I'm so glad this book is being picked up by Bloom Books. I love apocalyptic fiction and I love fantasy romance. This is the perfect blend of both. I could've actually taken it even darker but I love the premise. The writing is easy to read and follow and the characters believable. This series is definitely buy-worthy.

Really awesome!
This book was really good!! Very well crafted with enough tension, no insta-love. It was awesome! Can’t recommend it enough. Sara is dynamic and awesome. I also love the new cover! Can’t wait to hand sell the new version.

“𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧.”

Pestilence is book 1 in The Four Horsemen Series. I did read this entire series already and was a fan of it, but when the chance to reread this came up, I jumped on it. I love doing rereads and picking up on things I may have missed the first time around. Pestilence was definitely a bit darker than I remembered it being, and as a dark romance fan, I was here for it. Pestilence’s character growth was strong, and I feel like he fully redeems himself by the end. I do wish there was some more spice in this, I feel like maybe the other books in this series are spicier. I can’t wait to reread the rest of this series now!

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞.”

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

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬.”

“𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛.”

I’ve read this book when it was independently published and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so dark and gritty that it’s definitely not for people who want a light hearted romance. If you’re fans of dark romance fantasies, this would be for you. It was a very very quick read, and I didn’t put it down at all.

Sara is a really strong female character essentially on the verge of giving up. I think she proved to be his match. She has conflicting feelings about him, but understands that this might be what they both needs. I also loved how much she challenges him, and how her kindness and soft heart is what got to him.

Pestilence was such an interesting character, His growth was so well done, he came from essentially just serving his maker to actually somewhat human. He was confusing at times and very frustrating at other times, but they ultimately did work very well together. I could see how much he loves her, and what he would give up for her.

I would definitely recommend this to people who can handle and enjoy very morally grey characters in a dark romance. The apocalypse really sets the mood here, so it does feel a little dystopian. But it’s very romance heavy. It’s definitely a mature book, so be warned.

First Link - Blog Post Goes Live August 8th

[Content Warnings:
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Kidnapping
Minor: Stalking]

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa is everywhere if you spend a lot of time on the Fantasy Romance part of the bookish internet - or it was at one point and now it has just seeped into the collective consciousness there. It’s getting it’s traditional release this year and I grabbed a copy to try out (both an eArc and the physical edition at my local Barnes & Noble). And I can’t quite get my head around it.

The premise is simple enough. The four Horseman arrived on Earth some years ago, announcing our demise, then disappeared. The first of the Horseman has awoken, and it’s Pestilence who is slowly riding around the world and sickening and destroying the populace. Sara Burns (a hilarious name considering she’s a firefighter) takes it upon herself to attempt to kill Pestilence. Then ends up paying the price.

So here is where my first BIG problem with this comes. Sara does indeed manage to kill him, burns him to death in fact and when he gets back up (he’s a Horseman of the Apocalypse, of course you can’t kill him) he’s very angry. In an interesting twist, he can feel all the pain and agony of death and all that it does to his body but he never truly dies. So he decides to keep her captive and punish her. From there he does many things to her. Shoots her, drags her by the wrists behind his horse, verbally abuses her, etc. As this is a romance eventually he comes around and she ‘brings out his humanity and gives him hope’ - the usual. But the things he does prior to this, it’s a LOT.

There is also the weirdly added chunk of travel in which Sara constantly tends to those who are dying from his plague he spreads just by being somewhere. We read about these people dying, including small children, and his simple refusal to do anything. If the ultimate end game was for us to ****like**** Pestilence it didn’t happen for me. The man or whatever he is because at one point he tells her he’s is just what his name says - a walking cloud of disease? Is simply not appealing. It missed me. No thank you.

And yet I finished it. I cannot tell you why. I don’t think I recommend this one, but the writing just kept me going and I am just so convinced there has to be something more in the later books. I want the twist to be that these men are not what they seem. Or they are but in a way that makes sense for them to feel the pain they do?

I genuinely don’t know who I’d recommend this too. It’s not romantic, it’s sad then funny then so melodramatic. It has the Happily Ever After all romances do. She ends up sleeping with the personification of a cloud of disease and it’s implied they have children by the end when War appears - but I also can’t tell you I’m not going to read the next one.

If you do pick it up… just don’t think to hard about it. Like the boils his plague leaves behind it’s peppered with red flags and holes but it was fun and bingeable.

2 warm baths with a disease cloud watching you. (And yes. That line in the book felt like kink shaming)

Fantastic story! I loved the premise, the heat, struggles and character growth. This is a story I went in knowing there would be some decent smut but didn't expect not wanting to put it down due to the level of storytelling! I am excited to continue this series and can't wait!

