A review by bookishvicky
Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London

funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC of Fang Fiction  in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“After three years of darkness, Tess Rosenbloom was finally ready to let in some light.”

I was unsure of this book at first, as a lot of the prologue and first few chapters were very much info dumps of Tess’s character and the lore of the books-within-a-book, Blood Feud. The dialogue felt stiff at times, and a lot of it was too unbelievable even for speculative fiction, until I realized I was reading it the wrong way— as the title and theme implies, this is fan fiction! 

As soon as I just let myself have fun, I enjoyed this book a lot more. I do still have some questions, like
why the tarot card was important, why witches could and did imprison vampires, why no one really cared their lives were being broadcast via books for years–
but the ending definitely sets up for possible sequels and spin-offs, so I’m choosing to overlook those elements in favor of Joni and Octavia, the BEST couple and dynamic in this book. 

Tess and Callum were a classic “Y/N and heart throb” story, but Joni and Octavia’s banter was so fun, I kind of wish the book was just about them, or at least setting Joni as the main protagonist. 

Another thing, the perspectives were hard to follow at times, and there were a lot of instances where there’d be “and it was all a dream” scenes, which don’t sit right with me. I also found the transcripts annoying at first, but they grew on me toward the end. 

I’d absolutely read any subsequent novels in this world, if not to learn more about the vampires (the scene where the side characters lamented being side characters in the Blood Feud books was pretty good). 

Fang Fiction does have some problems keeping pace and believability, but I did enjoy it. It was a fun fanfiction-like book with rich characters, witty dialogue, and some decent twists. Definitely recommend it if you're a fan of Buffy or The Vampire Diaries.
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