How did I feel after flipping the last page?

Exhausted. I felt like after they went through everything, knowing in my head that there are 3 more books to come - I was like, oh my. What other madness is going to happen in the coming books? But then again, I’m looking forward to find out what kind of story Laura has created for War, Famine and Death. Initially, I thought this book was just going to be pure darkness and grim so I was surprised when I had so many moments where I was just laughing at Sarah’s inner monologues. I found it endearing as well as to how ‘innocent’ Pestilence was about human emotions or human beings for that matter. I enjoyed the journey as I tagged along with Sarah and Pestilence, I loved seeing how their love for each other flourished throughout the course of time. Pestilence was such an adorable cinammon roll and I loved all his deep thoughts, insights about how cruel the world is.

**SPOLERS BELOW**

I do have some question about the existence of the horsemen but I just don’t know who to ask. LOL. Like, if Pestilence has existed all those years, how come he know so little about human beings in a way? Did he just not bother to try and learn them until he met Sarah? And I’m guessing he was a virgin?

Recommended for those who like:

* Dystopian-fantasy
* Easy to follow world building
* Angsty, slow burn romance with ungodly tension
* Action-packed scenes
* Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse themed
* Excellent banter
* Feisty, funny and sarcastic FMC
* Captivating narrator

Thank you #Netgalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books for an advanced reader’s copy of this book. I will be posting a full series review on my IG once I’m done with all four books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars all around.

”I cannot decide if you are a toxin or a tonic”, he says, lifting a hand to my check. “Only that you plague my thoughts and fill my veins.”

Sara knows one thing for certain: today will likely be her last day on earth because she has drawn the short stick and is now tasked to kill one of the four horseman.

Pestilence knows one thing for certain: his divine task is to roam the world and prepare humanity for their pending annihilation and nothing could possibly stop him, not even a courageous human woman.

But when both of their paths cross, each of them has to acknowledge that what they thought was true about humanity and the other one may not entirely be accurate.

TW// explicit violence, gore, physical abuse, murder

—Personal thoughts—
What a truly excellent way to start off a series! I am so glad I came across this series and simply devoured all four books. first time reading Thalassa and wow what a ride.
If you can neglect the fact that the Horsemen books all feature Stockholm Syndrome (to an extend), the philosophical and moral questions that are discussed are truly impressive. I deeply enjoyed discussing what it means to be human on the one side, and a harbinger of death on the other.
The two main characters connection is not instantaneous, but an intriguing build up with lots of yearning and angst (some of my favourites). And who does not love the One Horse and Body Heat trope?

At this point I’m 3/4 through the series and Pestilence remains my favourite horseman.

I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but complete and utter devastation was not it - and I have zero regrets.

This is an emotional, brutal frontline walk through the first horseman of the apocalypse. Sara is taken by Pestilence after an attempt to kill him, and she gets to experience his plague and see it kill everyone without feeling it herself. Sara was a trained firefighter and first responder, so she cares about peoples' well-being and their pain, and consistently tries to show Pestilence why humanity isn't what he thinks it is, even when sometimes humanity proves to be the bigger monster. It's morally complex and painful, but in the end I kind of felt better about humanity. I was not expecting that.

But how do you get a love story out of that? How do you get sexual tension in the midst of a plague? From that exact same moral complexity. Each of the horsemen is inhumanly beautiful, but they are also in human form for the first time and all that it entails, including experiencing emotions and other facets of human life for the first time. Pestilence doesn't like what he's doing, and he'll admit it, but it's also his purpose. Sara sees him as more than his purpose and somehow you completely understand the way this becomes a love story. The way love is the most powerful of human emotions (and we see it play out in the story as both a good and a bad thing, love is not treated as perfect but as powerful) and that eventually, you love him too.

That's damn good writing. I'm intrigued by where the series story will go, and hope that maybe I don't cry so much in the next book. Have tissues for this one, it hurts.

Laura Thalassa will forever be my favorite author. I loved The Bargainer series and Pestilence/The Four Horsemen series did not disappoint. I love reading apocalyptic stories and with the spice, it was perfection. I will definitely continue to read the series especially because the new covers are amazing. Thank you so much NetGalley for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ebook!

This book is an enemies-to-lovers post-apocalyptic monster romance that I ended up enjoying very much!! I wasn’t sure about the writing at first but it didn’t bother me personally. There were some plot points I found strange but I think the author did a decent job at showing how torn the FMC was with her feelings for the MMC. Overall, I really liked it and I think if anyone wants a stand-alone romance with true enemies, they should pick this up!!

