A review by gardenofroses
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 This was such a journey… I started reading this book in February and only just finished this month but it was such an amazing story. I had been searching for a fantasy book with great world-building and a morally grey MC and this delivered that and so much more.

His writing definitely brought life to the world and the characters. The world-building was done so beautifully I could imagine everything Kristoff was describing and every time I sat down to read I felt immersed in the world; It felt alive and I think that also came down to having art within the pages to go along with the story as you’re reading. It felt like a reward.

The platonic relationships depicted in the story were everything to me. Reading Gabriel’s friendship with Baptiste, and especially Aaron, grow throughout the story was so heartwarming. You could just feel the brotherhood spilling from the pages. And Gabriel’s relationship with Dior omg. It’s heartbreaking but so warm and full of love and I want to protect them both from everything that they’ll probably experience as the series goes on. Their relationship definitely gives off Ellie and Joel vibes from The Last of Us if you’ve ever played that game!

There were, however, some areas of the book that could be considered problematic. There is an age gap relationship represented which did make me slightly uncomfortable at the beginning of the story. And I also found it hard to feel the all-consuming love that Gabriel and Astrid were supposed to have for each other. I’m not sure if Kristoff intended to write very little of their interactions in the first book because he’s planning on expanding on it in the sequel but it made it hard for me to believe that they loved each other as much as Gabriel said he did. I did feel the love Gabriel has for his brothers, his daughter, and Dior but I couldn’t connect that love with Astrid which made it seems sort of dry at times.

Overall, it was a really great story with amazing writing and characters I want to protect and make sure nothing bad ever happens to them ever again. I’ll definitely be checking out more of his other books and I can’t wait for the sequel. If you've been wanting to read it I highly suggest you do! DON'T LET THE SIZE INTIMIDATE YOU!

 
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