I cannot wait for this book. I didn’t realize this was just a sample and now I am CHOMPING AT THE BIT for this book. If Jay Kristoff has no fans, I’m dead.

De la copa santa viene la santa luz;
La mano fiel pone el mundo en sus cosas.
Y a la vista de los siete mártires,
El hombre mero terminará esta noche interminable.

Gabriel de León ha perdido a su familia, su fe y su última esperanza de acabar con la noche interminable: el Santo Grial, Dior. Sin más deseo que venganza, él y un grupo de hermanos leales viajan al corazón devastado por la guerra del Imperio Agustín para reclamar la vida del Rey de Para Siempre.

Sin que el último santo plateado lo sepa, el Gral sigue vivo, acelerando hacia la capital sitiada de Agustín con la frágil esperanza de poner fin a Daysdeath para siempre. Pero la traición mortal espera dentro de los pasillos del poder, y las legiones del Rey Eterno marchan cada vez más cerca. Gabriel y Dior se verán envueltos en una batalla final que dará forma al destino mismo del Imperio, pero mientras el sol se pone para lo que puede ser la última vez, no les quedará nadie en quien confiar.

Ni siquiera el uno al otro.


—



Se que este libro es de los más esperados del año por lo que no quiero dar spoilers por lo que por el momento no pondré mi reseña y solo diré que me encantó. Jay nunca defrauda.


Gracias NetGalley por el ARC.

I requested Empire of the Damned sampler and I knew no peace until I had the full book. Did it stop me from requesting Empire of the Dawn? Sure didn’t.

Easily going to be the best vampire series in years. It’s going to hurt our feelings and be brutal but I can tell it’s going to be epic from the sample. Easily one of my most anticipated reads this year.

Fantastic so much fun! Great premise and even better story!! This was a golden ending to one of the best stories around! I can't wait for what chaos Jay brings to us next!!

As far as samplers go, this one was a solid length/. But it’s hard to review the content because it just…. Stopped! I’m now super excited for the book and grumpy that I have to wait.

Jay… I need the whole book!! This has been my most anticipated read of 2025, and now November cannot come soon enough. ALL. THE. STARS.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the sample of eARC in exchange for my honest opinion… but can I have the rest now? Please?

Amazing as always and has me itching to read the full thing. However, I want to note when I requested this it did not say it was just a sampling so it was a bit disappointing to see it not labeled as such at the start.

When I originally requested this I did not realise it was just a snippet of the first few chapters. However, what I have read is (as expected) phenomenal and I cannot wait for the full release!

To be honest, it's very hard to review half a book. I'm grateful for the chance to read this far into it, but its kind of like a carrot dangling in front of my face now. I look forward to reviewing the full thing. What I've was on par with what we've seen up until bow from Jay Kristoff. I can't wait to see where this lead!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this sample eARC!

I don't even know where to start with how incredible the Empire series has been, and how bittersweet it is now that it's coming to an end. Jay Kristoff starts off the 3rd book with a bang and continues to deliver non-stop action throughout every single chapter. I don't know what happened between the writing of Damned and Dawn but it's like he's ramped up the writing quality, pacing, and storytelling to 1000. I felt like Damned lost its pacing at times and I struggled through some of the first third of the book until the plot really picked up. There was none of that with Dawn - I was flying through the chapters. I loved returning to this world and these characters who are all so fleshed out they felt like old friends. I laughed out loud, I held my breath, I felt every emotion while reading this short sample, so I can't imagine the emotional wreck the rest of the book will leave me.

This will be the most explosive end to the trilogy and I can't wait to see where this story goes. I devoured this sample while trying and failing to slowly savour it but in the end it was over all too fast. November cannot come fast enough now - and I know I'm not prepared but I can't wait to be hurt again.

The way I RAN to request this once it was available! The summary at the beginning is greatly appreciated and I wish all books would do this, as I really appreciate the reminders. This was a sample of the first 200 pages or so and it left me hungry for more! I'll be waiting to post my full review until I'm able to read the remainder of the book, but I will say this: this is a fantastic start to the end and well worth the wait! Everything that has made Kristoff's previous works shine comes through here loud and clear. I've got my copy pre-ordered, and you should go pre-order yours, too.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is only a sample of the entire book, so I can’t write my review quite yet.

I can say that the beginning of this book is quite slow. There is less action, blood, and adventure. There is less of the fun banter between Gabriel and Jean-Francois and more of a focus on the story the characters are telling. I’m hoping the rest of the book will pick up.

🩸 Bookish Thoughts
I’ll be saving my full review for closer to release, but Empire of the Dawn blew me away. Dark, emotional, and intense! This was an incredible 5-star conclusion to this epic saga.

