I really enjoyed this book. As far as post-apocalyptic books go this was probably one of the best ones I've read. It was well thought out and the things that were happening made sense, I liked Sara's character a lot, especially in the way that she interacted with Pestilence. There was so much character development from both sides that was really interesting to watch unfold. I love this cover, and I'm eager to read the rest of the series!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
SPICE: 🔥🔥

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, and I fell in love with this book. Almost four years later, I assumed that re-reading this with a more experienced lens would change my view.

I assumed wrong.

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 assuming that 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 of 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. A feat that Thalassa crushed really well. I mean, how she managed to create tension even when Sara discovers that Pestilence isn't gone is mind-blowing.

The spice is relatively tame. It is not fade-to-black, but it isn't as prolific and creative as I've read in others. (This was the only change in my POV of this book since I last read it. Yeah, I've read a whole lot of spicy books since 2019, it seems.)

It is the first of the four-part series, so it can be read as a standalone. I am kicking off a month of binge-reading the series, so I am excited to move on to War.

** I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of this book. Thank you to Laura Thalassa, Bloom Books, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for providing a copy. **

This was such an interesting take on the apocalyptic horsemen! I loved the way Pestilence grew more and more human over the course of the book. Sara really helped to bring him to the human side of things. I wasn’t sure if I’d read the rest of the series about halfway through this one, but after finishing it I have to!!!

I looooove everything Laura writes and this was not an exception! THe whole vibe and world setting is chilling and the lovers part is wrong but good and everything is wrong but good????????????????????
Thank you NetGalley and bloom - i just dont have any words.

The first book in the Four Horsemen is about Pestilence which is disease. The story begins with Sara who is tasked with going after Pestilence and killing him. While she tries at first, she quickly realizes that he cannot die and he ends up taking her as his prisoner. The two have an understandably rocky start but they eventually start to get to know each other.

I wouldn’t exactly call them friends, but there is a turning point in the story where they start to understand each other and they end up tolerating each other. While a romance seems unbelieve at times, Laura Thalassa made me believe it because these two somehow managed to fall in love amidst the apocalypse.

While the romance was amazing, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Sara’s character. She was so strong and unafraid. She went through so much and made some tough choices that I’m sure most people couldn’t imagine. Regardless, she was such a huge part of why I was so enthralled by this book.

Aside from Sara and Pestilence’s romance, we’re watching the apocalypse unfold and how humans are dealing with it which is so interesting. I don’t want to give away too much about the ending, but I feel like it was the perfect thing to help segue into the next book which is War. As far as being the first book in a series, I loved Pestilence. I’ve never read a romance book like this before so I was surprised by how much I loved it yet with Laura Thalassa’s beautiful and engaging writing, I’m also not surprised.

I loved this book It was a great take on the four horsemen. Sometimes you want a sweet love story and sometimes you need a dark romance with a morally dark main love interest. If you aren't into borderline Stockholm syndrome then this book probably isn't for you but it's done so well. Definitely keep reading if you're on the fence about it! I can't wait to read the next one.

I've always enjoyed Laura's writing and the worlds she creates. This book is no different.

Pestilence is the first book in the series, which follows the four horsemen of the apocalypse. When he arrives to Sara's town, it had been decided she would be the one to take him down, no matter the cost. Her plans go awry when shes informed that he can't be killed and he takes her as a prisoner. She slowly grows closer to him and they start to feel something more than hatred toward each other.

As a bully romance and enemies-to-lovers fan, this story was everything I wanted. I love the dynamic between the two. Sara is headstrong and would sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. She is a very lovable character and its easy to love her and her resilient ways.

If you love dystopian romance and a hate-love dynamic, I'd think you would really enjoy this one. I can't wait to check out the rest of the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Blooms for the arc.
Unfortunately i couldn’t finish this book as i found myself putting it down because of how cringe the writing and story is.
Seeing a horseman of the apocalypse casually wear tshirts and sneakers while the girl he’s torturing only lusts over his abs doesn’t make sense to me and the writing is sometimes poetic and sometimes very cringy.

I received this as an ARC on net galley and I don't know why I liked this book so much but I did. The same things kept happening over and over, like they go to each town/ city so Pestilence can spread his plague then one of them gets hurt so the other one helps them heal and recover, all the while they fall more and more in love. Yet even as repetitive as it was I couldn't get enough. I had to keep reading because though I should have been bored the writing kept me enthralled. Laura Thalassa has a real gift and I will definitely will be picking up the rest of the series.

Fun book with the four horseman starts with Pestilence sending the plague as he walks the earth. Sara draws the short straw to end Pestilence but becomes his prisoner. Intriguing book! It was recently bought by Bloom books and I love the new covers!

