Wow what an amazing start to this sequel. I was so excited to get the sneak peek. I seriously cannot wait for this epic sequel to release, it will most likely make my Top 10 of 2024 based on what I read.

You will not be disappointed with this sequel. Jay Kristoff never fails me. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Where to start? Well I guess by prefacing that I read an advanced reader copy that is supposedly a teaser/sample of the book. That said, I have a lot of thoughts.

Content Warning: habitually derogatory against women, graphically violent, explicit, strong language, s*x and bl*od slavery, animal cruelty, teenage smoking, adult illustrations

If you like Interview With a Vampire, The Witcher, and Vin Diesel's The Last Witch Hunter, then this book is for you. Imagine if the Harkonens (Dune) ruled the world, but they were actually vampires and there wasn't much to stop them. That's basically the premise of the world.

I really liked the map illustrations. They were gorgeous. I really appreciated the catch up notes at the beginning of the book. Those were really helpful. I liked the Nightblood (from Warbreaker) style talking blade. The opening line was fantastic. It was a really great hook. Stylistically, the writing is very well done. The extra star is for the quality of the writing. The world building and country dynamics are well done as well. The story has an interesting and intriguing take on religion, cults, and the concept of belief as a tangible thing to be wielded.

The reveal is very well done. As far as teasers go, that was a fantastic point to end on the story. But I won't be returning to find out what happens next for several reasons listed below.

Now onto my other notes, this book jumps right into s*x and blo*d slavery. That definitely sets the tone for the rest of the book. This book features masochistic and sadistic main character men who wear a facade of being a gentleman but who actually treat women as tools and less than. This book features terrible and derogatory language towards and about women.

I would describe this author as an "edgelord", meaning that his story has to be edgy all the time, includes offensive things to get a reaction, always tries to push the envelope in terms of content and language, and just generally chases that shock and awe factor for the sake of attention.

A grown man unloads his woes on a child who people had just tried to ritualistically m*rder. She literally almost died just moments before. Not the time.

The main character calls a woman a b**ch for not answering a question he never asked in the first place.

The only female who gets respect from the main character is a sixteen/seventeen year old girl. Why? Because growing up in the gutters of society apparently means that she's basically a guy with bo*bs and therefore worthy of respect I guess? Granted, there are still jokes, but he actually listens to her and views her as his child (this is where The Witcher undertones come into play). And the jokes go both ways.

This book features crude and unnecessary "yo mama" jokes just for the shock and awe factor. And speaking of the dialogue, the main character drives almost every conversation he's a part of. Why?

I can literally hear two men I know reading this book and getting a kick out of it (granted, this would be if they cursed like a sailor, which they don't). Note to the person reading this review: they think their opinions are the end all be all and are typically the only people in the room laughing at their jokes. That's not a compliment.

There are honestly too many small yet glaring derogatory phrasing against women. I lost count by ebook page 50, and again, I only have a teaser of this book to read.

Slaughterfarms: where humans are fed their unalived companions who have served their purpose and humans are farmed for their bl*od for vampires to consume. While we don't actually have a slaughterfarm scene in this book, we do get a description polished off with a wagon full of children being taken from a human town recently conquered by vampires on their way to make a new farming facility.

There are illustrations every now and then throughout the book. As with the subject source, these illustrations are both graphic and explicit.

The author has an obsession with cat fights and unnecessary squabbling between women over the stupidest little things.

There are two instances of horses being unalived. The first is off page but described enough for the reader to get a good picture of what happened. The second is on page and somehow even more violent. I'm talking gruesome and needless sla*ghtering here.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

Great sneak peak into the 2nd book in one of Kristoff's most dynamic worlds yet! Can't wait to read when Empire of the Damned is released!

I actually didn't realize this was a sequel and so I was quite lost in the story. I didn't finish it for this reason only. I am seeking out the first book to read because the second is intriguing. I've also heard many good things about this sequel!

This was quite the teaser! I am a fan of Jay Kristoffs writing and have actually already pre-ordered this book! So far it's just as catchy as I expected. Mr. Kristoff has a very distinct style in his storytelling ability and his worlds are very uniquely his own. I feel like he takes simple ideas and executes them well. Since I have already read the Nevernight Chronicles I was really excited to see the same sort of style reflected in Empire of a Vampire and also in Empire of the Damned. I am tentatively giving this teaser a 5 and will post a full review on goodreads once I finish the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this!

All I can say is I’m sooo sooo happy to have been able to read this second instalment to Empire of the Vampire!

Go read now!!!! I’m still reeling from it and need the third book now!

It ended at a part that made me want MORE!!! He is an autobuy author for me, and waiting for the rest of the book is going to be so hard. I love this world that he has created and the characters, it is so immersive and detailed!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Holy! This second installment is still not for the faint of heart. Crude, grimdark fantasy at its finest. If you’re not a fan of sarcasm, this book is not for you. I couldn’t get enough of the banter, ate up every second of it. I found myself tearing through this one even with the story being so dialogue heavy. Kristoff has the gift of storytelling, I felt fully immersed and that I knew these characters personally.

Will definitely be impatiently awaiting the next book in this series!

When I originally clicked on this - it was not listed as a teaser. Therefore, since its not the full book I really don't have much to review. The story picks up where the last one left off, the characters have some real agency in the first chapters.

