Fantastic start to a book I'm sure I'm going to love till the end. I cannot wait to receive my full copy to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this SAMPLER.

This sampler was about the first half of the book. To be honest, I don’t know if I could force myself through another half. Of course, it ended at an interesting bit. But I’m sure it would go back to me trudging through after that. I liked some parts, struggled with others. I absolutely detested the format. I am all for the storytelling narrator or whatever. But I want flashbacks and actual scenes. I want distinguished differences between timelines. This one one big dialogue. There were very few instances where it wasn’t just quotes coming from the MC. And nothing was ever specifically noted to represent what time we were in. Present. Past (school). Or past (a few years). It made it confusing sometimes. Also, the amount of vulgarity in this book is overwhelming. I’m all for cussing and whatnot in stories, but this felt forced and overdone. Very crass. The MC also got on my nerves. I don’t know. Between the format and the rest, I’m not sure ill read the other half.

For reference, I loved Nevernight.

Brilliant. Religious spin on Interview with a Vampire if it met Castlevania. I deeply enjoyed this and Jay’s classic humor amidst the gore. One of the best books of the year. Thank God vampires are back!

Really good but like the Nevernight Chronicles super bloody and dark. I think I like the Nevernight series slightly better so far. There’s a shred of hope in that series I’m not seeing a lot of hope for humans in this book unless the sun shines again before the last of humanity breaks and falls. There’s been no sunlight to speak of in decades and the vampires have pretty much won…. It does leave me wanting to follow it to its gory gory end…

I just wish this was the entire arc. This 100% lives up to the hype! Go preorder and read immediately!!

Ahhh!!! I need the rest of this book right now!
I've been so excited about this and was so happy when I got approved for this extended sampler on Netgalley.

This book is DARK. It has Kristoff's distinctive gritty (in a good way) style of writing and tone, but it just works so well for this. Since this is only a sampler I'm just going to give a 4/5 star rating as of now, because we do have another half of the book to read once it is finally published in its full form.

This will be a perfect fall/spooky month read if that's what you're looking for, but I do think that there should be some trigger warnings for some of the themes and situations that come up in this novel..
If you have enjoyed Kristoff's previous works and never got over the "vampire phase" I think you'll really enjoy this one.

This review has been published as of 9?18, Wednesday September 8 at https://nicolesbookthoughts.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/empire-of-the-vampire-chapter-sampler-review/

It is almost time for one of my most anticipated releases of the year! Empire of the Vampire is out September 14, and you can bet I have the special edition preordered, so you can imagine my squeals when I saw this 400 page (half the book!) long chapter sampler and the even louder squeals when St. Martin’s Press approved me for it on NetGalley. So obviously I read it all as fast as possible. Because after all, this is THE vampire book I have been searching for for YEARS.
Synopsis:
Empire of the Vampire is a bloody, violent, dark vampire story. It follows Gabriel de Leon as he tells his story, from his measly start as a blacksmith’s son, to a member of the holy brotherhood called the Silversaints as he tries to keep the coldbloods who run rampant at bay long enough for the people to live their lives unaffected. I’m on page 408, and so far it has the hints of betrayal, loss of faith, and the build-up to the fight against the Forever King all while trying to figure out how de Leon ended up where he is.
My Thoughts:
I have a lot, so buckle up! The first being a super important one, and (in my humble opinion) the most important. Jay Kristoff has a very distinct style. It was evident in the Nevernight trilogy, and it’s evident here. Love or hate him, the man knows exactly what he wants to write and makes sure it fits into an aesthetic. I’m confident I could pick out the books he writes alone easily. Which for me, isn’t an issue in the slightest! I highly enjoy it, and some of the awkward prose I felt in the Nevernight books was fixed here. I think partially because it’s a male POV and it’s easier to think that way for him. Some of the offhand comments feel more natural coming from a dude. This book (so far) has 3 timelines, and I think that makes it incredibly effective. Instead of getting bogged down with one part of de Leon’s story, it jumps to another section and has intermittent pieces of the current day where de Leon is talking to who he’s telling the story to. It’s incredibly smart to change up what’s being told and keeps the reader from getting too bogged down. Coincidentally that was my problem with The Name of the Wind, but this is making me want to try that one again purely because of how much I loved this.
So far I’m giving this a 5/5, which I do NOT give lightly. It will take something MASSIVE to make me give this anything less than a 4.5. Because this story isn’t just a sad mad reliving his glory days for fun, it’s bringing vampires back to what we (I?) know and love, a tale of loss of faith, the fragility of belief, and most importantly how to find the hope to keep going when all hope is gone. Also, I have to include I love Phoebe.
Would I recommend?
So the short answer is YES. The long answer is…if you hated the style of Nevernight with the all swearing, blood, gore, intimate scenes, central religion, etc. no. I don’t think you’ll like it, because these things are also very central to this book. But if you love horror, dark stories, want a fresh take on an old topic, or even want to give Kristoff another try to see how much he’s improved since his other books (a lot might I add) then you should definitely give this a try. Because after all, there’s no time like today to get into dark stories!
Also, I NEED to know how many books this will be because I can guarantee you I’ll be pre-ordering all of them! I also plan to do a review as soon as I finish the rest of the book!
*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me this free chapter sampler in exchange for my honest review*

