This review is only for the sampler, not the entire book.

If I thought Empire of the Damned was the strongest book in the series, I might have just been proven wrong. Empire of the Dawn starts off incredibly strong. There’s no dilly-dallying here. The tension picks up right where we left off, and I’m here for all of it.

The stakes are at an all-time high, and I just know this is going to be devastatingly good.

Kristoff’s prose is still as beautiful as ever. What a time to be alive. Patiently waiting for the book’s official release.

ᴇᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀᴡɴ ᴇ-ᴀʀᴄ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs

I was disappointed to find out that the 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 E-ARC through NetGalley was a sampler of book one of 𝘌𝘖𝘛𝘋, but I will take whatever crumbs are offered in regards to my favorite series of all time.

•••

The sample alone proves that 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 will be the explosive conclusion that this trio has been building up to.

The momentum from the finale of 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥 did not let off and I was thrown right back into the feelings of abysmal dread of the world of 𝘌𝘰𝘛𝘝. Kristoff’s prose remains gorgeously poetic and dark. I was pleased to find the witt and dry humor I have come love remained intact.

Relationships are messy, the stakes are dialed up and MCs have zero shits to give. After laying my eyes on the first 186 pages of what I know will be an absolutely epic read, my heart is aching, yet yearning for more torment.

And most importantly there are pictures my dear readers.

Stunning illustrations.

Even with a new illustrator coming in and tackling this finale, the artwork within remains gorgeous.

I cannot possibly give a proper rating to a sample of a novel, but can feel it in my bones that 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 will be chock full of emotional torment, and a bittersweet goodbye to this world that @misterkristoff has so masterfully created.

I am ready to be crushed.

Thank you to @stmartinspress, the author and @netgalley for making a sample of my most anticipated release of the year available in exchange for a honest opinion.

Thank you to @dreamingofreading_ for holding my hand through this sampler, sharing thoughts and hatching theories. Now we can stew in anticipation together until November until our physical copies arrive.

✌🏻

I do not know why I am constantly blown away by Jay Kristoff's writing. I am also quite sad this was just a sample. I cannot WAIT for the rest!

Jay Kristoff never disappoints. I love that he puts a synopsis at the beginning so we don’t forgot the key details. I’m so excited to finally get my hands on the ending of this 5 star series.

This sampler includes the first “book” in the third installment of the Empire of the Vampire series. It felt like going home, getting back with our gang of misfits… if your home is a dark, depressing world where all your favorite characters come to die lol.

Thank you netgalley, St. Martins Press, and of course, Jay Kristoff himself.

Jay Kristoff is such a tease of an author and this sampler is even more so a tease, I am DYING to get my hands on the rest of this book. These characters are incredible and the complex and beautiful world that has been crafted is one of my favourite to live in. Gabriel is an excellent character and narrates the story in such a dramatic and compelling way, I can't wait to see how his and Dior's story end. This will always be a top tier vampire series that I recommend to anyone who loves dry humour, crazy dramatics, and so much heart.

This story is a ride from start to finish! I cannot wait to finish the book when it comes out - Kristoff brings the same wit and macabre vibes to Empire of the Dawn that made me fall in love with this series to begin with! I could not put the book down! I love the style, the characters, and the writing!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher!!!

Wow....that was a tease! Thank you so much for the sampler!

I'm ready for November now!

This has just made me all the more excited for the finale!! Can't wait for November to finally be able to see how the trilogy ends!

Okay.
Dear NetGalley,
I TRULY THOUGHT THIS WAS THE WHOLE BOOK AND I WAS SO EXCITED AND NOW I AM SAD.

HOWEVER.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this Sampler. I am obsessed and need more immediately. This is probably one of the best written trilogies in the genre in a long time, especially those with vampires. I love how Kristoff writes his characters: full of wit and sass, and complexity that makes you hate them while caring and being completely sucked in. I have a feeling that when this book comes out, there will be no stopping the pages just flying by and I might have to take a day off of work to finish it haha!!

Thank you again for this sampler. I cannot wait to read more and although this was just a taste, it may be enough to tie me over until November 18th.

Jay Kristoff has built a truly tantalizing world of vampires and monsters full of truly fun characters with enough depth to keep you invested. The storytelling aspect of it draws me in on a level that even the Kingkiller chronicles (despite its flaws) never managed to do. I’ll be picking up the full volume with enthusiasm upon release.

I am very in love with this novel and I cannot wait to read the final book in this trilogy! It's going to be amazing!

