I really enjoyed Fang Fiction. It's perfect for those who want something with a spooky twist without delving into dark romance. The book is light-hearted and fun, while addressing serious topics quite well. I had a great time reading it, and I'd describe it as "book candy" because I couldn't put it down. A big thank you to NetGalley and Kate Stayman-London for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw that Kate Stayman-London was coming out with another book, and that this one was a vampire romance, I clicked "request" as fast as possible. I loved her debut, One to Watch, and while this one is decidedly more in the fantasy realm, they both stem from intense fandoms and wish fulfillment in a delightful fun and affirming way.

Tess is a night manager at a swanky hotel, after dropping out of her English PhD program at Columbia following a sexual assault (this is not spoiler - the author discusses it in the Author's Note right at the beginning and deliberately wanted that fact not to surprise any reader). While her love for Shakespeare and the more scholarly literature has not stopped, her reading time these days is spent re-reading her favorite sexy vampire novels Blood Feud. But when a woman strolls into her hotel who very much reminds her of one of the leads, Octavia, Tess finds out the whole world might be real too.

I loved the fun, campy, Octobery goodness of this one. Kate Stayman-London leans into the aspects of vampire lore that consumers love, riffing off Buffy and Vampire Diaries and Twilight, in a way that celebrates it and adds to it, rather than looking down her nose at it. Callum, Tess's romantic lead, very much coded as Spike, is delicious, even if I didn't really follow how they "fell in love" so quickly. I was also more invested in the relationship between Octavia and Tess's former roomie, Joni, because I loved everything about Joni period.

While I didn't devour this one quite as much as her debut, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly and almost gave it an extra half star for the bonus content at the end. KSL gives us a delightful FAQ section, a rundown of which Taylor Swift song best represents each character, a fully annotated Fang Fiction playlist, which you can add on Spotify, and just generally makes you want to be best friends. I love her.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dial Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for the honest review! This one is available now -- I wish I had had this published earlier, but here I am about 20 minutes after getting back internet for the first time in more than three weeks, and that's just from my husband draping a cable across the road to connect to a pole that is indeed active, not to the actual work from our ISP. My first bout into the realm of connectivity was to get this thing published! Woot!

DNF... I just couldn't suspend reality that much. The writing was also very young adult and wasn't catching my attention. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. Maybe I will circle back to it one day. For now I'm moving onto more vampire books!

This one took me a little while longer to get into, like 40% until I was pulled in.
I think the concept of the book is unique & fun but the story had A LOT going on. I really enjoyed how the chapters are set up in mixed style (podcasts, texts, book excerpts). It really helped to get me through slower moments and keep my interest. Octavia had to be my favorite character by far; she's so strong and fearless!
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

3.5 rounded up to 4.

I'm not even sure how to rate this one! It was so unique in its concept - a vampire book series obsessed fan finds herself at the very center of her favorite books. She becomes the plot twist! I mean, insanely unique! People have fallen into stories before, but I've not read one similar to this.

I enjoyed the characters. The entire book felt really nostalgic in a way. It reminded me of The Vampire Diaries with the good guy/bad guy dynamics.

The writing wasn't great. Don't go into this one expecting a literary masterpiece. HOWEVER, this one was fun! It's not serious or pretentious. It's just an all out good time. The perfect read for the Halloween season!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book was such a wild ride, and I mean that in the best way possible. I truly appreciated Tess's development and recovery process following her trauma; it added depth and authenticity to the story.

Kate Stayman-London’s debut ONE TO WATCH is one of my all-time favorite romances, so I was thrilled to pick up her newest. FANG FICTION follows a woman who discovers the vampire characters from her favorite novels are real, so this is *very* different from OTW; I would say it’s 70% vampire book and 30% romance. What is similar to her debut is the beautiful character development and fantastic line-level writing.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"Don't be ashamed to ask for what you need."

The transcendental Fang Fiction by skillful engaging multi genre author Kate Stayman-London will leave you smiling, satisfied and wishing you could read it for the first time again.

With Tess, this writer has created a character that could be any of us obsessed book lovers, and sadly, also any one who has suffered PTSD from a traumatic event. The fact that I laughed so much from this allegoric story is a testament to the author's creative storytelling.

Tess works nights at a hotel. When she's not working she is reading Blood Feud. A bestselling vampire series with the sexy but villainous Callum and his sister Octavia. There are podcasts, forums, and clubs devoted to the series. Tess loves it because she can be who she used to be before the incident. Brave, adventurous and sexy. But she misses the life she ran from, her campus, best friend and her goals.

