Review: Fangbanger by Sophia Travers

About the Book

He’s the brutal gladiator-turned-vampire I’ve hunted for years…and I’m the slayer who will do anything to end him. Marcus Antonius needs to die. The arrogant vampire is an immortal legend—a cruel warrior and beautiful predator. I’m an orphaned slayer with no magic, but I refuse to be his prey.

When I finally lure him to my home, he nearly kills me, and I learn a horrible truth—to avenge my parents’ deaths, I need to partner with my enemy.

Our deal is simple—one week living together in exchange for my revenge.

We share a bed. He sleeps shirtless and tempts me in the night.

And when he needs to feed? I shouldn’t let him bite me.

I shouldn’t start to crave it.

And I definitely shouldn’t like everything he does for me, like rescue me when I’m injured, and feed me when I’ve been fending for myself for years.

Just when I start to trust him, I learn he’s been keeping secrets.

One week, one bed, one deal — and a vampire I can’t kill but can never keep.

Review

I was very excited about the concept of Fangbanger. I’ve read so few stories centered on vampire x slayer, and I thought this would be a fun, engaging enemies-to-lovers story. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me.

A lot of the story felt forced rather than developing naturally. The lore was also more than a little confusing, and instead of becoming clearer as the story progressed, it left me with more questions. The repeated use of words like “mate” and “slayer” also became annoying after a while.

There was a lot of buildup with the “villain” of the story. It didn’t lead anywhere. Also, it felt like so much filler that added nothing to the overall story. The book felt longer than it needed to be.

I was especially disappointed by the reveal surrounding what happened to her parents. Light spoiler, but Leah got it all wrong. The book reveals it early on. I didn’t particularly love that twist because it felt too casual.  Toward the end, we learn even more about what actually happened the night her parents died, but that additional information didn’t make the storyline any more satisfying for me. If anything, I was left wondering why there had been so much buildup for a reveal that ultimately felt so lackluster.

Final Thoughts

Fangbanger had a concept that really appealed to me, but the confusing lore, forced development, filler, and underwhelming payoff made it difficult for me to stay invested.