Holy shit! This book is so epically written! I am completely obsessed! I cannot wait to have my copies so that I can finish it.

If you like creepy vampire stories then you need to pick this one up! The humor is dry and dark and I have highlighted so many lines in my kindle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for this free sampler.

I am so excited for this release and the gorgeous portraits it includes. I will admit it took some use to differentiate from Gabriel's story and his interaction with the vampire This arc sampler was pretty generous and cannot wait to have this tome in person😍

I received an eARC Sampler of Empire of the Vampire (436/736 pages ) by Jay Kristoff in exchange for an honest review provided by NetGalley & St. Martin's Press. 5⭐️

I need the rest of the book immediately!! This was such a tease in the best way possible. I love Kristoff, he’s one author that never disappoints. EOTV is no exception. One of things I loved is the art features Jean François is described drawing while writing Gabriel’s story. I also love the sarcastic banter between the two of them. I really can’t wait to see what happens at the end.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise.
For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León, half man, half monster and last remaining silversaint – a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night – is all that stands between the world and its end.
Now imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:
The Holy Grail.

I AM SO EXCITED! This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I already know JK will not disappoint when I get my hands on the rest of this book. JK is a master of words and world building. Incredible. What an amazing sampler. now to just stalk the mail for all of my pre-orders!

Excuse me. There was no need to stop THERE. I can't wait to finish this hefty novel, I need more Gabriel in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley for this sampler of Empire of the Vampire!

*This review is only for the first half I of the book provided with the sampler.*

Jay Kristoff has such a distinct writing style, and he has once again drawn me in with this dramatic, suspenseful, hilarious book.

While the pacing is quite slow, I still found myself sitting on the edge of my seat at the end of each chapter, waiting for what’s next in the tale of the last Silversaint. I can’t wait to read the second half!

I wanted to like this one…
I mean, I really REALLY wanted to like this…

That being said, I was severely disappointed.

What worked:
-the darker than black atmosphere
-the level of violence and gore (this is NOT book for young adults!)
-a certain level of surprise and intrigue
-thorough and engaging worldbuilding
-a different take on vampire lore

What didn’t work:
-frequent crass language that took me out of the story completely
-Jay Kristoff promised us gay stuff, but did NOT deliver
-a level of humor that only bro-y machismo teenagers would find funny
-lots of straight male posturing

JAY KRISTOFF FETISHIZES QUEER WOMEN! STOP WRITING WLM! It is the male gaze EVERY SINGLE TIME, and I find it LOATHSOME!

This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed it. It isn't for a casual read that's for sure. This is a story you have to invest time in and pay attention to. Gabriel, the last silver saint, is an interesting character. I really enjoyed hearing the story about his youth and his apprenticeship to becoming a silver saint, and then further along with the battles and sword fights. Lots of action in this one, which helps propel the storyline. I really liked the interaction between Gabriel and his captor. I'm definitely interested in picking up more by this author in the near future.

