Pestilence by Laura Thalassa is one of the most captivating romances I’ve ever read. Moreover, the fact that it is a dark dystopian romance but somehow has me swooning more than I thought possible is the most fascinatingly unexpected feats & I stand in awe & bow to the author for creating this.

This is book #1 in The Four Horsemen series & now I am beyond curious to continue on with this series. Pestilence was recommended to me through one of the most compelling suggestions I’ve ever read & I am so glad I listened. This is like nothing I’ve ever read before & it was transfixing & enthralling.

Pestilence is the perfect read to fans of…
🖤Dark Romance
🖤Dystopian
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🖤Forbidden Romance

The way in which Pestilence speaks is an enchanting song that you can’t help but swoon over. In the midst of such darkness & horrors, the author magically is able to write such a beautiful love story that also somehow includes humor, angst & so much heart!

I’ve seen so much about this series & now I totally get why everyone is raving on about it. It’s truly a story for the ages.

If you are looking to be swooned & enraptured by a dark dystopian romance, I highly recommend reading Pestilence!


Massive thanks to NetGalley & Bloom Publishing for the gifted arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Love this story!

„Pestilence“ is the first book in Laura Thalassa's The Four Horsemen series and tells the story of the apocalyptic rider Pestilence and the human woman Sara.

As the Horsemen of the Apocalypse come to Earth to wreak havoc on humanity and decide whether they deserve to stay alive. There is nothing left of the modern world. To me, a post-apocslyptic world still exists without electricity and modern conveniences. Many people are trying to escape. The protagonist Sara drew the shortest straw and had to stay behind to try to stop and kill the Horseman of the Apocalypse. She fails in her plan and Pestilence takes her on his journey to drive humanity to death with disease and watch them suffer.

Although the plot is pretty simple, I really enjoyed the story of Pestilenece and Sara. The conversations between the two made me think from time to time and the development of Pestilence was great. Sara made it into my heart from the first page. She is not only incredibly brave, but also has a big heart and stands by dying people until their last breath.

“Pestilence” gets 4 out of 5 stars from me! Thank You to Blooms Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

thank you so much to Bloom Books & NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this amazing book, i am truly grateful.

he’s a 10 but he’s one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse who spreads plague ??? he’s still a 10 😌 12 even 😉

this book has been on my netgalley shelf since August, but i kept putting it off and i kind of regret it because this was actually so good !!!!!!!

there was something that Laura Thalassa did in this book that completely sucked me in, and held me captive until the very last page. and i must say, i was pleasantly surprised.

Sara was a strong female character and i absolutely adored her. and Pestilence was such a sweetheart. (i know calling him a sweetheart is odd, considering the fact that he is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse), but i meant what i said.

i loved the development of their relationship, how these two went from enemies to lovers was just so cute.
this book gave me all the feels — i was swooning, giggling, laughing, crying, and smiling so hard that my face hurt.

when he brought her to church the day after they had s€x 🥹😆 this man was something else i swear.

i really had a fantastic time reading this book, and i’m so excited to see if the other books are going to top this one 😉

I knew going into this book that it was going to be interesting. However, this was too much out of my wheelhouse. I have read other books by Laura Thalassa and I loved it. This one was a no-go for me. I might try other ones in this series but this one was too dark and Sara was an odd one.

Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC. All the above opinions are my own in exchange for a copy.

Dnf’ed after about 20%. I couldn’t read anymore of the torture the male love interest was putting the main character through and then watch her fall in love with him.
The writing was very thrilling, I was easily sucked into the story but I just couldn’t stand the relationship, it really romanticises torture and pain. That is not for me.

I world like to thank Netgalley for this Arc.

I didn’t like this book. At all. It was very difficult to go through all of it.
The FMC, tries to kill one of the four horsemen, and gets caught. But the worst part is that she gets tortured and she still think how hot he is. Also, I could not stand him. Torture and then fall in love. Nope.
But the cover is stunning!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I am confuse about this book. I like it but I don't feel I should have enjoyed it this much. It's quite crude. I knew it was an enemies to lovers situation... but these mortal enemies are really mortal. I thought about DNFing it but I really wanted to see how it ends. And I'm grateful I continue on. This love story will make you laugh, cry, want to kick something, but, more than anything, it makes you feel. Not every author can do that. That's why I would love to read this series until the end.

5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloom Books and Laura Thalassa for this ARC of "Pestilence", the first book in the Four Horsemen Series in exchange for an honest review!

