Empire of the Vampire

"It had been a while since I read and listened to a great vampire novel and then I read and listened to this! This is WOW! The audiobook takes it to another level. Great illustrations, beautiful and artistic. I loved every minute of this book. As I was reading it gave me Interview with a Vampire vibes, except this would be Interview with a Vampire Killer (Silversaint). I am so glad I joined a buddy read on Instagram, I made new friends and read a great book! I could have easily devoured this book in one or two nights but I paced myself to stretch out my enjoyment.<br/><br/>Gabriel de Leon is a Silversaint, a holy group dedicated to killing monsters…especially vampires. Now a prisoner of a vampire, he is forced to tell his story, specifically how he lost the holy grail. His story is dark fantasy: vulgar, full of adventure, battles, violence, blood, self discovery, and forbidden love. All the while Gabriel teaches us how to insult someone properly! I mean some of the things that come out of his mouth…"

"First of all, my review will not do this book justice. I was glued from the very first page, “Ask me not if God exists, but why he’s such a *****?” This entire tale told from Gabriel de Leon’s POV, at what is presumed to be the end of his journey. Blood paid with blood two fold, friends who become enemies and enemies who were friends all along. I think what I identified with the most is the initial perception of Gabriel’s loss of faith. Being a Silversaint was the closest thing to a purpose the Little Lion had and even then that was ripped from under him. After the amount of tragedy and loss he experiences it isn’t surprising that the greatest of the One Faith Order loses just that. But it’s an awesome journey to find that faith is really nothing more than what you believe in, regardless of what that is. The world building in here is PHENOMENAL, the characters are amazing and so deep! The aegis, ingenious! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time because I thought I would know and then I didn’t. I think my favorite plot twists for sure are Aaron, and Little Hellion, IYKYK! Nothing makes me feel happier than when a book makes my brain mush from 🤯 reading. This is by far from over, but I will most definitely be continuing this series, there are so many questions unanswered. Will this really be the end of a hero or the beginning of a rebel once more?? Where the hell does Gabriel really come from?? Where is Dior?? And best of all, Fabién who??? Happy reading!! "

"Excellent dark, gritty fantasy. A truly unique vampire story, which is rare. It hooks you in immediately and I enjoyed the format - it’s told as a spoken account of the main character’s life with the interviewer interrupting throughout. The timeline is not completely linear and it jumps around, but everything eventually connects. The audiobook is fantastic. I can’t wait for the next book! "

"The Name of the Wind, Interview with a Vampire, Game of Thrones, and The Witcher have a glorious baby and this is it. My second seires from Jay Kristoff and I was instantly blown away. He is vastly descriptive, writes wonderfully complex characters who will stay with you, and fight scenes that make you want to jump in the pages and stab someone just to be apart of the action.... no...just me.....ah well. Yeah I know this is a long book but still the history, diverse characters, and world is so rich you forget yourself while reading.<br/><br/>Again Kristoff can write a character, I mean, dang, so good. Gabriel is a real bastard but the kind of bastard you hate yourself to love. I couldn't get enough of him. The story starts with Gabriel being interviewed and then he pretty much stumbles back and forth in the timeline because he bloody well feels like it. Still it was easy to keep up, though I did have to write down names to keep them straight because there were quite a few. But this is the part were I praise Kristoff again because it wasn't overwhelming and there was no section put aside for info dumping. Thank you!<br/><br/>The story never dragged for me but like The Name of the Wind you are given many endings and are desperate to hear the events leading to them. If you are just here for the fight scenes don't worry, they definitely pick up halfway through. Gabriel was a worthy leader. The kind that makes you swell with pride. Not quite a Darrow O'Lykos but maybe an older jerk of a brother haha. And I so much enjoyed the side characters as well with a couple of twist thrown in. Brilliant.<br/><br/>My only negative would be that a few things were not explained well. Like how the vampire shift was done. Why is it only men are born? Why do Vampires not like rivers? I will say it was a big book and maybe I missed it. Still it didn't ruin my enjoyment, it was just an afterthought.<br/><br/>I squinted at the curls atop the man's head. "I think your cats dead."<br/><br/>"You weep like a child over a dead horse but shoot and innocent in the back and leave God fearing men to be slaughtered like fowlbloods. What kind of hero are you?"<br/>Gabriel laughed shaking his head. "Who the f--k told you I was a hero?"<br/><br/>"Oh blessed face f--kery"<br/><br/>"Here's a truth about sword fighting Cold Blood. Even if your bad at it, when the person your fighting doesn't have one, your still going to be pretty good.""

"Awesome book with illustrations throughout!! Crazy worldbuilding and characters you'll be addicted to. Joseph Morgan himself from vampire diaries said he would love to star in a show about this. Excited for the second book! (Whenever it comes out)"

"I saw this book probably 20 times and thought about reading it. The cover art and title kept putting me off. Finally picked it up and I didn’t put it back down until I read it. Googled the sequels release date as soon as I closed the book. Great writing, character building, etc! "

"4.75. I can't wait for the sequel! Admittedly, the only thing keeping this from a full five stars for me is that I'm a massive mood reader and lost interest part way through, and when I came back to it, I'd lost the momentum I picked up when I initially started it. But that's a me problem, this book is absolutely amazing.."

"Words cannot describe this book. Just read it. ALL OF IT. JUST FINISH IT PLEASE. It's so good. Jay Kristoff has clearly been through hell and back to be able to write a book this bloody good."

"Wicked accounts of love, loss, physical and emotional war against and among people once cherished. A slow and steady tale of a man’s journey to avenge all he lost through blood, sweat, tears, and promises broken."

"This book was pretentious and painfully boring "