This was such a treat!! The portal fantasy and online vampire fandom aspects were soo fun and I appreciated the care with which Tess's traumatic backstory was written. Strong recommend for fans of other fang fiction.

What a fun read! This is definitely the most unique Romantasy book I have ever read. I loved how the author integrated the plot line of the book series the vampires were from, with what was going on with our Main Character in real time. Lovers of rom-coms that are looking to read something for spooky season will love this one.

I was confused at the start with the number of POVs and other info from the in-world books and podcasts. It came together more by the end and felt satisfying, but I definitely struggled with tracking the story in the beginning.

YES we need a vampire revival asap rocky. i loved every second of this, from the novelty it brought to the romance genre as well as the reliability of a good old fashioned vampire book. this was utterly unputdownable and i already want more from her!

FANG FICTION by Kate Stayman-London

Pub date: Oct. 1, 2024
Publisher: Dial Press
Rating: 3.5 / 5

If you learned that your favorite book characters were all real, what would you do to live in their world?

Tess Rosenbloom loves few things in life as much as the Blood Feud novels. To her surprise, it turns out the vampires of Blood Feud are all real; from the romantic hero Felix to the villainous twins Callum and Octavia. Tess is sought out by one vampire who claims all the characters of Blood Feud have been exiled on a not so fictitious island, and Tess may very well be the key to their freedom.

FANG FICTION is Kate Stayman-London's sophomore novel and the perfect read for anyone who loves "modern girl in ... AU" fanfics. Tess's discovery that her comfort characters are real is humorous and overall endearing. While the characters are not particularly nuanced and the action is fairly tropey, there is a strong theme of healing and overcoming stigmas in both reality and fiction. To be specific, Tess's journey centers around her finding closure after being sexually assaulted prior to the start of the book. There is no graphic depiction of SA on the page but it is significant to the story. The book also includes a prominent sapphic romance, thoughtful analysis of women in literature, and a variety of multimedia storytelling and pop culture references. Fang Fiction plays up the vamp camp and will likely appeal to readers who, just like Tess, find the best escape through books.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!)

[Review posted on 8/1/24 to https://www.instagram.com/brittain.books/]

This book was fun and so interesting at the same time.. This will be a wonderful fall read for anyone. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in as I’ve never read anything from this author before, but I was fascinated! The cover pulled me in at first, and then the characters kept me going …a must read this year!!

Thank you so much for the eARC!
A silly goofy time for the nostalgia of twilight and the vampire diaries circa 2009.

The writing is campy and easy to read, perfect for a light-hearted escape. The inclusion of mixed media—podcast transcripts, text messages, and emails—adds a nice touch. While these elements were mostly well-placed, they sometimes felt like a tool for info-dumping. I found myself wishing for shorter chapters and clearer transitions between POVs and scenes to help with the flow.

The tone shifts were a bit jarring at times. The book moved quickly from light and fun rom-com moments to darker, more serious topics, which felt a bit off. While I appreciated the attempt to add depth, these transitions could have been integrated more smoothly. The plot was busy and occasionally veered into cheesy territory, but overall, I had a good time reading it.

This book is a fun, nostalgic ride for fans of vampire stories, even if it has a few cringey moments ♥️✨

"Fang Fiction" left me feeling underwhelmed despite its intriguing premise. Tess Rosenbloom, a grad school dropout and insomniac, finds herself entangled in a world where her favorite vampire novels, Blood Feud, turn out to be real. The story promises a darkly glamorous rom-com but delivers a disjointed narrative that struggles to find its footing.

The plot felt cluttered with multiple POVs, podcast dialogues, and segments from Blood Feud, making it difficult to stay engaged. The book attempted to juggle too many elements, and as a result, none of them were fully developed. Tess's journey, while initially captivating, became overshadowed by the chaotic storytelling.

I appreciated the author's ambition, but the execution fell short. The serious themes introduced were at odds with the lighthearted tone expected from a rom-com, creating an uneasy blend that left me disconnected from the characters and their struggles.

I had high hopes after enjoying Stayman-London's "One to Watch," but "Fang Fiction" didn't capture the same magic. It had potential, but ultimately, it was a miss for me.

I was really looking forward to this book but for me, it was mediocre. I was not crazy about the writing style especially between the POVs, chapters from the blood feud books, the podcasts…the story was different but also similar to a book I read earlier this year. In the middle it was really hard to keep my focus and I felt like it dragged. I thought it was a fun different take on vampires but it wouldn’t necessarily be a book I recommend over others! Thank you for the opportunity to read it early and I know there is definitely an audience out there that would love this book!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a quick and easy enjoyable read. I couldn’t put this down. It had me entertained from cover to cover!

A quick and easy read with fun characters. The writing is straight-forward, but full of silliness that made it more enjoyable to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the advanced copy!

