laura :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

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laura is Currently Reading

laura *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ is currently reading

A Love Letter to Whiskey: Fifth Anniversary Edition

by Kandi Steiner (Goodreads Author)

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Mar 08, 2026 09:49AM

laura *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ is currently reading

Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)

by Jay Kristoff (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2021

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laura *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ said: " 3/5 stars

Authors pleaseeeeeeee stop saying your next release is the best thing you've ever written, my expectations soar through the fucking roof and I'm left feeling 'meh'. Overall I liked it but it didn't grip me the way that Nevernight did.

You kn 3/5 stars

Authors pleaseeeeeeee stop saying your next release is the best thing you've ever written, my expectations soar through the fucking roof and I'm left feeling 'meh'. Overall I liked it but it didn't grip me the way that Nevernight did.

You know those books that you don't ever find yourself getting really invested in the characters which leads to you not caring about their fate....until the last 10% when things actually start to happen? That was this for me. I liked the characters, but I never actually fell in love with them. Up until the end. I really love Dior <3. Gabriel, our hero, is very much an edgelord, which I didn't really mind. There were moments I found him pretty annoying though I won't lie. The writing style is very distinctly Jay Kristoff (minus the footnotes), so if you weren't a fan of that in his previous series I don't know if this would be for you. It feels like a lot of this book was building backstory for the next book and there's a ton of questions left unanswered, I do wish a little more was wrapped up in this one being 700 pages and all.

Since I wasn't really attached to any of the characters, after reading a few hundred pages I started to get bored in the long stretches where not much is happening aside from hanging out with them with the occasional action scene. A lot of the story consists of the characters traveling through rough snowy vampire infested terrain. I also didn't get invested in the romance. It ended up playing a big role in Gabriel's development so I wish it were a little stronger.

Lots of the dialogue was clever and had me audibly giggling but lots of it was also pretty cringe, especially the way the vampires talk. Way too many "thee's", "thy's", and "thoust's" etc. I know that their speech is supposed to represent that they're super old but wouldn't their speech evolve with time? And it gave me a headache trying to read it. I also couldn't take it seriously that the big bad scary vampire villain is called the Forever King.

I know my review is coming across more negative than positive, but I do want to give it some credit. I really liked the relationship development between Gabriel and Aaron & Gabriel and Dior. Those relationships by far were the highlight of the story for me. The banter with Gabriel between Jean-Francois and Dior was also fun. Now that a lot of character and world development are out the way I hope more happens in the next book. ...more "

progress:

(page 561 of 739)
"The more I read, the more I’m so over how unnecessarily long this book is. Holding myself accountable to finish this today 🙏🏻" — Oct 11, 2021 08:50AM

Jul 19, 2024 09:21AM · see review