This book was hands down the best book I've read this year. Jay Kristoff is one of my top 3 authors and he never disappoints. This book was captivating, suspenseful, funny and tense all at once. The adult themes are prevalent, which I love.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this sampler in exchange for an honest review.

Empire of the Vampire is a new take on many stories we have heard before in a vampire epic. It's a bit of Interview with a Vampire, Blade, The Davinci Code, and Priest. Gabriel is a half breed telling his story to a vampire historian in hopes of revealing the whereabouts of the holy grail to the empress of the vampire. The grail is rumored to be the only way to end the eternal night.

This is a very adult book, but not in an off-putting way. There is explicit sexual content, however it is few and far between. Gabriel takes his time at the beginning of the story due to world building, but once the action gets going it flies by. I really look forward to reading the rest of this story, but based solely on the sample I received I am rating this a four star read.

I recommend this for adults(18+) who love any of the movies I mentioned above and doesn't mind gore and sexual content.

This was a preview, not the entire novel so keep in mind that this is not a review of the completed work. What I can say however, is that this is shaping up to be quite an impressive piece of work. I am loving this! I have already purchased and continued reading. At this point I fully anticipate that this will be a 5 star read for me.

Empire of the Vampire is a story full of adventure, heart break, and vampires. I found many sentences in the story very lyrical and have written down many of those quotes into my reading journal. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through this book. I tried reading this book through both audiobook and physical book. I cannot connect to the story for some reason. I will be attempting to read this again when he announces the next book in the series. A temporary DNF.

Incredible, vivid and superb storytelling! There is no vampire story on the same level as Empire of the Vampire!!

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff is one of the best books that I have read this year. It truly is what it claims to be, Interview with he Vampire meets Name of the Wind. The story is unpredictable but at the same time has the essence of vampire stories that have been forgotten about in recent books. It is dark but at the same time you care about the characters. I would recommend this to adults in my life, thank you for the advanced sampler.

This book! Stunning! Very well written as most of Jays books are. Nevernight was my number one favorite for so long, but empire of the vampire has topped it!

This book takes the readers on a wild and dangerous journey. Probably one of the best vampire books out on the market. Anne Rice who? Seriously?! I thought I knew vampires and I have read the very best of the best when it comes to Vampire series but this was spectacular! 10/10 would recommend!

In fact I have been recommending this book left and right and even my husband is now reading it! It you want vampires, blood and gore with a little bit of romance this is the book for you! Do not sit on this book!

I absolutely NEED the next book immediately.

This is one of my top reads this year without a doubt.
My Kristoff is an actual witch! Like….. this is witchcraft!!

Well done Sir!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I already knew that I was going to love Jay Kristoff's take on vampires. After all, I adore anything Mr. Kristoff writes, and vampires have had my heart since I was eight years old. Still, Empire of the Vampire not just exceeded my already high expectations. It blew them out of the water. If you could call a book perfection, then Empire of the Vampire is indeed perfection.

Anyone who has ever read anything penned by Mr. Kristoff knows that no character is safe under his hands. He has made a name for himself for putting his characters and his readers through the deepest, darkest levels of hell. There is a reason he has a mug that says "Tears of My Readers" after all. In Empire of the Vampire, it feels like all of his previous novels were nothing but warmups to the levels of violence and torture he inflicts on Gabriel de Leon and his readers. I saw one reader joke about making a drinking game out of the number of times someone stabs Gabe, with Mr. Kristoff himself replying that it would result in alcohol poisoning. The amount of blood that all of the characters shed throughout the book is staggering, but there is a purpose to it all. The violence helps shape the world in which Gabe lives, detailing the dangers in ways that mere descriptions could never hope to achieve.

At 752 pages, Empire of the Vampire is not a fast read, but therein lies some of its magic. The world-building is spectacular simply because Mr. Kristoff takes the time to do so. Nothing he writes is without purpose though, so any exposition is necessary and totally worth it. Mr. Kristoff's world is so complete it is essentially real.

For all the betrayal and violence, Empire of the Vampire is one of the saddest, most gut-wrenching books I have ever read. The tender moments in between all the violence are what truly capture the reader's heart. There are moments that are breathtaking in the love they capture. Gabe describing Astrid's smiles, their stolen moments. Gabe's interactions with Dior. These are the moments of hope within this story of violence and death and are also the moments when we see Gabe's true essence.

Long-time readers will know it takes a lot for me to cry while reading. Books often trigger many emotions within me, but such utter desolation that tears require is rarely one of those emotions. Yet, Empire of the Vampire made me sob for the last few chapters. I cried so hard that my husband came into the room to check on me. This is more proof of the perfection that is Empire of the Vampire.

An absolutely amazing sampler that ends on the perfect cliffhanger. The colorful and creative language got to be a little bit too much for me at times, but overall, the book is very enjoyable. I love all of the Interview with a Vampire vibes.

(This is a review of the whole book, not just this sampler.)

