Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
A Note from Chelsea / VBC: All the suggested poolside reading lists we see online point to cheeky contemporary novels or lighthearted romps. Well, at VBC we know there are plenty of books featuring paranormal elements, badass heroines and sexy heroes that are perfect for reading out under the sun. So, of course, we’ve decided to do our own Beach Reads picks. Each Friday for the next several weeks, we’ll... 
There was just too much good news this week to skip on the Book Bits. Are you ready to get excited for upcoming books? (Silly question, I know.) Terrible’s Book Has a Cover and I Love It I’ve been talking about Stacia Kane’s forthcoming short novel Wrong Ways Down quite a bit on Twitter the last few months. It’s set in her Downside world (if you haven’t read Unholy Ghosts, you need to fix that) only this... ![Round 6: Eric Northman vs. Qhuinn [Alpha Showdown 2013]](http://vampirebookclub.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/VBC-HomeofAlphaShowdown-67822_200x200.jpg)
It’s officially time for Alpha Showdown 2013! You made your nominations and we have 16 of the most badass, alpha characters from urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels locked into the bracket. Only one will be named champion and today’s first bout is sure to end in a knockout. Round six puts vampire against vampire. The Viking vampire from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series is known to be... 
Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) Charlaine Harris Published: May 7, 2013 (Ace) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 2.5 stars If I could use only one word to describe this final volume in the Sookie Stackhouse series, it would be meh. After the ruckus online about the ending of Charlaine Harris’ popular series, I was sure I’d finish this book either... 
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... 
Can I tell you guys how excited I am for this year’s Alpha Showdown? It’s going to be bigger than ever, and the bracket has more new characters and women than ever before. I can’t wait to see how the voting goes down come May. Wrath and Beth Get Another Book When I finished Lover at Last, I immediately started speculating about which couple might be next. I was so wrong, people. J.R. Ward announced that... 
I’ve had a higher-than-usual number of book recommendation requests on the VBC Facebook page and via Twitter of late. While I can, of course, just point you to the recommendations section, I decided to take a look at the most popular reviews here at VBC. Consider this post your quick access to the books reviews VBC readers found helpful. TOP 10 MOST POPULAR VBC REVIEWS Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris... 
If you’re a regular reader here, you know I value strong world building in novels. I’m more likely to give a book a rare 5-star rating if the mythology for the world feels real. This is especially true when the world is so vivid that the most fantastical elements becomes downright plausible. I need everything to make sense. I appreciate the logic authors put into the rules within their books. Even if they... ![Auction: Necklace designed by True Blood’s Kristin Bauer van Straten [Books Fighting Cancer]](http://vampirebookclub.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/bauer_necklace-300x300-7739_200x200.jpg)
Sure, this is Books Fighting Cancer, but we can say this gorgeous necklace still falls in the “books” category tangentially. It’s designer, Kristin Bauer van Straten plays Pam on the HBO series True Blood, based on the novels of Charlaine Harris. See, books? Kristin and her jewelry-making partner Janet Cadsawan have donated the Care A Little More necklace – which retails for $148 – to the Books Fighting... 
Both Eric Northman and Kate Daniels were able to take out foes with formidable fandoms in their first matches, but how will they fare against each other in the Alpha Showdown Round 12? Viking vampire Eric Northman was able to slay a member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood (Tohrment). Kate Daniels took out ultimate enforcer Terrible. Fangs or blade will take one of these two onward in the Showdown. You get... 
