Just when I think Jay Kristoff can't possible write anything cooler than he already has...he proves me wrong! Empire of the Vampire was breathtaking in so many ways - horror, love, deep world building, inventive cussing, you name it. I cannot WAIT for the full book!

Empire of the Vampire is one of my most anticipated reads this year and I was SO excited to receive this exclusive sampler! In these first 400 pages of the book, it has definitely lived up to the hype so far. It is dark at times, but the world building is so rich and the characters are so well developed. The sampler ends at a huge cliffhanger, so I am now counting down the days until September 14th when the book comes out!

The story is told by Gabriel de Leon, who is a vampire hunter of sorts, to his captor who is recording it. This allows much of the story to be told in first person, since Gabriel is telling his story out loud, but we also get the benefit of third person narration throughout and get to see the reactions of the one recording the story. Gabe jumps around in time a bit and tells different pieces of the story, which really helps develop his character as a whole, while also introducing the book's main conflicts.

I've read a couple of Jay Kristoff's books that he's co-written, but this is the first one I have read of his that he wrote solo. I really enjoyed the way he writes and the creative and hilarious metaphors he sprinkles throughout.

Overall, I am totally invested in the book so far and I am so glad I preordered the book so that I can continue reading ASAP!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC sampler!

I must ahhhhh! How could you end the sampler there?! I’m hooked.

Jay Kristoff’s books just keep getting better and better. He’s become such a wonderful storyteller.

At the rate it’s going, this will definitely be a 5 star read for me. Listening and experiencing Gabriel’s story is heartbreaking and incredible to read. I NEED to know what happens next and how this story ends.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but just wow. The writing style, the imagery, the fact that there are many timelines and they never get confusing just goes to show how fantastic this book really is. I can’t wait until next month to finish.

Where to start? Perhaps with a warning. Jay Kristoff himself says ‘this is not a book for children’. Take the man at his word, believe me he is not kidding. But what it is…is absolutely freaking EPIC. I was thrill when I received an eARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. It was late at night after a long day when I saw the notification and then downloaded it to my Kindle. As tired as I was, I thought I’d just take a quick peek. Big mistake. I have to say I think this is best thing Jay has written yet. The characters are so incredibly fleshed out you’ll swear they are real. The world building absolutely brilliant. And the atmosphere? It seriously drips off the pages. As for the story…no spoilers (and trust me, you really want to go into this one blind) but did I use the word EPIC yet?! Anyone who thought vampires we’re played out, that their time in the literary sun (pun intended) was over, be prepared to be proven wrong and having your mind blown.
Thanks again to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Empire of the Vampire.

In Empire of the Vampire, the sun has abandoned humanity and vampires have waged war. Gabriel is part of a brotherhood trained to defend against them but is held captive and forced to tell his life story. Of special interest to his captives is his tale of the search for The Holy Grail.

Not a full review, only of the sampler:
For an over 400 page sampler, it flew by quickly. I ate through this so quickly because it was nonstop action and intrigue. It definitely is a learning curve to get used to the dialogue within the dialogue but once you get used to it, it's easy to fall into the story. Gabriel is such an interesting protagonist because he is so flawed and messed up. Also, you're not entirely sure what has led him to the beginning so you have to keep reading. (Is it bad I kind of loved the historian?) I'm very interested to see where the rest of the book goes since honestly it could have ended where the sampler does. People would riot because of the cliffhanger but it could easily be an ending. Definitely one I'm looking forward to finishing. For me, this one is a 4.5/5. Also, the killer cover might be one of my favorites ever.

If you like gory vampire battles, a weary "hero" who has no qualms about shooting you to slow you down so the monsters get you instead, or you get sucked in by an awesome cover, then this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this sampler free from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Holy wow!! The 400 page sampler I was lucky enough to receive surpassed all expectations I had for this story, and they were HIGH! Kristoff blew my mind with his Nevernight series and it’s blown even further with just the first part of Empire of the Vampire! Gabriel fascinates me and I love his sass and his flare for insults. He’s so grumpy and vicious and straightforward and I can’t get enough! Plus the tale being told to Jean-Francois by Gabe and in bits and pieces and time shuffled around is pure genius and keeps you at the edge of your seat with the air of mystery surrounding the story. Plus, you have the mysterious Dior, you have murderous full vampires, faithful half vampires, and more, all living in a land of darkness and terror. The gothic vibes of this story set the mood and the illustrations are to die for. I absolutely cannot wait to be able to finish this story, especially after the mind blowing end to the sample. Definitely, definitely check this one out! It’s everything a dark, twisty, and dualistic faithful/faithless vampire story should be and more, plus has the most delicious morally gray characters I’ve yet to read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me this arc via Netgalley!
This book completely wrecked me and this was only a sampler.
Everything about this was amazing. I loved the original way Jay Kristoff told this story and the world building was absolutely magical.
Every character was so interesting and I can't wait to figure out more about each of them. I can safely say this is becoming one of my favorite series ever and I can't wait for the rest.

