Member Reviews
An amazing conclusion to the series. We've been working up to this finale from the very first book. I couldn't figure out what Death's plan was this entire time. This was my most anticipated book in the series and it didn't disappoint. I love how Lazarus factored in.
Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
I’ve pretty much inhaled this entire series and will definitely be checking out other books by Laura Thalassa. She’s got herself a new fan.
Death’s transformation made for the most enjoyable one! I was very entertained with his and Lazarus’ many encounters and battles and how each still found their way to each other. I really liked how the author wrapped the series in this conclusion. It made the journey worth investing in!
After the ending of Famine, I needed Death so badly.
I would say Death, got what he deserved by falling in love with Laz. In all the books, he was so against his brother's partners, and he got one that is worst of them all of them combined, in a good way. There's not much that can be said without spoiling the book, but, Death turned out to be a romantic after all he did.
Laz can't die, she is Life. Death even tried to take her, but his powers didn't affect her. She defies him at every turn, she even kidnaps him at one point. Theirs was a true enemies-to-lovers story. I love Lazarus, she is probably my favorite female main character of the series
A lot of it was almost exactly the same as the previous three books, but we got a very satisfying ending for the overall plot of the series and for all the couples in this book, but Famine is still my favorite, followed by Pestilence, but we get to see all the brothers reunited and get a little bit of their futures on Earth. Laura did a fantastic job finishing The Four Horsemen.
Death is the final book of The Four Horsemen series, it is the wrap up to a series that spans about 20 years since Pestilence first arrived. The premise of the series is that the apocalypse is neigh and each one of our horsemen come to earth to bring about the end of days and learn what it is to be human. Each horseman has a women destined for him, who can teach him what humanity is and change him mind/purpose. I like the overall concept of these stories but be sure that they may seem like there is a bit of Stockholm syndrome happening and each of the horseman is a mass murderer for god so...not necessarily good guys in the beginning.
Lazarus is Death's destined women. She rises from the ashes literally, she is probably the one and only person on earth Death can't kill, no matter how she is hurt, she rises again. She confuses Death, he is drawn to her in ways he can't explain and he wants her with him, he also want to kill her and can't, so it is confusing. To Thanatos, a.k.a. Death, dying is not a bad thing you leave this world and go to the afterlife, it is not something to fear or run away from it is just a new beginning. But no one else sees it like that and the entire cities destroyed in his wake only feel like collateral damage to Lazarus.
Lazarus lost her entire family when Thanatos visited her city. She will stalk him and try to at least slow him down for a time between cities so they can evacuate. If that means putting arrows into him so he is dead for a little while so be it. In fighting him, she learns more about him than she wants to and starts to understand this brooding fallen angel and his singular focus. They are opposites and so the magnetic pull between them is palpable.
“Yes, but life and death are lovers, kismet. They always choose each other in the end.”
Death's three brothers also make an appearance as they too want to stop Death from destroying the world they have all come to love. I really enjoyed seeing Pestilence again now human and older, softer after living among the mortals as one for the last twenty years. War is also mortal and aging. You could see that they were enjoying this mortal life they picked and would do anything to protect it even if it means fighting their brother. Famine is the only horseman still with him immortality and he fiercely protects his other brothers in this fight. They have a plan though. Convince Lazarus to seduce Death, to stop trying to kill him and convert him to enjoying mortality like the women fated to them had. Do that and she alone can save the world.
I enjoyed Death and the wrap up of the series. I do think it could have done with a little streamlining as some of it seemed a bit repetitive and there was an entire plot concept that seemed like it could have been tossed out. That said I did enjoy Lazarus and her never quit attitude when it came to killing or seducing Thanatos. Death himself, well he was a little blah to me overall. He is very much alone in the world, being alive longer than his brothers and he just seemed sad overall. I think there were some opportunities missed with his character that could have made him more dynamic.
A good wrap up to a series though and I really liked the epilogue that showed even horsemen of the apocalypse can go to heaven. It was well written and beautiful. If you enjoy anti-heroes and women with some magical seduction skills then this will be a good series for you.
***I know he feels our newfound romance is fragile, and he probably wants to do everything he can to not mess it up -- which would include hiding bodies.
Ah, horseman chivalry. What a concept. ***
Wow, what a conclusion to this series! Each book had moments where I had to stare off into the abyss for a while, and Death was no different. As sort of messed up as the beginning of Laz and Thanatos' relationship was, it still made me laugh. 🙈 There were twists and turns that I did not expect and the epilogue wrapped the whole series up in a way I also did not anticipate. Another great story from Laura!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥
Epic. No other word can adequately capture the absolute vibe of this book.
