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A review by nclcaitlin
Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London
3.5
This reads like Twilight of Buffy fanfiction in the best way possible.
This follows Tess, grad-school dropout who discovers that the world of her favourite vampire books is a real place when she's sent to rescue the sexy villain.
Visiting the world of your favourite 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?
Tess is shy, a constant reader, dreamy, romantic, and a little bit goth; attaching her literary fantasies to her latest crushes. Soooo, Tess is us.
This book was so fun!
There are excerpts from the fictional book, podcast snippets, a curated book playlist, gossip websites, etc.
Was this really cringey at times? Yes. Incredibly so.
There are so many pop culture references - Twilight, Taylor Swift, Timothee Chalemet, etc.; but it appeals to fandom culture and how we can be comforted by another world and find a community surrounding it.
“The whole idea of a 'hero' is so complicated, because heroes put other people before themselves, which is actually a very feminine quality. But heroes are usually men who wouldn't be able to pull off their heroic feats if it weren't for the support and sacrifices of women. And when a woman prioritizes herself in that way, she tends to be portrayed as a villain. So if you're a woman reader who's interested in strong female characters...”
"You tend to get stuck rooting for the villain," Octavia completed the thought.
There are also certain grimacing dialogue moments - ‘puh-lease’, ‘By the way, did I not mention I'm a big giant lesbian?’, ‘mate’ - but honestly, this just made it lean into the feeling of indulgent fanfiction even more!
This isn’t all fun, fang, and fic! It also covers a journey of recovery following a sexual assault and learning that running away and foregoing connections is not a self-loving life. This was handled with great care and you can just tell the author has such empathy and compassion to make sure everyone knows they deserve to be heard.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed Bride by Ali Hazelwood, Love Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan.
Thank you to Penguin Random house for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!
This follows Tess, grad-school dropout who discovers that the world of her favourite vampire books is a real place when she's sent to rescue the sexy villain.
Visiting the world of your favourite 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?
Tess is shy, a constant reader, dreamy, romantic, and a little bit goth; attaching her literary fantasies to her latest crushes. Soooo, Tess is us.
This book was so fun!
There are excerpts from the fictional book, podcast snippets, a curated book playlist, gossip websites, etc.
Was this really cringey at times? Yes. Incredibly so.
There are so many pop culture references - Twilight, Taylor Swift, Timothee Chalemet, etc.; but it appeals to fandom culture and how we can be comforted by another world and find a community surrounding it.
“The whole idea of a 'hero' is so complicated, because heroes put other people before themselves, which is actually a very feminine quality. But heroes are usually men who wouldn't be able to pull off their heroic feats if it weren't for the support and sacrifices of women. And when a woman prioritizes herself in that way, she tends to be portrayed as a villain. So if you're a woman reader who's interested in strong female characters...”
"You tend to get stuck rooting for the villain," Octavia completed the thought.
There are also certain grimacing dialogue moments - ‘puh-lease’, ‘By the way, did I not mention I'm a big giant lesbian?’, ‘mate’ - but honestly, this just made it lean into the feeling of indulgent fanfiction even more!
This isn’t all fun, fang, and fic! It also covers a journey of recovery following a sexual assault and learning that running away and foregoing connections is not a self-loving life. This was handled with great care and you can just tell the author has such empathy and compassion to make sure everyone knows they deserve to be heard.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed Bride by Ali Hazelwood, Love Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan.
Thank you to Penguin Random house for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!