I am so excited for this book. I love the Nevernight series and cannot wait to read what Kristoff has in store next.

Love everything about this. The fact that there is fan art by the drives before this is even released is a testament to the way this tale wraps you up in an endless breath-holding pause until you close the book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I finished the sampler last week and I am still thinking about this book. I can’t get it out of my mind. It’s like a ghost haunting me or a toxic ex-lover stalking me. I’ve read the Nevernight trilogy (and thought it was fantastic) but while Empire of the Vampire is in the same dark, sexy, brooding vein, it hits so much deeper. It’s more than just a vampire story. It’s a story of losing your faith, your trust, the very compass that guides you
through life. How does one live when that is gone? Can it be found again? What do you become without it?

From what I read, I can honestly say this is the best thing the author has written. Which is a bold statement coming from a woman who would live and die for Mr. Kindly. I am on pins and needles waiting to read the rest of it! The gradual world-building, the dark humor, and the emotional depth of the characters are pure perfection!


So while this was not the entire book but a decent-sized sample of ~300 pages. All it did was just confirm the fact that this book is amazing and that I was wise to pre-order it! Of course, I don’t know how it ends but I trust Jay Kristoff’s writing enough to say I'm confident that however, he ends the book, it won't be so horrible that I would dislike the entire story Could my heart be shattered into a million pieces? Yes, most likely, knowing Mr. Kristoff. Will I thank him for doing so? Yes, I will.

So... maybe not the entire book but a very decent sampler! And it just confirm that I want to buy it when it will be release. Kristoff style is so unique and the way he builds this new world, his vampire, this look like it could be an all-time favorite series of mine! Of course, the ending could change my opinion, but it couldn't be very much better than it already is, and I'm confident enough that the ending won't be such a miss that I would dislike it overall. I highly recommend reading it!

THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC !!!

I've never read anything by Jay Kristoff, so I had no expectations or ideas going into "Empire of the Vampire." But I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the world building, writing, character development, and overall badass-ness of Gabriel de Leon.

First of all: GABE. GABE. GABE. Long story short, he's very much Geralt of Rivia if the Witcher smoked vampire blood and had long, black hair. Bless him.

Secondly: the description of everything. The dark imagery. The chills that crept up my spine as I read about the horrors of the coldbloods and the terror they reeked everywhere. Kristoff is a masterful wordsmith.

Lastly: Astrid is my wife. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

If you love The Witcher x Interview of the Vampire, read "Empire of the Vampire" !!!

5 stars. <3

I can't give a full review, since (unbeknownst to me) this was just a sampler! I could have cried in outrage when that paragraph ended and 'Thanks for reading our sampler" popped up!

Cruel, wicked humans.

From what I read, the writing style, similar to Nevernight, took a second to adjust to. I think, however, having read Nevernight immensely helped with the Kristoff learning curve.

At times it was difficult to separate the dialogue with the chronicler, vs actual story being told - BUT - I think this issue was solely because this was not the published novel, and reading will be significantly smoother once in my hands - and I can assure you that cannot come soon enough.

The world may seem confusing, but I have no actual questions in regards to the whats wheres or whys - all is explained in due time, and much like Gabe says - Patience.

I cannot wait until 9/14 to have the finished copy in my hands and be able to finish the story from THAT moment (insert angry face) , but bravo thus far.

Thank you to Jay, and St. Martin's press for the free, teasing sampler!

Man what a ride this book was! Empire of the vampire wasn’t like any other vampire story I have ever read and I have read plenty! I cannot wait to see where this series goes and this book hasn’t even officially released! I need the next in the series ASAP!

This took me a bit to get into but I definitely understand what the hype is all about surrounding Jay Kristoff’s books! I will be purchasing this when it comes out!
Thank you to Netgalley for this arc exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this incredible exclusive sample of the amazing Jay Kristoff's new book, Empire of the Vampire!

Okay... oookkkaaaayy now.... I feel like this was the freaking best thing I've ever read and I only read the first 400 pages out of a little over 700 pages of this book. What do I say? How can I convince everyone reading my little review that this is a masterpiece? First, it's Jay Kristoff... that's point 1 in favor of this book. Second... Vampires. All kinds of Vampires! I'm serious, so many different Vampires happening here and honestly, what more do you need in your life? A home, food, clothing, job etc..... AND VAMPIRES!!!!

