This week I only have the one book to tell you about, but what a book! On my iPad it was over 900 pages, which is like reading a trilogy in one go. Here it is…

The book was Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire #01). First we have the blurb:

“From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order couldn’t stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.”

I marked this as a favourite book on Goodreads and awarded it the full five stars, as did many other readers. This is what I wrote:

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

O M G!!!!!

Well, I have just finished this huge rock of a book and I am left speechless!

Vampires, heroes, anti-heroes, comrades, lovers, enemies.
Blood, rivers of blood, fountains of blood, oceans of blood…….. and yet more blood!
Battles, duels, fights, wounds and death… a lot of death.
Hate, love, disdain, passion and yet more dark hate.
Journeys by several different modes of transport over many types of terrain!

I won’t carry that on any further. It is interesting to read the reviews on here, especially the really negative ones. The readers who hate the book often give excellent reasons why and, in some ways, I can see their points of view. Especially the ones about the attitude to women in the book.

But, I am reading, these days, for pure escapism from my difficult life and the frightening situation. And this book, and others of its kind, help me to take my mind away from the real fears that threaten to overwhelm me. That’s why I gave it five stars.

View all my reviews

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OK, like some other reviewers, there were parts of the book that raised my feminist hackles (or sharpened my fangs!), but what superb escapism! I also found myself wondering whether an important plot point could actually work…

… then I remembered that the book was about, erm, vampires!!!

Yes, I do get very immersed in a good tale 🤣😂🤣😂🤣!

Right, so now I am wondering how Kristoff is going to follow that? Are books II and III going to be huge tomes? Are they going to fulfil the promise of the series?

I truly hope so.

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

💕💗💖💗💕