Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Spoiler Warning: This post may contain spoilers for Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series (a.k.a. The Sookie Stackhouse Series), and by extension, the HBO show True Blood. Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries brought a fresh take to paranormal. It offered a look at the normalization of vampires in the open world. The books were urban fantasy in a rural setting. Sookie and her companions... 
A couple weeks ago I joked on Twitter that I was in need of a book boyfriend Advent calendar. There was quite a bit of “yes, please!” from others, but no one could find a good one. Clearly, this was up to me. So, to make the chaotic holiday season a little more fun and a lot more sexy, we’re going to feature a book boyfriend every day for the next 25 days. That’s right. Welcome to VBC’s 25 Days of Book... 
If you’re a regular reader here, you know I value strong world building in novels. I’m more likely to give a book a rare 5-star rating if the mythology for the world feels real. This is especially true when the world is so vivid that the most fantastical elements becomes downright plausible. I need everything to make sense. I appreciate the logic authors put into the rules within their books. Even if they... 
Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. I have a few reviews to get done for y’all, but I’m recovering from a concussion. (No, I don’t have a cool story. I fainted. It’s boring and, yet, still totally scary. I’m fine. But it limited my computer time and creativity.) I’m officially on the mend, and expect to have all sorts of reviews, features and giveaways right around the bend. Get your Downside fix I’ve... 
I’ve been a long-time fan of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries (a.k.a. the Sookie Stackhouse novels). And while I now picture Alexander Skarsgard as Eric thanks to True Blood, I’m still eager to see what’s coming next for the waitress from Bon Temps. My friend and fellow blogger Kristin from My Bookish Ways is in the same boat. (Though I’m not sure her stance on ASkars’ overwhelming hotness.)... 
The other night a reader asked us for book recommendations that would be worthy of re-reading. She told us she wanted to limit her budget, so she wanted books that wouldn’t just collect dust. It was all too easy for us to churn out series (and specific novel) suggestions for her. We opened it up to our Twitter followers, too, and many went with the same addictive series we did. Of course the first words... 
Dead in the Family Charlaine Harris Published: May 4, 2010 Purchase at: The Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 3 stars Ed. note: If you have not read the previous Southern Vampire novels, this review will give away key plot points in earlier books, however there are no Dead in the Family spoilers. I’ve always enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris,...
