Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Here’s the deal, readers: I like shifter books, too. I know. Shocking. But while I may be an expert on vampire books, my friend Kelly is the queen bee of shifter novels. Oh, she loves her heroes furry. It made sense to ask her to write up the favorite shifters for part of this week’s ongoing chats about favorite paranormal beasties. Other key things to know about Kelly: she runs the blog... 
The Renfield Syndrome (Rhiannon’s Law #2)
J.A. Saare
Published: Aug. 23, 2011 (Mundania)
Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon
Rating (out of 5): 5 stars
Note: This review does not contain any spoilers for The Renfield Syndrome, but it does give away key points from the first novel Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between. If you haven’t read the first book, please see that review.
I was... 
Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2)
Andrea Cremer
Published: July 26, 2011 (Philomel)
Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon
Rating (out of 5) 4.5 stars
Note: There is no way to write this review without spoilers from the first book. If you haven’t read Nightshade, please read the VBC review of that book instead. Trust me. But I promise not to spoil Wolfsbane at all.
Wolfsbane picks up quickly after... 
For those who missed it last Thursday, I’ve started blogging over at Heroes & Heartbreakers. So far I’ve just been talking about True Blood and my fascination with Alexander Skarsgard. It doesn’t change anything here at VBC, just wanted to let you know I’ll be popping up over there to talk sexy men and such.
L.A. Banks has passed away
If you missed the news on Tuesday, author... 
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, we’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for July. All dates are U.S. and tentative.
We’ve included genre classification with each book: UF is urban fantasy, PNR is paranormal romance and YA is young adult.
AUGUST 1
Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (Witch #2) YA
Betrayed by Ednah Walters (Guardian Legacy... 
Quarter Square (Wild Times #1)
David Bridger
Published: June 27, 2011 (Carina Press)
Purchase at: B&N or Amazon
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
David Bridger has crafted something refreshingly different with Quarter Square with great doses of escapism, fear of being hunted and a heaping of ‘otherness.’
Our protagonist Joe has just suffered the ultimate shock — his wife in bed with his... 
Hello there! Jess Haines here. I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series (Hunted by the Others, Taken by the Others and Deceived by the Others). I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to some of the cast—Shiarra Waynest, the lead character, Chaz, her on-and-off werewolf boyfriend, Sara, her business partner, Arnold, a mage who lends her a hand, and Alec Royce, a vampire... 
A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark #1)
Kresley Cole
Published: 2006 (Pocket)
Purchase at: Book Depository, Barnes & Noble or Amazon
Rating (out of 5): 3 stars
Emma is half-vampire, half Valkyrie. Raised by the powerful warrior women, she was taught to hate vampires and only drink blood out of a glass. At 70, she’s very young for a vampire, and finally decides to search out her father.... 
In an effort to help you keep that to-read list updated, we’ve compiled the hot urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases for June. All dates are U.S. and tentative.
We’ve included genre classification with each book: UF is urban fantasy, PNR is paranormal romance and YA is young adult.
JULY 1
Deceived by The Others by Jess Haines (H&W Investigations #3) UF
Heartless by Gail Carriger (The... 
In July, we’ll be tackling Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series with A Hunger Like No Other. Like always, Vampire Book Club readers selected this month’s read and you have great taste. This book has vampires, werewolves and a fated pair in it. A little something for everyone, yes?
Have you read the Immortals After Dark series already? That’s OK, re-reads are good for you.... 
