To be honest, I was not sure what to expect when it came to a romance with one of the four horseman of the apocalypse but I was not disappointed.

Thank you so much for an opportunity to read and review this story.

Our story takes place during the start of the apocalypse, the four horseman arrived and the world’s way of life was destroyed. While, they disappeared for five years, Pestilence arrived to start his “ task” and when a brave young woman attempts to kill him , she has no idea where her story will go next or if she will survive to tell the tale.

I liked the romance between the Pestilence and Sara ,however I am not going to pretend like there were not a hundred red flags to ignore in order to enjoy it. The pace and build of their relationship is also gradual and I liked that aspect as well. Watching them learn and grow to understand each other.

I like the way death was talked about. There were a lot of different feelings and opinions. Some good and some bad but all valid opinions. I liked how the author went about discussing religion as well and the background of Pestilence and his brothers, also the concept and idea of “ God”. I am not religious myself but just like any mythology , interesting stories can be made from it.

Overall I would not say this is a relaxing read, for a pretty spicy romance novel, it touches on a lot of really tough topics. It is also very depressing. Pestilence spreads plague so there is a lot of death and mourning. Also many scenes of violent vengeance. With that said, there was a lot of enjoyable and beautiful scenes mixed in. Definitely worth reading if you are looking for your next fantasy romance.

I loved this book so much. It was such an incredible journey. I will 100 reccomend this book to anyone who reads dark romance with a touch of pain. Thank you so much for this arc

Pestilence was an interesting and different read. It's an enemies-to-lovers romance with a heavy dark side that may not appeal to all readers, but I have no triggers and will read anything, so nothing in the content bothered me personally, although it was a bit of a tearjerker at times! Sara as a character felt a touch juvenile for her stated age on occasion, but other than that she was a refreshingly blunt narrator with a distinct voice, and the prose was easy, quick reading. This first book left me wondering how the other horsemen will be, especially Death, who made an intriguing cameo in this volume, so I potentially would read on in the series if the opportunity to do so arises. I would give this book 3.5 stars.

Ok um I didn't expect to enjoy this book so much, it was a lot of slow burn fun reading it. Based on the past crimes of Pestilence, I pretty much expected to hate him throughout, but the author has done such a compelling and good job of writing Sara's journey towards understanding and forgiving him, whilst also using her love to bring out his humanity and save the world (whatever is left anyway :'( ). I loved their banter, and the narration was written so well. I am very much looking forward to reading book 2!

--- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so addicting and I was fully immersed in the world of The Four Horsemen.

I devoured this! Pestilence was the first book I’ve read by Laura Thalassa and it certainly won’t be the last. The writing was so enthralling and the pacing felt pretty even throughout the story. She managed to make an alternate version of our own world feel so foreign and intimidating.

This book ended up being darker than I thought it would be, but it was a welcome surprise. Fair warning, it gets pretty dark and quite graphic right from the start and the relationship between Sara and Pestilence is very much an uphill battle. You will probably hate everyone and everything before you end up loving them, but that just makes the payoff all the better!

Sara has got to be one of my favorite FMCs. She’s strong, determined, funny, and sarcastic. She’s the perfect foil to Pestilence, who is very much a fish out of water when it comes to humans. He’s stoic and committed to his duty that he sees as the appropriate punishment for the misdeeds of humanity.

Along their journey, the two experience the extreme ends of good and bad at the hands of humans and must lean on one another for support. As their personalities clash less and less, our protagonists realize that the feelings simmering between them might not be hate. Is one woman enough to stop a horseman of the apocalypse? Is love a justifiable reason to forsake a divine order?

The ending of this book brings everything full circle and leaves it open for the next book, War. I am so excited to meet our new main characters and see what happens next!

uhm… it was nothing for me.

the genre is not my fave… dunno why i decided to read it tho.

hope u like it more than me

This book was a bit too dark for me. It was hard to relate to a hero who was responsible for killing humans. And the overlying themes of christianity were meant to explain it. I couldn't get over how horrible the heroine was treated in the beginning

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I read this book in one sitting! Now I can’t wait to read the rest!

