Thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I do not know what is in these books, but I have been throughly enjoying them. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

I would surrender my soul to read this book for the first time again.

Picking up a few years after “Pestilence” left off, “War” tells the story of Miriam Elmahdy, a weaponsmith who catches the eye of War, one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Instead of killing her, War takes her with him as he raids town after town, claiming that she is his wife. And despite her better instincts and initial feelings of hatred, his gentle side begins to win her over.

I really like how Thalassa’s second book takes place in a different region of the world from “Pestilence”! She does a great job describing the tense environment Miriam calls home and how Jerusalem was hit harder than most cities after the arrival of the horsemen.

Miriam as a character is very admirable. As a weaponsmith, Miriam knows her way around a bow and was fearless when she first crossed paths with War on the battlefield. I also love how she does not back down from a fight and let anyone, including war personified, push her around.

“War”’s plot structure is very similar to “Pestilence”’s, meaning that everything I adored about the development of the romantic relationships in book 1 is mirrored in book 2. And like “Pestilence,” as soon as I started reading “War,” I could not put it down. Moments where Miriam and War shared the same pallet under the stars, rode on the same horse together, traded weapons, and took care of each other tugged on my heartstrings. Watching War and Miriam slowly surrender to each other was everything.

The second horseman!!! And ok, I loved this book, we follow the story after Pestilence, and this time we have War invading towns, wiping them out, and Miriam trying to survive. This FMC is literally a fighter she is the best!!!! And for once I will say that I was in LOVE WITH WAR! This has the “He falls first” trope and I needed that so bad in a book. The things he did to prove his love because of her “soft heart.” Ugh! He’s perfection!
I overlooked the religious terms this time, and didn’t find it as cringy as the first book, but I was all for the humor in here with Miriam…. The slow burn was totally worth it and yes the ending made me tear…..

I have read this book before, in May 2020, and again recently when I was offered the opportunity to read an updated version being re-released by SourceBooks/Bloom Books; thank you to NetGalley, SourceBooks/Bloom Books and Ms. Thalassa.

I am happy to report that the editing errors from the original work have been corrected. The plot wasn't entirely different from Pestilence in overall themes, but I devoured it nonetheless. A pringles book for sure. I got some strong Khal Drogo vibes from War, which I enjoyed very much (because: KHAL DROGO) and a few low-level Dany vibes from Miriam. Unfortunately, for all her combativeness, Miriam wasn't as smart or wily as Dany, but that's a pretty high bar. (And of course, on the flip slide, she didn't go crazy like Dany did, either).

I really enjoyed this book more on re-read (or perhaps I should say, in its new iteration). Miriam's mixed heritage struck me more profoundly this time, with all its implications in overcoming prejudice and decades of violence. I also appreciated the war camp and the way violence brings out the worst in humanity (and just how "human" violence and war is) more upon re-read. Deimos wasn't as heartwarming as Trixie (from Pestilence) nor was War as insidiously charming as Pestilence himself, but that's ok: War is not charming.

I would be interested to see if Ms. Thalassa tries a new plot device in Famine but frankly, it doesn't matter, because I will buy it and inhale it nonetheless. 4 stars.

Yep, definitely more crying.

Miriam runs from War invading Jerusalem, but when she finds herself pitted against him he takes a clear look at her and declares her his wife. Right from the start we get big "my wife" energy on so many levels, and it's clear he takes that title very seriously. I like that immediate change in him, because it shows War's level of commitment, which also shows what a challenge it's going to be to show him that humanity is worth it. One of the things War says it that he was sent to judge mankind's hearts - but it's clear that since he's never been human before he doesn't even understand what that means.

Miriam is going to fix that. Their dynamic is so hard because you understand her complex feelings of both attraction, and her fury that leads her to try and manipulate him. They are constantly at war with each other, and both win and lose battles. It's only Miriam who can defeat him, and it's not hard to sympathize with her using any method at her disposal.

One of the most powerful things about this book is the war camp. Some humans agree to join War and slaughter their own kind, or join the camp and help keep it going. Even if it sometimes might feel like a betrayal of humankind, the camp itself is an example of human resilience. Of the way we continue to make connections and form bonds even in the worst situations.

Overall, a brutal but beautiful book, and a much more straightforward love story than the first. It takes War longer to figure out how to shape his purpose, and the end was so much pain and tension, but another fantastic read.

that chapter 45 makes my skin crawl.

I am still team Pestilence, so far the both of them are totally different from each other. But nevertheless, I am still excited to read Famine.

also the new cover is so pretty?!

Thank you NetGalley & publisher for this eARC.

War is truly fantastic. He claimed his wife from the go, calling her wife all along. I felt like he cared for her deeply. And Miriam?? Talk about a brave badass. Honestly, with this being just book 2 of 4, Laura nailed it!

War follows on from the first book but with a slight time jump since the plague. War’s approach to the end of the world is as his namesake states. His mission is to continue Pestilence’s failed mission of wiping humanity but his actions differ. He takes prisoners who are given an ultimatum: die or swear allegiance to War. He holds an entire camp that functions through the work of humans.

Miriam is a survivor. She survived a crash when she was younger and still survives now. She learnt weapon making as a way of living. At the beginning of the book she is scavenging and doesn’t think twice before doing what’s necessary to survive. After hearing awful rumours about what was happening in the East, she remains on edge but sceptical. She’s in the mountains when a blood red horse and a giant warrior sat atop it.

Miriam meets War in Jerusalem as his army moves through and destroys everything in its path. Their meeting is baffling. Instead of kidnapping or killing her immediately, he calls her Wife and brings her back to camp. She doesn’t take this lightly but stubbornly agrees to life in his camp as a way of staying alive. Somehow Miriam can understand War’s native language and the two have great chemistry although she fights the attraction wholeheartedly. I found the story repetitive and similar to Pestilence at points but I guess it’s hard to avoid when there’s four horsemen, all destined to fall for a woman who’s mission is to stop the end of the world.
I found Miriam was more proactive in stopping the events. For example escaping the camp to warn nearby towns and cities that War is on his way but boy these Horsemen are possessive and want their women right next to them at all times.
Once again this book was very dark so I wanted to include some trigger warnings which were missing from Book 2 as well.

- Attempted, graphic rape
- Physical violence
- Prolonged suffering
- Deceased
- Execution

I didn’t enjoy this as much as Pestilence but once again it was a compelling read and kept me wanting more. Thank you!

2.5/5 stars

"All creatures can experience pestilence, famine, and death—but war, true war, that is a singularly human experience."

I don't know if I was supposed to be picturing Khal Drogo the entire time I was reading this, but that is 1000% what I did.

(And it was probably the best thing to come out of this book tbh. 😬 War was nowhere near as good as Pestilence. Both the book itself and the characters.)

War was first published in July of 2019, and is now being republished as of August 15, 2023 with a brand new cover! Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Miriam is NOT the wife of War, the second Horseman of the Apocalypse. She's never been married, much less to the supernatural entity that has been terrorizing her country and killing thousands of people with his armies of followers and the undead. And she's certainly not in love with him. Curse her soft heart.

I'd give this one a 3/5, or a five out of ten. It was too similar to the first in a lot of ways, but where Pestilence broke my heart multiple times over and left me sobbing half a dozen times, this book had me groaning and checking the page count. It was about 150-200 pages too long (e-book count) and retreaded too much of the same ground as the first novel. I'm especially not a fan of the reason that War surrenders and the constant usage of the term "wife." People told me to picture Jason Mamoa as War and that did not help me one bit and might have been detrimental to Jason's character.

Miriam felt like a flatter character than Sara, and War felt like way more of a douchebag even though Pestilence did far more horrendous and brutal things. I feel like the lack of other characters in this story hindered it a lot. Zara and Hussain were fine, I suppose. I just wasn't rooting for anyone in this story. Sure as shit wasn't rooting for humanity. This book boasts SEVERAL rape scenes, even if they are brief. The violence felt half as graphic as Pestilence, maybe because fighting and battle wounds just aren't as easy to make horrifying as death by disease.

There wasn't really plot. It was very character driven. I couldn't tell you the name of a specific city that was sacked/burned because they were all just scenes to break up the breakup moments. Could use more plot!!

Finally, Deimos the horse. No where near as iconic as Trixie Skillz, 4/10 for being a good boy all the same.

Overall, too similar to Pestilence but lacking the punch that that book delivered many times over. I am biased against War of the Horsemen coming in to this series because I think it's the most boring of the four, but I look forward to the next two installments.

The Facts: book 2, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, end of the world, morally grey MMC, dark romance, slow burn, undead army.

It's been a few years since Pestilence stopped his duties, and now War has arrived bringing battle and death where he goes. Miriam tries to stop him and takes down as much as his army as she can until he notices her and states that she is his wife.

This one is my fav so far out of this series! Their slow burn was so delicious, and my mind was going crazy for them to finally surrender to their love. This book was really easy to devour. A lot of the book was definitely brutal with the war and people constantly dying, and we do again have the same "is humanity worth saving?" conversation throughout the book that I love. War and Miriam were just perfect for one another, both bloodthirsty and fiery in their own right.

