Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Things are getting nice and busy here at VBC headquarters. I’ve loved reading applications for new reviewers (you can still apply) this week, and I have a couple very good reads atop my to-read pile.
More Lady Corsair and Archimedes Fox!
Next month we’ll get Meljean Brooks’ novella featuring the hero and heroine of Heart of Steel, a book I adored on an epic level. Tethered is an epilogue... 
Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, Book the First)
Gail Carriger
Published: Feb. 5, 2013 (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Megan S. of StellarFour.com
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Fourteen year old Sophronia Temminnick would much rather scale the inside of a dumbwaiter than concern herself with this season’s most fashionable... 
How Beauty Saved the Beast (Tales of the Underlight #2)
Jax Garren
Published: Feb. 11, 2013 (Carina Press)
Purchase at: Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars
Note: Although this review will be spoiler free, it does assume you have read the first in the series. If you haven’t, check out our review of How Beauty Met the Beast.
The first in this series ticked a lot of boxes on a... 
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, I’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for December 2012. 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... 
How Beauty Met the Beast (Tales of the Underlight #1)
Jax Garren
Published: Nov. 19, 2012 (Carina Press)
Purchase: Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Ever thought, you know what Beauty and the Beast would be even better if it had some steampunk, burlesque and a secret societies hell bent on magical power? No? Well, to be fair, that’s a pretty specific wishlist, but if you read that and... 
God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1)
Kate Locke
Published: July 2012 (Orbit)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Megan S. of StellarFour.com
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
I read a lot of Urban Fantasy; it started with Sabrina the Teenage Witch comics when I was six and I’ve been devouring ‘em ever since. So, it’s not often I come across a vampire tale that... 
Riveted (Iron Seas #3)
Meljean Brook
Published: Sept. 4, 2012 (Berkley Trade)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 3 stars
The latest installment of Meljean Brook’s steampunk romance Iron Seas series is heavier on the cultural elements and airship travel than the romance.
The first book The Iron Duke was dark, aggressive and sexy. In the second book Heart of... 
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)
Gail Carriger
Published: 2009 (Orbit)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars
When Miss Aleixa Tarabotti is accosted in a library by an uncouth vampire determined to bite her, he has no idea just what a mistake it is. Born without a soul, or being a Preternatural, all Alexia has to do is touch him and his abilities disappear.... 
Wilder’s Mate (Bloodhounds #1)
Moira Rogers
Published: March 8, 2011 (Samhain)
Purchase: Amazon
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Satira’s friend and mentor Nathaniel has gone missing and she’s convinced he has been kidnapped by vampires. When the Guild sends a Bloodhound to track the inventor down, she is determined to go with him. Having been raised by a Bloodhound herself she... 
First, a huge thank you to everyone who donated, bid or spread the word about the Books Fighting Cancer charity auctions. Based on the receipts emailed to me (and I know many of you donated directly) and the Amazon commissions, the Books Fighting Cancer event raised $4,817 for the Barrow Neurological Institute and brain cancer research. Amazing. I was floored by the generosity and kindness of VBC readers... 
