*Fang Fiction* by Kate Stayman-London is a darkly glamorous romp that delivers a fresh twist on the vampire romance genre. Tess Rosenbloom, our protagonist, is a relatable and complex character, navigating the shadows of her past while unexpectedly finding herself entangled in a world she thought only existed in books. The premise is irresistible for any fan of paranormal romance—who wouldn’t want to dive headfirst into the universe of their favorite series?

The novel skillfully balances humor and suspense, with Tess’s journey from skeptical hotel manager to vampire savior keeping the pages turning. The tension between her growing attraction to the villainous yet compelling vampire and the haunting traumas of her past adds depth to the story. The parallel sapphic romance unfolding in New York offers a nice contrast, broadening the novel’s appeal.

However, there are moments where the pacing stumbles, particularly in the middle sections, which can feel a bit drawn out. Also, while the plot twists are exciting, some may find them slightly predictable. That said, the story’s charm lies in its self-awareness and clever nods to vampire fiction tropes, making it a delightful read for fans of the genre.

Overall, *Fang Fiction* is a fun, engaging, and occasionally poignant read that fans of vampire romances will thoroughly enjoy. It's worth sinking your teeth into, even if it doesn’t entirely reinvent the wheel.
#NetGalley #FangFiction

So, you can imagine your typical vampire fiction - with a hot male protagonist who is known to be capable of a ton of violence but secretly a romantic - and a female protagonist who is so special that she can become the first one he ever makes a real emotional bond with despite literally spending centuries on this earth?

Well, how would I know? - I am not even a huge fan of the said genre of vampire fiction (and I mean this not as a euphemism suggesting that "I hate it" but. literally, that I don't count myself among its staunchest admirers and connoisseurs).

Except that this one simultaneously is and is not your typical vampire fiction, because this novel is highly self-conscious of its metafictionality.

So, let me start anew.

We meet this graduate student at Columbia University, Tess, who is studying comparative literature but above all high-brow discussions with her fellow grads on world lit classics, she values the admiration, shared with her roommate Joni, of this one vampire fiction series, called The Blood Feud. And so Tess is living her best life until something happens during her sophomore year of grad school... well, although we learn all the details only much later, we know immediately what it was: party rape, by one of those self-important donor kids from the department. Tess experiences panic attacks and high anxiety levels just at the thought of being in the same institution where the raper still goes on with his life, so she uproots without telling anyone a word, and disappears from school, to work as a night manager at a hotel (can't sleep at night anyways). She needs the escapism provided by her favorite fiction series even more now, and she dedicates herself to the fandom even more, gathering clues that, apparently, the vampires might actually exist in real world - and specifically the vampires from this series, as they can be traced back to photos from different decades. She profusely posts online about these theories but doesn't really believe in them - until one night she meets one of the fictional vampires from the books, who is seeking her help. The vampires have been locked out of the humans' world on this island that is an equivalent of Manhattan in a different dimension, and Tess should deliver a message there from the one who managed to escape to suggest the possible route of escape for others.

I think I will leave it here, as far as the extended "annotation" goes - I just didn't gather myself that it would be so highly metafictional when I read the actual annotation, which would make it even more attractive for me to reach out to. And that it would be about grad students researching genre fiction of all things! (a recent PhD who did her thesis on the escapism potential of genre fiction writing here)

The central part of the story, Tess's adventure on the vampire's Isle, is really your typical piece of vampire fiction, with all those cliches about an outwardly cold but secretly romantic hottie. I believe it was deliberately written in this highly conventional, recognizable manner. The thing is, the fact that Tess is a sexual assault survivor and that, even three years later, much of her reactions to the world are dictated by that experience, puts everything in a perspective. All these cliches of being a human whose blood and flesh is fully at the mercy of a much stronger paranormal creature - all this reads very differently when we cannot but keep in mind her experience of being at the mercy of, allegedly, another human being who could equally disregard her bodily autonomy and whom you couldn't even kill so easily with a stake or a silver bullet or by leaving out at sunrise.