Literally sate your thirst by reading this book, obsessing possibly, and perhaps giving it a bite or two just to make sure these pages aren't actually full of vampire blood that would make you immortal, incredibly sexy with amazing hair, and the ability of becoming simply a very cool person that everyone who sees you stops and stares, wondering Who is that gorgeous brilliant super intelligent person and how can I become their best friend?

Okay, so that's actually just some bs if you can't tell. This book centers on Gabriel. He is part vampire but is taught with others like him to fight and destroy the full blooded Vampires and the wretched(mindless creepers roaming and attacking innocents). They are taught all the skills to fight but really their biggest weapon is their faith in God which lights up the silver tattooed on their bodies that is quite destructive towards the Vampires.

The reader really meets Gabriel years later when he has somehow been caught by Vampires and the main thing he is going through is just telling his whole story to a chronicler (vampire) named Jean-Francois. This is really brilliant. The back and forth between these two mixed with Gabriel's incredible story is simply hypnotizing in the sense, for me, that it kept me very interested and I did not want to stop reading.... (honestly if someone could just, you know, throw the last 300 pages In my direction that'd be really great...)

I do not want to go into anymore detail because I think the story should be shrouded in secrecy and mystery. If you order the book I suggest sitting in a dark cold room in a creaky chair and reading by the light of a single candle. Or, perhaps a comfy couch or chair with a blanket and pillows and a puppy or kitten curled up asleep in your lap. Just, whatever.

Obviously I recommend this! Collect your vials of blood and be prepared to stay up all night reading this awesome book!

Before I start the review, I have to say that EOTV is not a book for children–it’s dark, violent, contains a loot of swearing, and has sexual content. NOT FOR KIDS.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the review.

[The Last Silversaint — Gabriel de Leon, art by Monolime]

My rating: 3.5/5

EOTV is a long book (~750 pages), but Jay Kristoff creates such a rich world that you just don’t mind. AND! There’s a beautiful map right at the get-go so you can get your bearings.

Kristoff has a unique writing style, a mix between the standard ornate descriptions typical to fantasy and a dry casual tone, which, somehow, works.

Now, I’m not looking to give any spoilers of course, but that severely limits what I can say. So I’ll keep this short.

1. Great setting. So many wonderful locations.
2. Great mix of resignation and hope — true to the setting of a world overtaken by darkness. Gabriel’s attitude is also just right, a hero past his prime, who’s seen the world and fought for it, and somewhere along the way saw something that made him lose his faith.
3. Effective jumping around on the timeline that leaves you with SO many questions. I’d complain more, but I found both stages of the story interesting *shrugs*.
4. The whole manner in which faith is dealt with in terms of how they repel vampires. The aegis is pretty impressive but Rafa’s scene (you’ll know it when you read it) was just *chef’s kiss*
5. Great depiction of Vampires. It’s been a while since I’ve read vampires that come across as both elegant and utterly monstrous, usually, you tend to forget the latter. Not the case in EOTV.

The one, occasional downside for me was the amount of swearing, or rather, just the use of coarse language in some situations. But it didn’t take away from the overall experience…just took a little getting used to at the beginning.

I have so many questions that I need answers to, I’m already looking forward to EOTV2. So, I recommend this book to everyone, but more so to those who enjoyed the Nevernight trilogy, like Vampires or love the Dark Fantasy genre.

EOTV comes out on 7th September and you all should most definitely check it out, and pre-order to support the author!

P.S: Can we take a moment to appreciate this beautiful cover and the absurdly magnificent art by Monolime?!

Till next time, readers!

This is such a fun read. Without spoiling anything, I would say it’s Underworld meets Deadpool. That’s the combo that comes to mind. It’s wild fun, and anyone that reads it will love it, if you like this genre.

Holy F’ing Redeemer! This was just the sampler but it is/will be glorious. I regret not a single one of my 10 different pre-ordered editions of this book. Jay Kristoff has a way of wringing every emotion out of a reader that is unparalleled and Empire definitely puts you through the wringer in the first 400+ pages. Shock, sadness, anger, confusion and on a deeper level a lack of faith or the questioning of it that resonates with anyone who grew up in a church or other religious entity. Yes, it’s a fiction novel about Vampires but is full of very real thoughts and conversations that people have. Beautiful writing that jumps off the page to play out like a movie in your head. Just magnificent.

This might be one of the most epic and delicious vampire books I have read this decade. Jay Kristoff does not disappoint. I absolutely can't wait to get a physical copy for my book collection!