DNF at 36%. I don’t normally DNF the ARCs I receive on netgalley but I couldn’t push through this one any longer. I remembered seeing this title around when it was self-published, so I decided to give it a shot, but it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with the characters so I found I didn’t particularly care how their story ended. I also never fully grasped the world they were living in, and I think some more in-depth worldbuilding in the earlier pages would’ve helped.

Over all one of my favorite random reads of the year! I was not sure how I was going to feel about an modern
dystopian telling of the four horsemen of the apocalyptic as a spicy romance but let me tell you I am now such a big fan.

Laura Thalassa made me laugh out loud with this one and I can not wait to pick up the next book in the series. From the questionable fell in love with my chapter vibes to the very twisted I killed millions of your friends and you still want me thing she had going with Pestilence, I really did enjoy the questionable setting to this romance.

I can see it not being for everyone and check out the trigger warnings before picking it up, as it is one of the darker romances I have read this year but overall I had a lot of fun with the premise, I ended up loving both the main characters and I can already tell it is going to be such a hit series.

- Big Thanks to Laura Thalassa and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for a review!

Full disclosure: I’d already read this book back in August 2021 before requesting this ARC. I remember really enjoying Pestilence but never reading the rest of the series so I took this as an opportunity to re-read the first book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the re-read just as much as the first read. Pestilence is a unique take on the Four Horseman of the apocalypse. This paranormal romance is an enemies-to-lovers, torn between love and purpose romance which is thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the progression from enemies, to friends (kinda), to lovers.

“No One Knows where the Four Hoursemen came from, only that one day they appeared on their steeds, riding through cities and wildlands alike.”

Pestilence the Conqueror has one job - destroy the habitants of the world. Make sure they all die - one city at a time. His plans are slightly hindered when Sara tries to murder the horseman, but ends up his captive instead.

I read Pestilence in one sitting - the writing was smooth and the progression of their relationship kept me hooked throughout. It was one of those books where you miss the characters after you finish. However, I will say this - I was so disappointed with the ending. Many things are left unanswered and I wanted more of an explanation to some loose ends. Overall, the ending felt unfinished and I felt frustrated, and it dampened my desire to read book two a little.

Ok when I read the blurb I was expecting something different but the author totally caught me off guard and I loved it. The FMC tries to kill the MC and fails so he takes her captive, but slowly and surely you see them start to fall for each other while trying not to. While he has a job to do and is trying to do while juggling his feelings for her while seeing the world through her eyes and realizing there is more to the world than what he thought. And then he gives up his job just to be with her until his brothers come to do their job. If you like religion based books that blow your mind and keep you hooked then I recommend you give this book a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of the book. Unfortunately this read was a DNF for me at 70%. I struggled with getting into the book. I also had a hard time connecting to the characters. There were some interesting themes to the story but I was not very invested in the characters. Also I found it to be a bit repetitive in a way. It was a cycle of going town to town, spreading the plague and then spending the night together. It was interesting to see some of the changes that started taking place for each of the characters as they got to know each other more. But I still struggled with reading the story. Maybe this is just not a story for me. But I would be interested in trying a different story by this author outside of this series.

I loved this slow burn! Laura Thalassa is one of my favorite authors and this one did not disappoint. I thought of this as a romantic “last of us”. You’ve got the apocalyptic doom, with a heroine trying to show the good in humanity. The romance was sweet, slow, and tender. Nothing too spicy which fits the innocence of Pestilence’s personality. This ends with cliffhanger that leaves you needing the sequel fast!

I love the new cover for Pestilence. The crown and arrows go perfectly with the main characters and story line. I appreciate the more discrete covers and am looking forward to purchasing the entire series.

This book is definition of you really shouldn’t fall for this guy along with pining and internal conflict. Also it’s forced proximity, road-trip, and enemies to lovers.
I mean it’s a horseman of the apocalypse. What did you expect? Rainbows & bunnies?
For such a fraught angsty story, this book is a quick read. It is so well written.
I am so CONFLICTED. It opens with her being tasked with killing him and it’s real gruesome. Then he’s determined to make her suffer. How does that turn into a love story? I do not fucking know but here we are.
I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed it just as much this time and I did when I first read it. I like the new cover.

This book isn't for everyone. And please check trigger warnings.

Pestilence is the first of four horseman to arrive on earth sparking the apocalypse, and he's spreading along a Messianic Flu as he goes. The fatality rate is 100 percent. Sara Burns, a small town firefighter, attempts to kill Pestilence. She learns pretty quickly that he cannot die and let's just say Pestilence is not pleased with her. In true enemies to lovers fashion he takes her hostage and things go from bad to worse for Sara.
However, as time goes on Pestilence heart begins to soften as he witnesses Sara's compassion for others. Soon, he begins to question his very reason for being on earth.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this down. I haven’t read through an entire book in less than 24 hours in quite some time, but I absolutely could not get the characters and situations out of my head. Every time I had a spare minute, I was picking it back up.

The feelings and situations written in this book feel so real, so graphic. It truly feels like you’re in the world with them.

I will be thinking about this story for years, and cannot recommend it enough!!

Do yourself a favor and fall in love with Pestilence.

This was my first time reading a book by Laura Thalassa and I thought it was pretty great.

I laugh, cried, gasped in horror, felt outraged, helpless, but also warm and gooey; got angry, frustrated, awwed out loud… a whole myriad of emotions basically. But above it all I felt SO. FREAKING. TORN all throughout this dang book!! But I still loved every second of it and would highly recommend it.

If you'd like to read a more in depth review, you can check out my blog: Multicolored Book Reviews.

This is the first book in the captivating Four Horsemen series, and it completely exceeded my expectations. This gripping tale earned a solid five-star rating from me. The unique premise and immersive storytelling had me hooked from the start. The character development was exceptional, with Pestilence evolving from a fearsome figure to a surprisingly endearing character. The chemistry between the characters and the touch of romance was beautifully portrayed. The exploration of immortality and morality added depth to the narrative. I highly recommend this to fans of fantasy romance. Can't wait to continue with the series!

I have read the entire Horsemen series, Pestilence is definitely an excellent one. I feel out of the four this one was definitely close to third place. The storyline was different and intense, I feel the gloomy and serious theme was not dampened by the enemies to lovers trope. The strong female lead was something I enjoyed as she did not submit in the eyes of an attractively intimidating man. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a retelling of the Four Horsemen.

When I say I loved this book….I LOVED THIS F**KING BOOK. I have always been a huge fan of Laura Thalassa and her bargainer series and I was so excited to get to read the first of her newest series with an ARC! Thank you netgalley and Laura!

Pestilence is set in a post apocalyptic North America in which God has damned humanity and sent the four horsemen to decimate everyone.

The first to condemn man is Pestilence and he spreads a horribly gruesome plague, sparing no one….until he meets Sara.

This book had me hooked from the beginning with Thalassa’s writing and I have never experienced so many emotions while reading. I cried often, laughed moderately, and holy hell did I get spicy 🥵🌶️ while instilling the fear of God in me….and I’m not even religious! Thalassa is one of my favorite writers not only because she has unique stories, characters and adventures, but because the overall themes of the books are ones we can all relate to. Pestilence is no different, a story of loss, courage, determination and love. I’m itching to read the next in this series and I will definitely be adding this to my personal collection!

For those of you who worry that there is too much religion infused into this book, don’t be. There is some preaching (that’s just the nature of the world in this book) but God/horsemen are more like supernatural deities and creatures in any fantasy book. I had no issue with it and was rather intrigued to learn more about it!

A very fun take on the four horseman of the apocalypse story. This book gives us the background. I enjoyed all of the world building. Laura’s writing is so beautiful and I love the way she can tell a story. I can’t wait to proceed with the rest of the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the arc of this book!

Oh my. The idea of this book was so intriguing and the execution of it fell flat. The characters gave me Stockholm Syndrome vibes, the situations the FMC finds herself in again and again do not really add to the story, and overall the chemistry between the two main characters is non existent. Also I have never read a character saying they "have to go to the shitter" to their captor/love interest before and I don't want to have to ever read something like that again.

I think if the story was reworked some this could be an amazing book. The concept is wonderful.

This was a fun new take on the Foure Horseman of The Apocalypse story. Laura T delivers a beautiful slow narrative that sets up an immersive world. You can tell that book 1 Pestilence is giving us a wonderful background to be ready to introduce the next 3 books and other riders. I really loved the world building and beautiful scenery Laura writes. The story was so gripping I was white knuckled gripping my kindle as I read every word. the Four Horsemen is one of my favorite stories and I absolutely loved this version.


Now for the juicy stuff. If you haven't read the book please scroll away now bc.. well ya SPOILERS...

Omg. I never thought I'd lust so hard for one of the four horsemen but holy crap on a cracker does Laura T write Pestilence as one of the most disturbingly hot asf MMC. Jawlines for days and abs so sharp you could cut a diamond on them. I loved watching the hate between our FMC and MMC grow from hate to lust to love. The way he cared for her against his better judgement and the way he tended to her made me swoon.

