I loved the concept!

Fan fiction was a huge part of my reading journey and watching as the two worlds collide was awesome and comforting in a way I didn’t know I needed.

This was a ridiculous read & so so fun! It’s a great twist on the classic vampire story. I thought about all of the vampire characters in movies/tv that i love while reading this & it just made it all the more better.

If you’re looking for a fun vampire read with a little spice I’d say to give this one a try

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! What a fun concept, and a dream come true for anyone in a big fandom! It was thrilling to see that idea come to life and to imagine what it would actually be like if that ever happened. Falling in love with the "villain" of your favorite series?! Yes please! I was even finding myself wishing I could read Blood Feud :)
As I was describing this book to my husband, he pointed out that the structure was exactly like Coco, which...he is kinda right. But I'm not mad because I love Coco.
Character growth was fan(g)tastic and a joy to see! As a survivor of SA myself, I found this so well done and it was beautiful to see Callum and Joni's support.
I think this will be one that I read every fall, and I'm excited to read more from Kate.

vampires its everything I needed it because its just >>> love them to death they need to be more real. this book is just amazing and can't stop thinking about it

This is a frustrating book. I think it suffers from a real identity crisis - is it a romcom? A satire? A feminist piece about recovering from assault? None of the above? The marketing for this book made me expect one thing; what I got was a hodgepodge of all of them. The writing style makes me think this was attempting some kind of satire of Harlequin romance, but I wasn't totally convinced. I'm worried the cutesy cover and cheesy title will attract an audience who are unprepared for the seriousness of the main character's past assault hanging over the plot like a sword of damocles.

Such an interesting world and powerful message woven into a captivating story! Stayman-London's Fang Fiction will delight any readers who enjoy vampires, magical realism, and impactful discussions of trauma.

Tess has been hiding from her past for the past three years. She cut her promising graduate career at Columbia University short after she was assaulted by a classmate. Riddled with anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia, she finds a job working night shift at a boutique hotel and she spends her spare time reading (and re-reading) Blood Feud, her favorite paranormal romance series. Then, one of the main characters of the series shows up at her workplace, and Tess is thrust into the world of Blood Feud itself - one full of magic, intrigue, and danger.

Fang Fiction’s handling of a woman’s recovery from sexual assault is superbly done. A content warning at the beginning of the book gives the reader advance notice of any triggering subjects, and it is clear that Kate Stayman-London did her due diligence to ensure her writing was coming from a safe, empathetic place. Over the course of the novel, Tess experiences the inevitable “coming out” that comes along with recounting incidents of intimate partner violence and comes to realize how destructive it is to internalize that trauma. I loved how the story navigated the process of exploring romance as a survivor, and I hope that real-world survivors see Tess as a figure of hope. I also adored that never, not once, did Tess question or apologize for being a plus-size woman in a romantic situation. I want more heroines like her in the books that I read.

Fang Fiction was one of my more anticipated releases of 2024, ever since I devoured One to Watch in 2023. Comparing Kate Stayman-London’s two published works, I think One to Watch gave the reader a bit more time to get to know the protagonist - to learn her flaws and to watch her grow. Where One to Watch deviated from Bea’s perspective (emails, posts on social media, and one half-chapter from the love interest’s point of view), it served to move the story forward and never took Bea out of the center of the book’s universe. In Fang Fiction, we get the majority of chapters from Tess’s viewpoint, but we also see the story from the perspective of her best friend and two Blood Feud characters along with the nods from the Blood Feud fandom itself. I can see why it’s necessary to leave Tess’s point of view - her primary conflict isn’t the only one that needs to be resolved. I think it’s down to the reader’s personal preference. If there’s anything that Netgalley has taught me this year, it is that I tend to prefer limited-perspective novels.

Kate Stayman-London is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, especially if I’m looking for stories about plus-size women reclaiming their space in the world. Readers who have liked Erin Sterling, Jenny L. Howe, and Jennifer Weiner's books will find a lot to love in Fang Fiction.

**Thank you to Random House Publishing Group (The Dial Press Imprint) and Kate Stayman-London for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

Started this last month for the Halloween vibes. This was very campy which I enjoyed. However, some dialogues made me cringe no matter how much I like vampires. Would still read more books from this author!

I really wish I liked this book more than I did, and to be fair - the parts I did enjoy I had fun with! - but the other issues just took me so far out of the book that overall the enjoyment was tainted.

Now, I want to be clear. I in no way believe or want to imply that victims of assault cannot see themselves in romance novels, or that they don’t deserve to see themselves finding love and happiness in them. I’ve read romance books where the main character had been assaulted and didn’t end the book feeling as off about it as I did in this one. (The Ice Planet Barbarians book focusing on Tiffany I think does this fairly well in both addressing her trauma and having the physical relationship move in a realistic - and sexy - way.) So, believe me when I say my issues don’t stem from a main character having a specific trauma.