This is an absolutely funny case that I’ve never had with a sampler before. The sampler was too long. I mean you can tell it’s a honker of a book when the sampler is 400 pages long! The sampler is longer than a lot of contemporary books. It was so very long that, honestly, I stopped it before I finished it. There comes a point in big books like that that begin to feel like they are ramping up to a big crescendo and honestly, I didn’t want to crescendo before I could finish the book. As a sampler, as a teaser, it does a good job of tantalizing the book but like I wish it had been shorter to be more teasing. Like, hold some back! It’s like when you see a trailer for a hallmark movie and they basically give away the whole plot. A sampler should be a tease not half the book. So I decided to only read half of the sampler just so I could get a taste of the world without feeling like I was left on the cliff-hanging.
I’d never read a Kristoff book before so I had no personal yardstick for how exactly this was going to go. I know from other people’s reactions and responses that Kristoff has a reputation for being brash and vulgar and violent and gory and lots of cursing, and given the topic of the book, I expected a lot of that to come back into play in this book as well. Let’s just say, it’s one thing to anticipate and another thing to read for yourself. Suffice to say that his reputation is well earned. He really holds nothing back and while it’s a lot to take one all at once, that’s honestly one of the features of his writing from what I can tell. I enjoy his humor and the way he doesn’t give a fuck about language. Let’s just also say that yeah, if you are squeamish or sensitive, this is not the bok for you. Not only is there apparently (based on Nevernight reviews) levels of Kristoff violence and language but also since there are vampires there is plenty of blood! So just know your limits and know when to say a book isn’t for you. Luckily, I didn’t have any of those issues, and look forward to experiencing the rest of this wild ride!

I love the worldbuilding in this and can't wait to read the rest. It's a good, thick tome and sometimes that's exactly what you want in a fantasy. Will highly recommend.

I'm waiting until the full copy is in my hands to write a full review. But wooowww, finally some vampires with bite! Bloody, epic, brilliant! Cannot wait to see what happens next, so glad I ordered multiple copies of this beauty.

I screamed when I saw the notification that I had been approved to read this sampler of Empire of the Vampire!! I devoured it whole and am eagerly awaiting the full release! As predicted, Jay Kristoff left me hanging off a cliff! Empire of the Vampire is the story of Gabriel de León, a silversaint. Captured by his enemies and forced to tell his story, Gabriel unveils pieces of what led him to become a bastion against vampires. But Gabriel never claimed to be a hero and he has many haunting secrets.

From the opening line, I knew that I was going to enjoy this sampler. Jay Kristoff has a chilling and bloodthirsty take on vampires, which was delightfully terrifying. In a similar format as The Name of the Wind, Jay Kristoff takes readers on a wild ride as we learn about Gabriel’s journey. I love Jay’s prose and highlighted so many passages in this sampler. Gabriel is a flawed, morally gray hero. He’s far from perfect, which only makes him all the more interesting. The world-building is enormous in terms of scale and very impressive. It’s clear that this book has a piece of Jay Kristoff’s soul tucked inside.

The characters are multifaceted and fascinating. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the beginning of a legendary tale that I can’t wait to read more of. I would recommend Empire of the Vampire to anyone looking for a dark, gritty, and heart-pounding read. Empire of the Vampire releases September 14, 2021. Thank you so very much to Jay Kristoff, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a person whose identifiers include “obsessed with vampires” I can hardly describe how excited I was to learn there would be a brand new epic vampire saga on the scene. I immediately began tracking the release of this book and applied for the ARC. This 300+ page sampler was more that I was hoping to even receive.⁣
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This book follows the life journey of a jaded vampire hunting crusader named Gabriel de Leon and his rag tag group of companions on their quest end the endless night that’s plagued the world for decades and allowed the vampiric legions to rise to power and lay waste to the lands. Sounds pretty cool right? I thought so. Our story is told as a recounting from de Leon’s perspective to a vampiric historian who is charged with documenting de Leon’s life story… It’s giving very much Anne Rice Interview With a Vampire.⁣
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What I’ve really and truly enjoyed so far about EotV are the characters and their back stories, the interesting take on the vampire lore, the witty banter and one-liners, and the absolute foul-mouthed dialogue. These characters have some off the wall insults for each other and I couldn’t get enough of it. Also, the illustrations are beautiful but there needs to be more diversity.⁣
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Religion is HEAVILY themed in this book and while I’ve enjoyed this in some other fantasy novels it was just too much for me. The timeline jumps around a lot and for someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience reading books written this way it can be difficult to keep track of which time period you’re in. Overall I think it was done well enough for most readers to keep up with. This book is very much NOT FOR CHILDREN. I recommend checking trigger warnings as there are MANY scenes involving minors, minors with adults, suggestive incest, explicit scenes involving minors, blatantly referenced pedophilia… this would be my biggest critique for this book. In any given scene involving a minor the character could have been aged up and it would not have taken away from the plot in the slightest. In fact these scenes took me right out of the story every time they came up. ⁣
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Overall I will not be rushing out to purchase this book on release day. Maybe one day I’ll borrow it from the library or pick it up second hand to learn the rest of de Leon’s sordid tale… I’m giving it 3 stars and I believe that to be very generous ;)