This story had a lot of potential, but it experienced a noticeable lag about halfway through, making it difficult for me to stay engaged. While I enjoyed the characters, the frequent shifts in point of view within the same chapter were jarring and often left me needing to backtrack to remember whose perspective I was reading. Despite these challenges, I found the overall story and concept to be fresh and exciting. The world-building of the isle and the plot twist at the end were particularly well done. However, the narrative flow could have been smoother. Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

What caught me? The title of course.
What kept me here? The story!

I thought it was a wonderful plot that has a lot of potential. This book does have a few triggers of my own which at one point made it a little hard to continue but that was more on me than the book. I do believe the representation of gender-based crimes and issues is important.

At times, I'm not sure how to say it, but kind of read a little wattpad-y? In terms of mediocre and ending on points left to said but were never said.

Really enjoyed this cute fantasy rom com. I can appreciate the sensitivity of the main character's backstory because it's not an easy subject but I think the author did an amazing job of weaving it into the plot.

Fang Fiction is a gripping novel that delves into important themes such as gender-based violence and the impact of academia on literature. Set on a gothic campus in NYC, the story is a mix of vampire lore and real life academia, making for a captivating read. The inclusion of mixed media adds depth to the narrative, while the lesbian representation adds an element of diversity.

The novel is reminiscent of dark academia vibes, with a touch of smutty vampire tale that is sure to enthrall readers. The setting of a hotel with desert hues of sage, rose, and terra cotta adds to the atmospheric feel of the story. The vampire anthology and the ramping up of vampire obsession keep the plot engaging throughout.

The book is a must-read for fans of vampire flicks, especially those looking for a punchy and intense read. The author effortlessly weaves multiple storylines together, creating a complex and intriguing narrative. However, some readers may find the ending a bit drawn out with too much adventure time and explaining.

Overall, Fang Fiction is a compelling read that tackles important issues while delivering an entertaining story. I gave it four stars and am grateful to NetGalley for the ARC, as it was a refreshing return to reading after a break. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique and thought-provoking read.

What reader would refuse the opportunity to visit the fictional world from their favorite book? Okay, maybe those whose favorite book is The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but most of us would jump right in. That is what happens to our main character Tess. Only her favorite fictional world is full of vampires.
Chaos ensues.
I found it a clever use of podcasts and reddit posts to explain to the reader how things supposedly work in this magical Isle that Tess crosses over to. But sadly because of the breaks between worlds, I found the pacing off and lacking in the tension you assume you would find with a human in a world of vampires. It is a great idea that lacked in the actual follow through of the storytelling.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Is This Real Life 🧛‍♀️💃🏻🗽🩸
Imagine your favorite fantasy vampire book series that you’ve read dozens of times because it’s just that good is actually real life.
Well, that’s what happened to Tess.
Dealing with the trauma of assault, trying to figure out what she’s going to do with her life, the last thing she expected was to find out her favorite character from her favorite books are real people…errr…vampires. And she might be able to help them in ways she’d never thought possible. But, will she make it out unscathed?
I really liked this one! It did seem to drag a bit, but the story itself was unique and so fun.
Thanks to @NetGalley for this arc, mark your calendars for this one out October 1st!

I think this was a really fun and goofy book. I loved the relationship and overall I think it was a fun time!

Tess Rosenbloom, an avid fan of vampire fiction, discovers that her beloved novels may not be as fictional. This dark and glamorous rom-com takes readers on a thrilling journey where Tess is entangled in a world of real vampires and unexpected romance. It was a unique premise that she had been obsessed with the characters of her favorite books, and they needed her help. To kick off the adventure, Tess must help her beloved characters escape their imprisonment from their island and her mundane existence. Meanwhile, Tess's estranged best friend is in a passionate affair with a beautiful vampire.

This book is part humor, action, mystery, and romance, all blended into one book. Did I mention that there is LGBTQIA+ rep? And witches? I mean, you can't beat that. There is also a theme of resiliency where Tess addresses her past trauma. It makes her relatable and explores her narrative. Because the storyline is based on a popular book series at its core, there are cutaways to fan fiction theories on blog posts, Reddit posts, and podcasts within the chapters that can seem chaotic. There are many characters and side plots, plus two locations. If this is the first in a series, it could be setting up things that will come around. It does serve the allure of vampire lore and adds to the spin of magic. Honestly, the author explores if the dreams you have been chasing are worth the risk or if self-discovery is the reward.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Dial Press Trade Paperback.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback for this advanced reader's copy. I read Kate Stayman-London's first book "One to Watch" and absolutely loved it so when I saw the author had another book coming out, I knew I had to read it. This book was a banger!! Tess is obsessed with the books, Blood Feud, all about her favorite fictional vampires. Then she finds out they're REAL! One of the vampires from her favorite books walks right in the door of the chic Brooklyn hotel where she works and tells her she needs her help. Octavia is stuck in NYC and her brother is stuck on the secret island where she came from. The island of vampires. Soon Tess is agreeing to go the island herself and figure out a way to get Octavia back to the island. But Tess is finding Octavia's brother, Callum, hard to resist. This book was so much fun and a little spicy!

Tess Rosenbloom is no stranger to the dark. An assault survivor and grad school dropout, Tess spends her nights managing a chic Brooklyn hotel and her days reading her favorite vampire novels, Blood Feud. But deep down, Tess doesn’t believe vampires actually exist…until one walks through her door. It turns out the sexy villain of Blood Feud is trapped, and only Tess can rescue him. Eager to escape her life, Tess agrees to help, and soon she’s on a secret island surrounded by vampires—and most terrifying of all, she's falling in love with one of them. Visiting the world of your favorite story is any fan’s dream, but can Tess outrun the demons of her past (and vampires of her present) before it becomes a nightmare?

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @randomhouse, and @katestaymanlondon for this ARC! This was a super fun read that had me giggling and kicking my feet. How cool is it that Tess got to find out that her favorite fantasy world is real? I think that is any reader’s dream! I loved the way that the story was told. The book contain experts from the Blood Feud series, as well as text messages and podcast transcripts, which really gave the sense of the popularity of the series and added many different points of view and information to the plot. The world building was also so creative. I also loved Tessa‘s background as a PhD student and all of the allusions to famous literature—so fun! There is a trigger warning for sexual assault, which the author warns readers of very well in the beginning of book, but there are no graphic descriptions which I appreciated. This was a fun read and I really enjoyed it! Vampire girlies, look out for Fang Fiction on October 1!

You know how some vampire books are so bad they’re addictive? Like the crave series and twilight? Well when I started Fang Fiction I was hoping that was the direction it would lead me in. The dialogue was cheesy but I was hoping in a fun tongue in cheek way. I quickly realized this would be a different kinda journey.

To be transparent, I’m not a fan frame stories. I like to dive right in media res. But I give them a chance when they arise. This one, however, was waaayyyy too long and busy. There was way too much going on three chapters in while still only being part of the set up and frame story. There was a partial background scene, cut to podcast, cut to email, cut to quick vampire soap opera moment, cut to present day. Oh wait, cut to a random blog post. Then a yelp review! It was just way too much jumping around, especially before the story even really started. It felt disjointed and distracting.

This continued beyond the frame story, once we dived into the Isle. Throughout the book there were random cuts to emails, Reddit posts, tumblr posts, and Snapchat transcripts. There were also unmarked switches between POVS and timelines which got confusing. Again, this felt very distracting and disjointed from the core story.

Which is too bad because the core of the story was really interesting! I think all of those cut to’s were a way for the author to build the world and offer explanations in a different way. But not everything need to be explained; I would have preferred to have learned things through seeing them play out or presented in the story itself.

All of these different entries were already a lot, but then side plots were added too. There was just so many moving parts to the book.

About halfway through was when I started enjoying the story. I think it’s such a cool concept and the author obviously put a lot of thought into it. Which is why it’s too bad I feel it got bogged down with over explanation. If this book was just made of the core story- Tess going to the Isle- than I would have loved this book. Tess trying to come to terms with the actual character of the vampires was compelling and her chemistry with Callum was fun to explore. The book just needed some simplification in my opinion. Others might find it fun, though! It is quirky and different than a typical vampire book.

While, unfortunately, this book was not for me, I would still recommend it. It is a neat concept, and everyone has different tastes. Just wasn’t my cup of tea!

This was a seriously fun read.. as a born and raised Twighlight lover I couldn’t put this down. This book is geared more for the mature audience but still a little silly (not in a bad way). Also who wouldn’t want to live in their favorite fantasy world!! Gosh I love vampires. There are some sensitive topics brought up but I felt they were done with taste. Would recommend this one.

Okay, first off, let's take care of the elephant that is in the room of every vampire-themed book since 2005 - if you enjoy(ed) Twilight, I think you'll like this! There are a few similar scenes that I found kinda hilarious, but they did not detract from the unique story that Kate was writing in Fang Fiction. I can always appreciate when a book hints at another popular novel without losing itself in it, y'know?

