Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
Guess what starts tomorrow, readers? Character love letters. And it’s going to be epic. We’ve lined up some stellar authors to share their heroes getting all mushy over the heroines, and we have bloggers stopping by throughout the month to profess their often hilarious, sometimes dirty love for their book boyfriends. Expect a letter to show up first thing tomorrow morning. Once Burned Cover Reveal I’ll... 
Last year, I listed 10 of the most delicious heroes from novels published that year. You guys liked it quite a bit. As such, I bit my lip and narrowed down the giant list to give you the Top 10 Swoon-Worthy Heroes from 2011 novels. To make my life easier, I excluded YA novels here because you’re all going to get nasty in the comments. (It’s OK, we’re all friends here.) Also, if you need more suggestions,... 
When I saw a unicorn on the back cover of Allison Pang’s A Brush of Darkness, I though it wasn’t going to be dark enough for me. I was wrong. Not only is Allison’s series featuring fae brilliant and dark urban fantasy, I ended up adoring the miniature unicorn. I loved the book so much it made the VBC Best Books of 2011 list. Allison brings a clever plot, unique world, fascinating characters together and... 
It’s that time again. I spent far too much time attempting to whittle down the 100+ books reviewed on VBC this year to the absolute best. So, as those Amazon and B&N gift cards start rolling in, just use this list as your shopping guide. I personally promise the extreme awesomeness of all the novels listed below. Also, at the very end you’ll see the VBC Readers’ Choice winner (which allowed me to leave it... 
After my mad gush-fest on Kristen Painter’s Blood Rights yesterday, I’m encouraged to move forward with an overhaul to the VBC recommendations page. I know you guys use it quite a bit, and I try to make sure it only has the best of the best. If it’s on that page, I’ll personally vouch that it rules. But I’d like to be able to showcase more books via our recommendations page. Right now it’s mostly a... 
I’m working on a fun post about vampire cowboys. (You read that right. Trust me here.) If you’ve actually read a good book with vampire cowboys, shoot me an email. I want your suggestions. First four chapters of Bloodlines The team over at EW’s Shelf Life have exclusively posted the first four chapters of Bloodlines. If you’re unaware, Bloodlines is the first in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy spinoff... 
Those who follow VBC on Twitter may know things are stressful these days here at the VBC HQ. One of my close family members has a rare brain cancer — complete with experimental treatments. (He has the best doctors and is in great spirits.) My point in mentioning this isn’t to be a downer, but to say things kind of suck. I’m in a perpetual state of tension, but I’ve been getting a nice break from reality... 
We’ve been considering starting a monthly newsletter. We know you don’t hit the blog every day, and playing catch-up can be a beast. (Just ask our Google Reader.) So, we’re doing a blog post trial run. We’re going to recap our February posts for you here. If you dig it, please hit the comments to say if you’d like us to continue doing so as a blog post, via email only or both. The comments really will... 
A Brush of Darkness Allison Pang Published: Jan. 25, 2011 (Pocket) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars A Brush of Darkness is dark, funny, plenty sexy and a little heartbreaking and surprisingly heartwarming. In short, it’s an urban fantasy must-read. When I first read the back cover copy for A Brush of Darkness, I stopped at the words “miniature unicorn.” Let’s just say I... 