Simply, this book does not live up to the hype unless you're one of the people who would read Kristoff's grocery list. I am not one of those people.

This book could have been brilliant. Yet, it really falls flat in several places. One of which being that it's edgy for the sake of being edge. Which might just be Kristoff's schtick, but frankly it shouldn't be. When he's not trying so hard to make his book edgy and dark and profane as hell, it really shines. There were a lot of parts that I actually really liked, however as a whole piece of work, it fell flat. I'll start by saying that I don't mind Kristoff's descriptions or his style. I think his atomosphere and his landscapes were really well done. As well as the worldbuilding. It was layered throughout the story and was never too much or too little. It's definitely a well thoughtout world and story. The story beats too weren't what I had an issue with, it was the execution, but we'll get to that. I also really liked the interview style/"hero" tells their own story. (Though the qutoations around everything did get a bit... stylistically frustrating by the end.)

That being said, the dialogue in this book, oh my god. It read like immature middle school boys trying to figure out insults in a lockerroom. It was juvenille and cringey and made me roll my eyes everytime. For a book that claims it's not for children, it certainly had the humor of one. Also, I think there's a curse word on every single page. I also swear like a sailor, but by the end it was so obnoxious. We get it. Gabriel has a foul mouth, let's move on. Speaking of, Gabriel did that thing bilingual characters do that actual bilingual people don't do. Whenever he said 'my family' it was always in French. And then he'd carry on in English.

I won't spoil anything, but the plot twist surrouding Dior ... wasn't neccessary. Similarly, there was no reason for Dior to be sixteen. On the basis that I don't think Kristoff should be writing teenagers. But I will admit, by the end Dior did grow on me and reminded me of Ellie from The Last of Us. I wouldn't be surprised either if the last book and the exploration of Dior and Gabriel's bond wasn't influenced at least in part by The Last of Us. Some of their scenes/situations were like... almost carbon copyies of scenes from the game.

I'm not going to say anything other than fuck this book for its whole "sodomy is a sin" bullshit.

However, there were some chapters that I really liked. For example, part five, chapters 18 and 20 (if you know, you know) were actually heartbreaking. This was where Kristoff's storytelling really soared, I think. Where he stepped back from all the otherstuff and just focused on the emotion. On what Gabriel was going through. Even if he does tend to veer a little close to melodrama, some of the emotional scenes really hit. Gabriel deciding that "If he wanted a war, I would be it. If he wanted a fear, let it be me" was raw and visceral and I'm a sucker for scenes like that. Similarly, the sentiment that "A life without books is a life not lived" rings quite true, I think.

Speaking of: the arc of Gabriel and Aaron's friendship was a highlight for me. Platonic soulmates.

However, I don't think these positives save it. Kristoff's way of writing women and about women is just not it, first of all. I also just don't think he should write sapphics. It feels very male gaze-y and I'd rather he didn't.

This latest release is the first book in Jay Kristoff's new adult dark fantasy series. It begins with a man, named Gabriel de Leon as he retells his life story to a vampire, after he is captured and held prisoner by this beast that he has spent her life fighting against. He is made out to be a hero and one of the greatest swordsman of all times, but things are not what they appear. This book is one of my most anticipated books of the year and I have been eagerly waiting to get my hands on a copy, since it was announced. This story is definitely a very twisted slow burn, with puzzle after mysteries puzzle, about this man. When you have answers to one enigma, several more secrets are added on. This world and the riddle behind how it became such a dark and dead place is utterly intriguing. I can't wait to find out how everything came to be and where it is going. The writing is rich and detailed, it takes a little bit to get used to the style that is being used, which is a story within a story, because sometimes there are interruptions and the switch from past to present tense happens right in the middle of a paragraph. So far de Leon, is a very complex character, with a traumatic childhood, he comes off as no nonsense, angry and bitter at times. I first read this as an ebook form but I had to have my own hard copy because not only is this a magical spun story but the cover and artwork throughout were amazing. I would highly recommend this book, it is an amazing start to this new Saga and it will be a long wait until the next instalment is released.
Trigger warnings: blood, murder, sexual abuse, and drug use
I received this ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Thank you, Tor for the sampler of this book!

Jay Kristoff has done it again, bringing us a wonderfully dark, brutal, crass, completely inappropriate, violent, gothic beauty. I loved this book!

It's easy to see in the first 400 pages that the world-building and the characters are both central among the reasons it's such a good read. Gabe, our reluctant hero, tells his tail in a matter-of-fact manner that is both incredibly sad and incredibly charming. I love the way Kristoff wrote this as an interview with a Vampire basically. Way to give that one to us! The characters are all fantastic to read with their own stories and their own depth, and I appreciate that everyone has a purpose.

Really fantastic read!

