Really enjoyed this one. The entire concept of the four horsemen and the apocalypse was really interesting and very well done. I enjoyed the characters and the development of Pestilence. The pacing and journey of the plot was well done. It kept me intrigued the whole time and never lagged. I especially enjoyed the romance! I love all the books in this series, so fun!

How does one defeat Pestilence, one of the Four Horsemen responsible for bringing in the start of the apocalypse? How does one stop oneself from developing feelings for said horseman? Sara has to figure out the answers to both questions as she navigates a post-apocalyptic world.

Wow, this had me hooked! Absolutely solid fantasy romance and not the last I will read from Laura. Such an interested premise and characters that felt entirely authentic. The ending did have me scratching my head a bit, but I cannot wait to continue onto the next book.

“The horseman has learned how to feel. Nothing good can come of this. Nothing at all.”

This book was intense. I say that with love. It was absolutely different from anything I’ve ever read before. The first 30% I struggled continually vacillating between “I’m not going to be able to finish this... it’s to brutal..” and “WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!”
What happens next won.

It’s dark. It’s apocalyptic. It’s heart wrenching at moments. Is it Stockholm syndrome? Is it severe abuse? Wait- is it love? HOW? I don’t have answers to those questions. But what I do have to say is that the questions presented were mind blowing. I highlighted hundreds, yes HUNDREDS, of passages and could not put this book down.

I could not put it down. Pestilence and Sara were hard and beautiful and painful and emotional. It was violent and there were tears, but also, it was fulfilling in emotionality and depth. I’ve never had such mixed feelings about a “Hero”(Is he a Hero? I don’t know.) and heroine relationship. My chest ached again and again because it was just so hard.

Biblical truths and questions littered the pages. Things never considered. Absolute fiction but also... possibly truths? This story stretched me. It broke me. I read parts of it with a hand over my eyes like one watches a horror movie. And then, through all this darkness and pain, there are hints of the most beautiful romance... a romance for the ages. I don’t often succumb to “book hangovers”... “Pestilence” however... I know this is one I will be thinking of long after I’ve finished.

“You have managed what no one else has: you have awoken my heart. So, no, Sara, of all the words I would use to describe you, fascinating would definitely be one of them.”

Imagine a world in the not too distant future, where the creature comforts we have come to take for granted no longer function, and a grim disease spreads in the wake of a mysterious, indestructible Horseman named Pestilence. Running from the disease does almost nothing, and the fate of humanity rests upon the shoulders of that same Horseman.

An eerie parallel to the events of 2020 with the worldwide pandemic despite being published before those same events, PESTILENCE hits home in a strange way. The main protagonist Sara is someone I wish I would be in this kind of crisis, unflinching in the face of danger and willing to risk everything to stop the apocalypse. A word of caution, however; despite being a romance novel, death abounds, painting a very grim picture of this version of Earth's future. If you're not particularly sensitive to death as it relates to disease and want to witness the power of love in the face of destruction, then I recommend this book for you.

It was hard to go through the first chapters. I wasn't really liking Pestilence and I hated how he treated Sara. It's by the middle of the book that an elderly couple does the twist.
They don't fear Pestilence or try to kill him. They receive him in their home and talk with him. They accept their deaths and forgive the Horseman for the burden he carries.
It's only then that I stop to think and realise that I was reading expecting something of Pestilence instead of trying to understand him. I needed an open mind. I couldn't expect compassion from an horseman of the apocalypse that knows nothing besides his cause .

And then ... The human kid shows how cruel we are

SPOILER ⚠️

I cried when they crucified him and set him on fire. I cried when he begged for them to not hurt Sara.... Cause in thar moment, he cracked.

this book has so many messages. The power of words, sacrifice, feelings... I would say it's a strong book and it's perfect on its own way. ❤️

Enemies to lovers I think describes this succinctly. Poor Sarah is ready to sacrifice herself in order to kill Pestilence but it's such a shame that no one told her that he's immortal ! Oh he can suffer and really does but die not so much. What Pestilence can do though is take Sarah as his prisoner to punish and let her learn what it feels like to truly suffer. Too bad that Sarah isn't the sort to give up and it doesn't matter what gets thrown at her Sarah's compassion and resilience never falters.
This was a great start to this series with its complex hero , stubborn heroine and underlying message. We have wasted our resources so what would we do if the dreaded doomsday actually arrived ? This story had great pace with a romance that felt justified. You might start hating Pestilence but this author vindicates him and dare I suggest humanises him just a tad ? Definitely not an easy read at times but one I was eagerly turning the pages on.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This book was so far removed from my usual romcoms that I almost didn’t read it, but thank goodness I did! Once I started, I devoured it and I can’t wait to read about the other dastardly horsemen and their strong women. The world Ms Thalassa is creating is as exciting as it is troubling!