I have recently discovered Laura Thalassa and now I will read anything she writes! I absolutely love the new covers for these books too.

Dark fantasy perfection

This is Pestilence, the first book in the Four Horsemen series - Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. This story is filled with carefully crafted, meticulously planned and expertly delivered words but the characters breathed into life, images painted, feelings evoked, and epiphanies delivered make this so much more than a simple dark fantasy. It is storytelling perfection. Pestilence is a horseman of the apocalypse and as such, is not a very likable character. No one is going to feel like cuddling Pestilence especially at the beginning of the book. Sara is also not a typical damsel in distress. She is a capable strong firefighter who chooses to kill Pestilence to save the rest of humanity even knowing her death will also be the result. Of course, Pestilence is immortal and when Sara’s murder attempt does not work, he decides to make Sara suffer as she allowed him to suffer. This is not a flowery love story chock full of sunshine and rainbows. It is at time dark and harsh. But despite being a dark fantasy, there is also light here, goodness, hope, and love. On their way to finding love with each other, Pestilence and Sara also try to deal with their own issues without magically making them vanish. The storyline is told through tender moments, mundane life snippets, death, violence, steamy scenes, chuckles, painful pasts, and poetry. It also gives you all the feels - horror, anger, love, sadness, resignation, joy, and annoyance. Underlying the main storyline is thought provoking realism about the effect humans are having on the world and each other - actions which lead to the arrival of the Horsemen. I am excited to continue reading the stories of the other horsemen.

I really enjoy the way Laura Thalassa write stories, it did everything that I was looking for from the description. The characters were what I was looking for in this universe. It had a great story going on and I enjoy going on this journey. I'm excited to read where this series will go next.

"He’s killed humans with those weapons, and he’ll kill more with them in the future, and the world is fucked to hell because he can’t die, and short of death, he won’t stop the killing. So much for ending him."

It’s not every day I reread a book. In fact, it’s been many years. Sure, I’ll skim through favorite scenes of reads, but to read the same book from front to back twice? Unheard of! I went so many years without leisurely reading, that I don’t have time for rereads. After this second go at Pestilence, I think I need to change my mindset.

When the opportunity came up to reread Pestilence for NetGalley, I jumped on it. No hesitation. No concern about taking time away from new reads because I needed it in my life again. This is one of my favorite reads of all time. I am so happy I received the opportunity to review it— I didn’t realize how much I missed this world until I stepped back into this dystopian romance.

Pestilence still makes me swoon. Whew!


》Sara《

Gorgeous, strong, vulnerable Sara— my love for her is forever. She is so valiant in her efforts to seek redemption for the world— to see it, an effort that turns to wanting to save Pestilence from his prejudice and narrow-mindedness. She sees the ugly but also the beauty, she sees what is worth saving. I adore her completely. I also looove being in her POV! Her one-liners had me cackling! A total delight.

》Pestilence《

Oh Pestilence, my beloved. Who he is at the beginning of the tale is a being with one purpose, one mission. To eradicate humans who have failed one another, who have failed their home. He sees nothing more than the incapability of change, but it’s change that he gets to know quite intimately. His arc is beautiful to see unfold.


》The Romance《

Sublime. The romance is sublime. There is so much anger, hurt, bitterness, and hate at the beginning of their relationship. They see only the worst in one another, but slowly humanity slips in. Even in the most otherworldly, immortal being. Sara human heart gives way to feelings of pain and loss, but also love and hope. Her heart opens to Pestilence, even against what she’d consider her better judgement. He’s a harder code to crack, at times as indecipherable has the holy tattoos upon his flesh. But his prejudice again humanity is questioned upon seeing Sara— upon knowing her. From her he learns not just about lust— but about love. Above all, about love.

Their slow burn romance is everything.


