Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

75 reviews

lifeonasofa's review

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Empire of the Vampire 🧛🏼‍♂️ Review 

“Finally, he retrieved a tarnished royale from his pocket. 'Here.'

'What is that for?' Jean-François demanded.

'I want you to take this coin to market, and buy me a fuck to give.” - Jay Kristoff 🪙 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 Stars 

If you’re looking for an adult vampire world to live in for the foreseeable future…this is it. At over 700 pages, this is only part one and Jay Kristoff is taking his TIME telling Gabriel’s tale. But for an opening, this book was art 😘 

It took me some time to get through this. It’s definitely not a relaxing read, it’s an experience. Having said that, when I did read it, the plot still moved pretty quickly. The book jumps everywhere along the timeline so it keeps it interesting 🤔 

I LOVED Gabriel, his character was so fleshed out. He felt so real. The whole silversaint thing, so interesting. Surprisingly, the religion side of this was probably my favourite part. Particularly, the loss in belief and light - it really helped flesh out the history of the world👌🏻 

Heads up, it’s a blood bath so if you’re put off by blood, death (some pretty sad) and foul language…I’d be wary 😂 it’s definitely not a kids book. I really loved how Kristoff combined such a classic story telling writing style with the relaxed banter dialogue, it somehow kept it light 👏🏻 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Torture, Animal death, Homophobia, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Rape

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A beautifully written high fantasy novel. The only issue I had with it was how long it was coupled with how slow-paced it felt. I did find the anachronistic structure interesting but I was much more interested in the earlier stages of Gabriel's journey at San Michon rather than the journey with Dior. It wasn't until I'd reached the middle of the book that I felt connected to Dior, Chloe and the other characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism

thecourtofreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this only took me so long because a) it’s massive, and b) i realise i have a very short attention span. regardless, this book was such a rich, dark fantasy book and i love the worlds jay creates. can’t wake for book 2! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood and Animal death

jesicaj's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Gore, Violence, Death, Cursing, and War

taryn_g's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Pregnancy, Outing, Self harm, and Vomit

andromeda_1998's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Sexism, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, War, Animal death, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Genocide

alanis_thespookyreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Animal death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, War, Blood, and Body horror

jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 

"Empire of the Vampire" is a journey. Its a long one as our main character, de Leon, is recounting his heart-rending life to a vampire historian. This is like, perhaps, an 18th-Century-esque French setting. There's a large amount of world building particularly around religion. The religion is basically Christianity but with subtle differences.

The book goes down a bit for its treatment of women. Many women are clearly there to entice the male reader. The main female vampire is often touching herself and trying to sexually manipulate the men chasing her...in public no less--very annoying. Women are often brutalized more explicitly than male characters. And if you're a woman, stay away from de Leon.

Besides a couple people, everyone else curses like a sailor. Every. Single. Person. There is an excessive use of the word c*nt, but most often its variations on f*ck. The book is also much more sexually explicit than I'm used to reading. There's even underage sex, including a drawn photo in the book, which is not a welcome addition. Finally, it's extremely violent and bloody.

With everything being said, there are epic battles, hidden religious secrets, a vow of vengeance, and a struggle of faith. De Leon is an intriguing character. Kristoff does have some beautiful passages about choice and life and fate. I don't know if I'd be able to read a book 2 as I can't imagine keeping all of this in my head!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Religious bigotry, Violence, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Animal death

Moderate: Homophobia and Rape

patrissia10's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Blood, and Gore

roxxie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence