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

Fang Fiction is a unique blend of fantasy, romance, and social commentary. While the initial premise of a woman falling into her favorite book is familiar, the execution is fresh and thought-provoking.

The novel effectively explores themes of fan culture, escapism, and trauma recovery. The characters, particularly Tess and Callum, have complex dynamics and compelling backstories. The author’s use of humor and wit helps to balance the heavier themes.

However, the rapid pacing and numerous plot points can be overwhelming at times. The book could benefit from additional character development and a slower exploration of the world-building. Despite these shortcomings, Fang Fiction is an engaging read that will resonate with fans of the genre.

This book is insane -- basically, imagine your favorite Vampire Diaries superfan opens her door to Damon Salvatore asking for her help.

The premise of this book was so interesting to me and I love the cover! Unfortunately it fell flat for me, and I ended up DNFing about halfway through. I just couldn't get past the author naming the FMC in each sentence of the same paragraph. I would love to give this another chance if it goes through additional editing.

I enjoyed this, however, it needs a content warning! SA, panic attacks, trauma, PTSD. These triggers feel like they come out of left field and I was caught off guard because the overall vibe of this book is fun and angsty. Would definitely recommend putting in a warning!

If I was a vampire and the sun rose on me right now, I'd be dust because I'm too busy processing the yummy fantasy & mystery of this book.

Tess lives a predictable no-stakes (pun intended) life. She works nights at a hotel, escapes into her comfort rereads, participates in fandom online and maintains her peace by minimizing social risks. But then a vampire, straight from the pages of her favorite book, disrupts it all like shes Princess Leia telling Obi-Wan he's her only hope.

A magical quest ensues across dimensions to a vampire realm Tess only dreamed could be real. Yet, for all the scholarly knowledge of her favorite fictional vampires, nothing quite prepared her for the real thing. Villains keep her safe. Heroes threaten death. And she has to act fast to save them all.

*

You're picking up FANG FICTION for the lure of a villain vampire romance, but the standout for me is the world building and mysteries to solve. I need to reread as soon as possible to pick up on all the clues I missed.

I loved too the mixed media storytelling - Blood Feud exerpts, blog posts, text history, podcast transcripts. Its made for an immersive reading experience just like Tess herself fell into her own immersive save-vampirekind experience.

The romance was secondary for me. More so, I felt the romance served Tess' character development rather than be the primary objective of the book. From the beginning, the Author's Note even, I was prepared to be on Tess' schedule. We see her trauma responses on page. We see her protect herself from perceived and tangible threats to her safety. You can't start this book expecting or demanding a romance to proceed as you, the reader, want. Leave that behind and let love happen when trust is earned. When confidence is restored. And when passion for the future wins out over fear.

*

FANG FICTION is for dark romance readers looking for something campy and heartfelt. Its perfect for book clubs or buddy reads because you're gonna have theories that need to be shared.

Now if Kate Stayman-London wants to write and publish the Blood Feud books as a companion series, I am seated.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing & The Dial Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

First thank you to Kate Stayman-London & Ramdom House for allowing me to read this ARC of Fang Fiction.

I’m currently in my vampire era so this seemed like a great read to get me more into the vampy/spooky vibes.
I really loved the plot of this. Sending a crap ton of vampires to an isle in another dimension and giving them no way out (or so they think) was such a unique idea! I loved all the plot twists and turns. Towards the end I was almost on the edge of my seat with how intense things were getting.
Unfortunately where the plot soared, the character development lacked. All the characters had one major trait about them and that was made their ENTIRE personality. The relationships fell flat and it felt unnatural how they went from disliking each other to madly in love the next second. It felt like it was trying to be an enemies to lovers but all the tension was taken out.
This was a cute read for anyone a fan of vampires and/or trying to slide into spooky season!

This was so much fun! Tess is living all of our dreams when she finds out the characters in her favorite books are real and gets the opportunity to visit their world, which happens to be a hidden isle full of dangerous vampires.

I loved how the magical world was incorporated into the modern world with the “Blood Feud” book fandom and the conspiracy theories about the vampires actually being real. There are things like podcast transcripts, text exchanges, and excerpts from Blood Feud which were a really fun way to break up the chapters.

While there were a lot of lighthearted moments, there were also heavier themes such as Tess’ trauma after being sexually assaulted and how she tries to get her life back. The vampires (especially one hot vampire love interest in particular) end up being a really important part of her story and I thought it was very well done. Highly recommend this to my fellow vampire romance lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was really cool & unique!

Fang Fiction follows Blood Feud fanatic Tess Rosenbloom after a low point in her life — she dropped out of school after a traumatic sexual assault shook her whole world up. She left her roommate bestie Joni without any explanation and begins working overnights at a hotel.

Blood Feud fans have heard the conspiracy theories that their favorite novels may actually be based more on the truth than anyone expected - there are vampires walking among them and these fictional characters truly exist. We have fun Buzzfeed quizzes, podcast transcripts, e-mails, texts and excerpts from Blood Feud to help us tell the story. Tess even wrote a piece that explored the possibility of this reality …

I love love loved this one! I had a lot of fun exploring this world and my heart really went out to Tess as she navigated life after her trauma. I think Twilight, Buffy, & What We Do In The Shadows fans will eat this up! Dig in!!

Thank you so much NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. I look forward to reading more from Kate Stayman-London.

OK gonna start this out buy saying I've never read twilight, vampire diaries, or buffy (except the original movie --RIP Luke Perry) but everything I heard about this was amazing including a Podcaster I love so I shot my shot and was approved and it did not disappoint. Tess is young woman dealing with some personal stuff and she gets into a vampire show (we've all been there for me it was greys anatomy) then she starts to find out about all these conspiracy theories that it's a real world (imagine a real Seattle Grace) one of the brooding vamps shows up at her door! This book has so much in it so much representation, queer, fandoms, friendships, books- I can't say I'm a twi-hard (is that a thing) but maybe I've been missing out all these years ) I loved this book Def recommend

Tess Rosenbloom is trying to remake her life after everything she work for reminded her of a traumatic experience. She loves to read her comfort book Blood Feuds and romanticize the hero Felix.

Tess is such an amazing FMC. She's trying to survive after trauma and then gets sucked into a world of vampires. Tessa finds her voice and the courage to belive in herself and other's through ac twist of events she never expected.

Fresh take on paranormal romance! Appreciated the author’s trigger warnings. Fun read if you liked Twilight or Vampire Diaries as a teen.

When Tess is invited to her favorite fictional place, with the characters she's read about, who is she to decline?

Tess loves the series Blood Feud, so much so that she dabbles online about whether or not vampires exist, and she doesn't believe they do until one walks through the door.

Fang Fiction makes for a delicious read to sink your teeth into! You get drama and romance, with vampires and smut! I could not put this read down until I devoured all of it!