What did I like? Ok, the covers on these books are not only eye-catchy but some gorgeous men. I say if this is what is bringing me the apocalypse then please count me in. I'm not a huge fan of apocalyptic reads but this one had a humanity aspect that just sucks you in. I devoured this book and have already reread again.

Would I recommend or buy! I own a copy so yes! I was completely crazy about this series and read it in a day. I've recommended multiple times on group chats and I just finished rereading to get ready for the release of death!

This series has a unique setting as it takes place in an apocalyptic dystopian world. I love the concept of the four horsemen.

When Pestilence arrives with his steed, a plague took place which wiped out most of the humanity.
Sara tried to kill the horsemen, unfortunately like all the previous attempts, she failed her task and was being taken as a hostage.

There's a potential that this would be a better read.
Pestilence is the cold hearted/broody male lead, his stone cold heart slowly cracks after his feelings for Sara developed.
On the other hand, Sara is not really my fave as there's so many questionable and cringy moments from her.

Tropes: stockholm syndrome, death, I came to kill you, dark romance, we were never meant to be, dark romance

Okay. I don't know how to feel about this one. I can definitely see why it has a lot of criticisms. I don't really know if I enjoyed it, but I'm also not saying I didn't like it. So definitely I'm in the in-between.

This is my first dive into Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series, and I had a blast reading this book! It was funny, heartbreaking, and romantic all at the same time.

You would think a story taking place during the apocalypse wouldn’t be funny, but Sara’s inner monologue and Pestilence learning about what it means to be human was hilarious at times. However, it was heart breaking at others. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I shed quite a few tears at times. Pestilence was also swoon worthy! Sara may have recited some of her favorite poems from Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, but I needed a fan when Pestilence starting waxing on poetically about her and his feelings!

If you enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction and romance, this is a good mix of both!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Bloom Books, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pestilence is the first book in Laura Thalassa's Four Horsemen series and it is unlike anything I have ever read. Laura has a unique writing voice and it was not what I was expecting from the blurb, but it really worked for the story of Pestilence. I loved the world building in this book and found Pestilence to be fascinating. I usually love a good morally grey character, but since he is one of the 4 bringers of the apocalypse, he is way past grey in this story and yet I still found myself liking him. I do think he could've had a little bit more personality to bring him to life, but overall I really wanted to know more. I also spent pretty much all of this book outside my comfort zone since it's rather stockholm syndrome-y, but somehow Laura Thalassa brought me around. I also enjoyed the main character, Sarah, and found her situation through the entire book to be a very large moral conundrum. I loved watching her show Pestilence what humanity really is and watch him struggle through understanding but eventually come around.

I've read the entire series and while this one is not my favorite of the 4, I do think it's the best of them all!

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

This was a fascinating read and an interesting take on Biblical ideas. The book kept me reading by setting up the mystery of what Pestilence's mission was. The conflict between Sara's allegiance to the human race and her budding love for Pestilence and Pestilence's growing affections and acceptance for Sara and humanity and his mission or goal made for a dramatic story.

Overall I enjoyed the read and the apocalyptic-fantasy setting and I'll consider reading the rest of the series.

3.5 stars

I wasn't sure what I was going into when I started this book, but it was not this. I have to say though, I really enjoyed this story. I did find it fairly predictable, but sometimes that's what you want. It was fairly decently paced and I liked Sara's sassy mouth and the fact that Pestilence picked up the sass too. I loved the internal turmoil that both characters had to go through, it really pushed their character arcs along nicely. I did get a little tired of hearing about how beautiful Pestilence was, it was rather repetitive. Overall, a fun read and looking forward to the next in the series.

Fucking spectacular. Laura had me laughing, crying, angry, scared, and every emotion in between. Beautifully written to capture anyone who picks up Pestilence. Cannot offer enough praise.

I absolutely devoured this book. I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did! The character development for Pestilence was so well done, he was the definition of multifaceted. I appreciated the conflict Sara felt, it gave the story a very realistic feel, but at times I just wanted to shake her and get her to accept her feelings. The ending was great, I always love the third act break up and resolution (I love the drama, let’s be honest). But the fact they change each other little by little over time just gives me such warm, fuzzy feelings.

This book was good, with a different take on the Four Horseman and this one is Pestilence. IMy expectations were different from what I read, however, I soon forgot that and became engrossed in Sara’s adventure with her kidnapper, Pestilence. The Horseman was determined to wipe out mankind and as he fell for Sara, you could only hope she proved to him not all humankind are terrible. A good book with a little surprising ending for me and I can't wait to begin the second book.