Can Fandom's Be Bad for Your Health?

 

TITLE: Fang Fiction

AUTHOR: Kate Stayman-London

PUBLISHER: Dial Press Trade Paperbacj/span>

PUBLISHING DATE: October 1, 2024

PAGES: 400   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: 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.

MY THOUGHTS: So, let's get my trivial thoughts out of the way.  I don't think this cover does this book any favors.  It kind of gives of rom com vibes which this book really isn't, and it doesn't give off urban fantasy vibes, which this book kind of it and it definitely doesn't adequately portray all the trauma and trigger warnings the book might evoke.  For the record, I don't rely on trigger warnings, but I know some people do and the author does address them early on before the story starts.  And last but not least, why is the blood black?  I don't get it, and someone please do this author a favor and do a cover redesign stat!

Good thing I really loved what was INSIDE the cover.  Tess is the night manager at a fancy hotel in her town.  She was once a grad school literature student, but when something happens which she shared with no one, including her best friend and roommate, she suddenly moves out without any warning or explanation.  Tess still loves reading though and has totally immersed herself in the Blood Feud series (think Twilight for the next generation). Blood Feud has a whole fandom and even a podcast where people speculate about the mysterious author's identity and whether or not it is based on actual events.  Spoiler alert (not really) - it is.  Something happens and Tess find herself sent to the Blood Feud world to deliver a message.  She ends up getting stuck there and finds out quickly not all vampires are nice, romantic and sparkly.  Will she be able to finally overcome some of her past trauma and will her old roommate be able to bring her back to the "real world?"

This book was some serious fun.  I loved Tess with all her flaws and trauma and enjoyed the "lore" surrounding the whole "is it real, or isn't it?" Blood Feud fandom. Tess runs into some real bad vampires, and it was fun to see the author didn't strictly rely on the romantic sparkly kind of vamps.  Tess meets some truly interesting characters along the way and exhibits a lot of character growth and self-discovery as the book progresses.  The ending was exciting and satisfying, and I wouldn't mind seeing a companion book sometime in the future. 

If you love vampires and enjoy seeing them in their real element and not just light and fluffy, then please give this book a chance. It was a perfect addition to my #Vamptember reads.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS