I read pestilence when Laura was doing it herself, and I do have to say there were certain moments I truly enjoyed. For example, when the FMC asked about God and Pestilence responded, “Only humans would assign a gender to a celestial force” (paraphrase). i do feel like the romance part was a bit lacking until the last thirty pages, I would have loved more of her falling for him.

The Four Horsemen have awakened due to society and its evils. The first Horseman to start the Apocolypse is Pestilence. He rides across the country spreading the plague. Firefighter, Sara, draws the short straw and is tasked with trying to kill him before society perishes. She is not prepared for what she encounters but tries to save not only her friends and family but the entire world. As she travels from Canada through the Pacific Northwest she struggles with all the death she witnesses and hostile groups that are attempting to kill her and Pestilence.
This is a new spin on the Apocalyptical idea of the Four Horsemen that adds a human aspect and a dash of romance. I highly recommend this series and cannot wait to read more. Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel.

This is a super early review, of book I have loved for a long time, and of course meant I had to read everything Laura Thalassa will ever release. I'm so happy to see this series get the attention and revamp that it deserves!

Pestilence is the first novel in this paranormal fantasy series. Focusing on the four horsemen that will end humanity: Pestilence, War, Famine, Death.

This book focuses on our horsemen Pestilence, and one feisty human woman determined to stop him from destroying humanity at all costs.

If you enjoy enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and lots of SPICE, I suggest you pick this up soon ;)

Dark , sexy , if you like dark romances this is for you, definitely. Great writing and development. Can wait for the next 4 books

3.5 ⭐️

I was honestly not expecting much from this, as I wasn’t a fan of Thalassa’s Bargainer series, but I was pleasantly surprised!

The backstory, lore, and world are built perfectly, and I was hooked from the first chapter. I loved Sara- she’s a strong heroine, and Pestilence was a great inhuman hero. I loved that the author didn’t shy away from Pestilence’s purpose, or soften it at all. He is plague, and plague is what we see, and no one is exempt (except Sara of course.)

Up until the 60% point it was gearing up to be a 4 or 5 star read for me. At that point, it started to become repetitive. The plot was mostly just following Sara/Pestilence as they ride south to spread more plague, but they encounter the same obstacles in every place they stop. It was travel> be attacked by locals > find a house to squat in > repeat. Even the spicy scenes were repetitive- there was no variation, I think there are a total of 4, and they are all the exact same. It felt to me that the development of their romance took a bit too long and then once it arrived the author didn’t know what to actually do with it, leaving it feeling somewhat rushed. The tension wasn’t built well for a good slow burn, so it was just … slow, and then BAM. There it is.


I will definitely be reading the other 3 horsemen books though.

A wild read! I found myself not being sure if I would like this at first. I wasn't sure I liked Pestilence as a character that much but quickly found him growing on me as the story progressed and his character developed and we learned more about him. Seeing his relationship grow and develop with Sara was very sweet and I found myself very anxious over what was going to happen each time they came across any group of people outside of themselves. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some spicy enemies to lovers.

5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Of all the vile humans who've crossed my path, you just might be the worst."

Pestilence is the first novel in the NA paranormal romance series, The Four Horsemen, which consists of four books following the infamous four horsemen of the apocalypse wreaking havoc on humanity: Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. As with what is written in the bible, the first immortal being to test the world is Pestilence the Conqueror. In comes Sara Burns, a 21 year old firefighter, who knows the end is near unless they can stop this plague from consuming the continent. She decides she must kill Pestilence...until she learns quite quickly he is unkillable...thinking she is now marked to death she is in the surprise of her life when Pestilence decides to in prison her. As these two unlikely characters travel the West coast, Sara desperately continues to find an end to the suffering and it looks to be her heart might have the answer...

Sara is just an incredibly likeable character. Her loyalty to humanity is at the core of her but she has an openness and inquisitiveness that allows her to explore perspectives. I felt for her as she had to make some difficult decisions. She also sticks to her guns which is refreshing that despite being held captive by an immortal being of plague, she's not afraid to speak up. By no means does she have it easy but watching her change and learn was fun.

Pestilence is a fascinating character. He has very little understanding of what it means to be human and is determined to fulfil his task. Sara's presence in his life shocks him and while he tries to distance himself he is forced to confront true humanity through her and learns to small pleasures that make life meaningful. I loved watching her gain these nuggets of humanity and him falling in love was just the sweetest.

"I cannot decide if you are a toxin or a tonic," he said, lifting a hand to my cheek. "Only that you plague my thoughts and fill my veins."

