These chapter samplers always bring me such joy. The recap at the beginning was very much so needed. My main problem began that I I could not get past the 50 page mark. It just didn’t call to me in the way book 1 did. This felt a little too self gratifying.

Blew through this book in two days—it was that good. Never a dull moment, and I honestly still can’t believe it’s over. Jay Kristoff does not let up for a second.

We pick up right where Empire of the Vampire left off, and once again, poor Gabriel is dragged through the depths of hell and somehow keeps going. He is the very definition of a tortured soul, and I am absolutely hooked on his story. The world remains dark, gritty, and brutal in all the best ways, and the stakes only get higher.

The prophecy still hangs over everything, casting its shadow over every choice and twist. And that final confrontation with Fabien? I need that story in book three like… now. The lore just keeps deepening, and I’m so curious to see how the grail might bring an end to the endless night.

If you love: 🩸 classic, vicious vampires
🌓 high fantasy with a lyrical tone
⚔️ epic battles of light vs dark
💔 and a broken hero who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders...

...then you need this series in your life.

I’ll be counting down the days until Empire of the Dawn.

As per usually, another great book from Jay Kristoff. I do find that some parts could’ve been cut out but all in all a great book.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ review:

welp. the read i've been postponing for months (had an ARC and everything) ended up being a 5 stars. it's not that i doubted it would be great, but i'm generally not a fan of series. truthfully, i'm almost always satisfied by standalones and nothing gives me more anxiety than loving the first book of a series, only for the ones afterwards to ruin everything for me. nope. nooooo. no.

so obviously, i kept postponing reading this. i mean, my anxiety at the prospect of being let down by EOTD aside, it's also worth noting that this book is a behemoth and i've been slugging through 300-something-page books for the past months.

anyway. debilitating anxiety regarding a hobby that should relax me aside, i LOVED this book. there's not much more to say about it. it crumpled my heart like an old tissue, made me giggle everytime Gabriel opened his mouth and also made me put my Kindle down multiple times just to reconnect with nature.

i'm not sure why people disliked the little smut there was because i was honestly a fan, and that's coming from someone that consumes smut in an unhealthy amount and who's usually picky about it.

the ending made me violently sit up (goddamn you mister Kristoff, how dare you make me do half a crunch in my own bed?!) and gasped so loud my cat just glared at me and left. all in all 10/10 experience though.

well. now i guess i should just despair over the fact that i'll have to wait until 2025 for the next book 😔 if anyone has any Gabriel fanfiction, do send them my way. it's for scientific purposes of course.


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

I thought Empire of the Vampire was one of my favorite reads- until I read Empire of the Damned. Kristoff weaves such a captivating and engaging sequel to Empire of the Vampire, immersing the reader more into the lives of Gabriel, Dior, and others involved. Kristoff depicts vampires the way history and mythology intended- depraved beasts who wreak havoc on humanity. This book gave me everything I was looking for in a fantasy novel: grit, dark humor, and lots and lots of action. The character building picked up right where it left of in the first book and left me wanting more. Very much looking forward to Book 3, and what Kristoff has in store for our favorites, Dior and Gabe.

So so SO good! Admittedly I was nervous starting this because it had been a while since I read book 1 and I read other books in between so i remembered practically nothing. BUT the recap of book 1 in the beginning?? GENIUS! I loved the continuity of Gabe & Dior and how funny they were.

Now I'll admit, sometimes I worry that I rate abook highly purely because it's long and I out a lot of time into it. That is not the case for Empire of the Damned. I had grown super attatched to the characters in Empire of the Vampire, and I was glad to see their world expand. The lore for this world remained complex without ever overtly breaking it's own rules, which is impresive for it's scope! I love reading vampire literature and while romanticising vampires is the name of my game, I loved seeing them as terrifying, blood thirsty, and heretical as they were intended!

I have loved both books in the series! This is a true vampire story with angst, bloodlust, history, etc. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book, but I don’t think that it would do well in my Bookstore because we are focused on more romantic and lighthearted things and this book definitely doesn’t fit that but overall I enjoyed my time.

Yes. Yes. Yes
Don’t question if you should get this book or not. Just get it.
You wont regret it.
The continued world building from book one is right on track.

Jay Kristoff never misses. He also knows how to gut us and it’s sort of the best. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-ARC.
This series gets better and better. Looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to SMP and Netgalley for the arc. Who doesn't love a thick book about vampires? This was exactly what I expected it to be and I loved every minute of it.

This story was an interesting story from an author I don’t know or haven’t read before! Will look at finding other things by this author. I am grateful for the early access, thank you to those that allowed it!

Kristoff is one of my favorites and this was no different. I loved getting back to this world and discovering all the things hidden and given. I’m looking forward to more of this world and all the vampires!

While I jumped into this book, I realized that I needed to read the first one. However, the characters from the first into the second book still hold up. The world building is still on point and Kristoff is an amazing writer. I hope to come back and finish the book but it will always be five stars no matter what.

A gripping, blood-soaked continuation that will leave you desperate for the next book. Highly recommended for fans of gothic horror, morally gray protagonists, and stories that embrace the darkness.

I can't recommend this book or this author enough!!! Jay Kristoff is a mastermind and leaves me anxious and on the edge of my seat for the next page every page! 5 stars must read

Jay Kristoff is an instant buy and read for me I haven't ever been disappointed by the world I get immersed in! The story telling is so immersive and the point of view switched felt fitting and not jarring as they sometimes can be! This was a 5/5 for me and I cannot wait for more!!

I absolutely love Empire of the Vampire, and have read it multiple times. For some reason, I had a very hard time getting into this followup. The fact that it kicks off with something of a blood orgy is likely a large contributing factor. I'm sure that I'll read past this extended preview at some point, but I'm putting it on a distant back burner until I find myself in the right mood for something quite this dark.

This book is so well written. Kristoff is a very talented author and I will truly read anything that he writes. Great characters, great plot, superb pacing. All done so well.