This book is definitely one of my favorites

The end if the world is here and Sara Burn will not go down without a fight. After having attempted to kill Pestilence she is taken as a prisoner as punishment, forced to watch everyone around her die while she survives.

However sparks fly as they travel, and well, spice.

Enemies to Lovers
Strong Main Character
Otherworldly Love Intrest
The Apocalypse
Spice

What's there not to like?

Sara Burns attempts to defy fate by shooting the immortal horseman, Pestilence. However, her plan backfires as Pestilence takes her captive. Amidst their struggle, uncertain feelings brew between them. To save the world, Sara must grapple with her emotions, knowing she might have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

.Enemies to lovers
.Apocalyptic
.Only one bed (and tent?)
.Hurt/comfort
.Virgin MMC

This book served up an apocalypse with a side of drama. A world falling apart, morally grey characters, and enemies reluctantly turning lovers? Count me in. The romance, nothing groundbreaking, mind you, but it keeps a good pace and the story flows without ever being dragged out.

Our main man, Pestilence, takes a crash course in humanity, stirring up some serious debates about good, evil, immortality, and what it means to be human. Personally, I craved a bit more brainy banter, a theological showdown, if you will. It would've added some much-needed depth, making our leading lady's choices a tad more sensible. Cause yeah, I’m a nerd that likes reading romance, so I need a bit of substance in them and I’m always eager to learn more.

In the end, this book does its job, it keeps you entertained, setting the stage for the rest of the series. Which I will definitely read in the future!

(This review will be shared on Instagram @Beco_books)

I've had this book on my TBR for FOREVER - what was I thinking?! Super unique story with super interesting characters, and some of the irreverent humor that I just love from Laura Thalassa. If you are like me and have been putting this series off - STOP THAT and read immediately, you won't regret it.

When the first of the Four Horsemen of the apocalypses arrived on Earth, the world was thrown into chaos. Technology failed and a deadly plague began to spread, courtesy of Pestilence, the lone rider sent by God to punish humanity. In a last stand outside of her abandoned post, Sara Burns attempts to kill Pestilence, but ends up being taken prisoner by him instead. While Sara expects him to kill her, he ends up keeping her alive to punish her. As Pestilence learns about the limits of human suffering and sees her compassion through Sara, however, he starts to feel differently towards her. And as Sara sees Pestilence struggle with her purpose, she questions whether he is really her enemy.

I loved that this is a true enemies to lovers story - both characters literally try to kill each other before they fall for each other. Pestilence is so adorably clueless about human nature - he's some kind of angel/messenger of God entity and basically acts like an alien most of the time. Sara is the kind of stubborn and snarky FMC that I LOVE in Laura's books. It (understandably) takes her a LONG time to warm up to Pestilence, but in the context of the story, all of her reluctance to fall for him actually makes a lot of sense. She's compassionate, caring, and strong - and her funny quips kept things light throughout this really dark story.

I've read A LOT of fantasy, and I've never read anything quite like this story. It's kind of part urban fantasy/part dystopian world, and who would have thought to have a girl fall in love with a guy who is trying to kill all of humanity with a plague?! And I'm so intrigued now about the other horsemen... so I guess I'll be reading the rest! I think War is up next, so expect a review (somewhat, I'm busy) soon!

This was the first fantasy I ever read. This type of book was so new to me. I loved that there wasn't a lot of world-building it almost felt like dystopian. Pestilence was definitely a complicated character to love but at the same time, I was obsessed with him. A lot of aspects felt real and that is what made it easy for me to read. I would totally recommend this book if you are getting into fantasy! The female main character, Sara, was so strong. I could not have done half of the things she did. It must be hard falling for the enemy while still respecting your morals. This love story felt so forbidden but so right. I was cheering for them but knew they shouldn't be together. This story definitely kept me on my toes. I didn't want to put it down. I will continue this series for sure! Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for an ARC of this book.

Loved the premise of this but it was very poorly executed. The dialogue between characters was cringe. The relationship made me very uncomfortable. Pestilence was quite child like and the thought of Sara seducing him, just gave me the ick.

A 3.5 stars read.

Since I read Bewitched by this author and really enjoy it, I'm intrigued with this author's popular series. So I'm starting with this book, it's not as good as bewitched, but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

What I like:
- It's romance with a mix of enemies to lovers and toxic relationship, a bit stockholm syndrome too. I know it's messy but hey I like it.
- Pestilence, well he's one of four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity, need I say more?
- All the feelings, some parts got me teary (loveee those touching moments), some got me flinch with the brutality and how people can treated others like that, and some got me smiling.

