DNF 20% in.

I'm sure this is a great series, but I realize that it's not for me. I prefer a story like this, but that would give the female leads more of an understanding of why the horsemen are committed and maybe one of them who is going to agree with the horsemen (purely because of the odds of them all wanting to save humanity are iffy), but I fear that it won't happen and I would hate to continue and it not be enjoyable.

I do have a friend who enjoys this kind of thing, so I know that it has an audience and if horsemen being swayed by love is something you'd enjoy it's perfect for you.

I received this as an ARC on netgalley and I just love this series so much so far. How could a romance about the four horsemen be so freaking good. But it is that. I think I liked the first book just a bit more but this was still such a great ride. Unlike in Pestilence, War knows straight away who Miriam is to him and knows he wants her. He also never actually hurts her which is nice. As with the first book there is still a lot of violence and of course death but from the beginning War as a little more understanding of humans then his brother did. It made it so the transition really worked well in this book. He also had the unexpected power to raise the dead which I didn't expect but I guess makes some sense. So be prepared for zombies. I also loved how badass Miriam was from the very beginning. Although she has a problem with killing she never hesitates to do it in order to protect herself and those she loves. She is a lover and a fighter and I just really appreciate that about her. This book also talks about the death of children or them getting hurt so if that is a trigger for you then you may need to skip this book. The ending had me in tears which I did not expect but it was such a great twist I can't really be mad at all. Overall really enjoyed this book.

”Pray for the world. War is coming”.

Talk about book hangovers!

I’m glad I get to read the rest of the series! War, the second of the Four Horsemen, was deliciously dark, dangerous, swoony in a warlord kind of way, and yet had such tender sides, which were the stark opposite to his ruthless pursuit of his duties. It was a unique love that grew between War and Miriam. In Pestilence’s book there was a lot more touching, whereas War and his “wife” ( he truly believes Miriam was given to him by God to be his wife) were against each other for the majority of the story.
If a dark tale with a supernatural bit mixed is you jam please read this book! If you’re worried about it having a ton of religion thrown in, it’s not like that at all. I have definitely found an author that is new to me and I can’t wait to read more.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books publisher for this arc read in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

These books just keep getting better as I go! Spicy, drama, action, angst and just enough edge to keep you wanting more. Excited to keep going with this series and now I must have the physical copies.

I have been in a huge reading slump for about a month and a half. This book had me wishing my baby would nap longer.

Do you want you a boy with golden retriever energy but also low-key well high-key commits mass genocide? Well, then war is your man.
I loved this book through and through. It was great escapism, and I love that it took place in a country that is not the United States. It also showcases a strong and feminine heroine. Miriam was wonderful and one of my favourite heroines that I’ve read this year. The only reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars is because of the pacing of the last 15% of the book.

Can’t wait to read the next one

Thanks so much for allowing me to review this title.
I love Laura’s work and this series is incredible.
I look forward to reading more of her words and working with you again!
Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the digital ARC of War.

The publisher is rereleasing the series with new covers and that's how I received access to this ARC, even though the Four Horsemen series has been out for a few years now.

This series has been on my radar for a while and I did receive ARCs of the entire series, so here we are with my second review.

I was not a big fan of the first book (Pestilence), which I rated 2.5 stars, so I will say that my expectations for War were fairly low. I can report that I thought the writing did improve from the first to the second book. It seems as though some of the kinks and issues that I had with the first story might have been the growing pains of starting a new series. I would say that the book is an easy read; there's nothing complicated about it and there are no instances of information dumps (massive or otherwise *sigh*).

I did like the fact that this story took place in a vastly different location than the first book. However, it did feel as though the setting and culture were under-researched. In my opinion, the author seems to lack knowledge of the place and people she was portraying.

Unfortunately, I still didn't think this book was anything special. Once again, I found it very difficult to like and/or relate to the main female character (Miriam). For approximately the first 10% of the book I really thought I was going to like Miriam. I found her backstory interesting and I could appreciate her struggles and what it took for her to survive. Then cue War to enter stage left and everything goes downhill for my opinion of Miriam. What is it with the women in this series?! Their disillusion is frustrating at the very least and their internal thoughts are beyond cringy. Apparently, pretty men make these women stupid.

On the one hand, the first horseman, Pestilence, was a character that I could get behind; I sympathized with him and I enjoyed seeing his progression throughout the story. War, on the other hand, was not a character that I could get behind. I didn't like anything about him. When you are first introduced to War, he's been awake for some time and he still doesn't seem to care or understand the human condition. As the story progresses, it is clear that he has no desire to learn and I just found him to be very one-note.

The combination of Miriam and War with all their little nuances that I just found to be annoying, contributed to my opinion that these two are not believable as a couple. The chemistry between them seemed forced and just didn't do it for me.

Lastly, I (once again) found the plot to be overly repetitive - a battle takes place; War and Miriam bicker/argue/fight; War's army moves; there's another battle; War and Miriam fight again; the army moves; there's a battle; War and Miriam make out/have sex and then they fight; the army moves (rinse and repeat). The cookie-cutter layout of this book was very reminiscent of the first book, which also made me feel like I was reading virtually the same story. There was very little to distinguish this book from Pestilence.

Clearly, there are plenty of people who really enjoy this series; I just don't happen to be one of them. Since I do have the ARCs for the last two books in the series (Famine and Death), I do plan on completing it. I hope that the plot for these two books is unique and I enjoy them more.

I need to know what sort of crack Laura Thalassa is putting in her books to make me this obsessed with them!! The Horseman series has been SO good and I will be purchasing the remaining books immediately. The enemies to lovers is done incredibly well, War’s character development is heart warming, and the angst is just *chef’s kiss*. I didn’t want to put this book down at any point and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. I was a little worried War would feel repetitive with Pestilence but Thalassa does a great job distinguishing the two stories and I never felt like I could predict the exact storyline. I do hope one of the couples in the last two books don’t have children to represent that a child isn’t a requirement of a loving, long term relationship. Overall, I devoured this book and I’m already looking for seconds.

"War" by Laura Thalassa is a total winner! I couldn't put it down. The action is off the charts, and War is one hot character. The love story is intense, and the plot twists are mind-blowing. If you're up for a wild ride, give this book five stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Four Horsemen series by Laura Thalassa
Post-Apocalyptic fantasy romance

Pestilence 3.75 stars
War 3 stars
Famine 4.25 stars
Death 4.25 stars

As you can tell by the name of the series these books feature the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (from the Bible, so there is a smattering of religious talk). For those of you seeing the genre as “fantasy romance“, a bit of clarification: the first three books are more fantasy with a romance subplot, whereas the fourth book focuses more on the romance. And these are only fantasy books in the sense that the titular characters are made-up beings with magical powers; otherwise this takes place in our world, and there are no other magical elements.
A word of warning to you all — I read these back to back, but I don’t think that was the best way to go. Spoiler alert: because these are post apocalyptic, they are dark. There’s a lot of death and destruction. A LOT. This makes for heavy reads full of despair. So maybe sprinkle in some fun reads in between, ok?

Pestilence was a great introduction to the world. The books span around 20 years, so this first one is at the beginning of the apocalypse. He also seemed to be one of the more “human” of the Horsemen (in addition to Death).
War didn’t work as much for me. He seemed almost robotic for most of the book. I also had some issues with some of the dialogue – the FMC is from Jerusalem, and we are almost 10 years into the apocalypse, so some of the slang and terminology she uses didn’t seem realistic.
Famine has a great FMC! She was a sex worker, so doesn’t have too much of a filter on her mouth. She was sassy and brash and lots of fun.
Death is where the romance ramped up, and it was a great finale to the series. Out of all of them he seemed the most sad about his duties. He’s got a job to do but he ain’t happy about it.

Overall I really enjoyed this reading experience, and would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Love the new cover. Excellent world building and visual descriptors. You really feel like you are in the story. I felt war and Miriam’s characters were interesting and well developed. I felt like they each had good arcs and backstories. The relationship between the two was chaotic but fun and led to some nicely done steam.

War by Laura Thalassa

★ ★ ★.5 | 🌶 🌶

!! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!

*A special thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

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Weirdly enough, I got permission to read this book, post publication date. But, here goes nothing.

Now, I really liked Pestilence. The concept of the series as a whole is so incredibly unique and complex. It was originally something I didn’t think I was going to enjoy, but I really did.

As for this book, it wasn’t bad in any sense of the word. I will definitely continue the series. But, this book wasn’t my favorite so far.

Starting off, the book was just way too long. There were points that just felt repetitive. Like they would kiss and act cute and then Miriam would defy him. I swear that happened like a thousand times. You could probably cut like 100-200 pages and the story would remain the same.

As far as the characters, Miriam wasn’t as likable as Sara in the first book. She was just kind of irritating for a majority of the book. Out of War and Pestilence, I think I like War just a little bit more. He has a way with words that just made me swoon. These books also would have been good with dual POV.

I’m just a tad concerned that we’re following a bit of a pattern that is going to end up being predictable in future books. Like, the FMC tries to kill the horseman, is taken hostage, long period of falling in love where the FMC doesn’t want to admit it, horseman doesn’t want to stop their mission, and FMC dies and Thanatos allows her to live. And then they live happily ever after.