2.5 stars, rounded up because the good parts were so good I can’t bring myself to give it 2 stars, but I actually kind of hated this book. A lot.

The mixed format writing style was really fun, well-executed, and perfect for the story. I enjoyed it a lot!

Tess is a great main character, and she felt very real in the first 10% of the book.

Once we get into the plot though, I felt like it all fell apart. This book has the really fun idea of sending a mega fan into the world of her favorite comfort novels to live out everyone’s self insert fanfic dreams. Honestly, who hasn’t passed time by imagining a similar scenario? The problem I think this book faced is that we know and love characters in our favorite works, but we’re being tossed characters here that we don’t know. It basically felt like reading a self insert for a fandom you’ve never heard of. All of the Blood Feud characters felt two-dimensional and their plots felt, frankly, ridiculous.

If you still want to dive into this, prepare for a LOT of niche vampire media references. I’m a Buffy fan, and even I thought it came up wayyy too much. We get it, you like Buffy.

TW: SA
On a more serious note, this book deals with serious topics like SA and I think it is handled very well. Tess and her journey with this is the only reason I’m knocking my review up a star into the neutral zone. But that part of the book was so much better than the rest that I was disappointed that Tess’s character and development was wasted on such a mediocre book.

Overall, I didn’t like it but that doesn’t mean you won’t! There were a lot of great pieces I really admired to this novel but unfortunately I just could not get over how bad the bad parts were.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC for my honest review.

Please read the trigger warning before reading this book as it might trigger people dealing with SA.

Fang Fiction was about Tess, an SA survivor that dropped out of Columbia and who now works at a hotel in New York City. She is a huge fan of Blood Feud, a book series about vampires. Many fans think that the vampires in the books are not fictional, including Tess.

The characters were well developed and had a lot of personality. Tess's relationship with her best friend is complicated and, at times, heartbreaking. The theme of the book was wonderful. I enjoyed how Tess grew from being traumatized and alone to being brave with friends that would risk their lives for each other. I also enjoyed how it wasnt just an epiphany, but it took time for her development like it would in real life.

I enjoyed One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London and look forward to her future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me the chance to read and review this ARC. I rather liked the idea of the fiction we read becoming reality. I mean, who doesn’t relish the idea of jumping in as the main character in our favorite fantasy?

I was actually really enjoying this story and felt like it could’ve been longer. Once off the Isle, the ending was completely rushed. I needed a bit more meat to that part of the story. It just felt too easy.

Other than that, I enjoyed the character growth and development, especially Tess’s. She went through a traumatic experience that too many women face and handled it the only way her body and brain would let her. Kudos to the author for tackling a difficult issue and not just tiptoeing around it.

This was overall a very fun read. I love the romcom twist of being in a vampire world and still keeping threads of comedy. I generally prefer my romances on the lighter side and thus didn’t go too dark at all.
I loved the inclusivity of the Octavia/Joni storyline and Tess being plus-size. As a fat, queer girl myself, I really enjoyed both of these factors.
The start of the story was a little slow for me, but I do understand there was some decent world-building and background set up, between current time and the novels within the series. The end also was a little slow for me. From when they go to the masquerade until the end, I’m not sure exactly what it was, but I was waiting for more action-y things to happen.
Overall, yay to the fun twist on a traditional romcom and yay to inclusivity.

The title and book cover grabbed my attention. The combination of fanfiction and vampires was alluring. This was definitely campy, and I enjoyed the story. I did find some of the switches in timeline and point of view to be confusing at times. The writing was also juvenile at times, but I think that’s part of the camp.

This was a fun, entertaining book -- it's silly, campy, and enjoyable in the same vein as TV shows like Buffy (which it even acknowledges in the book itself). It sometimes reads a little too YA, and some parts of the plot are rushed; but overall, it was a fun read!

This one’s interesting, because it feels SO different from Kate Stayman-London’s last book. I’m always really impressed with this author’s capability to write a really diverse cast regarding race, gender, and sexuality, with it mostly feeling accurate to the world she’s built. I was swept up in it all, and I think it’s honestly good to read if you enjoyed Bride by Ali Hazelwood.

Stayman-London’s fun, fantastical romp through a vampire novel come to life will absolutely have fans swooning and falling in love with the immortal Yoo siblings. Perfect for fans of Bride by Ali Hazelwood.

Fang Fiction has the cozy, adventurous vibes I needed poolside. A diverse cast, vibrant settings, mouthwatering fictional food, spicy scenes, and a life-affirming protagonist journey. Felt like a love letter to the urban fantasy (vampires especially) genre.

I really loved this book. It had vampires in just the right amount, characters who loved books and reading and a sort of possible setting and premise. Thank you NetGalley!!