What’s better than a book about vampires? How about a book about a book series about vampires—that might turn out to be real? Kate Stayman-London combines fanfic with spicy vampire sex and no small amount of peril in Fang Fiction. I received an eARC via NetGalley thanks to being a host of Prophecy Girls podcast.

Tess drops out of grad school after someone else in her program sexually assaults her. She takes solace in her favourite fantasy series, Blood Feud. Tess doesn’t think much of the fan conspiracy theory that the vampires from the books are real. Then Octavia Yoo, one such vampire, shows up at the hotel where Tess works. She finds herself drafted to seek out Octavia’s brother, Callum, who is as dangerous as he is hot. Meanwhile, Octavia reluctantly teams up with Tess’s former roommate and best friend. Across two separate places, these women must solve the mystery of how Octavia escaped the Isle, who August Lirio is, and how they can reunite the Yoo siblings.

Fang Fiction didn’t land for me at first. Stayman-London’s characterization is sharp and lacks much subtlety. Tess and Joni gush over Blood Feud; the vampire characters, like Octavia and Callum, are melodramatic AF. Everything is cranked up to eleven, but nothing feels real. It feels flimsy, goofy, like I’m watching season 1 Buffy all over again.

Slowly but surely, however, the book won me over. First and foremost is Stayman-London’s depiction of Tess’s trauma following her rape. For a book that is otherwise tongue-in-cheek to the point of distraction, Fang Fiction deals with rape with incredible grace and sensitivity. Tess’s spiral, which is where we basically meet her after the book’s prologue, and her reluctance to talk to Joni about her rape feels so real and poignant. Stayman-London does an excellent job of showing why a survivor might withdraw from the world and from her friends. She succeeds in showing the ongoing harm that persists despite the actual event being over. For a book that otherwise seems to land firmly in the romantasy genre, this darker thread adds pathos.

The romantic parts, of course, didn’t do much for me. More invested romantasy readers might enjoy it, though this is a slow burn romance that takes a long time to get to the spicy parts. The wrong Prophecy Girl might have read this book, though—when I typed out and sent Steph a lengthy, steamy passage from later in the book, her ears metaphorically perked up. For what it’s worth, I can understand, intellectually, the heat in these pages.

The somewhat meta “fan fiction” idea is intriguing but fizzles, in my opinion, amidst the chaos of the climax. The actual Big Bad proves predictable, and the confrontation itself is underwhelming. This book doesn’t really do much when it comes to exploring the nature of vampires or their mythos beyond the bits and pieces Stayman-London needs for the story.

Fang Fiction is enjoyable, hot even if that is your thing. Romantasy readers, Buffy fans, are the right target audience, and I don’t want to damn this with faint praise: this book is full of charm and wit and intense moments that are going to satisfy. That being said, whether it’s Stayman-London’s characterization style or her plotting, this book never quite achieved its full potential in my eyes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC.

I enjoyed Kate Stayman-London's first book, One to Watch, and thankfully I enjoyed this book just as much, if not more. Stayman-London continues to make characters that are flawed and relatable, while also totally unique. I loved all of them, even the side characters. I'm not a huge fantasy reader, but I think the author did a great job with the world building to where I was able to have a full understanding of what was going on. I was able to visualize the world without being bored of reading too much description. It took me awhile to read, but it was fast paced and easy to follow. I almost wish the book would've been a little longer, with a tiny bit more time spent on relationship development - but also, it could just be that I wished I could spend more time in this world with the characters. I also appreciate the way the author took care to handle the more sensitive topics that happen in the story as a way to keep her readers from becoming triggered.

I'd absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction/fantasy. I said this in my One to Watch review too - I can't wait to read more by Kate Stayman-London, and I hope she writes more books in this genre.

I thought this would be a fun, fall, Halloween type novel. It wasnt terrible but it wasnt great. It didnt hold my attention like I wanted it to. There just wasnt anything that made me want to pick it up. It was a bit boring in the first half.

The timeline of their romance was too quick for me.

I absolutely LOVED Kate's debut novel, One to Watch. This one missed the mark compared to that one. Ill still read her novels!

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

Meh! I think lots of people are angry with the marketing of this one but as I didn't see any I can't comment on that. My main issue is that it's a bit boring and the main character continuously acts completely opposite to how I would act at any given moment. I love Buffy but if I saw Spike all vamped up I wouldn't be chomping at the bit for him. I don't really want to comment on the way this book handles big issues as I just dont feel equipped to do so. If you're on the fence I think there may be better books for you.

This book was absolutely brilliant. Not only does this handle such a sensitive topic with such care, but it also is fun and sexy. This book strikes such a balance between healing while also being a fun, mysterious and exciting story. I truly don’t have the right words to describe how much I absolutely love this story. Most vampire stories are cheesy and very surface level, but this book has such emotional depth. This book truly has it all: emotional depth, well-written characters, a fun story and great setting. I don’t have enough words to describe my true love for this.

Just ok for me. Not a totally bad story but very messy with too much happening at times. The story progression was slow and made the pace feel awkward. The layout was fun with podcast transcripts, emails, Reddit posts, etc. Overall the plot was just to predictable.

I wanted to like this book. I was obsessed with Twilight, so a novel that imagines if vampires were real seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately, there was a lot of heavy stuff for the way this was marketed. I don't feel like the rape of Tess was appropriate, or even fit, with the rest of the narrative that was told.

I loved this book. I'll just say it up front. I loved the characters and the concept and I found it a delight to read.

A handful of years ago, Tess dropped out of her dream grad school program after being sexually assaulted by one of her classmates. These days, she works as a night manager for a quirky hotel and spends way too much time reading and rereading her favorite series of vampire novels, Blood Feud. A series that some people - Tess included - like to speculate might be real. Well, maybe. It would be fun, right? Except as it turns out, they are real, and now, one of the main characters needs Tess's help. Tess ends up tangled up in a parallel universe of vampires and their politics, and learns there's far more to these people than the books made it seem. And the actual villain might not be who she suspected.

There's a serious element of wish fulfillment to this book - what if your favorite book series was real and you were the only person who could help your favorite characters? - and that's part of the fun. It's self aware, full of Buffy references and vampire in-jokes, never taking itself too seriously without ever making fun of the characters. Tess's journey towards healing was - in my opinion - handled gently and with grace, and all of the characters around her are just as layered and lovely. Plus there's the lingering mystery of who the author of these books even is, which added an extra layer to the whole plot.

Basically, I had a great time reading this book, and I'm still thinking about it weeks after finishing it.

5/5

I did love Tess Rosenbloom and how the author handled writing an assault survivor. I also loved the Buffy quote at the beginning. However, the plot fell a little flat for me and I pretty much hated the secondary characters.

"Fang Fiction" by Kate Stayman-London was a fun and unique read. The story's mixed media format, including podcast transcripts, text messages, and book excerpts, made it an immersive experience. The premise revolves around a popular vampire book series with two covens, led by heartthrob Felix and bad boy Callum. Tess, a superfan, discovers that the vampires and their island are real when Callum escapes and seeks her out. Suddenly, she's the only human on an island full of vampires, navigating a world she thought was fictional.

The world-building and mysteries were standout elements for me. The story jumps between dimensions and timelines, but the author handles it seamlessly, making it entertaining rather than confusing. While the romance between Tess and Callum was secondary, it served Tess's character development well. The book also had fun references to other vampire series like "Twilight," "True Blood," and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," making it a perfect October read. Overall, "Fang Fiction" is a delightful blend of supernatural crime-solving and cozy, puzzle-filled fun.

This clever, comical novel centers on sweet-but-skittish Tess Rosenbloom. After finding out that Blood Feud, the vampire book series she loves is real, she ends up stranded on an island with the vampires and gets immersed in their high-stakes world.

Tess is a great character. You feel for her, especially due to how well the subplot about past abuse is presented. It adds the perfect amount of emotional resonance to this campy, fun tale. The main romance between Tess and lead vampire Caleb is fun and swoony, while the sapphic romance for her best friend adds even more heart.

It's spooky season and the perfect time to dig your teeth into the funny, romantic, emotional novel!

This was pure vampy fun! I’ve been waiting for another book from this author since One to Watch and I love that she changed genres so dramatically but with such flair. I felt like was watching Buffy and it gave life!

Imagine your favorite fictional characters were actually real and you got pulled into their orbit and you got mixed up in their bloody vampire feud?

It’s like if all of a sudden Fae were just walking around and you actively make out with Rhys because you were part of the story THAT WAS NOT ACTUALLY FICTION AT ALL!! 😱

I didn't finish this one. The writing wasn't great and it dragged so much in some spots. I skimmed a lot to try to get to entertaining parts but it never really happened. I also didn't end up liking any of the main characters so that didn't help my enjoyment of the book.

This is what I imagine when someone is dropped into their fandom's canonical storyline. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but this was very enjoyable and the author did an excellent job of switching between POVs. I also believed Tess, one of the main characters, was given a clear background and acted in line with her motivations as a result. Sexual assault is not always written well, but the text depicted trauma and triggers that, in my own personal understanding, correctly and as respectfully as possible in conjunction with the rest of the story. This was a solid book that made for a fun read.

Thank you @NetGalley and @Random House Publishing Group for the ARC. Fang Fiction was such a fun read. I would love to be part of Buffy the Vampire world. This book shows that a story is what we make of it and the characters are not always fiction. If you love the vampire world, a must read.

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to read this e arc!

First off while I give this a five star it’s for very biased emotional nostalgic reasons. Though in a way the more I think about it the more I realize that’s more of success for the book because this book is a love letter those vampire romances like vampire diaries, twilight and Buffy and it threw me back into a time where I LOVED those kinds of books and shows! It felt so good to touch on those memories while reading something new! The cast was so endearing I loved Tess and Callum so much and Joni and Octavia were so fun! If there was ever a sequel for this book I would definitely get behind it! Even though the ending of this one was a rather lovely end

this book was so fun !! i was approved on netgalley to read it & i loved it !! i though the different forms of text (podcast, texts, emails, a part of a blog) were nice & different. i loved the friendships and the relationships too callum, I LOVED HIM. he was so grumpy but also his soft side that you see as you read more, ugh, i love. there were some plot twists that i was not excepting, which i loved. i really liked the representation of the main character, tess, going through ptsd & trauma from her sa. it showed that something that has such a small comparison to it, can still trigger you.

I had SUCH high hopes for this one and unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I adored KSL’s debut, but while I found the premise of this one to be so so good, the writing fell a little flat and the SA was so unexpected that it threw me out of the story and I kinda never recovered. Sigh. I’ll try her next book with tempered hopes!

I would describe this unironically as "a romp". It was so fun and such a perfectly crafted world that the reader gets to play in for a few hundred pages.

This was so fun!!! Kate can do no wrong and I hope we keep getting paranormal/spooky/magical books from her.