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an extended sampler of Empire of the Vampire in exchange for an honest review. I had gone through a long period of only reading books that could bring me joy, which I love don't get me wrong, but I've been missing all the other emotions reading can bring. It's been months since I've sincerely cried over a book or been scared for what the main characters would have to sacrifice or face and whether they'd make it out the other side. Reading was becoming very one dimensional and I felt as if every new book I picked up was missing something, and couldn't compare to the books I read in 2020. But then I heard about EoTV and knew I had to pick it up because Jay Kristoff is one of the only authors who never fails to make me feel every single emotion possible, and I will say he did NOT disappoint. Every book of his I've read is just a unique masterpiece and this book is no different. It's told interview style by our main character Gabriel de Leon, a pale-blood (half human, half vampire) and he's such a broody interesting character to follow. This is giving me very much Nevernight vibes and I can't wait for my editions to ship from the UK. I love this rendition of vampires as detestable unredeemable creatures instead of perfect beautiful love interests and hope the rest of this trilogy is out quickly, you better get writing Jay, I NEED MORE! What an absolutely epic read so far, and how rude to leave the sampler on a cliff hanger, but go pick it up right now, you won't regret it!

(Will give a full review on Goodreads once I finish the physical book!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

Great Sampler. I did by the book and WOW!!!! You are in for a ride. I acutally think this is one of Jay's best works. I highly recommend this read!

Empire of the Vampire
Book 1 in Empire of the Vampire trilogy
Jay Kristoff

E P I C is the name of Jay Kristoff’s dark, dark fantasy, and first in his new Empire of the Vampire trilogy. It’s a behemoth at 27 hours in audio and almost 800 pages in print but every word is imperative because Gabriel de León has quite a story to tell, about faith, forbidden love, true believers and zealots about good vs evil - where sometimes the line between heroes and villains is razor thin. Told in three timelines, the present where Gabriel is telling his story, Gabriel’s early years and his past as a 32-year-old adult where he describes a dark unforgiving world that’s only getting worse and like a train wreck where all evidence points to a terrible ending the audience still won’t be able to stop watching. Kristoff is a master storyteller and world builder, his brilliant cataclysmic narrative meticulously describes a grim, hopeless empire giving his audience a chilling authentic taste of his bleak, ruthless world.

All of his characters stand out but Gabriel is unforgettable, a hero, a warrior, a failure, a tortured soul and as he narrates his tragic tale be prepared to experience a multitude of emotions, horror, sadness, brief happiness and hopelessness.

If you’re looking for silver linings and happy endings this is not the book for you but if you’re looking for a truly dark epic fantasy tale you will not be able to put this instant bestseller down.

NARRATION:
The narration by Damian Lynch is unmatched he is the perfect Gabriel from the swordsmith to the drunkard, from the Knight to the prisoner. Spoken in a clear, clean voice Lynch gives his audience an unforgettable performance.

It’s been twenty-seven years since day’s death and in those years with no sunshine to speak of Vampires have been slowly snuffing out humanity. But humanity has a weapon a weapon born in shame but who rise to take up the sliver embedded swords of the Silver Order of San Michon, they are legends and warriors they are Silversaints and there is one among them who stands alone as the best and now he stands alone as the last. Imprisoned by the dark creatures he vowed to destroy, Gabriel de León, The Black Lion, The Sword of the Realm, once knighted by the Empress, the last Siversaint has spent his life killing these creatures but after slaying the Vampire known as the Forever King, is now held captive by it’s new Queen, Margot Chastain, and her historian Jean-Francois is demanding Gabriel recount his life story before they send him to meet his maker. And so the story begins about how a sainted Knight lost his faith as the empire he swore to protect lost its final battle.

Such an incredible book. Empire of the Vampire is literally my new favorite book of all time. The world, the characters, the plot, the HEARTBREAK. I just love everything about this book honestly. I cannot wait to re read it.

(I’ve posted reviews for it on youtube, instagram, and good reads). @lochs.library

I loved this little peak into the whole story and I preordered it as soon as I was finished! Can't wait to finish the rest of the book

I have read the Game of Thrones series and enjoyed them but often got lost with all of the characters and numerous story lines. This is executed perfectly and the way the story is delivered made me so invested in the characters that I was emotionally scarred by the ending!!!
Gabriel de Leon is a silversaint that is telling his story to his enemy, a vampire named Jean-Francois, while imprisoned. As he tells the story we begin to learn about the battles, forbidden love, pain and the darkness that Gabriel has experienced up until this point. His story jumps around but in a really good way. You could feel the pain and anger Gabriel has been carrying for years. Of course with any great epic story there are plenty of "WTF" moments and many twists and surprises. I devoured this book and am glad that I read it and listened to it. The nerd that I am received a sample of the story from Netgalley, purchased the audiobook and a hard copy of the book because the illustrations are amazing!!!

This book was fantastic!! I loved it. It is an incredible world that Kristoff has imagined and I cannot wait until the next one.

Great sampler! Can't wait to try the whole book out since this one has some formating issue with my ebook copy. I absolutely love the cover and can't wait to see how dark this book will get.