Wow wow and wow! I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down, brought my kindle with me everywhere to finish it!

“They came with the storm.”
“But I am utterly overwhelmed by him, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Pestilence the Conqueror.”
Spicy, complicated, impossible but still … it is love. Even if with the first Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Wow !!! This book was absolutely great !! With every possible trope you can ever dream of: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, one bed, even the kïdnapping trope (because they clearly wanted to unalive each other) you will have one of the best dark romance books you could have have in between hands !!!! I can’t stop thinking about how much I loved it and how much I, just like Sara, fell for the wrong man at the worst possible time !!!!! Pestilence is not even a man actually … so maybe that does not count.
Their relationship so complicated and so confusing and so hot and so spicy and so intense… I was not ready for them but I still loved and enjoyed from the bottom of my heart any second of it !!! When the world is absolutely on the verge of collapse and he is there to bring it to the end … she is the only one standing in his way … but soon enough mercy turns into love. This book is a great addiction and I’ll probably be still thinking about it for a while !!!!
"I cannot decide if you are a toxin or a ton-ic," he says, lifting a hand to my cheek. "Only that you plague my thoughts and fill my veins."
“The horseman has learned how to feel.
Nothing good can come of this.
Nothing at all.”

This was a reread for me. I read it 3 years ago and I remembered enjoying it.

I did enjoy the reread just as much as the first read.

I couldn't put it down. I love the story so much that I ended up preordering a copy with the new cover.

Going into this book, I thought it was going to be your typical smutty book, but it turned out to be a very nice love story and humanity.

Seriously was not expecting the story this book actually told. Hard to think that a book about plague incarnate could be a beautiful love story about learning humanity and mercy but that’s exactly what it managed to do.

The only reason why this isn’t a 4 or 5⭐️ for me is because I found the main character’s personality grating at times. And since she’s the narrator the story obviously is told through her voice & that was a little much for me at certain moments. But! That’s definitely just a me thing and I think a lot of people would still really enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a copy for review!

This book. Wow.

I had no expectations when I got an option to read it with the new cover (coming August) and I got to say I loved it.

The way she goes about Pestilence finding his humanity and learning the world has some good in it, learning about love, and how Sara is so brave and uncertain about trying to kill Pestilence.

The characters are complex, the plot is intriguing (if a little slow in the middle), and the book is just well done.

I am so excited to read the rest of the Horsemen series.

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come." I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

— Revelation 6:1–2 New American Standard Bible


The arrival of the four horsemen came out of nowhere. No one knew why they had appeared, only as they rode through cities, countries, and across continents causing all of the world's technology began to fall, plunging the world into darkness. It has been five years since their arrival and most of the world has been trying to find a reason why this has happened, but Pestilence has awakened once more from his slumber and descended upon the world bringing with him a plague that kills a person from the inside.

As Pestilence spreads his plague across the continent, Sara Burns has drawn the black lot and knows that her fate has been sealed. It had been decided from the beginning - whoever pulled the black lot had to remain behind and face Pestilence. This falls to Sara who says her goodbyes to her friends and waits for the arrival of the horseman.

His arrival is seen as a chance. A chance to stop the plague from spreading across the planet and killing people. Sara knows that this means her death but it is a chance she is willing to take and when he arrives, she takes it - shooting the horseman.

Sara believes she has killed the horseman, only to find him furious at her attempts and he drags her across the country as his prisoner.

I loved this book when I first read it. I enjoyed the characters, the apocalyptic nightmare the world has become, and the fact we have the four horsemen as our morally grey men. Characters that see humanity as having done nothing to change their fate and thus needing to be eradicated. Pestilence has no love for humanity and he says this a few times in the dialogue he has with Sara. Even when they stop at a home, he kills them pretty much off without a thought of remorse. He holds contempt for humanity - they have tried to kill him off on numerous occasions to stop his plague.

But something slightly changes in Pestilence. His feelings change for Sara but he does not understand them. He does not know why he is drawn to her and this forced proximity begins to change everything for them.

This is one of my favorite books in the series. I have not read the other three just yet, but this one - I don't know why but I loved it from the first time I read it. I am sorry that the first cover was pulled (I loved that cover! I had to stop Nook from changing it!), but I am glad to see that the newer cover is a lot nicer than the ones in the past (although that French version is beautiful!). I loved how the author used biblical mythology for this book. I had never seen the four horsemen ever used in paranormal romances. This was different. This was a change from the same cliche storylines I kept seeing in paranormal romances.

I just have a few things: I just wish the chapters were a bit longer, there was more of a backstory about the horsemen arriving. We know that the world's technology fails and never recovers, but what about all of humanity? The story opens up in year five but from what Pestilence says he and his brothers were asleep. So, what happened prior to then? How did society change? I know we see some people still living in homes, but with the world in chaos, how do people eat, keep their homes safe, and what about money? Just a little curious about this world, that's all. I am pretty sure some of these may be answered in the next three books, so I am definitely adding them to my 2023 TBR.

How did I not know this existed before!!! Let me tell you, this book felt like my saviour, I had no idea how much I needed that story in my life! I just couldn’t put this book down. It was so good. I feel like this book is a "you rather love or hate". I won’t lie, there are dark things, I mean, it’s the Apocalypse.. and it gets you questioning yourself a lot. I think I sadly fall in the category of people who might think humans are not that redeemable, oopsie, so it was quite easy for me to love Pestilence. And then, if you know me, I always fall for the bad guy so I was obviously going to love a horseman of the Apocalypse, there was not even a doubt in my mind.

Like I said, I’ve read 3 of the 4 books already so let me just say that I love how different each horseman is in its way of seeing things. For Pestilence, it was more a kind of: It’s my job to do this and I’ll do it, no questions asked. I know nothing about you and don’t want to know anything anyways. But with our two characters being in such close proximity all the time, it got him to open his eyes and understand more about humans. And then, he was in a situation where it’s hard to say what’s good and what’s bad. Same for our FMC after seeing so much of humanity at its worst. So really, that whole story got me hooked from start to finish. The character growth was really nice and I loved how their relationship evolved... I mean, it was reaaaaal enemies to lovers and it was just perfect *heart eyes*. Anyways... I’m now officially a Laura Thalassa fan and will look for more of her books that’s for sure!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eBook. All opinions are my own.

Pestilence by L. Thalassa is the first book in the Four Horsemen Series. A dystopian story that grips trhe reader with both hands and doesn't let go anymore, unputdownable.
A read in one sitting, cover to cover book, excellent written, intriguing the author had me guessing till the last page.
Outstanding, excellent, unique, 5 stars.

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.