But, we will just have to wait and see.

This is a slight trope spoiler, so skip if you don’t want it to be spoiled. Just as a warning, there is a surprise pregnancy trope. I know a lot of people aren’t fans of this. And I was surprised it was used in a fantasy.

I love love love this book . Laura sure knows how to hook you up to a story from the very beginning .

I do very much recommend this book .

This book is utterly heartbreaking yet beautiful. You can really feel the heartbreak and internal conflict of Miriam. Whatever she felt I felt, fear, anger, hopelessness, power, and of course love. It is a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the book, but leaves you with a feel good ending! For anyone who loves forced proximity romances this book is perfect!

I felt the author made some improvements to the plot and characters in this second book. The plot is still repetitive in that War goes to a new town, kills people, Miriam runs away, repeat; but the addition of extra characters and subplots boosted the readability. I thought the descriptions of camp added some color to the story, too. War is a much more well-rounded character than Pestilence and the reader starts to get a better feel for the backstory of the four horsemen.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Another great book in the Horseman series!

It was difficult to root for War at times. All the killing wasn't easy to get through, but I understand why it had to happen. I think War and Miriam were perfect for each other. She had such a big heart, and he needed that to see what he was doing.

And, of course, I loved how War was so possessive and attentive to Miriam. She was his wife, and he never let her forget it. Despite his aggressive and ruthless behavior, he was loving with her. Miriam was a fighter and strong, but she cared so much for the people.

They both learned from each other and grew together. I loved it!

I am ready to read book three.

When War comes to Jerusalem and tears the city down, his eye catches on Miriam, who he takes and declares his heaven-sent wife. Miriam is forced to stay with War in his camp as he and his warriors bring destruction slowly to earth. While Miriam fights him at every turn, War is determined to win her over. War sees her as worthy of being spared, but Miriam struggles to reconcile her love for War and the terrifying destruction of mankind, so she must convince him to give everything up for her or resign herself to watching the end of humanity.

This was probably my least favorite Four Horseman brother, simply because this conflict heavily relies on a level of back-and-forth dynamic between War and Miriam that isn't quite seen in the other books. Miriam comes to terms with her attraction and love for War pretty early on, and so she spends a large amount of the book deciding whether she can live with her love for War, or she can save humankind, but she can't do both. The spice was on fire, and I really felt for Miriam, but I had a lot of trouble empathizing with War as a MMC, perhaps because the depth of his motivations seemed shallow. He thought he could have his cake and eat it too, and he was just more arrogant than anything else.

But, in the end, War overcame his challenges and I did like him a lot more when he finally made the sacrifices he needed to for Miriam and the rest of humankind.

Thanks to the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book!

War is the second book in the Four Horsemen series, and although this can be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the series in order to understand the complexity of the new world and connect with the FMCs in the books.

If you're a fan of The Game of Thrones - where Daenerys Targaryen had to marry the Dothrakhi guy (I'm sorry I don't know his name), War kind of follows the similar trope.

War is Enemies to Lovers, Dark and Apocalyptic Romance, following a strong heroine and an anti-hero who is now picking up after his 'fallen' brother. War's power differs from Pestilence. He thrives on war, the fight, and loves the thrill of winning one.

While he's invading a new city, he finds the heroine, Miriam - who's attempting to kill him. When he sees her, he declares her as his wife and takes her with him.

So I found this book much better than Pestilence - and a major reason is how War is with the heroine.

Although he thirsts for war and violence and killing humans, he is gentle with the heroine... Like the obsessive possessive hero in a dark romance. He calls her his wife, wants to spend time with her and get to know her. Miriam (like Sara in the first book) loathes him for what he is, and tries to thwart his attempts to kill off humans. She doesn't give him the time of her day.

However, the more time they spend together, the more War relates to the heroine, the more he understands her and somewhere in their journey together, he wants to save humanity too. After all, war is in the hearts of human and he is a part of them, just as they are him,

I loved the story, the setting, the emotions and turmoil, everything.

As usual, Laura's writing style just hooks you and it's addictive. The surface theme for this is the same as Pestilence, but the author has managed to add a unique twist to it.

Definitely recommend.

War is the second book to the four horsemen series and this was one held a lot of action compared to the first book. The book was a slow burn but worthwhile because I finished and loved reading about Miriam struggles between war and love.

First published in 2019 as an e-book, this novel follows the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, this time focusing on War and his romance with human, Miriam Elmahdy. I don't know why I love this series like I do, but I do. And Miriam is more likeable than Pestilence's heroine.

*Special thanks to Netgalley and Lavabrook Publishing for this e-arc.*