I think the biggest issue with this book is the dramatic tone shifting between Tess’ trauma after her assault - and the schloppy romance “spending days in bed having sex” plots. Having both be directly next to one another feels wrong, and there is a specific scene where Tess relates - in explicit detail - her trauma, and then immediately after her and the guy she’s with have marathon sex where, it’s explicitly stated, she doesn’t have any issues or triggers to avoid. And this book is filled with these wild tone shifts, where it can’t figure out a happy-medium between fun romcom lightheadedness and the seriousness of the assault, and the end result leaves the reader feeling overall uncomfortable even in lighthearted scenes.

Also, I think the scenes where Tess is dealing with her trauma kind of verge from storytelling and flowing in a plot, to “character says the best and most correct thing” here, and in many ways it felt less like a conversation happening and more like “this is a good character because they are saying the correct thing, regardless if this is how a conversation between people works,” type of deal. It wasn’t the biggest issue I had, but it was very noticeable during the conversation where Tess gets with her love interest. He says something to make her think she can’t trust him, and then he barely says anything to get her to trust him, and suddenly she does? And then they’re having marathon sex with no issues? (Also, the sex scene itself was underwhelming, which is fine but I did find it odd that the male love interest has a whole internal monologue about not wanting Tess to think she has to force herself to come, but when she does being like “I’m so happy she trusts me like this.” I will admit to being like, “Huh?” during this part.)

I also felt some of the descriptions to be odd, with similar ones being used for loved interests as well as men who we think may attempt to assault Tess.

These quotes are taken from a digital ARC copy, and may not be in the final product. I had only highlighted them in my copy because the first description made me a bit uncomfortable, which was only confirmed when the second description happened and I was like “Wait, wasn’t this almost exact thing said about a love interest?”

<i>“...with every aspect of this hulking brute of a man. He was easily a foot taller than she was, thick with muscle…”</i> - a scene describing a sexy romp within the world of the books this novel is about.

<i>“He was big - like, linebacker big…” </i>- a scene of a man trapping Tess in a hallway and potentially wanting to force himself on her.

Finally, this doesn’t really mean anything, but the brief interludes of the characters and scenes within the books this novel is about really took me out of the story. The writing style in these books was very Harlequin-style, trashy romance and every scene we were forced to read of this world just made me wonder why on earth these books would be popular. The plots and storylines shown, as well as the writing, in these “books” made the popularity of these books make no sense to me, and I could not understand how the main character not only read all 3 books but regularly re-read them for enjoyment.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and found the plot and romances to be fun and typical within a romance novel - nothing too surprising in one way or the other - and didn’t have an issue with any of it. However, the constant tonal shifts between Tess falling into bed with her love interest for days on end, and then having a complete 180 while she deals with her trauma and it becomes very serious, severely limited the enjoyment I felt while reading. The overall feeling was a kind of lukewarm, mildly uncomfortable mix that made the romance feel weak, and also made it hard to simply accept some of the sillier plot going on in the background. It’s not that this author didn’t handle the assault and trauma with care, but that it felt like an entirely separate book that was simply mashed together, rather than a cohesive story. Also, this is entirely just me, but if I wasn’t already going to give this 3 stars because of the overall mess of the book, I would have had to seriously consider knocking off a star <i>anyway</i> because apparently one character is named for a stupid Taylor Swift reference, and I’d like to go one single time reading an urban fantasy romance without having to deal with a stupid and unnecessary Swift reference. For once.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House for providing this e-ARC.

Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London 5/5 🧛‍♀️

This may have gotten me out of my book slump!! I really loved how this was a merge between fandom and finding out a book world you are obsessed with is real! I really enjoyed the dynamics between the characters and really loved Tess! She deserves everything good!

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!
CW:
Graphic-Sexual assault, Rape, Murder
Moderate-Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
Minor-Alcohol, Abandonment, Sexism

(3.5/5) This was an easy read and a certainly entertaining one at that. However, the modern references took me out of the book at times (What We Do In The Shadows, AO3, etc). I did appreciate the world building, as it was easy to follow and absolutely addicting at points.

I loved this so much!

I went into this pretty blind and was so pleasantly surprised. Vampires mixing with humans always makes me think of Twilight, but this is nothing like that (and thank goodness for that!)

The characters are so well written, and I loved the book inside the book, Blood Feud. Tess and Joni’s friendship is peak friendship goals, and I want to be Octavia when I grow up.

