Home of the Alpha Showdown, and one-stop shop for urban fantasy, paranormal romance and fantasy news and reviews.
A couple weeks ago I joked on Twitter that I was in need of a book boyfriend Advent calendar. There was quite a bit of “yes, please!” from others, but no one could find a good one. Clearly, this was up to me. So, to make the chaotic holiday season a little more fun and a lot more sexy, we’re going to feature a book boyfriend every day for the next 25 days. That’s right. Welcome to VBC’s 25 Days of Book... 
The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6) Richelle Mead Published: February 10, 2015 (Razorbill) Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon Review Source: Library Reviewed by: Amy Rating (out of 5): 4 stars Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference the previous books in the series. If you haven’t started it yet, check out VBC’s review of Bloodlines. The Ruby Circle begins a month after Jill’s... 
Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) Richelle Mead Published: July 29, 2014 (Razorbill) Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon Review Source: Purchased Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Note: While this review will remain spoiler-free, it will assume you’ve read the previous books in the Bloodlines series. If you haven’t, take a peek at our review for Bloodlines, the first book in the series. Silver... 
The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) Richelle Mead Published: Nov. 19, 2013 (Razorbill) Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon Review Source: Purchased Reviewed by: Chelsea Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Note: While we won’t spoil the details of The Fiery Heart, this review does expect you’ve read the previous Bloodlines books. If not, we suggest you check out the review of Bloodlines. Every time I finish one of... 
I’m ridiculously excited about the upcoming release of The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. It’s the fourth book in the Bloodlines series (a Vampire Academy spin-off), and the end of The Indigo Spell set the stage for things to be heavy on the romance and the angst. Both things I love. (You guys knew that, didn’t you?) So how am I dealing with the wait? By devouring the book trailers put out by Penguin... 
Earlier this week Book Riot ran a post featuring the 20 most-loved literary characters. It was a fun post and I certainly saw a few of my favorites there, but as I went to go and share the link via VBC’s Facebook page I stopped myself. As lovely as the list was, it wasn’t too heavy on the fantasy end of things. Sure, Gandalf and the Harry Potter gang were there, but it leaned much more toward the... 
Oh, readers, this has been a crazy week. We started Character Love Letters here at VBC. All month long you’ll find love letters on the blog. Some are from readers to their favorite book characters. All are swoon-worthy. Also, I’ll be heading to the Olde City, New Blood mini-con this weekend in Florida. I have pretty new VBC trading cards on me. If you’re attending, do be sure to say hi. Now on to the news... 
I have a regular feature over at my writer blog talking about applying Krav Maga lessons to writing. These typically deal with fight scenes and characterization. The last post covered the importance of regular training, as in your character isn’t magically good at fighting. After sharing the link a bit on Twitter, I found that it was a common pet peeve among readers. You don’t need to have an MMA fighting... 
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... 
Recently, I’ve written a couple posts for Heroes and Heartbreakers looking at damaged heroines and the urban fantasy locales that will never make a tourist guide. The more I think on it, the more thankful I am not to be in the shoes of so many of the protagonists from my favorite books. Honestly, it might sound interesting to be a Guardian in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, but after reading... 