The end of days, has arrived and the four horsemen have come to earth. Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. But suddenly five years after they disappeared without a trace after starting the apocalypse Pestilence returns so spreading death in his wake. Sara’s our MC tries to kill Pestilence’s not knowing that he can't die. Pestilence takes her as his prisoner as punishment so she can suffer for her failed attempt. However, the longer they travel together Sara no longer views herself as a hostage but something more and a dangerous and complex relationship begins to grow between them.

The characters are deeply defined and easy to relate too and the cover art is beautiful.

I loved Sara and her inner dialog as well as her grit and determination.

And Pestilence just wow. He is exactly what you would expect an agent of chaos and destruction until he meets Sara. I loved the slow burn between Sara and Pestilence it doesn't feel forced but steadily evolves. As he slowly finds things about humanity to not be so terrible as he wants to believe m.

This is a really an epic book and a fantastic start to an amazing series. I highly recommend it!!!

I loved this dark romance. I was not expecting to laugh at this one like I did. Sara was such a funny kick butt heroine. Pestilence is such an interesting character. I really enjoyed the story and cannot wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book made me laugh so much. It was spicy. It even made me cry a little. Love love love this story and the new cover is beautiful!

Sara Burns is charged with stopping a horseman of the apocalypse.
Pestilence is tasked with destroying humanity.

Sara, the FMC, is such a compassionate woman which you see time and again throughout the book. I love her sense of humor. It makes her feel so real, like she's someone I would know. Her inner monolouge is fantastic!
Pestilence is something else. He looks for the worst in humanity, so that's all he sees.

This is a true enemies-to-lovers with a nice slow burn.
Im sure there are trigger warnings, so check that if it's a concern for you.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the chance to read an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

When Pestilence, the first of the horsemen, comes for Sara Burn's town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.
Too bad no one told her Pestilence can't be killed.

Alive and furious, the horseman takes Sara prisoner, determined to make her suffer for impeding his mission. Despite her pleas, nothing and no one gets in the way of his orders to destroy humankind. Only, the longer Pestilence spends beside Sara's bravery and compassion, the more he seems to understand her, and understand humanity. And the longer Sara travels with Pestilence and his plague, the more uncertain she grows about his true feelings toward her…and hers toward him.

Sara might still be able to save the world, but she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

When I first read this book, I was fascinated with paranormal romance. The idea of falling in love with an imaginary non-human character, much less a bringer of the apocalypse, was a new concept to me.
The Four Horsemen arrived on Earth, creating havoc on humanity. They have killed power sources, infrastructures, and most of all people. One day, they just disappeared, which had humans if they have finally received some reprieve. That is, until Pestilence comes back and starts his ride of doom in North America.

In Whistler, Canada, Sara Burns drew the short straw to be the last person standing in her town as most of the townsfolk, including her family, evacuated. Her mission: To end Pestilence as he passes through. The brave firefighter faces her goal head-on but quickly realizes that the Horsemen could not be killed. Now she is his prisoner, going with him through every town as he remorselessly doles out the plague. What's worse is that she isn't sure if it is Stockholm Syndrome or some dystopian disorder, but she certainly could not be developing feelings for him, is she? Maybe the same disorder is making her imagine the looks he throws her way as well.

This story is a cult classic because it contains all the right ingredients with the right balance. The storytelling is perfection. Laura Thalassa did a fantastic job of setting the right pace for different moments in the book. We get the right details to induce an adrenaline rush during the action- and suspense-packed scenes, and I love how she slows down the pace just at the appropriate amount to draw compassion for Sara, Pestilence, and some of the people they meet along the way.

The story itself is engaging. Sara and Pestilence are two opposite lenses into humanity, and throughout this journey, we start to see those lenses converge together to see both the beauty and ugliness of this world. No matter at what point or from what perspective in life you approach this read, it gives you a reminder that,
1. not everything in life will be roses and rainbows, and
2. despite adversities and changes, there is always some good among the people.
I love how those reminders are cleverly set up to be the foundation of Sara and Pestilence's connection.

Speaking of the arc of their relationship was well done. You can't get any more enemies than someone trying to end the other, and to slowly untangle that into a happy ending is a feat; one that Thalassa creatively managed with tension, even when Sara reaches her discoveries in the end.

Is it wierd i wanted more pestilence...
I think the story is unique where pestilence aquires a woman and they navigate the world spreading pestilence, kindness and romance.
the book is more apocolypse than fantasy and really not as morbid as I assumed based on the synapsis. I loved that Pestilence stayed true to his character for almost all of it which was a tale of duty and task and not one of free will and kindness.
I think the installation of the romance should have been set up a little later in the book and it ended quite unlike the whole of the book so it felt wierd and awkward.
I will continue the series
“Last night I could not decide which you were—a tonic or a toxin,” he says. “Today I’ve discovered you’re both.”

This book had me hooked from the beginning!
It was a fast read for me! There were multiple times I just COULDN'T put this book down!

I really enjoyed Pestilence & Sara. They had many challenges to overcome. They had tension, banter, & spice. Enemies to lovers!

I laughed out loud, felt sadness, & could feel the love coming off the pages.

Check your triggers, there is a lot of death.

I will be continuing the series. I did find myself wanting to know more about Pestilence & Sara so maybe there will be some mention of how they are in one of the next ones!

I absolutely love the concept of the 4 horsemen! I can't wait where Laura Thalassa takes me on the next 3!

This was an ARC from Net Gallery! I want to say THANK YOU Sourcebooks Bloom Books & Laura Thalassa for this opportunity! 🖤

Words cannot describe my love for this book!

“Pestilence” follow Sara Burns, a firefighter who sacrifices everything to shoot down one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Eager to make her suffer, he takes her prisoner, but the longer they’re together, the more uncertain their feelings for each other grow.

What drew me in right away was Thalassa’s unique undertaking of writing a romance novel for each of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. This was not something I had seen done before and I was immediately intrigued by the idea of the four beings abandoning their tasks only for the women that help them find their own humanity. In this book specifically, Thalassa characterizes Pestilence so well, personifying the plague he represents. She also goes to great lengths to demonstrate how unfamiliar he is with mankind’s way of life. Some of the most comedic moments sprung from Pestilence not knowing how to respond to Sara’s basic needs when he holds her captive.

The dystopian, post-apocalyptic world Thalassa creates after the arrival of the four horsemen was interesting in and of itself. Her world resembles our own, but with the horsemen’s destruction of technology, she cleverly avoids dating her book. Without technology, the population reverts to a more primitive way of life and more often than not resorts to violence when it comes to the existence of the horsemen, giving Thalassa a way to showcase the worst of humanity.

Sara is the only one to convince Pestilence that mankind is worth saving, sparking a romance that set my soul on fire. What I love most about this book is that it actually has the enemies to lovers trope woven into the plot. Sara’s hatred for Pestilence is real. Because he is holding her as his prisoner and his one true goal is to conquer humans, thereby ending the world, he can’t be anything more than her enemy. Yet, the two still manage to fall in love with each other after being forced to spend time together. Their dark, twisted, and forbidden love story is definitely not for the faint of heart, but I loved every page of it!

3.5 ⭐️
The Four Horseman series has been on my TBR for a while therefore when they came onto NetGalley as they were being traditionally published, it was the perfect opportunity to binge all four books. Pestilence, one of the Four Horseman. After their arrival on Earth some years before, people were anticipating the possible return. Pestilence, who is responsible for the distribution of a plague, The Fever, that kills everyone in its path. He was tasked with travelling all over the world to spread this disease but his arrival in a small town is anticipated by a small group of humans where whoever draws the short straw is tasked with killing the Horseman and this turns out to be Sara Burns an ex firefighter turned survivor in the face of the dooming apocalypse. Things so slightly awry when she realises he cannot be killed and regenerates. Now his prisoner, Sara sees first hand the devastation his victims face and just what the world becomes when all humans are destined to die.
I definitely did not expect this book to be just so dark. It was very graphic at times and I struggled to continue at the more raw and emotional parts. I think trigger warnings should 100% be added at any point but at the from before the book begins would be better. I had no idea what was ahead of me when I read this so seeing it first hand was a shock. Here are some trigger warnings I noted throughout:
- Slow death on page
- Worsening sickness on page
- Physical injury, vividly described
- Torture
- Animal cruelty on page
- Death of a child on page

There were probably more but these were the main one’s I noted.
In terms of the romance between Sara and Pestilence, at first it was hard to bridge their enormous differences into a successful relationship. Of course they had chemistry. Nothing accelerates attraction like the end of the world. Pestilence was so certain of his actions and Sara did everything in her power to stop it but it wasn’t until the last minute her words affected him and put a stop to it all. As soon as I would read a glimmer of hope in Pestilence’s actions and behaviour, he would revert to his violent and world-ending ways. Laura Thalassa has a way of writing a gripping story that keeps you interested the entire way through, I just did not expect such gore a graphic scenes. I would recommend this book but only if a reader was aware of what was ahead. Immediately I began War, the second instalment which I will also review shortly.
Thank you!

The Facts: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, end of the world, morally grey MMC, dark romance.