Their relationship is an enemies to lover and forced proximity situation. It doesn't start off to great (she does light him on fire and leave him to burn...) but as they spend more time together they begin to teach other what makes humanity worthy to live and I loved those moments. Their love takes time to grow but oh, is it worth it!

This book does contain spice - I would say 1.5 peppers out of 5. The spice comes in the second half of the book but I loved the journey the two character have leading up to this point, especially give the rather dark first interaction. The spice marks a transition in the story I felt appropriate and thoroughly enjoyed.

"This is not lust I feel, dear Sara. And I hope you are half as frightened of it as I am."

The story and world of this book was extremely quick to fall into. This story is predominately a walking (technically horseback riding) journey and I started reading this after getting a post apocalyptic kick from The Last of Us . There is some assumption to be had on your understanding of Christian theology but it isn't necessary. I feel there isn't a lot of world building but the story and theme of the book definitely carries the book. This story focuses on character growth and development and it holds nothing back. There is violence, death, and a depravity that I felt did the story justice to not downplay this. I loved the simplicity of the story because I got to really spend time with the characters. Sara is funny and sarcastic which is at odds with Pestilence's cool and aloof attitude and it played well. This is a book I was easily able to consume in two sittings and it gave me the feels I love seeing these characters fight for each other.

Overall, if you love a paranormal romance where you root for the bad guy, a focus on character relationships, and a heart string pulling romance, this is a story to pick up! Some of the tropes include, one horse, mortal peril, enemies to lovers, virgin MMC, touch her and die, etc and these are all tropes I thoroughly enjoy!

Sent to earth to end us all, Pestilence is the first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to spread his plague on humans. Riding across the globe on his horse, Pestilence spreads disease that wipes out the population far and wide- and firefighter Sara Burns is determined to stop him.

What Sara doesn’t realize is that Pestilence can’t be stopped. When he recovers and takes her as his prisoner, Sara is forced to watch humanity perish while atop his noble steed- and tries in vain multiple times to escape. The longer Sara is held captive by Pestilence, the more uncertain she feels about him- and vice versa. In an effort to save the world, Sara has to open heart to Pestilence and show him humanity has redeeming qualities.

I was REALLY torn on how to rate this one- I ultimately went with 4 stars, which for us means “there is something special here; had us staying up way too late flipping pages” which is EXACTLY what happened to me- I read this ARC in one night. I love the idea of a series on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse AND a romance read- I mean, come on! How’s Pestilence for a dark hero?!

I didn’t love the main character, Sara- she was just ‘ok’- there were a few times I found her a bit crass for my liking, but that is completely objective. I really enjoyed Pestilence and Sara’s encounters with other humans during their travels- I loved the representation, particularly from the elderly couple they come across.
Of special note for me was the setting- I’m Canadian, and it is rare we are the location of a romance story! A majority of this book takes place on the west coast of Canada, so I liked reading about that. However, it was OF COURSE the west coast in the winter, and snow was involved.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the following:
prisoner/captive trope
Enemies to lovers
Alpha heroes
Forced proximity
Learning to love

the evolution in the book was good, while i enjoyed the authors storytelling of god and religion, i do feel like there was building aspects missing and feel like the plot could of been a little better oppose to the characters just travelling around.

This book got me out of a reading slump. I couldn’t put it down.

I really wasn’t sure about it at first. And I’ll be honest a few scenes were very triggering.
However, I loved the evolution and growth of Pestilence and his interactions with humanity. I enjoyed the authors perspective/storytelling in regards to ‘god’ and religion as a whole.
The philosophy of it was intriguing and had me thinking—which is exactly what I want from a book.
Also ngl, this feels like gender bent supernatural fanfic where Dean falls for one of the horsemen and I love that.

It’s also very romance centered which is what my brain needs in a good romantasy. I’ll definitely continue with this series. And the new cover is so pretty!

A friend recommended this book to me, explaining how good it was, and I honestly couldn’t believe it. I was like how could this turn into a romance and how could it work, etc. I just couldn’t fathom how the premise was feasible. However, this book was AMAZING! This was a first for me by this author, I am so freaking happy I decided to give it a chance! Absolutely EPIC!

This is a second read for me. Just as amazing the second time. The story is about the first of the Four horsemen of the apocalypse, pestilence. Sara Burn’s the main female character has such courage, tenacity, and spirit. The story is told from her perspective.

She tries to kill pestilence and he doesn’t stay dead lol! So they travel through towns and she watch’s such destruction. You need to read this book. If your looking for a Disney fairy tale this is not the book for you. You will not regret reading this Laura Thalassa is the Queen of paranormal.

