This is a fun contemporary paranormal type romance, which falls right up my alley. However, the characters and their motivations kind of fall flat to me? Everyone seems to just, agree to things without much discussion or convincing. It's still a fun time though.

DNF at about 20%. I really tried but this was just too cringe (and I feel bad saying that but!) for me to continue. Not for me but perhaps other people may like it more!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

4 ⭐️

Have you ever wished you could be sucked into a Sookie Stackhouse novel? What about transported into an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? What if I told you… vampires are real but they are exiled from our world? How far would you go for your favorite fictional fanged crush?

After abruptly leaving grad school, her friends, and her old life behind, Tess’s only comfort is her favorite book series, Blood Feud. Tess has found solace between the pages and the online forums until her world is turned upside down by a mysterious woman claiming to be a character from Blood Feud. This stunning woman claiming to be Octavia explains that yes, vampires are real and she’s in danger. Is Tess ready to leave the real world behind and become a heroine on a mysterious Isle full of blood thirsty vampires?

I am going to be completely honest, I LOVED this book. It was such a fun concept. It was written similar to a harlequin romance novel in the sense that there was adventure, romance, and lots of drama. However, please be made aware if you’re looking for spice this is NOT the book for you. Although sex is mentioned often, it is fade to black.

The book was written well, there were fun and interesting characters, and interconnecting storylines. I really enjoyed watching the story unfold as we received little “clues” in the beginning of each chapter from the podcast, text transcriptions, and emails. It made the fandom feel very real and engaging.

This was definitely a guilty pleasure read, but I mean c’mon who wouldn’t want a chance to be with their favorite fanged hottie?

Things to watch out for:
•Mentions of SA
•insta love
•fade to black
•many povs/interconnected storylines

This one is tricky for me. The premise and story is amazing, a fantasy book series is actually real and you get to travel through dimensions to save the day? 👩🏼‍🍳💋

But this book also has drug facilitated SA on page, and recovery/PTSD is the central internal conflict. It is handled delicately, and respectfully, and I understand that reading this story might be a healing experience for some, but for me? Frankly, I just don’t want SA anywhere in my romance novels. If not for the sexy Asian vampire and knowing there would be a revenge sequence at the end I would’ve DNF’d.

Not for everyone, but fun for some. (Title of your sex tape. Sorry, it got a little heavy there….)

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶/5
🩸📚🇰🇷🌃💻/5

CW: drug facilitated SA, PTSD, panic attacks, dissociation, working night shifts, fanfiction community drama, navigating NYC public transportation

This had all the makings for a story I would love, it just fell a bit short. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who thinks the synopsis sounds good to them, especially lovers of teen angst and vampires.
I had a herd time connecting with the characters because POVs switched a lot and there were sections with podcast excerpts and book chapters from the main series referenced in the story. It seemed like a lot of extra things included that didn't bring a lot to the story overall.
This book definitely has a darker and heavier side as Tess is recovering from an assault by a classmate. She grew a lot over the book and it was nice seeing her become more confident and honest with herself and her friends.
Her romance with Callum lightened things up a bit but I didn't feel a huge connection between them. I was more invested Joni and Octavia's relationship because they had more chemistry and it wasn't such an insta-love situation.
This was a good read and totally different from this author's previous book so it was cool to see her try something else!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Officially my favorite book of spooky season. I love Kate's writing, and this book was seriously SO FUN! It dealt with heavy topics, but it was navigated so well and balanced by such a genius romcom - I am totally smitten - and bitten!

I did not like this book, I am sorry to say. It just felt... weird. That being said, it was a mix of Freaky Friday and A Novel Love Story. That's the best way that I can describe it. I felt that the interim emails, book chapters and podcast episodes were distracting from the main story. I didn't find myself latching on to Tess or Octavia, to be honest.

Sad to say I didn't get very far into this one. The writing was just not for me, and I'm not a big fan of the transcript/email style formats. I really loved the concept though, so I'm sad I could't get into it.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for providing me with an arc.

I'm not really a fan of paranormal novels, but here I fell in love with the title "Fang fiction".
This book comes out October 1st, it's definitely a spooky read, perfect for fall.
This is the second book I've read by Kate Stayman-London, the first book "One to watch" didn't excite me so much.
The protagonist is Tess, after a bad episode (a very bad one), Tess finds herself immersed in work and reading. She likes books so much, especially paranormal novels, she is not an extreme fan, who believes in the existence of vampires, werewolves and witches, but she likes to"get lost" in those worlds.
One day, outside her door she meets a vampire, precisely the villain from her favorite novels.
To immerse herself even more in this world, she decides to help him, and they end up on a secret island, where there is never light, and she finds herself surrounded by vampires.
The premise of the story is very nice, but unfortunately, like "One to watch" here too I had a bit of difficulty finishing. The various POVs confused me and bored me at times, but on the other hand the descriptions allowed you to immerse yourself in the story, just like Tess. I think 3 stars is not a bad score.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the way this book dealt with very heavy topics and then went into a ~spooky rom-com was a little jarring. We are told all of these things and then in the next moment it feels like we're not supposed to care about that and everything is fine. I'm not sure if that was the intention or if I missed something while I read it, but maybe it's just not for me. I did really enjoy the idea of it, I just wasn't a huge fan of the execution.

Fang Fiction will be published October 1. Much thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fang Fiction was my second Kate Stayman-London novel. I read and really enjoyed One To Watch, and I was excited to pick this one up - especially because there were vampires in it!