Thalassa does it again. I can’t believe I haven’t read Pestilence before now 😅

I think my absolute favourite part of any of Thalassa’s works is the banter-rich, witty and clever heroines she creates. They don’t need saving and boy do they make the hero’s job hard! 😂 Sara is no different. She has a smart mouth, puts others first and has so much courage and heart.

I loved the character growth in this. Pestilence is everything he should’ve been.

There were a few cringeworthy and super what-the-f**k moments. There were also suuuuuuuuuper long humans-are-bad monologues, and poetry quotes every other page, but aside from that the story was exciting enough to have me turning each page.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to review. Loving the new cover 🥳

Normally I’m not a fan of the female main character falling for her male captor but something about this story had me. Maybe it’s the fact that Pestilence started to redeem himself and change in a way. I liked this enough to continue the series.

A book about one of the four horseman was surprisingly spicy!

I know, I know this book is marketed as spicy but you have to give me a little bit of room for my skepticism when here. Pestilence doesn't really sound enticing but this book turned that idea on it's head.

Pestilence is a post-apocalyptic fantasy romance series starter that breathes some life into the old Four Horseman of the Apocalypse myths. In the story, the Four Horsemen descend on earth to cleanse it of ungrateful and sinful humanity; they arrive in semi-human form with their magical powers...what could possibly go wrong, amirite? We fast forward five years and the US & Canada have been decimated by a strange disease brought on by Pestilence. Pockets of humanity live on the fringes of existence attempting to evade disease. Sara, our female lead is one such human that belongs to the resistance attempt to kill Pestilence....except she fails miserably. But rather than kill her, Pestilence brings her along for the ride. Without going much further into the plot, expect a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance with gritty details about death. This is my second time reading Pestilence and I love the additional edits; initial writing is a little rough around the edges, but I enjoyed the story and that's what counts. Character development and world building in this first installment is solid and we all know that's my jam, There are some great gut-wrenching, heart-string-pulling moments in Pestilence; Laura knows how to get us with the feels here.

For those concerned, be advised there are grisly depictions of death and post apocalyptic war.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book for a voluntary review.

I'm obsessed. Pestilence is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance that actually does the enemies-to-lovers trope right.
Sara's living in a post-apocalyptic world where the four horsemen have come to wipe out humanity. When her community has the chance to take out Pestilence, the first horseman, Sara is picked for the almost certain death task. At first it looked like she succeeded, but she ended up just making him angry enough to take her prisoner to punish her. Over time they get to know each other and end up building a relationship together

A good book for those looking to read a romance first and foremost.
One that starts out with the MCs as enemies, and slowly turns into something more as 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 build between them. Set in a dystopian/post apocalyptic world.

The story definitely made me 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭! At different points, I felt shocked & appalled, incredibly sad, angry, touched by Pestilence's strong love for Sara, anxious and then relieved. Many times I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. Sometimes Sara thoughts and actions had me wanting to throttle her! Thankfully, she improves as the story continues.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic with the MCs being reunited and all being well. I didn't like how Pestilence would always be immortal and Sara would always be human. Their love had a time limit, one that would run out as Sara aged.

I'm interested in reading the next book, and have added it to my TBR list.
Please click on the link to read my extensive Goodreads' review.

I was so excited to see that this series is getting new covers and I can't wait to buy them for my shelves. I read this years ago when it first released, but was excited to read again under this new cover. This is such a unique paranormal romance. It is a bit taboo but I adore Laura Thalassa's writing!

This book is a post apocalyptic four horsemen story. If you like Stockholm syndrome fantasy books then this book could be for you!
Personally I struggled to get on board with this romance as I found it hard to believe she liked him when all he had going for him was his looks but maybe the prisoner story would appeal to others more.
This book was recommended to me by a friend for being unhinged and funny and she was right, its one of those books you enjoy and can read quickly but don't actually think is particularly amazing.

“For all your righteousness,” I say over my shoulder, “you really are a heartless bastard.”

I laughed.
I cried.
I loved.
I lost.


Good god this book made me feel every emotion under the sun, but I’m not sure how I feel now.

Pestilence is setting out what he was made to do. Sara is just another human fighting for her people.

“If I am such a monster,” Pestilence finally says, “then what does that make you, who have willingly fallen into my arms?”

“A fool,” I say, “but that’s nothing new.”

Can she make him see her way? Or will she be doomed to live her life suffering while her race dies?


My only complaint is that there’s a certain point in the book where her feelings become Stockholm ish and not necessarily love ish. However, the ending and reasoning and defining that is done by the author makes up for it in the end.


“It’s yours,” he says bitterly. “I may have laid claim to the world, but I’ve lost you, the only thing I ever really wanted.”

This is a great paranormal, apocalyptic story with a bit of romance. The plot is solid and the bit of spice adds to the story but isn't in your face.

Sara Burns is a firefighter. She helps people but Pestilence, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, is traveling the world spreading the fever. Millions are dying. As he comes toward Sara's Canadian town, every evacuates but her. She has a mission: kill Pestilence.

What follows is the tale of an immortal being and his human prisoner. Eventually they become more than capturer and prisoner. Pestilence has his eyes opened in more ways than one. Sara's journey is unexpected but can she still stop him from killing every human in the world?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review this book.

I realize that to you, reader, there won't feel like any real connection or parallels but at the time of writing this/receiving this ARC (hello from April), I've only just finished another indie-oldie-but-repackaged-as-trad title (also by Bloom/Sourcebooks!) and this makes for yet another on my existing TBR that I've been able to tackle this year because of the irresistibility of the Read Now option on NetGalley. And bonus, this was actually on one of my backlist TBR challenge lists specifically for 2023, unlike the other, so it's really a whole bunch of winning.

Sadly said winning doesn't really carry-over into the experience of the book but I guess we can't win them all.

So, listen, obviously no one made me read this, no one is to blame for all my disbelief over this, and there's definitely been weirder books I've not only read but enjoyed. But this one was a hard sell. And a human falling in love with the literal manifestation of plague is only half of that hard sell.

Mostly because.. Pestilence was kind of vanilla? Dull? I guess the goal was to make him somewhat of an innocent, a bystander in his task with no real motivation or hate beyond some general contempt for humanity but nothing personal (until it was), and we get to see him actually experience something of humanity throughout his time traveling from city to city (and breaking into a house each night.. yes, it's as repetitive as it sounds) with his captive, Sara. Who, sadly, was also pretty dull when she wasn't leaning into her quirks, I mean, the parts that made up her persona. Also here's where I express my frustration about her age because I would've believed in a somewhat hardened, but still compassionate, poetry-spouting firefighter who was in her thirties but.. twenty-one? Spare me.

Additionally, I'm sorry, but she should've been a whole hell of a lot more scared in the initial days. But no, there was some immediate checking out the plague-bringing-angelic-looking-hottie and very little sense in her brain. Though I'm rather impressed how long it took for them to, to quote the book, bone down. You'd think it was all the dead and decaying bodies surrounding them all the time but no, that was not an obstacle at all. Gross.

What I desperately wished for was a little more consideration towards hygiene. And though we had a surplus of bath scenes, where was the tooth brushing (also, yuck, they made out after she puked and I really thought Thalassa was going to try and get away with that but she did eventually acknowledge it.. but that was it. just a "guess he doesn't care" omg woman YOU should care). Where was the concern about her period whilst on the road for weeks and weeks? I think I've been spoiled by this because it's become so much more common to see these inclusions in post-apocalyptic and fantasy stories these days and so I really felt the lack here. It felt so purposely ignored, as if by not acknowledging it we might all just forget about these things. Which, sure, it's supposed to be romance, and a fantasy one at that, maybe I'm the only one distracted by the fact that she's likely foul of breath. Maybe that's why I wasn't into the steamies. But seriously, one offhand comment about stashing some toothpaste in a bag, or finding a tampon, would've solved all my problems.

Rant aside, the highlight of this read for me, beyond the uniqueness of the concept (I mean, I at least assume it's unique, I don't think I've seen this done before), were some of the discussions about religion, morality, and humanity; all of which I hope we get more of, as we (hopefully) learn more about the horsemen with each new arrival. And, well, watching Pestilence experience foods -- the early scenes where he just grabs weird combinations of condiments for her, assuming they were meals, were pretty funny. Less cute, but still of interest, was also the level of gore; Pestilence gets smoked quite a few times and the way he comes back.. well. I won't spoil it but it isn't sexy. But I liked that. Makes me interested to see how gnarly the next book will be because, well. War.

But also, with Pestilence being something of a (burnt) marshmallow, what will that make the rest of them? More like their namesakes or somehow contradictory? I'd also like to take this opportunity to request some older heroines. But now that I'm in it, even if it wasn't a win, I'm curious to read on.

I read this when it was first published but have now got a copy to keep and it has been renewed.
With the hindsight of reading the whole series this first book is a very poignant read and my perspective of Pestilence has changed from the first reading.
It is an extremely emotional book with all the twists and turns of the result of the arrival of the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
It is still a favourite read for me and I still felt the pull as I did originally so now need to reread the rest of those complex Horsemen