So I think it is quite a powerful combination of conventional tropes and real-world concern, being also a metafictional commentary on how genre fiction is created and how those tropes are implemented in writing, and a commentary on how fandom works.

I have just one question. Why are they in CompLit? Anything mentioned about anybody's research or teaching sounded to me like fully fitting within an English department.

4.5 stars

I am grateful to Random House for providing me with a free eARC through Netgalley; the above review is entirely my own independent opinion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC of Fang Fiction in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“After three years of darkness, Tess Rosenbloom was finally ready to let in some light.”

I was unsure of this book at first, as a lot of the prologue and first few chapters were very much info dumps of Tess’s character and the lore of the books-within-a-book, Blood Feud. The dialogue felt stiff at times, and a lot of it was too unbelievable even for speculative fiction, until I realized I was reading it the wrong way— as the title and theme implies, this is fan fiction!

As soon as I just let myself have fun, I enjoyed this book a lot more. I do still have some questions, like why the tarot card was important, why witches could and did imprison vampires, why no one really cared their lives were being broadcast via books for years– but the ending definitely sets up for possible sequels and spin-offs, so I’m choosing to overlook those elements in favor of Joni and Octavia, the BEST couple and dynamic in this book.

Tess and Callum were a classic “Y/N and heart throb” story, but Joni and Octavia’s banter was so fun, I kind of wish the book was just about them, or at least setting Joni as the main protagonist.

Another thing, the perspectives were hard to follow at times, and there were a lot of instances where there’d be “and it was all a dream” scenes, which don’t sit right with me. I also found the transcripts annoying at first, but they grew on me toward the end.

I’d absolutely read any subsequent novels in this world, if not to learn more about the vampires (the scene where the side characters lamented being side characters in the Blood Feud books was pretty good).

Fang Fiction does have some problems keeping pace and believability, but I did enjoy it. It was a fun fanfiction-like book with rich characters, witty dialogue, and some decent twists. Definitely recommend it if you're a fan of Buffy or The Vampire Diaries.

This is the perfect read for anyone who's ever dreamed of disappearing into the world of their favorite stories or becoming best friends with their favorite characters in real life. The story was well written and entertaining with a satisfying character arc for Tess and enough twists to keep me on my toes!

Cutesie but tackled some serious topics well. It did feel predictable but that just made the story cozier!

I went into Fang Fiction expecting a fun, quirky book and was not disappointed. We follow Tess, an assault survivor and Columbia drop-out, as she tries to navigate her life with the help of her favorite book series. She hangs out on message boards debating theories and looking for clues to if the vampires from that series are real. She does not actually believe that to be the case until she comes face-to-face with one of those vampires. Tess finds herself on an adventure to save some of the characters from her favorite book while trying to stay alive. Meanwhile, her friend, Joni, is having a paranormal adventure of her own.

The author’s note at the beginning explains that Tess is an assault survivor. Although there are no graphic depictions on page, the story does flash back and provide glimpses of what happened to her. Be mindful of that note if that is something that could be triggering.

It is every reader’s dream to be able to step into the world of their favorite book. The very premise of this book was intriguing. Although the mixed media telling of the story made it hard to get into at first, once I was in, I was in! It is a fun story that deals well with the serious subject of assault. It showed how the act impacts the victim far beyond the actual event. Tess’s life was turned upside down from that moment. I like the message of self-healing. The fact that Tess needed to be able to trust and heal herself before she could trust or accept help from someone else.

The book’s two love stories were entertaining in different ways. Tess’s love story was ultimately sweet and healing while Joni’s love story was fun and hot (the bickering was top notch). Fingers crossed that we haven’t seen the last of this world. Let’s see those other worlds and get a love story for the portal witch!

I love a book that's campy as all get-out, especially one that's self-aware of what it's doing. When you've essentially got Twilight but in real life for people who have been obsessed with that book series for years, you know the drama is about to be so good. Also deals very thoughtfully and empathetically with sexual assault and its implications not only for the victim in terms of physical and psychological pain but the lasting impacts on all of their relationships. The only thing I wasn't the biggest fan of was the romances (there are two, with the four main leads paired off), which I felt were paced a bit strangely.

