While I enjoyed Nevernight when I read it initially as a young adult, there are elements to this book and its writing that just aren’t what I’m looking for these days in my fantasy.
The writing I do think works with the setting. We’re surrounded by vampires and vampire hunters who are absolutely obsessed with themselves (whether from self-loathing or just self obsession it depends) and there’s a frame story here where a legend tells his own story, which is often full of unreliable narrators up their own asses (which I find highly entertaining). I think that characterization works here, and is to be expected, and I was honestly excited to see how it would play out.

However, in the first portion of this book, Jay Kristoff did something I am so tired of seeing male fantasy authors do that it has become an instant no-go for me personally while reading, which is this ‘ambiguous consent’ (which is NOT AMBIGUOUS - consent was NOT given, please read the sarcasm within the quotations). Every now and then, I happen across a romantic scene in a fantasy book that includes something along the lines of ‘she protested, but her body was already responding and she pulled him closer’ and it’s almost always taken in stride, and the characters fuck, and it’s just NEVER FUCKING ADDRESSED that the main dude didn’t get consent and in fact had a verbal ‘no’. Here, there are multiple verbal protests and verbal 'no's, and none of them are heeded, as if they're just 'in the throes of passion' and 'can't stop'. In this scene, the MC then goes on to bite the girl because he’s fixated on her period blood, and THAT part IS treated as fucked up, and while I understand that in this book there’s grey morality that borders on a full everyone-is-a-villain, my issue is just that it’s there, and I’ve read it enough, and I’m tired of the ‘well he’s not a good dude’ excuse, when your narrative didn't take the stance that the lack of consent was fucked up in the first place. Find a different way to establish that your male MC isn’t good, because you’re ALSO making him hot, and covered in tattoos, and funny, and charming, and I’m not sold that you want this guy to be unlikeable.

I really wanted to give this a solid chance and finish the book beyond this sampler, but I have so many books I’d like to read that I’d rather pick something up that doesn’t do this age-old male led fantasy bullshit. I do love my grey-morality, but I’m tired of it always being established at the expense of women in the narrative.

I only read half this sample and I’m hooked. I love Jay Kristoffs writing. This reads like an interview with a vampire but seems… grittier? and I can’t wait to read the whole thing.

Wow!! I don’t know what to say other then this is likely one of the most amazing samplers I have ever read!! I can’t wait to finish this story and see how book 1 ends!! Mr Kristoff is breaking my soul in the best way possible!

Empire of the Vampire is the newest epic tale from Jay Kristoff, master wordsmith. A wordsmith with no qualms about the fate of his characters.

Gabriel de Leon is the last of the Silversaints, has been imprisoned and coerced into telling his tale to Marquis Jean-Francois of the Blood Chastain, Historian of Her Grace Margot Chastain, First and Last of Her Name, Undying Empress of Wolves and Men. Killer and coldblood. Gabe's tale is told in a non-linear timeline, but is filled with details of conquests and triumphs, despair and anguish. And as each detail and secret of Gabe's life is revealed, as is the depth and complexity of story. The pace intensifies, quickly adding to the story beats and adding an additional dimension and layer of this world that Kristoff has built.

From the opening sequence, to the last, your mind will be engrossed and enamored with each character that you meet, each detail revealed, and beyond all else, will your heart do a stead up-trending pitter patter. Anxiety building moments, breath-taking descriptions, and in true Kristoff fashion, heartaches and stomach-plundering emotions.

The Empire of the Vampire is an epic tale, perfect for those looking for the dark fantasy adventure filled with hope, loss, darkness, faith, and overall epic badassery. But I won't be swayed. I know I'm in for a heartbreak of my life.

*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Jay Kristoff never disappoints. His world building skills are second to none. His characters are always well written, dynamic, flawed, interesting, and powerful. EotV is easily one of the best books I've ever read. I couldn't put this one down and am looking forward to reading the second half in a few weeks!

Oh my. Oh my, Oh… my. What exactly did I just read?

This is an adult novel, no questions about it. It’s written beautifully; it has all the fantasy in a vampire series that I adore and it has all the backstory that I long for in a series. This is the vampire series I didn’t know I needed. No idea that this would enthrall me immediately and now I’m hooked.

The illustrations are fantastic too.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this novel. Opinions shared are influenced by nothing other than my reading experience.

I only got 400 pages but omg I NEED THE RESTTTTTT. It’s sooo good! I will literally read anything Jay Kristoff. He could write a recipe book and I will gladly buy several copies. Is it September yet?!

This was only a sampler, but oh boy did it feel like a whole book--and I mean that in the best way possible. This sampler, from what knowledge I have, didn't even cover HALF of the story. I was engrossed in the pages the entire time, asking myself questions and developing theories (some I was able to know I got right, and other's I have to wait a few more weeks to find out about). I fell in love with every character Jay Kristoff has introduced us to thus far. Which, if you've read his past books was a horrible idea, but I'm a sucker for the pain.

The story follows Gabriel de Léon, the last Silversaint, which is an order of half-human/half-vampire warriors who are drafted to fight this seemingly eternal war between humanity and the dark, evil, vampires plaguing the land since the sun decided to go 'poof' in the sky. The story is told by Gabriel himself, it's his life's story from the moment he became a Silversaint up until where he is now. I won't say too much past that for fear of spoiling. The novel has an amazing, diverse cast of characters. None of which lack the vulgar language and banter that you would expect from a Jay Kristoff book. What I was able to read of this book was emotional, heartbreaking, nail biting, cowering-under-my-covers because I was too afraid to turn the page for fear of what would happen next type of good.

But please, PLEASE pre-order, check out from your local library, support your local indie, and BUY THIS BOOK! Even though I was only allowed a short glimpse into the story, I know the waiting will be well worth it. I have waited two years for this book, and if I can survive the release date being pushed back, I can wait two more weeks for my copy to get here.

This book (or at least the 400 pages we got) was pretty good, but I was very disappointed to see this was just a sampler. I think it should have been made clear that this wasn't the full book and also, I don't see the point of sampling HALF of the book when it's usually a maximum of 100 pages. I'm not saying this was bad, but I don't think I will be picking up the book just to read the ending.

Ok, this has been edited tremendously.

WTF?!?

EFF.

My.

Face.

Ok, ok.... wow, just wow. I got the 400 page sampler and holy f**king sh*t!
I NEED the rest of this book Jay, like now... Ok!? Amazing characters, I am in awe at what I have read. This literally left me mouth hanging open. Every page is so vivid, so realistic, so mind-f**king-blowing and beautiful written.

I received an ARC of a sampler of EOTV from the publishers via NetGalley.

As the author himself says, this is a book for adults with adult content. Trigger warnings are needed.

I was taken with the concept right away. A vampire hunter is in jail, and they are preparing for execution. A vampire comes in, wants his life story. He only gives it for a hit of vampire blood. WHAT! Wow, okay, you have me right away.

But then it slows down for me as he recites his story. It was tough to read and get into as you go in and out of the interview, jumping to different time periods. All the different jumping around left me with a lot of questions and confused at certain parts. A little too confused for my taste.

There were some really great individual scenes with incredible world-building and plots.

Enjoyed this book. The plot and characters were well thought out and vivid. I would recommend this book to others and can't wait to read what the author does next.

This is my first Jay Kristoff book—and I can say I did and did not expect his writing to bring me in as much as it did.

In the same vain as Name of the Wind, it starts with being told from our main character’s POV, Gabriel. Gabriel is a bit down on his luck whilst dealing with coming out of “I was once a monster slayer”, moment. If you added in a bit of Game of Thrones, you’d have a spicy tale and a guy with great hair.

This is definitely my cup of tea. I like dark, gritty vampires (nothing wrong with the sparkly ones, but still), and this gave me that. With that being said, it’s not YA by any means (as it’s labeled adult), BUT if you’re all for a grim-dark, monster hunter novel that builds a great world, then this book is for you.

I only gave it four stars because *sometimes* I get a tad bogged down by longer novels; but, I still recommend it!

I was slightly hesitant about reading Empire of the Vampire because I wasn’t a fan of Nevernight, however I’m glad I decided to read the sampler because Empire of the Vampire is going to be an epic return for vampires.

It took me about 150 pages to get used to the writing style and narrative choice, but after that I couldn’t get enough. Everything about the story works. The characters, world, and lore all work cohesively to deliver a terrifying world where vampires have taken over.

Again, I wasn’t a fan of Gabriel at the beginning of the novel, however as time went on and more information was given about him I found myself inexplicably drawn to him. He’s a very difficult character to like, but that’s what makes him so great.

I can’t wait until September 14th! I already pre-ordered a copy.

I am VERY sad this was only a sample.
Thankfully, the seller for my store was able to get me a physical arc, so I can finish the story!!
It took a little bit to hook me, but then I fell in love.
In true Kristoff fashion is is sweary, full of itself and wonderful! Vampires and things are different than I have read before in this and I am enjoying it immensely.

I received the sampler ARC which was around 500 pages of the book so I can only review the first half of the book. All I can say is…WOW! The writing, the story, the characters….it will all draw you in for an unforgettable experience. It’s dark with twist and turns, flashbacks, it has it all. I can’t wait to finish this masterpiece. Don’t miss out on this book!

Big thanks to Jay Kristoff, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the Exclusive sampler ARC!

To start, I didn't get to read the whole thing. I got the exclusive sampler, which was about 400 pages (only half!!!) Of the entire book. So this one's a big thick boy.
So, please be aware that my review is literally for 50% of a book.

St Martin's Press!!! PLEASE SEND ME THE REST!!! PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP (hahah you need to read the book to get it)

Anyway, the story is about Vampires, which is fairly obvious but there is some twists away from the average vamp story line.
It's not a bitten then turned kinda story. You might not wake up a fancy ass blood sucker. You might be closer to a zombie.

I've been tasked with guarding the secrets, and protecting the spoilers so I won't give anything away ... also I only read half the book... but I liked it!

The story has a very 'King killer Chronicles' vibe mixed with a Van Helsing touch.

I will absolutely be following up with the rest of the book, as well as the rest of the series.

5 stars ... for now.

First, the cover of this book is one of the best I've seen. I loved it and that's what grabbed my attention initially. I was able to read a 400 page sampler and was blown away by every single word. Kristoff's ability to draw you in with his bleak description of the world is one of the highlights of this sampler. Still, Gabriel steals the show. Gabriel is not your typical hero. He does what he can to make the world better, but he's a bastard the entire time. He might be my favorite anti-hero. Disillusioned by the evident failure to prevent the end of the world, he is a man who's lost his faith but not his hatred of the monsters who've taken everything from him. The story follows him through his rise to what many say is the greatest swordsman who has ever lived and to his downfall. The Last Silversaint. I can't wait to get this book and finish out the remaining 350 pages. Much like Gabriel and his addiction, this book has taken ahold of me and won't let even after I've finished it.

This is a sampler, a fool I am, I thought it was the full book because it is long.
That aside, this was such a good tease. Long enough that we get a good feel of what kind of story this is, while also not giving everything away. It's almost too long for a sampler in that regard, 'cause I really don't want to wait to read the rest of it now.
This book is dark, I've only read his Nevernight trilogy, and this book makes that one seem tame. This book needs a huge warning that it's not for kids. I read Anne Rice as a 12-year-old, but this book might not be something that most kids should read. I am thoroughly excited to read the finished book when it comes out.

As i was reading Empire of the Vampire I forgot it was only a sampler of the entire book. And the narrative was so full of excitement and stuffed with plot that when I got to the end of the sampler I actually felt sated. I truly felt as if I had read the entire first book. True it ended on a cliffhanger or two but lots of series books do.

Best part? If the ending of the story is as exciting and clever as the first part when I get my hardcover copy next month it will be like getting another book in the series as well!!! How cool is that? I cannot wait...