Empire of The Vampire was my top favorite read last year. I loved learning more about the different houses and getting to know these characters better. I cannot wait for the full book!

Empire of the Damned follows up on Empire of the Vampire, and helpfully includes a recap of the first book's events. Gabriel de Leon, the last Silversaint and vampire slayer, continues retelling his lifestory and fall from grace to vampire Jean-Francois.

The story begins almost exactly where the last book left off, and Jay Kristoff's excellent action scenes and bloody/dark writing style brought me back into the world almost immediately. However, I do find the author's prose a bit too dense and purple in this series,. which may be intentional, but didn't work for me. I also prefer fantasy books with a more nuanced female perspective, which I don't find in this particular series. Still solid and I enjoyed the sampler, but probably won't be picking up the book when it comes out.

This teaser made me wish I had the full book. Just like Empire of the Vampire, the sequel will make you squirm with anticipation. I seriously couldn't breathe while reading it. March 12 is too far away.

As a huge fan of Jay Kristoff and Empire of the Vampire, I have been eagerly waiting for this sequel- and this sampler does not disappoint. Empire of the Damned picks up right where book one left off, but immediately we see that this continuation will be more expansive. We begin to learn more about the vampire houses, their leaders, and the consequences of their mass consumption of humans.
This series is so masterfully written and intricately woven. I greatly appreciate that the characters are flawed and growing, and so they still feel rooted in reality while in a fantastical world. I cannot wait for the full release next month!

Seeing as I was a huge fan of “Empire of the Vampire”, I was super excited to get approved for this. Even through it may be a sampler, it still delivered!! I can’t wait for the full thing when it is released! Also, can I say that switch in POV left me speechless!!!

Will update review once book is released!!! Don't want to spoil any specifics! With that being said, the sequel did Not Disappoint! While I am beyond thankful to be chosen as an ARC reader for this book, I'm actually sad/mad at myself! Now I have to wait even longer to read the third!!!! *Insert cry face* No but honestly wow! This book was everything I hoped it would be. I actually enjoyed the "Storyteller POV" and flashing back from past to present. Some people don't care for that so be warned, but I enjoyed it! It wasn't hard to follow, and it was easy to keep track of everything happening. The story picks up where EOTV leaves off and we don't miss a thing! If you loved the first book, you have to read this one!!!!! Its witty, it's funny, it's got me rooting for the underdog, and wishing bad things would happen to Gabriels enemies! Some scenes were touching and had me all up in my feels. My emotions were a roller coaster reading this and I never wanted to get off the ride! While we knew the direction the story was going, there were several surprises I didn't see coming! I love when a book isn't predictable! Buckle up and get ready for the ride!!! Only thing I didn't like about this book was that it ended. I was so immersed in the story I literally said, "WTH, its over!?" out loud once I got to the end! I mean if you love a good vampire series and a story of redemption, love, and the will to survive and do what it takes, you really need to read this. I really want to thank St. Martin's Press for granting me the privilege of reading this book early. You absolutely made my day when I received the email. Jay Kristoff deserves every single ounce of the praise he rightfully gets. I am absolutely stoked for the next in this series and recommend it to every single person that will listen to me go on and on about it!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC!

In terms of pacing and mood, I felt like I was in the same book and it just kept going, so that’s always the fear of a sequel—will it live up to the expectations of its predecessor? In terms of plot, this one was shorter, so many characters had died in book one so there was less characters to fill the pages I guess? There was still adventure, battles, vampires, and blood and gore. Same problem from the first book carries over with Gabriel and Dior trying to find a way to stop the end of the human race essentially. I love the same banter between these two characters and the relationship they have.

YES there will be a third book. The end of book two literally just ends—quite suddenly actually. So there must be another book at the least. Hopefully several!

Favorite quotes:

To open a book is to open a door—to another place, another time, another mind. And usually, mademoiselle, it’s a mind far sharper than your own.’

‘The road is black ahead,’ I told her. ‘And it’s hard to keep walking when you can’t see the ground beneath your feet. But that’s what courage is. The will to keep walking in the darkness. To believe the end is just beyond your outstretched hand, rather than a million miles away.

‘Measure yourself not by where others are, but where you used to be.’

You don’t like books?’ “She shrugged, shoveling in another mouthful. ‘Never saw much use for them.’ “‘Not much…’ I sputtered, outraged on behalf of every scribe, librarian, and bookshop owner in the imperium. ‘They’ve a thousand fucking uses, girl!’ “‘Name one. Aside from reading,’ she added as I opened my mouth to quip. “‘Aright.’ I started counting off on my fingers. ‘You can … light them on fire. Throw them at people. Light them on fire, then throw them at people, particularly if those people are the sort of bucktoothed shitwits who don’t like books.’

“‘I swear, sometimes you are enough to give my arsehole a headache,’

I knew this story was going to be epic, but after reading the sampler I'm blown away. I can't wait to read the rest of the story.

This teaser was incredible and I cannot wait to finally read the book in its entirety. Even the graphics throughout this teaser were AMAZING.

4.5 stars
I am so excited to read this after the sampler cause I NEED MOREEEEE!!!!!
Definitely a must read and please read EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIREEEE