It is hard to give a star rating to an except but this was interesting. It feels like a mix of Nevernight meets An Interview with a Vampire! I will go with 3 stars as I do want to continue but don’t feel so intrigued that I need to right away.

I am so glad I was able to get this preview. It definitely drew me in. This book is amazing for sci-fi fans and fans of the Witcher. It is a long book so it felt like I got 2 books in 1. I think this is definitely one of my top reads and I have recommended it to everyone. Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

After reading the small sample I had found online I became extremely interested. This book did not disappoint!

It’s a twisted tale filled with blood, enchanted sword, a world filled with grotesque yet beautiful monsters and magic… and did I mention the swears?! Totally creative and I loved every single word. The characters were so well written I expected them to jump off the page at any second, especially when I held the book so close to my face that the pages fluttered with my breath during more than a few parts!

I want to say thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for approving me for this sampler of Empire of the Vampire. This has to be the longest sampler I read and I loved it and can’t wait to read the rest of the book. The characters are well written I love the storyline of it all with how complicated the characters are. It’s very descriptive and I love the smart remarks Gabriel has with other characters. This was such a good read im definitely recommending this book to others.

I really liked this one. After reading about vampires in fantasy romance for so long, it was nice to have a more gritty vampire book. This book is long but the world building and descriptions are necessary to bring the reader into the story. I liked this one.

I received the sampler of this. While it was a little slow to start and initially hard to get the world building all sorted out, I can tell this book is going to be amazing, gritty, and a wild ride. I can't wait to read the rest of it!

This epic fantasy was awesome. It was just the book I was looking for. Dark, gritty, and great characters and world.

Definitely recommend for dark fantasy readers.

Wow this was definitely generous for a sampler! It was interested to read something of Kristoff's that wasn't part of the Nevernight series (those having been the only books of his that I've read before this). The sampler definitely left me eager to sit down with the physical book, ready to immerse myself in this dark, bloody world of vampires. We all definitely needed a break from vampires for a bit, but now I'm happy to see they're making such a comeback!

This review took a long time to write because I kept putting off this book even though I was wildly excited for it. As a writer, I knew that Jay was going to bring me into another world and I couldn't afford for that to happen while I was writing/publishing my own novel. But the wait was worth it. It killed me that this was only the first 400+pages but thankfully I had the book on my shelf and could keep right on reading. It's hard, gritty, brutal, and absolutely beautiful. As always, he manages to mix magic and undertones of religion and politics seamlessly. There is nothing his dark humor, snark, sex, and violence can't manage to enhance. Another absolute masterpiece.

This was only a sample, but I did pick the book up on kindle on sale to read the whole thing. This scratched the vampire itch I’ve had for a while now. It’s brutal and gritty and that’s the way vampire books should be.

Five star rating for this book!!

Synopsis~~~ 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 is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains. 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 loved this book so much, it is dark and gritty and the writing flows so well! There are characters you love and characters you hate and the book transports you to a completely different world with its adventurous, entrancing plot.

4.5 star rating, definitely recommend!!

I could tell this was written by a man versus a woman. The profanity, the violence, everything. Not to say that that makes this a bad book, I will certainly continue reading but it felt extreme. I understand that fantasy is just that, fantasy. But I don’t think I’ve ever felt as a fronted with it as I have been with this sampler. I am invested enough to continue on, but will make a further evaluation once I finish the novel. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of the first 400 pages of this novel.

Jay Kristoff does it again!!! Think The Witcher and Interview with a Vampire had a baby and you get this magnificent piece of work. Blood, violence, sexiness, not for the faint of heart. If want old school vampire hunters, forbidden love, long ago supernatural bloodlines, then look no further!

Wonderful book with lots of action and vampires. Long but doesn't feel long. Pretty graphic though just fyi.

This book was....wild. From start to finish. I can see how Kristoff has so many loyal fans, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this to just anybody. It was a very unique story.

I haven't finished but thought this was so compelling, I decided to get it on audible. Talked my hubby into reading it with me and we both love it so far.

Thrilling, haunting, edge of your seat page turner. Jay Kristoff does it again. Thank you to NetGalley and this publisher for allowing me early reading access to this fantastic novel.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Jay Kristoff is a mastermind and created a magnificent new world that had me begging for more! An awesome adventure filled with twists and turns that I never saw coming!

I mean - vampires vampires vampires. Am I right? So much world building with extensively thought out plots and characters. My only gripe was how the women were treated at times.