What I don't like:
- lots of cringe moments.
- the ending, those last few chapters in the end, it's like pestilence is not pestilence that I like from the beginning, it's like he's getting weak, not my fav ending
- repetitive

Recommended: yes, if you're looking romance fantasy. It's a fun fast-paced adult romance fantasy.

Very unique premise for a book. Really my only gripe with this novel is that the main character, Sara, is kind of annoying. She's fine for the most part but then she says something very cringy. I also think there were a couple parts that weren't necessary and could have made the book a bit shorter. Overall though a good read.



Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

“Pestilence” by Laura Thalassa

Pestilence, the first of the four horsemen descends upon humanity, bringing a devastating plague to all within his radius. These four horsemen are called to Earth with a divine mission: to rectify the wrongs and restore the balance of justice that humans have disrupted.

Sara Burns is determined to save her town and family by killing Pestilence, but she soon discovers that Pestilence cannot be killed. Instead, he takes Sara as his prisoner with the intent to “make her suffer”. However, as Pestilence becomes intimately involved with a human, he starts to develop a deeper understanding of humanity itself. Will Sara's presence be enough to make Pestilence question his divine mission and potentially spare humanity?

I loved this book so much. It was so grotesque and not in the way that many fantasy romances these days are where you fall in love with the male interest and ignore all their faults. Throughout the story, I found myself wrestling with my feelings towards Pestilence, refusing to excuse his terrible deeds but really wanting to. Even the romance was not enough to make me want to see through his actions, which made the book so much more real than other fantasy romances. I was completely torn with what I wished Sara would do during the entire book and even when there was love, it was so muddled in trauma and horror.

"Pestilence" by Laura Thalassa is a truly unique series. It is a 5 out of 5 stars read for me, it challenged the conventional norms of fantasy romance. In a world where the characters' faults are not sugar-coated, it ended up being unforgettable.

This book practically has it all. The big bad villain, who is actually a cinnamon roll. The beautiful heroine, who will actually kill you. It has snarky commentary, it has smut even if it is a little Stockholm syndrome like.

I mean, Pestilence rolls into town hellbent on reeking havoc just for shits and giggles. Giving everyone he meets boils and the plague. Just being an all around dick. Someone has to stop him right. Someone has to bring an end to the misery...

So we send Sara, a badass female firefighter who just so happened to draw the short straw to kick Pestilence's ass. And kick it she does. Female rage and all that jazz.

Now let's dive a little deeper into this story. Because something deeper is going on. Or maybe I think too much into stuff who knows. But, Pestilence didn't ride into town guns blazing "YOU GET A BOIL! YOU GOT THE PLAGUE! EVERYBODY GETTING SOMETHING TONIGHT!" all Oprah like. It's like he was told, no ordered to come down and wipe out man kind.

Which is why his falling in love with Sara was so significant, making his redemption arc so much more beautiful. Because in the end. his falling in love with a human proves that we are all worth saving in the end.

I read all 4 books and they're worth it. Pestilence is by far my favorite of the four, but they all were fantastic. Him and Sara.... woooooooweeeeee. Truly almost started looking for my own Pestilence. Her writing was sublime. I wasn't expecting to like this, because I didn't really take to the Bargainer series, but I was pleasantly surprised.

[This review is given voluntarily, as I was provided this ARC for free].

I was so blessed to received the complete Four Horsemen Series to review to my review will be a little lengthy as it will try to all encompass all 4 books. First and foremost thank you to the publisher for allowing me access to these amazing books. I absolutely love the redesigned "discreet" covers. They are sexy in their own right without outwardly knowing that you're having a romp with the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.

Book #1: Pestilence
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Listen... When I tell you I ran thru this book. RAN through it. Pestilence is just a sweet little plague Daddy. Although he brings a slow and torturous death to humans, he is somewhat troubled and dare I say, innocent. The world-building could be more developed, the plot sometimes is a little repetitive (I mean he has to ride through the world spreading plague and Sara wants to stop him). I love that he falls first for her. That troupe is a winner in my book. Of course we read these books for the smut, which could bring more to the table but all around I love that he experiences sex with Sara for the first time etc etc. I just overall enjoy this book!

This kicks off one of the best apocalyptic romances ever. Sweet, painful, and engaging, this story has captured me time and time again.