The book follows Tess, a former PhD student at Columbia University, and she navigates life after a sexual assault. She somehow finds herself literally immersed in her favorite book, traveling to an Isle where vampires live in exile from the rest of the world. She is there to try to figure out a way to reunite an escaped vampire with her family. While there, she becomes embroiled in the dangerous affairs of witches and vampires, and in the company of a particular vampire who might just be super different from how he’s portrayed in the books.

Overall, Fang Fiction was just okay for me. It started off strongly, but the middle dragged, and I found myself rooting more for the side characters than the main ones. The ending was fun, though! I thought that the idea of being immersed into a world of vampires was really fun, and some aspects of the world building were interesting, but I wanted more development for a fantasy/paranormal romance book.

I really liked the side characters; the chemistry between two of them was fun and believable. The chemistry between Tess and Callum was a little too insta-love for me.

One thing I wish I had known before going into the read was that Tess was psychologically recovering from a SA; the synopsis only says an assault. While Stayman-London does include a TW at the outset of the book, it seemed like an odd choice for what I thought would be a rom-com. I appreciated Tess growing and morphing into a more confident woman though.

I liked the concept of Fang Fiction, and I think big fans of Buffy or Vampire Diaries may like it more than I did. The writing style was simple, which made for a quick read. I applaud Stayman-London for writing in a different genre, and can see others really liking this book.





Instagram Review to come on or near publication date - I will update with links when I post.

The concept of this book was very interesting, but I unfortunately missed the mark for me.
I found the characters lackluster. I didn't feel any sort of connection/care for them.
I was expecting more of a romcom vibe with this book.

That being said, the writing was good and the plot was interesting enough. Just not what I was expecting.

3.5/5. I loved the writing style, it was clear, moved quickly, and very immersive. Tess had a voice and it was a great mix of fantasy and real life to meld a relatable story many women go through together. The romance storylines were enjoyable but they did not seem fully developed. Because there were two alternate romantic storylines that each had switching points of view, it was hard to feel they were properly fleshed out. If Tess' storyline took prominence over the Joni's with Octavia, it would have been possible to feel the relationship between Tess and Callum was more realized and understandable rather than loosely thrown together. I loved the idea of mixing a book storylines to the real world and having characters meet in the middle, the mixing of the worlds was great. I would enjoy reading Stayman-London in the future for sure.

This was such a fun concept! What if your favorite fantasy novel is actually fan fiction about real live characters? In this novel, vampires are real and walk among us. And those super popular romance novels are about real vampires. When a super fan gets tasked with reuniting a vampire family, she finds herself trapped on an enchanted island with nothing but her wits and her detailed knowledge of the novels to survive. But what if the novels got things wrong? Who are the real heroes and villains?

I absolutely loved the setting on this one. The magical worlds were so well described. Usually I don’t care too much about scenery and description but this one was so well done. I could picture the castles and rooms and forests.

The two female main characters were a lot of fun, too. The ordinary people save the world trope is always a blast. And these two were just the right mix of innocence and ingenuity.

The plot was exciting with some great twists. I never got bored and was always waiting to see what happened next. There was always a bit of tongue-in-cheek feel to the narration as well. It felt like an ode to campy teen vampire shows at times, which was delightful. It all had a very satisfying ending.

My only complaint was the romance. I wanted more! More chemistry and a lot more spice. Vampires are supposed to be super sexy, and I was expecting a lot of spicy fun.

Overall, though, it was a very fun and fanciful read, and I think the setting will stick with me a long time.

Review posted 9/4/24 on Goodreads, Instagram, StoryGraph, and Fable. Will post to Amazon on publication day.

I absolutely devoured this book! I think the concept overall was super interesting and I loved Tess' journey of acceptance throughout the book. As a victim of sa, I think the author handled the situation really well and made it impactful.

I wish I were in this world! I'd love being a portal witch or something. There's so many different interesting aspects of this universe.

I definitely recommend checking this one out! It's a fun, impacting read that'll make you want to delve back into the world immediately.

This was a fun Vampire romance! A woman finds herself inside the world of her favorite Vampire book series and the "characters" are not who she was expecting them to be.

She's looking for adventure. He's looking for revenge. What could possibly go wrong when your favorite novel becomes a reality? Sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime, that can't be missed.

As a paranormal romance fan, I'm always looking for a unique and fun read. Fang Fiction started out just like that. I thought it was entertaining and wholly unique with instalove, pop culture references, and tough subject matter.

However, I found Fang Fiction a little slow at times and the writing style was an absolute miss for me. There was so much going on at times that it felt chaotic and overwhelming. I also felt that the dialog was way too modern/hip at times if that makes sense. All I could think was that no one talks this way.

While this book has humorous moments, I wouldn't really consider this book to be a romcom. Yes, the author handles the subject matter well, but it's not what I expect from a romcom.

In the end, this will be a book that I'd classify as a hit for some and a miss for others. I do think that Fang Fiction had a lot of great potential and was very unique. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.

3.5/5

It was pretty confusing at the beginning hopping between all the different mediums (text messages, and emails, and podcast transcripts, and more) and POVs. Like what was the point of the podcast transcripts??? But overall it was an interesting and unique story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy of Fang Fiction.

2.5 starts for me! Encountering the vampires from the main character's favorite novels was a fun premise. This was an enjoyable, yet ultimately predictable read. Areas of the plot felt a little too drawn out for my liking and the resolution felt rushed. All in all, I think if you like vampires, New York City, and are looking for a fast-paced read for the fall season, you may want to try this one out.

I think I’m just not really a contemporary paranormal fiction girlie, but I still had fun! I do wish the romance plot was a bit more fleshed out - at times the secondary romance felt more developed than the MC’s romance.