If you want to read a book with the same feel of Khal Drogo, that brooding alpha male warrior. Then look no further. This is book 2 (my favourite) out of the 4 horseman series. The heroine Miriam is strong willed and fights War's savagery and tries to teach him humanity. Their chemistry is fire! I highly recommended this book and the whole Horseman series.

One of the Four Horsemen, War arrives to the land that the heroine resides and brings chaos. The heroine ends up being a captive of War while also catching his attention. As the proclaimed "wife" of War, the heroine ends up seeing a side of the hero not known to many. Yet there is no peace when there is war, and the heroine is determined to make War cease his chaotic path so that their happy ending can come true.

This is the second book in THE FOUR HORSEMEN series. The premise of interconnected standalone series is interesting, and that's what makes this Laura Thalassa series an entertaining read. However, there were certain details in this particular book that was not my favorite. Details that were left unsaid should have been mentioned, because it would have helped make the story better. Conversations were needed in some areas to make the romance believable and give different viewpoints some insight that would make some characters favorable to readers. This book may not be the best book in this series, but I still look forward to reading the rest of it in the future.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for letting me review this series!

I knew about The Four Horsemen series prior to it getting picked up by the publisher but hadn't quite jumped yet to read it! I loved this apocalyptic romance! These women were badass and the progression of this story is amazing!

This book is the one I love the most in the series. War was such an intriguing love interest and we got a glimpse into another interesting MC.

This book really intrigued me because of its glimpse more into a setting that focuses on human nature. With the way War operates, we got to see so many more characters and see the way humans react to the world they’re in and I think it was incredible to see that side of things.

While it did offer the same formula as the previous book, it offered that same formula in a different way so I’m not complaining.

Overall, this was a good read.

4/5 Stars

I had a great time reading this book. Laura Thalassa's books just have a way of drawing me in. I will say these books are meant to be a fun time, so of course I don't take the book too seriously. Honestly nothing says falling in love like the world ending, plus I love a possessive alpha male.

I preferred War to the first first book in the Four Horsemen series. The heroine Miriam, seemed a much more rounded character, perhaps it was because her character was someone from what is a dangerous part of the world anyway so the threat of danger was something she had grown up with albeit it not on the a biblical scale. The character of War is also a lot more complex when compared to Pestilence who had an aura of innocence around him and who’s only purpose was to carry out his task whereas War sees Miriam and claims her as his, dragging her along as his army lays waste to everything in his path. There is fantastic world building in this series and Laura Thalassa has a way of setting a scene so that it’s easy to visualise it playing out in your mind as you read. I also love how she doesn’t make the hero do a complete one-eighty just because his woman says so. Their inner conflict is more than apparent, after all they’re not simply bad or evil, they’re on a mission from God

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me this ebook!!

In this novel we follow the second horseman of the apocalypse, War, and Miriam, as war is raging in the Middle East and into Africa. Unlike the first book, this one is enemies AND lovers at the same time. I found that quite interesting but it does lead to many moral dilemmas and dumb decisions made by our FMC. It’s these dumb decisions in the second half that annoyed me enough to lower the rating. Other than that I really enjoyed it and loved seeing how War developed throughout the story as well as his relationship with Miriam.

For those wanting to read this, there are definitely topics that many may not want to encounter so make sure to check any trigger warnings!! Without spoiling anything, there is also a trope that occurs in the last 25% that I know many people don’t like so if this could be concerning to you, make sure to check that out too!

Thank you again to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC! As far as a second books go, War was a very entertaining read. Pestilence still remains my favorite horseman so far but I thought that the setting of the story was particularly interesting. I definitely like the main female character more in this book than the last book, but War was not my favorite. At times, the pacing was a little slow, and I don’t think the book needed to be as long as it is, however, the ending really was entertaining. Overall, it was a good second book.

War Book two in the Four Horsemen series was absolutely amazing. I loved Miriam Wars fierce woman with her kind heart. This woman whom he when trying to kill her see she is marked with an Angelic symbol and decides she was a gift to him from God and is therefore his wife spares her in battle and kidnaps her. Miriam Is confused angry and determined to thwart War in his campaign to destroy humanity. Will these two find the balance of true love or with they be the death of each other? You have to read it to find out. Truly excellent writing the emotions of both Miriam and War are complex and captivating m. I could hardly put it down. I absolutely can’t wait to read Famine! Truly a binge worthy series!

