Just a mere sampler and I’m already hooked and addicted. Simply can’t wait enough to get my hands on it.

I received the sampler ARC of Empire of the Damned and read it in one sitting, I could not put it down. The story picks up where we left off at the end of Empire of the Vampire and just takes off. Kristoff, as usual, gives his readers a great summary so that you can easily immerse yourself back into the story without trying to figure out who everyone is again and what happened to them, I cannot wait to read the rest of the story when the book is published!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the eARC sampler in exchange for an honest review! Empire of the Damned is out on March 12th!

PHEW this is a juicy read!!

My favourite thing about Empire of the Vampire was the exciting pace it set. It never slowed down, never dragged through any moment, and the sequel is definitely holding up to that. Even only reading half the book I can see that this is story grows even more epic as it progresses.

I devoured this sampler, I couldn’t put it down, and now I am DYING for the rest of the book. I wish I had waited to read this closer to the release date because the wait will be agony.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc!

Thanks so much for this sampler. I could not be more excited for this book! It's everything we have come to love from Jay Kristoff and then some. This has already been preordered.

I knew when I signed up to write this review that it wouldn’t be easy to write a review for just the sampler. My motivations for requesting it, I confess, were entirely selfish. I simply wanted to read as much of the book now as I possibly could. Having finished the sampler, I am beyond excited to finish the book.
In Empire of the Damned, Jay Kristoff continues to paint a dark and vivid world. Dark, both in terms of the lighting and the subject matter. The story is one of hope amidst tragedy, but due to the narration structure, one that is presented to the reader as having already failed. Though, personally, I believe Gabriel has no motivation to be honest to Jean-François and is skilled enough to tell him lies without Jean-François picking up on all of them. It’s entirely possible there is more hope to be found in the story present than is presented to the reader.
I like that this book spends more time in the story present than I remember there being in the first book. By story present, I mean the scenes in Sul Adair. Gabriel is a character in the story present languishing in a cell in Sul Adair literally telling the story past as dialogue. The story past is Gabriel’s journey with Dior, etc. I like that this book spends more time in the story present because it makes it feel like more like a part of the story and not just a framing device. Jean-François feels more like an actual character too.
I’ve enjoyed watching the story progress so far and learning more about the world and its history. I want to know more.
I also enjoyed, despite the tragic nature of the book, how funny it is. Gabriel and Dior especially have entertaining banter.
It’s been interesting to watch the character relationships develop, especially considering almost every major character from the first book is dead. The bond between Gabriel and Dior is one of the driving forces of the story. I also enjoyed seeing the evolution of the relationship between Gabriel and Celine.
I will cut off my review here for now, as I’ve only had the opportunity to read the review sampler, not the entire book. Based on what I’ve read so far, this book is amazing.

I received an advanced copy (of the review sampler) for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the ARC of this book. all opinions are my own.
Due to the current SMP boycott, I will not post my thoughts on this story until the concerns are addressed. At that time, I will be happy to post my full review.

Take a little Interview with the Vampire, mix it with a zombie apocalypse and stir it into a grimdark fantasy, and you have Jay Kristoff’s epic Empire of the Vampire series. The writing is melodramatic with purple prose, and a lot of swearing and testosterone, but that is what it is: grimdark. Extremely cinematic with intricate world-building, short chapters, and a propulsive pace. The characters are yes, over-the-top, but they are meant to be. Now I only had a sampler to read, so I can’t leave a proper review, but from what I read, this seems to be just as good as the first book (which I read a third of, in order to be able to judge this one). I am not the right audience for this series (not a big grimdark fan) but I completely get the enthusiasm for these books.

I will post my review once ST Martin's Press addresses their racist employee. I apologize, but I stand strongly with these beliefs and will wait until they address the issue.

I loved every minute of this sample, it was just as good as the first, but I can’t wait until the full book comes out!! Jay’s writing was amazing as always, with witty and hilarious characters, intense action and an exciting plot!

I had no idea this was book #2…
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read the sampler. Liked it so far can’t wait for it to come out!

Omg I just want to read the full ARC!! Can't wait to see where this story goes!! Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Quick teaser read. I can see why this is a fan favorite. It peeked my interest and had me reading book one in order to know what was going on. Interesting story that took me out of my comfort zone that's for sure!

Didn't realize this was only a sample, but what I read makes me very excited to keep reading this series.

My feedback on this is the fact that I have learned not to request a sampler from NetGalley going forward. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent book and part of an excellent series, but it was like getting to the end of the book and finding out there was a huge cliffhanger. Which it was. Iin part because we only got to read SOME of the book....and now have to wait for the rest. Ugh!

So, if you have read the first book, you will be thrilled to know that it wasn't a fluke. This story is getting even better.

If you haven't read the first book, that is your first mistake. Don't start here. Go find book 1 and go from there. That way you can be waiting with bated breath for this book to come out in 2024.

And if you have not read the first book, you can thank me now.

Your welcome.

This was the perfect sampler and did not disappoint! I devoured it in one sitting, leaving me desperate for more. A summary of the characters and events was provided in the beginning from where Empire of the Vampire left off, which I found incredibly helpful since I read EOTV when it first came out over two years ago. The sampler is in a conversationalist format like EOTV, and I love this kind of storytelling. Gabriel’s principle of right and wrong makes him a compelling protagonist, and I think readers will either love or hate him. His relationship with Dior is a special one–shifting between friendship and parental/child relationship, and I’m excited to see how their bond develops, especially after where the sampler ends. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves vampires, especially the more horrific and dark side of paranormal fantasy.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the sampler!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the ability to read this book sampler before release day. I am SO excited for this to come out, it's going to be a great addition to the Empire of the Vampire series, and I can't wait to get back into this world!

This sampler is the perfect length. An enjoyable sneak peek into the next book, it picks up right where the previous book left off and leaves just enough hype for the full release.

I thought I would see if this sampler would be better than his other works but it was a bit of a slog to get through and I probably won’t bother with Kristoff in the future.

This sample has me so hype for the new book! Give me more Jay Kristoff vampires! I am anxiously awaiting Match 12th for the release of Empire of the Damned!

I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were well developed and the plot flowed in a way that made sense. I would recommend this book to others and look forward to reading others by this author.