Everything changes when the rumors that the vampires are real are proven true when Octavia walks into her hotel. What follows is wild, fun, hilarious, and often dangerous for Tess but what a ride.

It's very meta that the talented actress and writer Amber Benson, performs this paranormal romcom. Playing Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave her perfect insight.

Though there are great callbacks to Buffy, Twilight, True Blood and Supernatural it's how strategically the vampire story weaves together with the human one that's flawless. The ending was perfectly satisfying taking a bite out of fiction with some hard hitting reality.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

TW: sexual assault

Years ago Tess dropped out of grad school and began working nights at the hotel where she still works. She even left behind her best friend and roommate Joni, with no reason as to why. When she suddenly runs into Octavia, yes, that Octavia. One of the main characters in her favorite book series, oh and a vampire, she wonders if she is loosing it. Octavia needs her help though, and Tess can’t bring herself to say no, even as crazy as it all sounds.

3.5 stars. I was so excited to read this book after loving One To Watch by Kate Stamen London, even though this was a very different type of book! It was a bit slow to start, but once I was in, I was IN. I really enjoyed the idea of suddenly being a part of the book series you have read and loved for years. the random sections of the podcast and the sections that were pulled from the books were a bit distracting and felt unnecessary, but they were short and didn’t ruin it for me. Overall this was a fun idea and an enjoyable read.

Thank you to @thedialpress for my gifted copy of this book!

This book felt like a straight up love letter to fandom. So many times, I have wished that I could dive headfirst into my favorite books and their worlds, and Fang Fiction gave me a protagonist who felt the same way AND had that magical wish granted! There is so much to love about this book, and it was ultimately just the most fun experience reading through it.

I love the "book within a book" trope, and this took it to a whole new and unique level! Getting to see excerpts from the written work but then building upon it with the actual people (or vampires) was so creative and intriguing. And the characters themselves were all so interesting. I loved the whole cast and had the best time jumping through their minds and perspectives. I also adored the additions of external content in their world such as podcasts transcripts, chat boards, snapchat etc. It added a fullness and entertainment value to the book beyond the main story being told.

As for the fantasy world itself, I loved how easy it was to follow and understand. With so much ground to cover, I was curious to see how the author meshed the real world with the fantastical one, but I found it super easy to keep track and to understand the larger picture. There also was a neat nuance to the characters and the book itself because of the multilayered approach. Technically, Tess knows all of these characters deeply since she read about them, but in reality, we see complete other sides of everyone, and it was such a heartwarming aspect within a fun and hysterical book. (speaking of hysterical.... just three words: Vampire Book Club!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate-Stayman London for the chance to read this arc. It felt like a hug from one fantasy reader to another, and I loved every second!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing, for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I went into Fang Fiction knowing how much I loved Kate Stayman-London’s previous book, One to Watch, but it took me a while to get into this one. I found it hard to understand the world it was set in and the different rules and elements, as it felt like I was supposed to immediately know what certain things were. The characters came off as a bit cringey and two-dimensional, and the stakes weren’t always clear based on the tone.

Switching to the audiobook made it easier to accept the story’s oddities, and I started enjoying it more that way. The narration was well done, and listening instead of reading allowed me to stay in the flow of the story without getting caught up in trying to figure out the worldbuilding. Even though the book was a bit weird for me, I ultimately enjoyed it, especially the podcasts, emails, and message board posts interspersed between chapters.

I would recommend this book to:
Fans of vampire media
Anyone looking for a quirky October read

This was fun! The first third of the book was especially strong - but I will say it starts to lose itself a bit after 65% of the way. In a way I wish KSL had made this a series rather than a standalone. I understand why, it’s likely an easier sell, but there was so much content that we started speeding through I would have rather had drawn out into 2-3 books. Overall still fun though, although a bit rushed, especially the delicate subject matter which had some ‘and then love fixed me’ energy I didn’t love.

While I liked this book, I didn’t love it. In my opinion, it was just ok. I feel like it was pretty slow to start, and I didn’t really care for the FMC. The concept was really cool, but none of the characters really did it for me unfortunately.

I wanted to love this one more but struggled with the writing/narration feeling so young or immature, which may have been intentional and just wasn't for me. The concept is quite fun, but the story leaned a bit too much into a chaotic direction for me to absolutely love it. Didn't hate it by any means, it was just a bit messy in the plot and character development for me to be a stand out. Eager to see what else the author will have for us in the future!

𝟯.𝟱 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡

Cute! Fun! Fresh! Felt very much like reading a fan fiction. I wasn't totally sold on the connection between Tess and Callum, but I am a romance girlie at heart so every crumb we got of them I was EATING UP. Loved the references to countless other vampire fandoms! Also, I really appreciated the SA survivor rhetoric and how much care Kate Stayman-London had in writing about it and how Tess copes with her assault. I enjoyed this while reading it, I just don't think it is a story that will stick with me and a couple of the scenarios felt a little too hokey for my taste.

I loved the heck out of this book! Tess Rosenbloom is a former grad student who lives a pretty mellow life: she works at a hotel and is an avid reader. One of her favorite series? A romantic fantasy series about vampires called Blood Feud. She's so invested in this series that she's read it several times, carries the books around with her, is a self proclaimed Feudie, and has written an article that has been published by Buzzfeed. Does she believe in vampires? Maybe, maybe not! Either way, she's unapologetically obsessed with this fandom.

As luck would have it, she finds herself in a bit of a pickle when one of the characters from her books shows up in her real life and thrusts her into the fictional world she's always dreamed of.

I really like how the author juxtaposed the fictional characters and the real beings. Tess has always crushed hard one one particular character, but is he really the guy that should be putting stars in her eyes and butterflies in her stomach? The "villain" of her favorite books ends up becoming her ally and I loved all their swoony moments!

The plot is pretty damn good as well. Her beloved characters have been trapped on an island for years and she's got to find a way to get them out. There are villains, more villains, super fans of the series, friends, and allies galore. It's a well rounded cast of characters and a well rounded story.

There's also a decent amount of romance thrown in the mix when Tess and her newest grumpy vampire crush start to get to know each other, depend on each other, and work together to try to figure things out.

Highly recommend to someone wanting a fun, fresh take on vampires.

I loved Kate Stayman-London's first book "The One to Watch" so I was really excited to read her take on vampires. The book is based around Tess who is an former academic and current hotel night-shift manager. She's also a die-hard Blood Feud fan which is the vampire romance series written by an author that publishes under a pen name. When she runs into one of the characters from the books, she has to question whether all of it was a real and how much of it is true.
I loved the framing of this book. I think the sections of the Blood Feud books at the beginning of the chapters made the book so interesting because you got to get a feel for the books that Tess loves so much. I also loved the gossipy style transcripts and emails interspersed. Everything about this book was perfect. I loved the characters, the plot, and the world building.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the eARC copy of this book!

This book surprised me in a good way. I had many stereotypes in my head when I first started reading, like the typical cringe-teenage girl assumptions about the obsession with hot characters that have nothing but hot air in their brains. But I was happy to continue reading and figure out what a nice story it was. It made sense to me that it was going to have elements of fantasy that might make it weird or unbelievable to read but it was actually pretty logic in the sense of vampire stories.

I enjoyed reading it, specifically the way it introduces and talks about the sensitive issues (sexual assault) and how it managed to not make it an immediate trigger warning. It's still there, but you are brought up to reading it slowly which makes it not as overwhelming as it normally is to read that.

I like that the author took the time to make sure the female characters were portrayed as strong and intelligent, specifically for a vampire story, because it's usually the vampires that end up "winning" in the end.
I also appreciate the way that it talks about fandoms as to not ridicule them, like it normally happens in the media.

First, loved the concept of this. A girl falls into her favorite vampire novel? Sign me up.

I loved that while this was a fun (sometimes cheesy) read the author still touched on more dark/serious topics such as SA. The quirky components made the book a little lighthearted which I appreciated.

Was this a literary masterpiece? No, but it was a fun read read for spooky season.

3.5/5 stars

eARC provided by NetGalley

Trigger Warnings: FMC recovering from Sexual Assault & drugging. Not shown

This book was a lot of fun!! I really enjoyed the pop culture references and the main plot. Finding out your favorite books are real and that you can help them. It's a great idea but something that is hard to pull off. Some things just felt rushed to me. Somethings did not really add up to me as things went along. The twist at the end was kind of anti-climatic to me from everything that happened till that point. Specifically cause I felt like it was a predictable ending.. I liked the main characters however. I liked the healing journey the FMC went on. How she was able to talk about her assault after all the time and was able to work through her trauma. I liked her story and Callum's connection as well. They really helped each other grow in ways they both had needed for some time it felt like. I did not care as much for her best friend and the girl twin's stories nearly as much as the others. I recommend this book tho if you want a fun read and like vampire fan fiction because that is the vibes!