Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
From VBC/Chelsea: We are having fun with our If You Like… series. If there’s a recommendation you’d like, feel free to leave a comment and we’ll see if we can add a post for you! For now, though, let VBC’s Margaret convince you to read The Paper Magician. In Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, 19-year-old Ceony Twill has just graduated from magic school, not Hogwarts but The Tagis Praff School for... 
In case you hadn’t noticed (ha!), we have a new look here at VBC. We’re trying something cleaner that matches our new group blog vibe. I hope you like it and find it easy to interact with. Now on to awesome book news… Cat and Ian Banter! Jeaniene Frost has posted the first excerpt from the seventh Night Huntress novel Up from the Grave and it features Cat and Bones talking with that walking complication... 
Rachel Vincent Talks Soul Screamers Spoilers I won’t embed the video here because of the spoilers, but if you’re up-to-date on the Soul Screamers series and missed Rachel Vincent’s live chat, never fear! The whole thing is posted online. It’s 70 minutes of Rachel talking all things Soul Screamers and answering questions (with lots of spoilers). Blurb for The Indigo Spell I am silly excited for the next... 
I’m planning something fun for Halloween. It will require some participation though. You’ve been warned. Until then, dig into Book Bits. Authors talk badass heroines at NYCC I couldn’t attend New York Comic Con, but luckily NAL/Berkley decided to film the great “We’re No Angels” panel. Top urban fantasy and paranormal authors got to together to chat about their strong female characters in SF/F. On the... 
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... 
Today’s roundup is all about the future — new series, new books and teasers galore. And, yes, this will probably be the last time I include a Harry Potter-related video in Book Bits. This one should make you laugh, though. Clockwork Prince excerpt Cassandra Clare posted a nice excerpt from Clockwork Prince for us. Actually, it’s the entirety of the prologue. Expect ghost-y goodness. Read the full excerpt... 
A few times I’ve been asked why I review young adult novels on a blog written, by and large, for adults. The answer is always a simple one: the novels are excellent reads. When written well, YA has epic emotional pull. The latter teen years (and into college) are a tumultuous time when we experience so many things for the first time. It’s easy to get pulled into the rush of first love and first heartbreak... 
Despite being ultra travel lady as of late (who’s in San Diego this week? THIS LADY!), I’ve pulled together 10 book-related tidbits for you this week including some great new cover art, a chance to listen to the Devon Monk books, an update on the Barrons scene from Karen Marie Moning and, of course, a quick contest roundup. L.A. Banks is gravely ill We posted about this earlier in the week. You can read... 
Help us pick the April Group Read! This month all but one of the options are the first book in the series. After those teasers for The Deathly Hallows Part 2 this week, we decided a re-read of the final novel might be necessary. Also we’re including A Game of Thrones in preparation for the HBO adaptation. That said, we’re up for any of them. We’ll leave the poll open through March 31 and announce the... 
