Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
See, I thought the cover of Vicki Pettersson‘s The Taken was gorgeous. It made me want to buy a red dress. Looks like the cover art for its sequel The Lost is also shopping inspiration.
Rachel Vincent’s Unbound series is brilliant. If you haven’t read Blood Bound or Shadow Bound yet, do it. Emotional rollercoaster rides. I’m eager for book three, but just got word the release date... 
My first book came out in 2007 with The Scent of Shadows and introduced a strong, complex female character who fit solidly into the emerging urban fantasy genre. Yet after six long years of following Joanna Archer — a casino heiress and reluctant superhero who battled dark forces in a Las Vegas more evil than anyone could have imagined — I knew it was time to say goodbye.
I’d driven Joanna... 
It was the battle many of you asked for: Bones vs. Curran. And the lion clawed up the vampire.
Yes, the Beast Lord from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series fought ruthlessly to take out master vampire Bones in the final round of the Alpha Showdown 2012.
In addition to the great Twitter banter between authors Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost, your comments in favor of Curran proved his alpha... 
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 2012. All dates are U.S. and tentative.
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 1
Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh #3) F UF
Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells (Sabina... 
Read the first chapter of The Golden Lily
Looking forward to more from Richelle Mead? Yeah, of course we are! Shelf Life just posted a Q&A with the author and the first chapter of the second Bloodlines novel The Golden Lily. And, yep, we’re ready for more. If you didn’t give Bloodlines a go, read our review.
See the full cover for Vicki Pettersson’s The Taken
I’m pretty excited... 
Lessons from Readers & ‘Ritas
I spent last Saturday at the Readers & ‘Ritas convention. My BFF Kristin from My Bookish Ways and I had a complete blast spending the day with many of our favorite authors. A few things I learned:
1. Kristen Painter is of the “go big or go home” mentality when it comes to costumes. She dressed up as one of the noble vampires from her House of... 
Well, it’s no secret I loved Jaye Wells’ Red-Headed Stepchild (spoiler-free review). If you’ve already finished the book and are itching to chat, the spoiler discussion thread is now up. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of Sabina, Giguhl and everyone else.
It’s already time to start thinking about the December group read. (I’ll give you a moment to... 
Yesterday a couple blog friends were talking about a book on Twitter. I caught the middle of the conversation focused on how Spaz P threw the damn book across the room. Being a reading masochist, I couldn’t help but ask what book. She and Nat (Wicked Lil Pixie) were chatting about the fantastic agony-inducing Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson, specifically the fourth book City of Souls. Hearing that...