⭐ Rating: 5 Stars
📅 Pub Date: November 4, 2025
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I was lucky enough to get a sample of book three just to tease me. This is the first 23% of the book or 186 pages. There will be spoilers from this point!!!
There is a great recap of both books one and two at the start to trigger the important events and who’s who and what transpired so far.
We jump back into the story telling from Gabriel’s POV. Gabriel is destroyed by the events of the last book and I feel the devastation and internal torture he is going through. I loved being back in this world with the utterly poetic writing and detailed descriptions. I love the interruption for questions and clarification by Jean-Francois who is slowly becoming one of my favour

A highly anticipated finale! While this sampler version only covered the first 200 or so pages, it's an excellent start to what's sure to be a sought-after end to the trilogy. I appreciate that Kristoff always includes a quick recap of where the previous story left off, as I'm sure many readers will be returning to this trilogy after a long hiatus. As with the previous two installments, the writing is by turns darkly humorous and deeply emotional, making you care about the characters even when they do awful things, or you know awful things are bound to happen to them.

While I can't speak to the rest of this book yet, I have no doubt based on this sample that the ending will be every bit as heartbreakingly brutal and well-written as you can expect from Jay Kristoff. It will be a great series to recommend to those who like their fantasy dark as night, laugh-out-loud, and emotionally damaging.

The Empire of the Dawn sampler contained about half of the book and followed a similar structure to Empire of the Damned, with Gabriel recounting in flashbacks the tale of the Grail and of his own separate misadventures to Jean-François Chastain. Gabriel is sinking closer and closer to despair, and beginning to lose himself to the sangirè. Jean-François is under increasing pressure to produce the entire tale of the Grail and the Silversaint for his mother, the Empress Margot Chastain, as the various vampire familles descend upon their fortress.

Following the destruction of clan Dyvok in the battle of Maergenn, Gabriel departs the city unaware that Dior resurrected after three days, heading out to seek Fabién Voss to out an end to the Forever King. Reuniting with Aaron, Baptiste, and Lachlan, they travel to the Barony of León to try and repair Ash at the fabled forge. The storyline in León with Gabriel’s grandfather the Baron was entertaining and contained a twist I did not expect. The tension between Aaron - freshly turned coldblood - and his husband Baptiste makes for some good drama, though the constant sniping between Lachlan and Aaron got a little old.

Being a sample, only half the book was provided, with the story transitioning to Jean-François beginning to interrogate Celeste before the story cuts. I was not ready to stop and now I feel even more anxious to read the conclusion when it releases.

Kristoff’s writing is engaging as always, darkly enchanting and vivid, with his signature blend of crude humor and cynicism. He manages to keep the story interesting and the reader engaged while bouncing back and forth between past and present. I liked seeing more of Gabriel’s struggles against his nature as a paleblood as the sangirè begins to take over, as well as the maturation of the character as time and events begin to take their toll on him.

I have no predictions to how the story will resolve and I can’t wait to read the book entire when it releases in November.

I think I would like to read this series but start from the beginning. As it is now was totally confused as to what the story was about or the characters in general.

Another great installment of the series full of action, heartbreak and plot twists I just never saw coming. The style of the sample is the same as the previous two books your main character is being interviewed or his story of what happened to the Grail and every time I thought I knew where it was going the story went somewhere new that came with its own challenges and misdirections. I really enjoyed the familiarity between the main character and his interviewer that we started to see as the two have grown to know more about each other and have grown more comfortable with one another. Can’t wait to read the rest of the book.

I was provided the opportunity to read a sample of the last book of the Empire of the Vampire. I can rightly say this book hates you. I was provided 15 chapters and I am so excited to read the rest. Jay Kristoff's a narration-style and storytelling are my most favorite writing styles that I have ever read. The book is dark and emotional as we continue with Gabriel's journey as a fallen Silver Saint. I can't get enough of Jay Kristoff's dark and morbid mind! This whole series is a killer! READ IT, YOU WON'T REGRET IT. Jay Kristoff is a legend!

This was only the first half the book, so my review will only be based on that. But goodness, Jay Kristoff did it again. I can tell that the complete book is going to destroy my soul in the best of ways and I can't wait to finish the rest of it!

I love that Jay Kristoff put an overview of all the characters in the beginning of the book, I have read the first two books pretty recently, so it was fairly fresh in my mind. But I can tell that it will be a very useful and helpful tool for readers, especially with how many characters come to play in this series.

The first half of this book, it made me cry, it made me yell, it had my awestruck. The things that are coming to pass are insane, and knowing more about Gabriel's grandfather and his mother's choices...that was hard to read. I have so much empathy for this fictional character and the life that he could have known or had if some different choices had been made.

Aaron and Baptiste, my heart is breaking for them, I almost threw my Kindle across the room at one point, in just pure desperation that I want something good to happen for them and it feels bleak.

There wasn't a moment in this sample of the book that I read where I wasn't completely engaged or addicted to what was happening. This author's writing is incredible and I am just chomping at the bit for the rest of the book!