She is a one click buy without reading the synopsis.

I really enjoyed the Bargainer series, but I wasn't a fan of this one! The whole plot is the FMC essentially riding around the world with Pestilence as he kills all the humans except for her - and I got a little bored. Their relationship was entertaining (definitely enemies to lovers, heavy on the enemies), and I did like that he was so un-human, but then slowly gains more human-like qualities. Though I expected more spice, the scenes that were there were great! I'd give it a 2/5 peppers. The writing was fine, the characters were alright, so it may just be me? Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️🐎👑 5 DIVINE STARS 👑🐎⭐️

Laura Thalassa has done it again. Last year I was flabbergasted by Rhapsodic, and now I've had the same experience but at least 100 times better.

I came to this book expecting a basic smutty romance to entertain my evening, I stumbled upon one of the most beautiful romance books featuring deeply complex, nuanced and humane characters, an enthralling prose, morality and religious beliefs being questioned, sweet and sensual love scenes, and most important of all: two lovers set apart by the philosophical challenges human nature has stated: is humanity redeemable? Upon an apocalypse, can the world be worth healing? Is there anything valuable in the human experience?

All this food for thought, laced with some charming classical poems by Poe and phrases by Shakespeare, has turned this book into a diamond level masterpiece I absolutely devoured, leaving no crumbs and rereading several parts, in less than a day. Seriously, I tabbed and highlighted it like a million times.

Some tropes and themes in this book:

🐎Enemies to lovers (but for real, they despise each other, they are enemies in the face of humanity, they torture and try to kill each other)

🐎 Slow-burn forbidden love (the wait is worth it)

🐎 Lots of angst (it is also worth it)

🐎 Deep questioning of human morals and the meaning of existence

🐎Lots of action and gore

🐎the protagonists can be funny at times

🐎 Emotional, plenty of hurt, fluff and comfort

One of the best works of Laura and one of my all time fav books so far. I literally can't mention a single problem with it. It shouldn't be ignored by readers who seek a profound and passionate love in a dark but bewitching story about the end of times.

Can't wait to read all of the books in the series!

This book was good. I love enemies to lovers and forced proximity. The mythological/fantasy aspect really drew me in but I felt like there were world building/story building aspects that were missing. I wish there was more to the plot than the characters just traveling.

An amazing book & a must have series! I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could…….
Year Five of the Horseman: Sara is selected to stay behind in her town and try to stop Pestilence the first of the horseman to arrive.
Pestilence is able to capture Sara and intends to make her suffer for her treachery.
I loved this book (& series)!
Sara is fierce, courageous and I adored her sassiness!
What can I say? Pestilence is the ultimate broody, angsty bad boy and I was totally here for him!
Will Sara be able to spark change in Pestilence, help him find his own humanity and therefor save the world?
Or will Pestilence with his determination to punish Sara and have her witness the annihilation of her world destroy her first?
Cliffhanger ending.
I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review but honestly I bought the series anyway, it’s that good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

The book is full, absolutely full of action. I just love, love, live this book!

I devoured it! I seriously devoured it. I have no more words to say.

I highly encourage everyone to read this book with an open mind. When I read the description I thought, this one isn't for me, but I loved it. I want to read ever single one of Laura Thalassa's books!

Highly, highly recommend!!!

Five stars plus!!!

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa is a unique take on post-apocalyptic romance. Thalassa's writing is raw and emotional, with characters that are both flawed and relatable.

Thalassa has crafted a terrifying world where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse arrive, leaving death and destruction in their wake. The way she portrays the aftermath of Pestilence's arrival is both haunting and beautifully written.

Thalassa doesn't shy away from the fact that Pestilence is a brutal and unfeeling creature, yet she manages to create a believable and compelling love story between him and Sara. Their relationship is slow-burning and fraught with tension, and the transition from enemies to lovers was built and timed just right.

The characters in this book are incredibly well-developed, particularly Sara. She's a strong and capable heroine who never loses sight of her own humanity, even as she tries to understand and connect with Pestilence.

Overall, Pestilence is a beautifully written, engaging, and unique book --- and enemies to lovers is always a yes for me!

Let me start by admitting I am a huge fan of the enemy to lovers trope. Add in some forced proximity, a healthy dose of mythology and some "sculpted shoulders" and I am all over it. Even though Pestilence has all of these and more, it hides a toxicity that was hard to ignore.