Lazarus has defied Death's power from the moment the Horseman has come to her town and inflicts his power among its people. Now the one soul that Death cannot seem to usher into the afterlife is hunting him, doing what she can to stop him from carrying out his God-given task to other towns and cities. Their every interaction is like a weird apocalyptic dating game; they learn more about each other with every meeting, every fight.
When his three brothers strike a deal with Laz to put an end to Death's mission, she willingly allows herself to be captured. She attempts to use her charms to keep him distracted, making sure that her own feelings stay far, far away from her most important task. But somehow Death's efforts to woo her -- as unconventional as they are -- might be more effective than she had anticipated.
One of my most favorite romance tropes is the type of enemies-to-lovers where the main characters are opposites in every way yet still make sense. In this case, Death and Lazarus have diametrically opposing goals when it comes to the world, yet every moment they share lends a delicious sense of intimacy and connection. How does one fall in love when Death is literally knocking on everyone's door? Laura Thalassa makes a fantastic case in this read, punctuating the love story with epic moments filled with action and suspense. And who knew that Death has a perfect mix of innocence and determination when it comes to the spicy moments?
The twist and turns we take on this ride are a-plenty and can be overwhelming, but I love that they are threads that slowly come together to form a story that will sit with me for a long time.
This book can be read as a standalone, but it pulls together a lot of the themes and subplots from the first three books in the series. I cannot recommend enough how much you should read all four in order to get the full experience of this epic tale.
** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Laura Thalassa, Bloom Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **
Each book in this series has totally engulfed me but by the time I reached this one, it all kicked into overdrive. Death wasn’t messing around and his back and forth with Lazarus was at first intense misery as they battled each other before slowly morphing into beautiful agony as her feelings began to change. And yet Death was still bound by his mission.
I liked how the previous horsemen played a role in the steps that Lazarus took. She was the perfect counterpoint to Death and the very thing he needed to learn about life. His fall into humanity was excruciating at times as this story kept my emotions running high. I would have never thought I would root for a hero that was the opposite of life and love to the extent he was and yet he had a way about him that had me falling for him. He was a bit naive and actually had a romantic heart at times.
Overall, this series was definitely one of the top series I’ve ever read. I loved the very nature of the storyline, the fact that these are heroes that I would never expect to cheer for and should probably never gain redemption. And yet here I am. Happy, content and a bit sad that it’s all over. So glad I chose to dive in.
4.5 ⭐️
A great ending to the series!! I really enjoyed the heroine in this one- she is definitely my favorite of the series. I also loved the fact that the rest of the horsemen showed up, that was one thing missing from the other books for me. Death wasn’t my favorite of the horsemen, but he was still a great hero.
This series overall was a bit repetitive in terms of pacing (meet->long journey-> love me and spare the world or lose me) but there was enough variation that I thoroughly enjoyed them all.
Thank you to Laura Thalassa and SOURCEBOOK Bloom Books for this ARC.
I'm so sad this is the end of this series. Death was everything I wanted it to be and more. The whole series has been phenomenal. I highly recommend this series.
If you like powerful extremely morally grey men and you like the "touch her and you'll die" trope ... then this series is definitely for you!
Here are some of my thoughts while reading this book:
Awwe. He calls her Kismet.
Her name is Lazarus. Love it.
I love that it's a culmination of everyone adn that the 3 horsemen made an appearance.
This book made me fall inlove with Pestilence again. That unspoken forgiveness between him and Lazarus was so beautiful.
When Thanatos tried human food. Too cute.
"Devil's woman!"
Death making her laugh. It's just so adorable.
Okay, I'll stop now. On to my proper review.
This series in its entirety surprised me. I feel like this is the best book of the series just because we get a glimpse of all the four horsemen which I really loved. I never thought I was gonna love this series as much as I do. The concept of having the four horsemen come to earth and be met with these powerful women. This was such an amazing conclusion to the series and obviously Thanatos is one of my favorites. The ending was the perfect closure to this amazing journey. I can't wait to pick up more of Laura's books! I'm so glad I requested for this series and thanks to Netgalley and Bloom for gifting me with this copy. So glad I fell inlove with the cover and risked requesting for a series on netgalley. This is the first series that I reviewed here on Netgalley as well.
Thank you Sourcebooks/Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC!
What a way to round out this series! I love the four horsemen and the heroines of this universe! Enemies to lovers is always exciting because the tension is so high, and this did not disappoint. Romantasy at its finest with this series!