I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

War is the second instalment in this series and it delivered. This man can call me wife anytime - 💯 new book boyfriend.
Aside from the slow-burn romance, I enjoyed the FMC’s journey far better in this book. She was allowed to be more independent, therefore, there was more side plot to enjoy compared to Pestilence. If you liked book one then I think you will love book two. Bring on Famine next!
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

The tale of the second horseman takes us from North America to the East and Africa. In a lot of ways it is similar to Pestilence in that we have a horseman on a mission from God who finds and spares a woman and then love ensues leaving the horseman to reconsider what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Our female protagonist in War is Miriam who crafts weapons in her apartment and has lost all her family in the years before War finds her and claims her as his wife due to a scar on her neck. War's character development was probably the best in the book. He took in new information, analyzed it, and used his new understandings to make adjustments to his actions and beliefs. He definitely missteps and misunderstands along the way, but gets there in the end.
Miriam was a bit more frustrating as a character. She's hot and cold and and her actions are completely dictated by her emotions even though she makes a point a the beginning on the story to explains the rules she lives by (which she completely discards after coming to War's camp). She makes all kinds of terrible decisions when she could have spent another thirty seconds thinking things through and avoided herself a lot of trouble and heartache.

Probably my 2nd least liked books from these series. The content isn’t just giving as well as the characters. There’s also few things I find sketchy here.

War. Our second horseman. When he begins leading the world to the dystopian apocalypse, he meets Miriam, a weapon maker just trying to survive the inevitable demise of humanity. When War declares Miriam his wife, she is conflicted with surrendering to her caring husband or trying to save humanity by destroying him. There is a lot of emotional back and forth between Miriam and War and this emotional angst makes the story more compelling. Miriam falls for this reformed playboy and their love blossoms. The spice in this book is fantastic and the chemistry between these two is just so compelling, it makes the book a definite page turner.

These books feel like Apocalyptic Stockholm Syndrome romances to me. These young women end up captured by a horseman of the apocalypse for one reason or another, and beyond all reason other than they're walking thirst traps, fall for them. Then think that they can change them and end their reign of terror. There is a lot of back and forth banter with a few "holy balls" thrown in to accent how much of a thirst trap said horseman is, before giving in to their libidos and then hating themselves for giving in.

They're an okay read that scratches a specific itch. I didn't connect well with the author's writing style and the book felt a little redundant at times, repeating the same "stop killing people" fight for War to tell her no everytime. You get a glimpse at Death, the final horseman at the end of this book a well.

I liked this one a tiny bit more than the first book. I love some forced proximity, and these books deliver on that front.

I appreciate that the heroine was capable and had a strong personality. This one had a different take because War was convinced they were destined to be married. The zombies were a bit weird but understandable.

Honestly, this was about four stars across the board until the last part of the book. Unexpected pregnancy is one of my least favorite tropes, and overall I didn't love the last part of the book as much.

Intrigued to see how Death (Thanatos) is woven throughout the books.

But at the same time it's not super fun reading about merciless death of humanity for multiple books. Gets a but off putting.

Loved this book! This one was a lot better than Pestilence in my opinion. War just seemed so sexy and really intimidating. I loved the locations and set up that the book took place in. I would give this a 4.5 stars if I could only because I am not fond of a pregnancy trope and this had it towards the end of the book. I felt that the story could’ve ended before that, but other than that this was a fun book to read!

I enjoyed Pestilence, but man, I loved War. This book was such a fun change of pace and scenery from the first book. I loved War’s bravado and mercilessness and how it clashed with Miriam’s strength and determination. One of my favorite things about these books is watching these ethereal beings slowly become a little more human as they butt heads with their human women.

I especially loved Miriam’s tactic of bargaining her body and affections for War’s mercy. So, so sexy. My heart melted when War found out she was pregnant and was immediately infatuated and protective of her and their child. It was so satisfying to see him completely melt from a hardened warlord to a caring partner and father.

This series is unfolding beautifully. Though the general plot flow of inhuman Horseman meeting a human woman that changes his view on humanity has stayed basically consistent with the first book, the different settings, women, and Horsemen kept me engaged and excited to read more. This is certainly becoming one of my favorite fantasy series!

I really loved book one but book two is my favorite so far. Absolutely loved it, even though certain things might have been predictable (especially after book one) but i think these were necessary for the story as a whole.
Definitely a recommendation!