This book had the right amount of spice and I loved how it didn't overshadow the plot. I think that the way the relationship slow built was beautifully written. We see our FMC go from being his prisoner to being the queen at his side. And her caring for him and heart breaking for him everytime he protected her and died.

Also can we discuss the pre chapter we got of War?. I'm so excited for her next book.

From one Laura(it's me! The reviewer) to another(author), you have my undying loyalty now and I am enamored by your writing. You my dear get all my stars!

An interesting take on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, Pestilence follows the story of the first of the horsemen to arrive on Earth. He brings plague that threatens to destroy all of humankind. Sara is the brave woman who tries to kill him. When she fails and he takes her prisoner, both of them go on a journey they did not expect. Will Sara have to sacrifice her heart to save the world?

I really enjoyed this one a lot. It is a super interesting premise, and I thought it was done really well. If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers, this is definitely for you! I am interested to see the progression with the rest of the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really disappointed with this book. The initial premise was so interesting, and I was so excited to see how the romance was going to play out, but instead, I found myself literally shouting my disgust at my Kindle.

Sara, at least at a couple of points in the story, seems like a badass firefighter with her head screwed on right. Unfortunately, that is not the case as she seems to be content with forgiving Pestilence for abusing her in some of the worst ways possible just because he's attractive.

As someone who enjoys a dark romance, I have found that there's a fine line between having a love interest whom you can understand the protagonist falling for, and someone who is basically unredeemable. The mental and physical abuse Sara is put through is vile, yet somehow she still falls for Pestilence just because he shows a few moments of regret (which is a common abuse strategy).

This was not the book for me.

With Pestilence begins the urban fantasy / paranormal romance series for adults written by Laura Thalassa starring | Four Knights of the Apocalypse.

The novel is self-conclusive, but in the epilogue the protagonist Knight of the next volume is introduced, so the ideal is to read the volumes in the correct order.

I had high expectations from this book, I had heard about it very well and I must say that I was satisfied with it.

Imagine a post-apocalyptic reality, where even electricity is rare, because since the Four

Knights have arrived on Earth riding their steeds the technologies we know have stopped working. It is not known exactly where they came from, but when they started riding around the various cities everything went haywire. Just as they arrived, the Knights also left, until a few years later Plague reappeared, which now gallops from one place to another sowing a Fever that leaves no escape to anyone.

The female protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel is Sara, a young firefighter from a small Canadian town.

Designated by fate as a sacrificial victim to try to hinder the imminent arrival of Pestilenza in her area thus allowing the other inhabitants to escape, Sara tries to kill him in one of the worst possible ways, and she also succeeds, except that Pestilenza is immortal and she is one of the many human beings to have tried to eliminate a divine being who cannot be killed.

Instead of returning the gesture, Pestilenza decides to keep her alive and make her his prisoner.

And this is how Sara joins the Knight's journey, witnessing firsthand the tragic consequences of her passage city after city. Because Plague is exactly what it is, it knows no mercy.

I don't want to gild the pill, certain scenes are really sad and heartbreaking, just as it is to witness the cruelty of people towards the Knight and his 'Prisoner'.

The relationship between Pestilenza and Sara goes through various phases and conflicting emotions such as disgust, curiosity and attraction. Day after day they start taking care of each other and the prisoner becomes more of a travel companion.

The two protagonists are very well characterized and so different from each other.

He is taciturn and detached while she loves to chat and is a very compassionate person.

Plague is described to us through Sara's eyes as a beautiful angelic-looking man, but he is not a man, he is a biblical creature sent to sow the plague and kick off the Apocalypse. And consistent with his character and purpose. He is clearly disgusted by the man and his actions and knows very little about emotions, at least until Sara starts showing him some and making him feel some.

Being the first Thalassa novel to be published in Italian, I didn't know what to expect exactly, but I'm happy that his prose turned out to be so smooth, engaging, particularly focused on the emotional level and on what is right and wrong.

If you love adult fantasy with divine creatures it's a recommended read, Pestilenza I liked it and I can't wait to read the next one on Guerra!

Point of view: first person
Sensuality: hot scenes present
Features: urban fantasy, paranormal romance, biblical creatures, emotional
Narrative style: flowing, engaging
Type of ending: self-conclusive with epilogue that opens the door to the next
Rating: 4+ stars

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC!!