The premise sounded so fun and I was so excited to get the chance to read it. I wanted so badly to love this but it just didn't give me what I wanted. The vampires were interesting but the main character was too flighty for me. An average read for me.

I would like to thank Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book! I read it in one sitting. It is currently 3.30 am and I am sleepy AF, but this book was so perfect for me that I couldn't put it aside!

I loved almost everything from Buffy references to having mixed media! We got to read the story through podcasts, emails, text messages and even a BuzzFeed quiz! There were some harder topics there as well and I thought they were beautifully handled.

If I had to nitpick, I would say that the romance was a bit too fast, but that is mostly the case in this kinds of books. With everything else happening, there isn't much room to give the characters time to get the romance going slow and steady.

All in all, this was a 5 star read for me and I cannot wait to buy the physical copy once it is out!

I am not ashamed to admit how many times in my life I have dreamed this to actually happen! When I was a teenager reading Twilight it would be all I'd ever wanted and Kate Stayman-London has made that dream into a fictional reality. I devoured this book through a haze of jealousy and enjoyment. The drama, the witchyness and the slow burn sexy romance, perfection.

Fang Fiction is meant for a very specific type of millennial and I am that millennial! The best way I've been describing Fang Fiction is, it's a fan fiction written about a fan fiction written about a book that doesn't exist. I am here for it! What I mean by a specific type of millennial is one who is up on their pop culture (vampire and in general), enjoys fan fiction, and can let go of typical conventions in writing. There are so many pop culture references, both old and new, that it made this book a literal easter egg hunt.
Tess was easily relatable and easy to love. I saw so much of myself in her character. Her absolute love for Blood Feud reminded me a lot of my own love of Harry Potter and other popular series that we just can't get enough of.
I also really enjoyed the excerpts from different medias. Tying in podcast, forums, emails, text, articles, and PARTS OF A BOOK THAT DOESN'T EVEN EXIST! was brilliant. It really ties in the obsession people have with fan fiction. This book was just so freaking clever. I can tell that Kate Stayman-London is a huge lover of all things nerdy. I bet she'd be so much fun to go to a comic convention with. I don't even know her and I feel like her personality shins right through.
I feel like I'm just rambling but I just really loved this book.

Content warning: sexual assault

This book was so engaging. I really enjoyed the characters and the nods to fandom culture. It was a pleasure to read. I thought the core issues of trust, bodily autonomy, and surviving sexual assault were handled exquisitely and with care.

I tried really hard to get into this book because the synopsis sounded so good. It look a good 30% of the book before I was interested. It kept my interest until around 60% and then I was struggling to read more. There is a lot of different formats presented such as podcasts, emails, sections from the Blood Fued books, and they ultimately lost me at Snapchat transcript. There and also a lot of POV switches and some of the time it isn’t very clear who’s POV it is. I did not connect to the characters and found them somewhat annoying. Maybe this would have been better if it was not quite so long.

Thank you to Netgally for providing this ARC.

Review will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram @brewingbookrecs on 8/22/2024.

Reading your favorite vampire novels and finding out its actually real is most of our dreams! Of course she falls in love with the main character. Cute dark rom com with a new twist.

Fang Fiction honestly was an absolute blast to read. It had such a unique story line with having two worlds, same time and place but different dimension. As my first portal fantasy style book, even with a ton going
on I was easily able to keep up. Definitely a slow burn between our two main characters, Callum and Tess. The side characters were hilarious, and they was so much drama and history between the vampires and the witches. Me personally I absolutely love having emails, text and podcast conversations throughout a story. I think it’s a fun way to progress storylines and also fill in some background details. But if that isn’t your thing, just know it happens. I cannot wait for the second book

Someone will call me out for sacrilege for saying this, but Fang Fiction is the millennial answer to Interview with the Vampire.

Incorporating “transcripts” of text threads, podcasts, and emails, we’re given an opportunity to see how and where fiction diverges from reality, and find out what would happen if you really met a character you thought couldn’t possibly be real.

A fun premise that should appeal to anyone who ever found themselves down the rabbit hole of a fandom.

