short novel Wrong Ways Down quite a bit on Twitter the last few months. It’s set in her Downside world (if you haven’t read Unholy Ghosts, you need to fix that) only this... 
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, I’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for June 2013. All dates are U.S. and tentative. Also: Click the title of any book to visit the Amazon page for pre-order or purchase goodness. I’ve included genre classification with each book: UF is urban fantasy, PNR is paranormal romance, F is fantasy and YA is young adult. JUNE... 
Surprises are coming here at VBC. I have some new things in the works as we approach Alpha Showdown 2013 and come up on our three-year anniversary (when did that happen?). I hope you guys are enjoying the new voices here at VBC. We’re going to try to work in more backlist titles (as in books that have been out for a while). As always, if you have suggestions, let me know. You Could Be Reading New Richelle... 
Can I tell you guys how excited I am for this year’s Alpha Showdown? It’s going to be bigger than ever, and the bracket has more new characters and women than ever before. I can’t wait to see how the voting goes down come May. Wrath and Beth Get Another Book When I finished Lover at Last, I immediately started speculating about which couple might be next. I was so wrong, people. J.R. Ward announced that... 
Last week, I introduced you to new reviewer Amanda. Well, now I’d like to point to you a couple new associate reviewers. I highly recommend you check out Mary’s review of Fury of Fire and Krista’s review of Immortally Yours. Get to know the new folks. I’m excited to have more voices at VBC. Lots of exciting things in the works. Plus, you know, Alpha Showdown nominations are open through Monday and things... 