💛💚 Pestilence Review 💚💛

Thank you so much to Laura Thalassa and netGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!!

Pestilence is a dark paranormal dystopian romance and the first book of The Four Horsemen series. Five years ago, the Horsemen returned and society as we know it collapsed. Plagues are spreading across North America and Sara has been selected to try to take out Pestilence in order to try to stop his rampage, even if she doesn’t survive the attempt. When her attempt fails, she is taken captive by Pestilence in punishment, but she soon learns that there’s more to this inhuman being than meets the eye

I really enjoyed this book!! It’s an original twist on the Four Horsemen lore and I loved that! Sara is a strong but compassionate firefighter who is just trying to survive in a harsh world. Pestilence is unfamiliar with human interactions and is determined to fulfill his mission to eliminate them. I loved watching their relationship grow and develop over the book! Watching both these characters grow was so fantastic!

Overall this was a 4 star read for me and I absolutely want to read the rest of the series now! I’m hooked!! This book was a bit of a slow burn, but once it got there - it was spicy! Three flames for spice! Please remember to check your trigger warnings - especially if you’re sensitive to prisoner/captive, torture, and violence

If you like books with intelligent women, broody possessive men, enemies to lovers, and “I’m gonna hate-bang you and pretend I don’t care” - then definitely check out this book! Pestilence is available now on ebook, paperback and on KU! The beautiful new Bloom cover shown above will be released in August!!

I’m a huge fan of Laura Thalassa’s books and she is one of my auto buy authors.

The four horsemen series was a breath of fresh air in the NA fantasy genre, such a unique take. Pestilence my favourite of the set. This new cover is stunning and I can’t wait to add the paperback to my collection.

Pestilence is the first book in the The Four Horsemen series. I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It was a 5/5 star read and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books and Laura Thalassa for an opportunity to read a copy of this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"You want me to understand your kind, and yet when I show any interest you condemn my curiosity."

I've read the full Four Horseman series and, while Pestilence is not my favorite post-apocalyptic baddie (hello War), this first book has a special place in my heart.

The events in Pestilence take place right after the apocalypse has begun, with each book taking place in a different region and with multi-year gaps between. The plot of all four books can be summed up as "road trip love stories with pissed-off angels," and I don't say that as an insult.

This series has been on my To-Buy list for a while, especially now that these gorgeous re-print covers are coming out!

This book has a lot of truth in it about human nature. Yep, human nature tends to destroy everything and Pestilence comes to deliver God's wrath. WARNING! If you're weak-kneed, then probably you should know that you get the description of the plague infections and the wounds inflicted by shotguns AND burns. Literally burning flesh and missing parts!

Now, I'm glad that Laura puts these descriptions of the bad things because common! This is a HORSEMAN and it's a horseman's job to literally inflict pain and get a good description of the act. So again, don't expect to be privy to that.

I liked how Pestilence's story is written and I really liked the fact that the two main characters have the whole book. There are other characters, but let's name them "passing characters". So you get everything there is on Pestilence and Sara. I like how Pestilence grows and his curiosity about trying human things. Even if he knows his task, his mission, and his purpose, you can see the conflict in him. And usually, the people/species that don't like their mission, are the ones that are the best for the job. So, Pestilence is in this situation, and little by little, he starts listening to his heart and questioning things, a normal action that makes him look a lot like a human. Even if his literally the plague itself, you can see his evolution, not necessarily as a person [HE'S NOT HUMAN], but as a being, as a living, breathing, undying being.

Sara is his salvation. I AM WARNING YOU! SHE WILL SUFFER HIS WRATH! AND NOT IN A PLEASANT WAY! REALLY SUFFERING! I love that this isn't a story where the guy sees his prey and immediately falls in love with it. NO! She, like every other human, suffers and he hurts her really bad and nearly kills her. So everything is about communication, trying new things, and let's be honest. Sara has a lot of patience with him. A LOT! They change each other and the way they do that, that's their journey as beings, supreme beings, and humans.

I've seen the other reviews, but I really think this book deserves 5 stars. The plague is the first step in the apocalypse, so is normal and natural that after him comes the worst. Like in every torture or battle, things increase in their suffering and the magnitude of the danger, pain, and the end of life itself. So I think Pestilence got the right story. When bad things happen, is not just one thing, no. There are multiple bad things, and the worst is yet to come.

I’m so excited for the new covers for this series- they did throw me off a ton though. I originally requested this ARC because I thought it was the last in the series and I had read the first one a few years ago. Turns out it is just a cover redesign, but I did enjoy the re-read.