Expectations are always high when it comes to the penultimate book in a series, but the sampler of 'Empire of the Dawn' proves that this conclusion will be well worth the wait. I was immediately sucked right back into this world and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Honestly, this series will go down as one of the canonical "must reads" in vampire lore. 10/10, no notes. I thought it'd be easier on my emotions since I'm now on Zoloft but that was a lie.

How does one ever review a Jay Kristoff book and give it the credit it deserves? Reading the first book within Empire of the Dawn I cried, I laughed, I was taken off guard, mesmerized, and I fell in love with Jay Kristoff’s writing all over again.

I’ve been with Empire of the Vampire since its debut, and it feels bittersweet reading the last words in its tale. To say goodbye to the characters I have loved is heartbreaking and so reading these words — their last adventures on these pages — is not without great feeling. I will love this book till the end of days.

My warmest regards to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read early, merci mon ami.

November is already shaping up to be a massive reading month, and after tearing through the sampler for Empire of the Dawn, I’m seriously tempted to book a week off work to devour the final book the moment it drops.

This sampler delivers precisely what you want from Kristoff: razor-sharp writing, high-stakes tension, and that signature blend of blood, beauty, and brutal emotional damage. Even in just a few chapters, the atmosphere is thick with dread and longing. The characters are exactly as sharp and broken as I remembered, and the story picks up with the kind of momentum that makes it physically painful to stop reading.

Kristoff doesn’t ease you in. He throws you back into the fire, and it burns in all the right ways. The prose is still gorgeous, vicious, and darkly poetic. The relationships are messy and aching. The world is even more dangerous, and somehow, more seductive than ever.

As a teaser, it’s almost cruel. It reminds you of everything you loved (and feared) from Empire of the Vampire and Empire of the Damned, and it dials the tension up even higher. If the full novel delivers on the promise of these opening chapters—and let's be honest, it will—then Empire of the Dawn might just wreck us all in the best way.

I’m already clearing my calendar for November. Sleep can wait. The end is coming, and I plan to meet it with a sword in one hand and this book in the other.

Stunning teaser for the book of the year. I already know that I will love the rest of Gabriel's story. Jay Kristoff is the new master of epic horror fantasy!

So ready for this book! Really enjoyed the sampler I was given but now I have to wait until November! I may not make it. lol

This was a fantastic sample of EotD! I'm so excited to continue on release day! I'm anxious to find what happens next but also sad that this will be the last of the series.

NOT A REVIEW OF THE BOOK.

I noticed today that this was updated to indicate it's a sample and not the complete text.

As I didn't download this before, I'm not sure if this was always a sample, or if the decision was made to rescind my access to the complete text and provide a copy of this instead.

Either way, I'm not interested in reading and reviewing a sample of the book, so I'll not be posting anything in relation to this book until whenever I get around to reading it after release day.

As I gave the previous two books in the series 5 stars, I'll give this 5 stars as well, as Netgalley won't let me provide feedback without providing a star rating.

This sampler demonstrates every detail of Jay Kristoff's haunting writing. The reader is kept on the edge of their seat, all the while their heart is being torn. The plot moves forward, strangling any sense of hope you have that things will be okay, but somehow you cannot stop reading. I eagerly await and dread the ending to this book and series.

ARC REVIEW FOR BOOK ONE:

“I woke upon the floor. Scarred cheek pressed to the boards, heart athunder in my chest. I dragged myself upright, looking to my shaking hands, still smeared with the blood of the Holy Grail. And I said what anyone in my place would have at that moment.”
“Fuck my face?” Jean-François asked.
The silversaint nodded. “Fuck my face.”

JAYYYYY YOU MONSTERRRRRRR.

This is book one. BOOK ONE. So many events happened in so little time. Never once in my life did I think I would be crying over a sword, a SWORD.

I can’t help but ever be sucked deep into this man’s writing. As my good friend described it, it is very dense writing but you can’t help but be enTHRALLed 👀 at what is on the pages. Maybe we’re all just sucking from jays veins at this moment because I AM HOOKED. The flow of the story is just absolutely liquid. From one off comments from Jean-Francois right back to Gabe being a wondrous storyteller - it just hits. I have never read books like this series. I am anxiously awaiting what will happen next, with very little hope as we know there are no happy endings here.

I will leave you with my rating of 5/5 stars and my favorite quote:

“‘Will you pray with me, my son?’ “‘I’d rather shit in my hands and clap.’