I will say I wish I had liked this one more. The premise should've been right up my alley, but some elements didn't gel as well for me (characters sounding too samey in POVs, as well as the book's heavier themes not necessarily blending as strongly as they could with the lighter, fun, rom-com moments). While the premise itself held a lot of potential, particularly along the lines of the heroine ending up in her favorite book series, the execution didn't come together as smoothly as it could've.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A fun vampire fantasy, especially for those of us raised on AO3 and Tumblr. It's campy, it's queer, and made for folks (like me) who still hold on to that dream of actually stepping into their favorite literary world.

Things that worked for me:
1. Octavia, as well as her relationship with Joni. Big fan of any sapphic storyline but their arc was fun. Enjoyed the banter, enjoyed Octavia coming around to see Joni as more than an annoyance, and enjoyed their ending.
2. As someone who lives in NYC, loved seeing the comparisons with the island and the inclusion of several landmark locations.
3. The side characters. Would love spin-offs for the vampires in Nantale's clan. Justice for Hamish!
4. The writing style, especially the inclusion of the podcast transcripts and texts. Loved how one of the podcast hosts was weaved into the action.

A few things that fell flat for me:
1. Insta-love. It's a trope I hate and one that did not work, in my opinion, for Tess and Callum given Tess's original dislike of his character and Felix fangirl status.
2. Unclear passage of time between Tess entering and leaving the island. The timeline was confusing and had me stressed over how much work Tess missed.
3. While I enjoyed much of the world-building, especially the parallels to NYC, I was left questioning many details of the supernatural world both on and off the island.
4. Some of the language and references didn't land for me and already felt dated or try-hard. That said, it fit with the fanfiction and pop culture vibe of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! All reviews are my own.

Fang Fiction found its voice as a creative addition to the rom-com fiction world, combining unique form with an urban fantasy and a journey through recovering from trauma and grief of a life that could've been lived. Tess was an aspiring writer, accepted into a prestigious Columbia English program and well on her way to success having found her kindred spirit in her roommate. It all falls apart after a traumatic sexual encounter with the "nice guy" of the program - and our author has woven this trauma in so well throughout the character, in the way she reacts to men and sex, the way she thinks about her future, without making it the only aspect of Tess's personality. We get a glimpse of her very stagnant life -- before everything begins when Tess meets her favorite vampire from a book series.

The fantasy is woven in so wonderfully and interspersed with different mediums - we get chapters of the book (which are written markedly differently and a little over the top, to the point where I appreciated but felt myself skimming through them) as well as other bits of Tess's writing on fansites. Some areas of heavy-handedness took me out of the story - our writer's side comments about race were appreciated, but did jar me a bit out of the story, as an Asian reader, and sometimes the ways trauma was written in created anxiety. Sort of felt a bit monologuing from the author? But all in all, I felt a lot of those difficult topics were handled well in this novel, and felt ultimately very realistic.

I was excited to see something else by Kate Stayman-London. I read One to Watch and loved the idea but hated the execution. The good news is I liked Fang Fiction better than One to Watch, the bad news is it’s not by much.

Unfortunately I have more to complain about than gush about things I enjoyed.

I did love the humor (sometimes, other times it was a bit much), I loved the world building, and the mixed media elements. Plus hey, a playlist in the back of the book? Love that.

Beyond those few things tho? Did not enjoy. I thought the relationships were super insta-lovey. I liked the idea of Blood Feud book excerpts but felt they didn’t differ enough from the main story. At one point a vampire flails while talking?? Hello?? Is this 2010? Also vampire rules, how do they work? Vampires breathe in this book? Confusing. And finally, I really applaud the author for dealing with such a tough subject like SA. I thought Tess’ trauma was handled well, but the metaphors when it came to the vampires was both heavy handed and somehow also oblivious.

I don’t know, I think when it comes to romances, and I would really categorize this as a paranormal romance I know I’m a tough customer. In that it’s my least favorite genre 😬 But hey, my 3.5 star could be your 5 star.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, and Dial Press Trade Paperback for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is for all the vampire girlies! It reads like the fanfic you were (and probably still are) obsessed with. It’s campy, swoony and dramatic without being overdone. And of course it’s not a Stayman-London book, if doesn’t tackle a bigger issue. Trigger warning for SA. This cured my book slump. So you can say that I’m a fan(g).

I love anything with vampires, so I was excited to read this. The cover and title made me think this was going to be a fun romcom type read, and for the most part it is, but the book does cover a serious topic of sexual assault. There is witty banter, some fun side characters, and I enjoyed the author’s writing style. The idea of being stuck with your favorite book characters was so much fun. The author did a fabulous job of building a fictional world within a fictional world. Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

I really enjoyed this one! It was a little slow at first, but it got really good! Love the world of vampire and humans coming together. Love that it was a book that came to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the Arc!!