Laura did her thing with this one….. having knowledge of the four horsemen from the Bible, and what this author did in these books was amazing. It’s like each book kept getting better and better. It’s a slow burn but totally worth it, trust me!!! Thanatos is more human-like than we thought, he meets Lazarus and it’s like a cat and mouse game between these two, I loved it. One thing I will say, this book made me very emotional, from beginning to end, I had to catch myself because my goodness!! And the end!!!! Oh goodness just make sure you have tissues, because the Brothers are coming together to save mankind and all that good stuff…. Loved this book…..
Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Ms. Thalassa for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.
Ms. Thalassa hit it home with this one. Was it perfect? No. It dragged in the middle, and the beginning was formulaic. But it was pretty darn good. This is the first one that made me tear up - Ben!!!!!!! (it's those mom hormones I swear). And Death, I would suppose, is a pretty hard final act to get right. Kudos to Ms. Thalassa, because it was great.
I've seen plenty of synopses so I won't recap. Suffice to say, Death learned that he cannot (as one of the other horseman tells him) have his cake and eat it too. I was really interested to see how Ms. Thalassa would resolve that conundrum and she pulled it off superbly. Why did I wait so long to read this?!
Recommending this - highly - to readers of supernatural/dark fantasy romance who want something different from the usual stuff. Now I need to restart the Bargainer series. ❤
⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
4.5 stars rounded up (Famine and his sarcasm earned the .5 stars all on his own.)
"Life is far more than suffering. Why do you think we all cling to it so desperately?"
I am Death. An end to all beginnings, a beginning to all ends. I am the one who can take the living, and raise the dead. The one who can resurrect souls.
Talk about your moody broody death boi.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting to like Death's book so much? I got really used to the banter and sarcasm that we got with Famine's book, and I wanted more of that. And after the way that Famine's book ended???? I was not ready to give Death any sort of leeway, or forgiveness. (That's a lie, and we all know it, but lets pretend I was going to be stone cold okay?)
BUUUUUUUT mister lord of the dead, dying, all that really tugged on the old heartstrings and changed my mind.
Out of all the Horsemen, I think Death had the softest heart to begin with. The other three Horsemen were basically your classic immortal: Humans are the worst, blah blah blah. They don't deserve to live, blah blah blah. But Death? Even from the beginning he was *very* upfront about how he took no joy in what he was doing, but that's just what his calling was.
And I mean if you think about it, life's gotta be hard if everyone you come near always dies. How're you supposed to make friends??? *cue Lonely by Akon*
Anywayyyyy. Death is my lil skull baby. Love him to pieces. And Lazarus??? I mean how can you not be obsessed with a girl with that name who literally cannot die??? And being Death's fated lover on top of that???? The vibes are IMMACULATE.
(view spoiler)
And with that, I will leave you with my very rambled, caffeine fueled thoughts on the finale to The Four Horsemen.
"A single person can change your life. As a human, you can love deeply enough to doom humanity - or redeem it."
Death was originally published in November of 2021 and is now being republished with a brand new cover as of today, August 15th, 2023! Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions 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!
Pestilence, War, and Famine have given up their missions for marriage and family and it's left to Death to determine the fate of the world. It's a lonely existence that holds no joy but he's determined, until he meets the one woman who threatens failure. Lazarus lost her birth family when Pestilence came to earth and should have died herself. Now Death has come to her town and killed everyone she knows. He's fascinated by the only human he can't kill and it becomes a game of cat and mouse as she tries to stay ahead of him and warn towns of his arrival. Until his brothers come up with a plan... she may be the only hope for humanity if she can get close enough to Death to make him fall in love like they did and give up his mission.
I think Thanatos, while the most complicated and determined of the horsemen, was also the most compassionate and kind character. I love how Lazarus forced him to look at humanity in a different light but also accepted him for the things he couldn't change. I'm sad to see the world of the horsemen is over but I really enjoyed each book in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Slow burn. Dark romance. I struggled with this one as well. Pestilence was the best in the series for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC! I don’t even know where to begin! This book was absolutely amazing. It was the perfect ending for a perfect series. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about this book because of the way the book 3 ended but when I was reading this book, I could not stop. Both of the main characters were incredibly interesting and the dynamic between them was perfect. I absolutely loved the ending of the book and think it did the series incredible justice. Not once did I feel like anything was rushed, and I honestly was so sad when it ended. It was such an amazing book!
I loved Death the most out of all 4 MMC in the series! He was such a cute little squish for his lady!! I don’t want to say too much to avoid spoilers for this book or the others! If you like enemies to lovers, PROTECTIVE males, spice and slow burn I’d give this series a try! I think at first there was a good push and pull for them and then after they finally got together physically, I feel the plot kinda took a bad seat. I swear all they did was have sex😂 I’m not one to hate on smut but I was loving the book before and then it just kinda lost its touch.