After reading One to Watch a few years ago, I was excited when Kate Stayman-London announced Fang Fiction. I think most readers would love to find out their favorite fictional characters/world were real. Today I want to talk about this book and what I thought!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.
She’s out for adventure. He’s out for blood.
The world of your favorite fantasy novels is real, and you’re invited to visit. The only catch? It’s filled with thirsty vampires. Devour this page-turning romance from the bestselling author of One to Watch.
Tess Rosenbloom is no stranger to the dark. An assault survivor and grad school dropout, she spends her nights managing a chic Brooklyn hotel and her days curled up with her favorite vampire novels, Blood Feud. Tess even dabbles in online conspiracies that Blood Feud is real—it’s fun to hunt for clues! But deep down, Tess doesn’t believe vampires actually exist…
Until one walks through her door.
It turns out Blood Feud is real, and the sexy villain of the novels is trapped. Eager to escape her life, Tess agrees to help rescue him, and soon she’s in a fantasia of lavish palaces and enchanted forests, on a secret island where the sun never shines and she’s surrounded by deadly vampires—and against her better judgment, she’s falling in love with one of them. (And unbeknownst to Tess, her estranged best friend is having a sapphic affair with a beautiful vampire of her own back in New York.)
Visiting the world of your favorite story is any fan’s dream, but will Tess be able to outrun the demons of her past (and vampires of her present) before it becomes a nightmare? In this darkly glamorous rom-com, Tess will find out whether it’s worth risking her neck—and her heart—for a chance to reclaim her future.
Review
Fang Fiction was one of my many anticipated releases and I was so excited when I got an eARC of this book. The idea of my favorite fictional characters/world being real is nuts, but it would definitely be interesting! I think most readers have wished some fictional places or people were real. So I just had to read Fang Fiction to see how it would all play out.
Our main character Tess is a major fan of Blood Feud. I mean who wouldn’t love a good series about vampires? Tess had her life on track, working on her PhD, Things fall apart for her when she’s assaulted at a party. This is talked about throughout the book, and I feel that the author did this with great care. When she realizes her favorite fictional characters are real and trapped on an island, she sees this as the perfect escape.
Fang Fiction had the perfect balance of pop culture references, excerpts of Blood Feud, podcast transcripts, and different articles about the fandom. I loved how this was incorporated in this story. Tess’ time with the vampires and how she helps them was so much fun to read. I also loved how much this helped Tess grow as well. She came back to fight and take her life back. Things she says at the end of the book were very powerful.
The story felt a little slow for me in the middle, but in the end, I had a great time with this book. I enjoyed the side characters and the elements of romance. I loved that it didn’t take over the story. I really wouldn’t mind if the author actually gave us Blood Feud books. I definitely recommend this book for spooky season.
I would love for this author to give us more books! I wouldn’t even complain if she wrote the book talked about in Fang Fiction, Blood Feud. Have you read any books with vampires lately? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