Deals with SA, but in a way that feels realistic and doesn’t downplay the enormous impact it can have on a person.

On the vampire side, it felt like the book was trying to play into and parody the common tropes of the subgenre, but its subtle enough that I couldn’t honestly say if it was intentional or not.

A diverse, majority POC cast. Doesn’t really get into the mechanics of any of the magic, but that would be the only aspect of the plot I thought was underdeveloped.

Overall, a really fun read that I’m not sure how to categorize. Paranormal romance is probably closest, but with enough humor that I think it is its own thing.

This was so hard to get through for me, personally. It was an interesting and almost cumbersome task to wade through the sections referencing the assault. It ended up making the story feel choppy for me, and I often found myself thinking what an odd pairing: flashbacks to an assault and a story of fictional vampires. It really felt like the characters could have had a little time to bake in the over, in that they felt a bit undeveloped and feeling flat. Perhaps another round of edits, and I may be interested in picking it up again.

Enjoyed it!

It was such a fun take of what it would be like to have vampires and witches in the modern day! I thought Tess was an amazingly strong character. Both in the mental capacity and the character development aspect! Even though there were hard topics discussed it was a fairly light and fun book! I also loved the Bar-between and can’t wait to see if Stayman-London will ever write about it? It’s an awesome concept. I LOVED how clever she was to use Podcast transcripts and text streams to progress the story. They were perfectly timed and so fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Stayman-London, and Dial Press for the ARC and a chance to read this book before publication!

Rate: 3.5 stars

Fang Fiction was a bloody good time! The novel is filled with mystery, magic, humor, banter, love and friendship mixed with modern, pop culture references. I was delighted to see iconic vampire mentions like Buffy, Twilight and The Vampire Diaries mingled in! The story also gave bits of a Gossip Girl vibe.

A unique aspect of the novel was the modes of communication used: podcast scripts, emails, voicemail transcripts, magazine articles, and story chapters! It was a great way to break up the chapters and include fun tidbits of gossip, vampire lore and conspiracies.

We follow Tess, a hotel nightshift manager, as fantasy turns into reality when she discovers her favorite vampire book series is actually real! It is up to her to find a way to help vampires off a hidden isle after being banished after a horrific accident. But not all the characters are as they seem from her beloved vampire book series and Tess has to figure out who to trust and rely on while trapped on the isle.

On a more serious note, Tess navigates her mental health and healing after a traumatic event with a guy at a party. We watch as she finds her voice and strength through the challenges on the isle and finds light in the darkness. Make sure to check content warnings at the beginning!

Kate's descriptions of every nook and cranny, flavors, places and people are so vivid, and her words transport you effortlessly to the streets of New York, the isle and everywhere in between.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the gifted ARC!

✨ARC Review✨ Well, that was fun! It was also heavy in places, so check the CWs.

But overall, this was a GOOD time. Tess is completely obsessed with a vampire book series, Blood Feud, so much so that she has written essays (one of which was picked up by Buzzfeed) in which she argues that the vampires in Blood Feud are real. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted photos of some of the vamps dating back to the 1920’s.

She’s also in a bad place (not THE bad place). She was SA’d by a friend three years ago and abandoned her life as she knew it. She’s the night manager at a nice hotel in Brooklyn. This is where Octavia Yoo, femme fatale vampire extraordinaire, finds her. Octavia and all the other vampires including her twin vamp brother, Callum, have been imprisoned on a parallel universe Manhattan island. She needs help. Her powers are gone and she needs her brother.

She wants Tess to take a magical, humans- only bridge to give him a message. Well, well, well. I think we all know this message-giving isn’t going to go right.

Tess ends up kidnapped on the island, falling for Callum, her estranged bestie is looking for her and finds Octavia instead. Oh, the shenanigans!

Y’all. This book is just fun, especially if you’ve ever been obsessed with vampire book/tv shows which I absolutely have been.

I was given an ARC by #netgalley and @randomhouse. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #romancebooks #pnr #paranormalromance #vampireromance #contemporaryfiction #fangfiction #katestaymanlondon