There’s just the right amount of spice, there’s a bit of suspense and violence, but nothing over the top, and I absolutely loved how the fantasy tied in with the real world.

I haven’t read this author’s first book, but I’ll definitely be checking it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy!

SO CUTE! Loved this, loved the FMC, and the only note was I wish we saw more of the vampire’s world instead of just their house and the valley/pond.

This was alright. I enjoyed the writing style and I would definitely read from the author again. However, it felt like it was missing something ? Maybe some more world building ? Character work ? I guess because these “characters” from a book, I felt like I didn’t actually know them per se. Sometimes the excerpts were funny, but other times they made no sense and didn’t really add anything to the story. But regardless it was fun.

This was so interesting. I haven't read anything along these lines before. Interweaving the main story but also a book within a book that then the characters come to life? I found this so fun. I loved all the characters. the plot was done well. And overall I think this was a great read. I would definitely pick something up by this author again!
I appreciated the depth in the characters and the progression of the storyline. I loved the contrast between the real world people and the characters from the books. I loved how it all intertwined and the reactions of the "real world" characters.

I had a lot of high hopes for this book after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately, it felt really disjointed. It started off with a serious tone, but then got pretty silly. I also questioned some of the actions of the main character and her friend.

A personal DNF for me but still an enjoyable book so far! I think readers who suit the genre and those looking for something new will enjoy it.

I fully expected to love this book from the cover alone, and oh my god it did not disappoint. I’ve been vampire obsessed since I was a kid, and I have very strong opinions about vampire media. And oh my god this book did everything right.

Tess, our main character, is obsessed with a vampire book series. Reading these books helps her cope with some of the hardest moments in her life.* To her surprise, it turns out vampires (specifically those starring in her favourite books) are REAL and she gets roped into their dramatic, dangerous, and intriguing lives. I’ve never read a romance with quite so much world building, but oh my god I was sucked in immediately.

The book does a fantastic job balancing some very heavy content and themes with lighter, slightly ridiculous ones - like a vampire who’s obsessed with pop culture, specifically twilight.

I also absolutely adored Kate Stayman London’s iconic use of various story telling formats - as readers, get the story told to us a very unconventional way, and we’re often piecing things together ourselves. The narrative has breaks for podcast transcripts, text conversations, news paper articles, buzzfeed style quizzes, even chapters of the blood feud books themselves, and so much more. This is something I think can be so confusing if it isn’t executed properly, but it’s so perfectly done in fang fiction- it’s so interesting and adds so many layers to the story.

The characters in this book are all so well written - complicated and messy and interesting. Calum and Octavia, twin vampires in the blood feud series Tess is so obsessed with, are probably two of my favourite vampires I’ve ever read. The entire cast of characters, from humans to vampires, was so diverse. It’s always so boring when yet another vampire in media is cis het and white. You’re telling me we’ve had we’ve had decades (centuries even!) of vampires who never once strayed away from the path of heteronormativity? Seems fake to me!! And this was absolutely not the case in fang fiction - a major plot is a romance between queer women of east and south Asian descent. There are trans vampires, queer vampires, and vampires of so many different ethnicities and backgrounds. I really loved how every single character was written - from mains to sides, they were all so complex and interesting. I could read a spin off about any one of them.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. My one issue that I had is concern over some language used when describing a lesbian character - I’m always a little apprehensive when a slur is used before an actual label for a queer character (even if it’s done with the intention of reclaiming a term). This might have been changed in the final version, and I did enjoy the queer rep in the rest of the book, but this one moment gave me pause.


*content warnings: sexual assault, violence, death

I liked this. It was different than I thought it would be. In a good way though. It was the perfect October read

This was a really fun and unique book! It was the perfect campy, atmospheric, not creepy or scary spooky season book. It felt modern and relevant yet also like an old school romance novel. I thought the author did a really good job of keeping the writing level (not too emotional but not flat) in a way that made the unbelievable aspects of the fantasy seem completely plausible while also keeping the heavier topics meaningfully woven into the story. If sexual assault is a trigger for you, be aware that it is central to the plot of this book but know that it was addressed with sensitivity and gentleness. The romance in this book ended up being the least important storyline for me; I loved the friendships and found family parts even more.

Synopsis: After dropping out of a PhD program, Tess scratches her literature and writing itch by reading her favorite book, Blood Feud, and contributing to online fan forum speculation that the vampire main characters in the book actually do exist. Yet she’s still shocked when one of them shows up to her workplace, telling a fantastical story about escaping from an enchanted isle filled with warring vampire clans and magical lands that is exactly as described in Blood Feud. And only Tess can help reunite snarky and brilliant Octavia with her bad boy (and smoking hot) brother Callum and save the vampires from their evil leader?