Also, second thing I gotta say before I get to the point - the author is a huge swiftie, which I super appreciate.

Okay, so, Fang Fiction.

This book is very much a delightful read that also does an excellent job at showing a character actively working through her past in what, to me, felt like a very honest approach. I have read plenty of books where a main character is struggling with the same things Tess is here, but this book still managed to feel fresh. The pacing for this book was great - it came close to insta-love without actually hitting it, which makes the romances far more tolerable.

Perhaps my favourite thing about this novel was the uses of mixed media - I love when authors use snippets of podcasts and news articles to fill out their stories, though sometimes that does not work out. But in this case, it absolutely did. It really helped showcase just what kind of presence Blood Feud has in Tess and Joni's world; you can tell me all you want that these books are bestsellers or whatever, but what really helps is showcasing the fandom. So that was a great touch and I am very glad that it was included, and also I want to listen to that podcast.

Overall, I think anyone who appreciates vampires, magical realism (shout out to the use of the Find My Friends app, that was hilarious!), and badass female characters, will enjoy this book. I do advise that you take note of the trigger warnings, though; Kate does a great job at telling Tess' story without getting gritty, but it still present, so be careful. If you read the trigger warnings and decide that you can handle it, then I heavily recommend you give this book a shot. I promise Callum is worth it.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this. I love (positive) fan behavior, fanfics, fanfic feeling and this was right there with it. I loved the additions of social media posts and transcripts as well because it added that EXTRA factor.
Was it predictable? Sure. Could the FMC get a little frustrating at times? Absolutely. Some people also may not like that this was a main character in her healing era, and what it took to get there. But I did enjoy it. The author went about discussing really difficult topics delicately and I think she did do it justice. I think it was also pretty realistic too (a survivors behavior). Job well done!
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this amazing opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early. I had such a blast reading it!
Oh. My. God… this book spoke to my ADHD brain. This book had so many moving parts from how the information was delivered to the POVs. Normally I get super annoyed with multiple POCs because I want to find out what is happening but Kate Stayman-London did an amazing job of formatting it the way she did.
Some of the things were predictable while some things were not, So it all evened itself out.
I really did enjoy this book to the point that I hope we either get another in the series because some things were left open like there is room for another book maybe, or at least a spin-off series of some fun adventures🫢.
Also… I really really want to read Blood Feud 🥺

This book was so fun!!! Really loved the premise - who wouldn’t want their favorite book/movie/show to come to life?? Also loved seeing Tess’s journey and her healing after trauma and how she used her experience at The Isle to help with that. It feels like such a great parallel for how fiction can help you deal with and heal from trauma.

This really was not for me. I felt like the “flashbacks” to the book within the book took away from the story even though they were necessary. The story just did not keep me hooked.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!!! What a weird little book that absolutely blew me away. It's a funny, dark comedy that revolves around healing from sexual assault, through....an alternate vampire realm and a book within a book. Sound weird? IT IS. But I loved every second.

The way the book within a book storyline is done is so cool, and I adored following our main character, her best friend, and their respective love interests. It's steamy, passionate and everything you would love if you are a vampire girly. Trigger warning for SA!

For all those that love Buffy and/or Vampire Diaries and have dreamed of waking of in those fantasy worlds you will enjoy fang fiction. The main character Tess has loved the Blood Feud vampire series forever and has always believed in the possibility they could be real. And one day she comes across one of the vampires from her stories and embarks in her own adventure. I love that Tess is not some young teenage girl who gets swept up in the fantasy world but a real adult. The side characters in this story are charming and witty and violent and menacing… exactly what you need for a vampire would. So glad I got to read an arc!

Thank you to Random House Group and NetGalley for this ARC!

I wanted to love this book. The premise sounds fresh and fun, and I’m a sucker for a silly rom com. Unfortunately, the silly, borderline absurdity of the main plot (the vampires from a book series being real) paired with the incredibly serious (and honestly, a bit jarring) mentions of the FMC’s SA made this incredibly tough for me to get through. It almost felt as if the book would be having fun in a scene, and abruptly remembered that Tess was an SA survivor, and the sudden tone shift was, frankly, uncomfortable. I’m not saying there’s not a way to incorporate darker themes in a lighter toned novel, but this wasn’t it for me. As a disclaimer, though, I tend to avoid books with overt discussions of rape and assault just as a personal preference, so it’s certainly possible that I’m just not the target audience for this book.

Additionally, the writing felt pretty juvenile. It felt simultaneously like an airport harlequin romance and a middle school fanfiction. Maybe that was the intention, but it just didn’t land for me.