For starters, I could not get myself to like the character of Sara. Sure she's kind and compassionate to people as they die, but that's sort of the only good thing about her. She's not very likable. How God decides in their infinite wisdom to have her be the harbinger of mercy to Pestilence is a bit hard to believe. I also had a really hard time ignoring the Stockholm Syndrome. Holy cannoli was it blatant and serious. There wasn't any huge shift in either of the MCs which would have allayed the syndrome. No great changes in Sara's character and Pestilence's came only too late and at the end and because of........what? Nothing really. Also, I found it a bit sexist that Pestilence's appearance was described multiple times at length, but the only thing we know about Sara is she's got brown hair and eyes.

I also had trouble with the style of this story. Sara uses modern terms and profanities which I think are supposed to be cute juxtaposed against Pestilence's more austere, ancient vocabulary but GOD did she have to say "bump uglies"? If that phrase disappeared from the human lexicon tomorrow it would not be soon enough.

This story is fine. It's engaging, it's sexy, it's fun. It's definitely got problems, but it's well worth the read.

I received an ARC of this book and am leaving this review of my own volition.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Bloom Books for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pestilence is the first book of the The Four Horsemen series by Laura Thalassa, first published in 2018. These books have been around for a while and have been super popular with fantasy/dark romance readers, but this was my first time reading anything by this author (also known for The Bargainer series, which has been on my TBR for ages).

The premise is pretty dope: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse gallop down to earth to unleash God’s wrath and lay waste to humankind, but (surprise surprise) they fall in love with a few sexy ladies who undermine all their plans for Armageddon. Pestilence, the first of the four brothers, is riding across North America to spread a lethal plague throughout the population. Sara Burns is a young firefighter tasked with killing the horseman as he rides through her small Canadian town. But when the horseman survives her deadly assault, Pestilence takes Sara prisoner and decides to make an example of her as they journey across the rest of the continent. It soon becomes clear that there is more to Pestilence than meets the eye, and they must discover whether their feelings for one another are enough to redeem—or doom—all mankind.

I wanted to like this. I really did. It started out mysterious and bleak and delightfully sinister. I love me some fire and brimstone, and at the outset this seemed like the start of a thrilling enemies-to-lovers romance with a compelling moral quandary at the center. But things quickly went off the rails, and I found most of the book really frustrating.

There wasn’t much in the way of worldbuilding, and the extent of Pestilence’s powers were never explained super clearly. There was also basically no plot; the characters spend 95% of the book on the road, in and out of abandoned houses (or busting in on families doomed to die in a matter of days, which is a dick move). And the ending of the story is anticlimactic and feebly resolved.

The protagonists were both unappealing for their own reasons, and they had basically zero chemistry whatsoever. He says he’d burn down the world to save her, but… why? Sara was annoying and immature, a caricature of a “tough chick” who only thinks she’s tough because she swears constantly and has no filter (like, there is a lot—A LOT—of bathroom talk) and she happens to know how to fire a gun. She’s a first responder and is no stranger to death, but for some reason her biggest gripe with Pestilence is his… unabashed nudity? He tortures and abuses her, has no qualms about killing mankind, and still she sort of goes along with it because, despite all his violence, he’s kind of hot.

Which leads to my next point, which is that Pestilence is no catch either. Even disregarding the aforementioned atrocities he’s committed, and despite him being, you know, PESTILENCE, dudebro’s not that bright. He’s got no brains and no personality, just some sexy glow-in-the-dark tattoos and and a hot body and an eagerness to experience the joys of the flesh. He comes off as a guy playing at being superhuman, nothing close to an actual deity.

(Also, they share their first kiss literally seconds after she vomits. Which… what. But it’s also kind of indicative of the tone of the rest of this book, which is both dark and ridiculous.)

I didn’t necessarily have a problem with the author’s humor or sarcastic voice in itself, just that it was so jarringly out of place that it undermined any sort of gravity in the story. The tone constantly flip-flopped between something tragic and mysterious and something almost laughably informal. I couldn’t tell what it was trying to be, whether it was meant to be funny or dark or creepy or what.

But as frustrating as I found this book, I will say this: I was never bored. It was definitely unique, to say the least, and it flew by quickly. I’ll still likely check out the next book in the series, if only in the hopes the protagonists have more going on upstairs than these two knuckleheads.

Also, just FYI: if you go into this expecting a lot of spice, you may want to manage your expectations. There are a few steamy scenes, but they’re not particularly imaginative or explicit—not a criticism in and of itself, but since this is sometimes promoted as a “spicy romance,” more avid smut readers might be disappointed.