It's the end of the world. There's a sickness running rampant, killing people, and Pestilence is to be blamed a literal one of the Four Horsemen. Sara is the one who stays in town while everyone flees to stop this guy... who turns out to be unkillable and is pretty pissed, so he keeps her as a prisoner.

This one was great! The concept of the Four Horsemen is very interesting, and as a romance lover, I loved how Laura included a love story. I also really liked the discussion of whether or not humanity should be saved. Sara teaching this grumpy horseman, Pestilence, how to be human just gave me the awwweeees.

Overall, I highly recommend this one.

2.5⭐️

Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I have such mixed feeling about this book. On one hand, I found the premise, setup, and world extremely intriguing. I loved this post apocalyptic world, and seeing how humanity struggled and crumbled with the impending end.

But at the end of the books I was left thinking - "but I didn't actually LIKE this".

Which is odd since at no point while reading did I feel bored, annoyed, or like I wanted to put the audiobook down.

I think what hindered my enjoyment, and left me feeling unsatisfied, was the absolutely inability to root for either character.

The heroine makes poor decision after frustratingly poor decision. And explains every single one of them away under the guise of "but Pestilence is SUPER hot". And Pestilence, despite moment of care, is awful.

Throughout the book he tortures the heroine, brutally murders millions and millions of people, make the heroine watch as they slowly suffer and die, insults and demeans her, and even locks her in a room for days at one point.

But again... he's like REALLY hot.

And the big redemption at the end was - he stops mass murdering and stalks her all the way back to her home in Canada.

How is that sexy? How is that the redemption arc you're looking for?

I don't know, I just couldn't get on board with either character or their romance. In my head both were unbearable and unredeemable.

I can definitely see why this has been so popular. The love for villain romances is definitely a not something that will go anywhere. This one in particular just wasn't for me.

But if you like morally grey (evil) heroes, this is definitely one worth trying. It's a highly compulsive read, just like Laura Thalassa's other works. I think I'll stick to her new series though.

I adore this book and the entire series. It’s such a unique way to bring out a love story. Book two is my favourite in the series. I can’t wait to reread the entire thing again!!

This was a reread for me, and honestly, it holds up so well.

The world is ending for the first time in this series, and Pestilence is the first brother to make his way to Earth, only for Sara to try to kill him and him tying her and making her his prisoner and companion in his journey.

I love the complexity of both sides of this series because some humans deserve the ending they got but not all do. On the other hand, Pestilence is only doing his duty and ends up falling in love with a strong and unique woman. Sara is definitely one of my favorite heroines and I can't wait to finish the series in this new version.

This book was ok. Just ok. The story lacks world building and is for the most part, kind of pointless. We aren't told why things are happening and we aren't really given any indication of where we might end up. The two main characters are pretty unlikeable, and their banging while children are dying from the plague he brought leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dark romance but I don't really feel the need to root for these two. I wanted to love this book, but nothing really happens and I struggled to stay focused.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC

What an incredible world Laura Thalassa has created. I don’t really know what to call it. Urban Fantasy? Dystopian apocalypse? Paranormal? In any case, this incredible story is crafted around Pestilence, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Sara Burns, a firefighter, who pulls the short straw, (burnt match) and is the chosen one from her town to try and kill him. Normally I would write something like ‘I devoured this book’, but in truth, I think this story devoured me. I was absolutely held captive, much life FMC Sara, by the post-apocalyptic world that Thalassa creates, the insurmountable choices Sara must make, and the character of Pestilence, himself, whose depths were seemingly boundless.

I believed the world she describes in this book. She does an incredible job bringing this world to life, and placing both Sara and the reader within it. And I immediately loved Sara: her prose-loving, compassionate and incredibly conflicted self. Sara is the the perfect mix of fierce, good and vulnerable as she tries to reconcile Pestilence the being with Pestilence and his deeds. And what a presence he is as well. He is both old as time and as naive as a child. The scene where she teaches him to eat spaghetti was especially tender, and of course, the scenes where he learns other things…well those were unforgettable too. But he brings a whole new conversation to morally grey, and this, too, is deftly and expertly rendered in this story.

The first book in the series, Pestilence is heartfelt, captivating, exciting, funny, incredibly hot and absolutely worth it. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

I adore this author and really wanted to check out her other series.

I really enjoy the premise of this book and the main characters. The only thing I had some issues with was the relationship. I need it a bit more for me to believe that they could develop feelings for each other.

I guess this falls under "bully romance", something I hadn't realized before since I'm not a fan of it.

Overall, I enjoyed it and will probably read the others in the series at some point.