I had lots of fun reading this book with all of its pop culture references! Personally, however, too many pop culture references get in the way of the storytelling being able to connect with readers on a deeper level. I really connected with Tess, as someone who abhors being touched without permission, but sometimes the writing was forcibly “too woke” and pushing a certain agenda on me and I would lose my connection with the characters. On the flip side, I LOVED the inclusivity - one of my first thoughts “ali hazelwood but make it inclusive”.

I agree with other reviews - I wish the book was longer as the turning point from Felix’s masquerade onwards felt super rushed. Since this is a romance, I would’ve loved to develop the relationship of the two main couples more. I think it also would’ve been great to spend more time with Konstantin and establish what truly made him the supervillain he was set out to be.

Overall, I loved the concept of the book and the mixed methods of storytelling and POVs. Honestly wish I could also read the Blood Feud series!!

A fun and frothy read that will be perfect for escapism this fall! I loved the world and characters that Stayman-London created and would happily read several spinoffs from the land of Bar Between!

Oh my gosh this was such a surprise read! I didn’t know how I would feel about it! Thanks netgalley for the chance to review!

This is truly one of those paperbacks (I don't know why it always has to be paper back) that you pick up when you're having a bad day because you just needs something cute and light hearted. No betrayls and heartbreak, or complicated story line and magic system. A book you can just sit down and read straight through.
If you enjoyed My Roomate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine you'll love this book!

The cover and story really gave me Meg Cabot vibes. It was a quirky rom com with alot of bite *wink wink*

I was really excited about this book and couldn't wait to immerse myself in the vampire lore - but unfortunately found it surprisingly hard to get into. The world building was a bit hard to follow and parts really started to drag, which was such a shame as I really loved some of the characters!

Thank you to the publisher for granting a review copy

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were so interesting and unique, and the plot was amazing. I did find myself confused at times, and I had to go back and reread certain chapters to understand what was going on, but I understand that can sometimes be intentional. Overall, really enjoyed this.

I love the idea of the book. I can’t be the only one who wishes their favorite book characters were real. For me, I had trouble really getting sucked into the storyline and understanding the world and magic system. I will try to read it again in the fall when it’s spooky season and the vibes match the book more.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this upcoming title!

Ahhh, where do I begin. I was instantly enamored by this. It was a delight, from the characters to the plot. It begs the question, what if your fave characters werent so fictional after all....and that speaks volumes on the nostalgia from fan fiction days in general.

Thank you for this ARC!

This story had a lot of potential, but it experienced a noticeable lag about halfway through, I did enjoy it but felt this lag was difficult to get through.

Tess Rosenbloom is just trying to get by at her night shift hotel job even though she wants to be back at Columbia getting her Phd with her friend Joni but the place is filled with a horrible memory. She takes comfort in the Blood Feud novels, but maybe it is a bit too much as she has penned a viral internet essay containing details about why the events and characters may be real. Well that is until she encounters one of them before being whisked on an adventure that has her meeting the sharp Octavia Yoo, the charming Felix Hawthorne, and the devilishly handsome Callum Yoo. Her knowledge of the novels provides Tess with an advantage that she uses to try to help the vampires escape the mysterious Isle they were trapped in.

I enjoyed this novel it was genuinely a fun read - I love a story where a character is thrust into a world where all of these things they thought were fake are real. Unfortunately I was thrown by the heavy nature in a book - thankfully there is an author's note at the beginning of the novel to ensure that anyone who would be triggered is warned but the cover & description did not lend to how large the trauma of sexual assault impacts the story. I will also say that there is a lot of insta-love/lust in this which works if you are just looking for the fun but when I see a character learn to trust someone with her trauma a bit more development of the two of them would go a long way.

Octavia is a stand out character for me in this but I was always a Cordelia fan in Buffy/Angel so I could definitely see some of the inspiration of a powerful and opinionated woman being deemed a villain for no reason other than the fact that she stands up for herself. Another highlight for me is all of the mixed media at the start of chapters, I love the podcast narrations or the silly quizzes of which Blood Feud character is your soulmate.


Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for sharing with me an advanced copy of this book. I definitely will look read the author's other published work and will keep an eye out for any other upcoming releases.

This was so fun!

What if the characters from your favorite fiction book series weren’t actually fictional? What if you ended up in the same place and were asked to save them? And what if they were vampires…?

That is Fang Fiction. This was an absolute delight to read, and I’m so happy I was able to check out an advanced readers copy! There was a little more romance than I was anticipating but overall, super fun read!

I loved this book so much! Imagine finding out the characters from your favorite book are real? How amazing would that be! This book was so much fun to read! The only complaint I have is I wish it was longer. I wanted so much more, and didn’t want the story to end.