Here comes War.

War, the second of the Four Horsemen, was tall, dark, and dangerous and very much everything we wanted him to be. It just goes to show how much readers like this type of hero. He's determined, possessive, and protective in a way we kinda wish those men actually existed, but I still love Pestilence more.

Miriam is an incredibly strong woman, but very stubborn. Brave, but also lonely and hardened by war. However, she is not the damsel in distress type and she more than surprises War, and let's be honest, that's one of the reasons he chose her. I like her very much, and her story is very moving.

This book is very different from the first one. Here, War makes humans kill each other, and he brings out the worst in some people, making the book very dark and very real, especially about the reality of what happens at war.

I wasn't looking forward to rereading War, but I appreciated the history more this time around, especially because of Miriam, I love her. But the one I'm really looking forward to is Famine.

A must read! Could not put down. This book was exactly what I needed to get me out of a book slump! Consider if you like romance and fantasy.

I enjoyed reading this dark romance. The story is so interesting. I was rooting for Miriam from the start. War took a little longer to grow on me. This book was sure spicy. There was a good bit of angst. I love some angst and spice! I will definitely be reading the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

With this one I couldn’t help but think of Khal Drogo and Khaleesi. Miriam was so resistant to having anything to do with War. She wanted no part of him. This was a very slow book for me. I enjoyed how War fell first. And fell hard. I enjoyed how slowly Miriam couldn’t stay away. I enjoyed how much “trouble” Miriam was. Loved seeing how they fell in the end.

Rating: 3,5 stars.

This is the second book in a series, but this review will be spoiler-free for both books. The only thing I will say is that War didn’t quite live up to my expectations after reading and loving Pestilence.

I struggled a little with this story, it didn’t feel as engaging as the first book and I didn’t like War very much. However I have to admit that by the end of the book I was bawling. This is one of those books where the ending makes every earlier struggle so worth it! Seeing War slowly but surely change and gain insight into what humanity should look like and can look like was wonderful. War, similarly to Pestilence, is a book about the human condition and how humanity can still prosper even in the darkest of times. That is what I love most about these books!

I found War’s character very interesting, once I got over my initial dislike for him. He is supposed to have grown from every war there’s ever been, which means that all he knows of humans is how they are during war. This again has had a direct impact on his own personality. He therefore has a very bleak image of humans, which means that our fmc Miriam had her work cut out for her if she wanted to influence War’s campaign at all. Even though the story felt like it dragged a little in the beginning and middle, I still really enjoyed it! I would honestly rather have it drag a little than have a rushed plot, or a rushed romance.

If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend checking it out! With how much I have enjoyed the first two books, I’m really excited to continue the series. I hope it keeps exploring humanity’s quest of self-preservation and our deep capacity for goodness even in the face of all that we fear!

THIS BOOK IS PERFECT!

It's way better than Pestilence, it has a lot of action and you can see that war and death work hand in hand. It's a lot of violence, but again, this is WAR, not Easter Bunny, and everything horrible thing that he does, reaches his name. This is no joke, no game. This is WAR.

You have action, you also have love and spicy scenes, but let's not forget that War [= Ares] requires passion. So even if war and love are exact opposites, in the passion they are equal. For every Scorpio in the world, this is your book. I am one and I love it. I can't wait to read book 4, "Death".

Now, let's get back to the book. War is a passionate creature and you cannot fall in love with him. He knows exactly what he wants and he gets it. He is a master and also a protector. What I love most about War is that he speaks his mind. Everything he feels, he says it in your face. He doesn't fear to speak up his mind and if he doesn't like something, you will also know it. He's ruthless and he will protect what is his at any cost. In battle, you clearly see his passion for fighting, for war. But in love, you can see a whole new passionate creature. He devours Miriam and he is not afraid to show his passion in front of her, and in front of the others. He doesn't care about what the other people think, I mean, if you piss him off, you're dead meat!

Miriam is a fighter and I think she's perfect for War. Yes, she practically is dragged into War's camp and she has to learn his ways and leave by his rules, but she will never give up. Even if you'll think she's giving too much to him after the atrocities he left behind, in a way, it's understandable. The end of the world is coming and you have nothing and no one to lose. So, screw it. She also lived a long time on her own, and loneliness tends to get to you. So when you finally live with somebody else, even a lot of douchebags and a killer for a husband [one who makes you feel all kinds of powerful things and loves with passion], you feel alive and forget about loneliness. So, I understand her. I mean, she did try to kill him with his own sword! So she didn't really give in to him completely :)). I loved that scene.

The reason that I'm saying WAR is much better than PESTILENCE is that this book has a lot of action. PESTILENCE has its own charm and you get to see everything about Pestilence and Sara, 'cause there aren't many people left. WAR on the other hand has his camp, the battlefields, and the people Miriam managed to save from War's wrath and it's a lot more passionate. There is also determination and fighting for what you believe in, or your moral codes. You can see the relationships that are formed in the camp and how easily they can stab you in the back. And also, you can see the nativity of those warriors that didn't choose death, thinking they are saved from War's task. You can see a lot of aspects of human nature, of the heart of a human being.

It's interesting how, in the end, the horsemen or their women stay face-to-face with Death. I think Death's book is going to be very complex in knowing the horseman because of the crumbs that Laura left for us in the endings of these first two books about Death's actions, it's hard not to make you think: "What is Death up to? Why is he doing that or why is he thinking this is interesting? I need the fourth book!" I have a feeling I'll see him in FAMINE too. Something big is coming!

I rate this book 3 stars as I felt like Pestilence and Sarah pulled me more than Miriam & War. Again, it's one of those stories that for me could've just been a lot shorter than how lengthly it really is. But that's probably just me. I did like their banter a little bit but I just didn't feel that drawn to them both. There was a huge chunk of the book where I felt like I was just reading it just for the sake of finishing it. I am looking forward to FAMINE and DEATH though. Just want to see how Laura is going to spin it this time around. How will the last 2 horsemen meet their partners? Or like what will their story be? I did like how War started, how they met and all that. For all those who don't like descriptiveness when it comes to the war, gore and murdering each other - stay away from this book. It can be very descriptive at times when it comes to battles and such. I mean, it is titled WAR.

“I have let you enjoy your own space because it pleased you, and I enjoy pleasing you and your ridiculous human whims.”
My ridicu—? “You want to please me?” I say, now officially peeved. “How about you stop killing people?”
War gives me a piercing look. “There’s another I seek to please too, Miriam. And unfortunately for you, He wishes differently.”

After being disappointed by book 1, I didn’t have high hopes going into this one, but I enjoyed it so much more than I expected! I liked War and Miriam, both separately and together (which I can’t really say about the first book MCs). Miriam was just as ruthless at times as War, pretty sure she killed someone within the first few pages.

"I rub my forehead and then my mouth. Death is getting easier for me to dole out. That’s…worrisome."

I loved their initial meeting, the “You are my wife” gets me every time. Also, he almost always calls her “wife,” and I didn’t think I’d like it…but I did?

War, like Pestilence, was focused on his task, but he was also bloodthirsty and enjoyed the hunt, which was a little gross, but I guess they are mythical beings in human-ish bodies, so what did you really expect?

“You cannot understand His will, but you will understand my vengeance.”

Miriam (and War to a lesser extent) were funny, and I love dark books that have funny in them, so I appreciated that.

"Pretty sure [his horse] senses my inadequacy as a human being." Dead 😂

Anyway, this book is full of violence, of Miriam trying to kill War, and War trying to kill everyone else that exists.

“Fight all you want, wife. Battle is what I’m best at – and I assure you, you won’t win this one.”

I have a ton of quotes highlighted but as you can probably tell from reading this review, I took too long to write it and I’ve forgotten everything, so I’ll just say there was a part near the end that shook me. My spoilers are on Goodreads though! Below might be spoilery, but it's not the end, just something else I had to mention!