This is one of the classic enemies-to-lovers sub-tropes of “I was sent to kill you”. It is a stand-alone in an interconnected world with 4 total books, which is my total jam- anyone who knows me knows I love a good standalone book. As a paranormal romance, there isn’t a crazy amount of world-building to deal with, so your focus is almost solely on the two main characters and the buildup of their relationship and also the characters themselves as Sara works on convincing pestilence that the world is worth saving.

Such a well written story that I couldn't put down. It really drags you into an apocalypse earth with the four horsemen. The concept is interesting itself but the story was quite great. I enjoyed reading it and can't wait to read more.

I’ve got this and decided to read it before the other books in my TBR list. Good choice. A good story about the Horsemen, the world we live in and the choices we make and how they affect not only us right now, but others in the long term.

Five years ago, the Four Horsemen came to Earth and started the apocalypse. Now, Pestilence is galloping through North America, infecting all those whose path he crosses with a deadly illness.

Before he can reach their town, Sara and her fellow firefighters draw matches to see who will stick around and attempt to end Pestilence’s crusade. Sara loses, and learns the hard way that he is unfortunately impossible to *unalive*.

Enemies to Lovers with a healthy dose of Stockholm Syndrome. I really enjoyed their journey through the post-apocalyptic Pacific NW, as their feelings slowly developed from hatred to something *more*. There were a lot of questions about whether humanity deserved any mercy, and after falling for this “monster” what Sara’s place amongst “her people” really was anymore.

One of my favorite aspects of the story was Sara’s sarcasm, whether it be in her inner monologue, or while speaking out loud, dealing with Pestilence and his “ways”.

This was quite an enjoyable read, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Really enjoyed this one. The entire concept of the four horsemen and the apocalypse was really interesting and very well done. I enjoyed the characters and the development of Pestilence. The pacing and journey of the plot was well done. It kept me intrigued the whole time and never lagged. I especially enjoyed the romance! I love all the books in this series, so fun!

How does one defeat Pestilence, one of the Four Horsemen responsible for bringing in the start of the apocalypse? How does one stop oneself from developing feelings for said horseman? Sara has to figure out the answers to both questions as she navigates a post-apocalyptic world.

Wow, this had me hooked! Absolutely solid fantasy romance and not the last I will read from Laura. Such an interested premise and characters that felt entirely authentic. The ending did have me scratching my head a bit, but I cannot wait to continue onto the next book.

“The horseman has learned how to feel. Nothing good can come of this. Nothing at all.”

This book was intense. I say that with love. It was absolutely different from anything I’ve ever read before. The first 30% I struggled continually vacillating between “I’m not going to be able to finish this... it’s to brutal..” and “WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!”
What happens next won.

It’s dark. It’s apocalyptic. It’s heart wrenching at moments. Is it Stockholm syndrome? Is it severe abuse? Wait- is it love? HOW? I don’t have answers to those questions. But what I do have to say is that the questions presented were mind blowing. I highlighted hundreds, yes HUNDREDS, of passages and could not put this book down.

I could not put it down. Pestilence and Sara were hard and beautiful and painful and emotional. It was violent and there were tears, but also, it was fulfilling in emotionality and depth. I’ve never had such mixed feelings about a “Hero”(Is he a Hero? I don’t know.) and heroine relationship. My chest ached again and again because it was just so hard.

Biblical truths and questions littered the pages. Things never considered. Absolute fiction but also... possibly truths? This story stretched me. It broke me. I read parts of it with a hand over my eyes like one watches a horror movie. And then, through all this darkness and pain, there are hints of the most beautiful romance... a romance for the ages. I don’t often succumb to “book hangovers”... “Pestilence” however... I know this is one I will be thinking of long after I’ve finished.

“You have managed what no one else has: you have awoken my heart. So, no, Sara, of all the words I would use to describe you, fascinating would definitely be one of them.”

Imagine a world in the not too distant future, where the creature comforts we have come to take for granted no longer function, and a grim disease spreads in the wake of a mysterious, indestructible Horseman named Pestilence. Running from the disease does almost nothing, and the fate of humanity rests upon the shoulders of that same Horseman.

An eerie parallel to the events of 2020 with the worldwide pandemic despite being published before those same events, PESTILENCE hits home in a strange way. The main protagonist Sara is someone I wish I would be in this kind of crisis, unflinching in the face of danger and willing to risk everything to stop the apocalypse. A word of caution, however; despite being a romance novel, death abounds, painting a very grim picture of this version of Earth's future. If you're not particularly sensitive to death as it relates to disease and want to witness the power of love in the face of destruction, then I recommend this book for you.