"The ground is moving. Not just opening but moving. It looks alive, and I can’t make sense of what I’m seeing—until, that is, a desiccated hand erupts from the ground.
“Dear God,” I breathe.
From the earth, the dead rise."

Also, zombies. War can raise the damn dead. So get ready for that.

"The dead are killing the last of the living. This is why I heard nothing but rumors about those cities gone to the grave. War left no survivors, and without survivors there was no way to warn the rest of the world that the horseman was coming."

Is that a spoiler? I dunno, hopefully, you haven't read this far if you haven't read the book yet🙃

I really need to write reviews right after I read the book. It needs to happen.

War is on of the horsemen set upon the earth to make war and that's what he does. This book was an interesting perspective of the brutality of war as we follow Miriam who is War's intended. There is a lot of cycling of war destroying cities and Miriam's outrage at what War does. But his is WAR. I felt this book was a bit long as most of the middle was really repetitive. I did like the outcome of what love can change and lead to redemption. This also has a very eye catching cover. 3.5 stars from me and I am moving right into Famine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this republished book in exchange for an honest review.

first off, thank you to netgalley, bloom, and laura thalassa for the opportunity to read the arc for the re-release with bloom! out august 15!

onto the review!

while pestilence had me wondering what the hell i was reading at times, war did the same but better. it’s hard not to compare the two but i find some of the comparisons important because if you weren’t a fan of pestilence, this might be what get you to give war a shot!

if you weren’t a fan of pestilence essentially being a big baby man….. war has been on earth for what seems to be at least a year. he seems pretty familiar with human customs (no virgin mmc this time!) and speaks with a more “human” cadence about him.

he does like to pretty much exclusively refer to miriam, our fmc, as “wife” and sometimes his dialogue can get slightly old/biblical timey, but it is MUCH easier to digest than i found with pestilence.

if you weren’t a fan of the fmc in pestilence…. me neither. she was insanely quirky and sometimes caused me to eye-roll and think, “come on man, you’re living in a biblical plague now is not the time.” miriam is a much stronger fmc in lots of ways, and other than her consistent useage of “holy balls” she was MUCH easier to read, and as a character i found her much more interesting. her back story gave her a reason to be there. she was put on earth FOR war.

my least favorite trait about miriam is that she REALLY likes to get spicy. even when she was fuming angry with war she would basically be like, “well i’m lonely and when he looks at me like that i just can’t help myself!” she has her rules to survival and the last one is to “be brave” her basically falling to her knees at a single kiss isn’t very brave of her.

in the sake of keeping this much shorter than i’d like to, bc there’s a LOT to say about this one, war was a much more compelling and interesting story than pestilence, and if it were some sort of standalone i think i may have found myself enjoying it without all the comparisons.

it’s nothing earth shattering that will change your life, but it’s a really fun, enjoyable read built to cater to the “i can change him!” girls. war is more than just morally questionable, he’s just morally wrong, but you can see his journey to changing to be better for miriam, even if it goes against everything he believes in.

my largest criticism for this one is easily the length. 50-100 pages could’ve been cut. there were multiple raids that could’ve been condensed into one. that being said, i still managed to read it over 2 days and i would recommend this book to someone who wants a morally “gray” anti-hero and something a little different from the normal dark romance books that has a little bit of fantasy in there, but not enough to consider it full on romantasy.

3.5/5 ⭐️

It's time to talk about book 2 in Laura Thalassa's Four Horsemen series. Enter War. War is doing just as his name says, destroying humanity through war. When he meets Miriam, instead of killing her alongside everyone else, he brings her back to his camp. He calls her his heaven-sent wife. Miriam struggles to reconcile his violent and destructive self, killing everyone in his path versus the loving and gentle man she sees trying to win her love. Will Miriam be able to get War to give up on his mission?

I really enjoyed the romance between War and Miriam. As a hero, War was far more likeable than book 1's hero, Pestilence. In my head, War was played by Jason Momoa! I highly recommend this novel to paranormal romance lovers. 5/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks.

Did you read War? If you did, did you picture Jason Momoa too?