》To the Victor《

This entry in The Four Horsemen series easily tops my favorite. I enjoy all four books, but this is the one of my heart. Pestilence and Sara can hold me captive anytime, I’m theirs, and they’re my favorite forever.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an arc copy of this book with a new cover design, and I’m feeling exceptionally lucky to be gifted this because it is GORGEOUS. Y’all see that picture ⬆️?! Gorgeous. Not that the previous cover was anything to scoff at, honestly, that’s why I read the book the first time around!

I started this book right before I took a late vacation last October. Four days laying on the beach in PCB and I finished the entire series! Pestilence remained my favorite of the series overall. The fmc of this book, Sara Burns, is a serious firecracker. Before the Four Horsemen arrived on Earth she was already working as a firefighter, battling forest fires and saving lives. As one of four firefighters without families she stays to help evacuate her town before Pestilence rides through with the Fever. When it is only her and 3 other firefighters left, they draw matches for who will stay behind and attempt to kill Pestilence. Sara pulls the burnt match, and her real battle begins. I don’t want to ruin the book by telling you Sara’s plan, but let’s just say it doesn’t work out how she intends. Instead she ends up forced to travel alongside of Pestilence, will she develop the Fever that he spreads? Or will something else develop and end up saving them both?

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa
This is the 2nd time I've read this book. I received an ARC from NetGalley for the rerelease.

I really enjoyed this whole series and this first book Pestilence. So many interesting questions.
Can humanity redeem itself?
What makes someone good?
How do we get back in community with each other?
Is God really listening? Involved? Condemning us?

Pestilence has a lot of troubling themes, scenes, action sequences, but to be honest they didn't bother me. I'm not sure why. Is it because Pestilence changes over time? Have I read so many things that this story was not shocking? Who Knows!

I enjoyed it! I look forward to the rerelease of the other books in the series!

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoy dystopian romance, so I was really excited to start reading this book! I hadn’t read any books that utilized the Four Horsemen, so that was a unique aspect to this book for me. It was a good read!

This book was so so good. Laura Thalassa has written an enemies to lovers story that is both dark and beautiful. This is not your typical romance. I would call it dystopian or light fantasy. There’s not a ton of world building but I also feel it isn’t needed. I can see some people having a hard time with the concepts in this book but when I tell you it’s worth it. It’s so worth it. The way this book handles the very hard subjects of religion and death while still being a love story is still something I can’t wrap my head around. There is depth to these characters and I really enjoyed their witty and thought provoking conversations. When I found out this series was complete I immediately bought them all.

I love this book and I love this series. Laura Thalassa is one of my auto buy authors!

The plot: We follow Sarah, who is a firefighter, as she attempts to kill the first horseman Pestilence. She quickly finds out he is unkillable. He takes her hostage to pay her back for trying to kill him. Thus starts their journey across America so that Pestilence can spread his plague.

Things I like: This is truly an enemies to lovers story. Sarah tries to kill Pestilence the first time she sees him in a pretty painful way. Pestilence then ties her to his horse and essentially tortures her. I’ve seen some criticism towards this aspect but here’s the thing: Pestilence is quite literally a force of nature. He hasn’t had a human form before he came to earth to end it. And he’s seen nothing but the worst of humanity. Not that I don’t blame people for trying to kill him but after it happens so much that’s the only frame of reference he has for a human.

I love Sarah. She is an empathetic strong FMC and it’s heart breaking to see her trying to help or at least comfort the plague ridden people they come in contact with.

I won’t get too detailed since it goes into spoiler territory but the overall theme of this series is the question of if humanity is worth saving.

I’m also a huge fan of post-apocalyptic stories and when you add in the spice? Amazing.

I will always recommend this series. It got me out a very long reading rut.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I keep loving this author more and more! Love the action, adventure, and it was absolutely thrilling to read.

This the first book of The Four Horsemen series. This is the first time reading this author's work. Let me say BRAVO. This story is epic. It has everything, action, enemies to lovers, heroine teaching the villainous main character about humanity and love. I couldn't put the book down. I promptly read the other books in the series. I truly enjoyed the take on the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I highly recommend this book and this series.

I always love a good Four Horsemen retelling. PESTILENCE is the first book in Laura Thalassa's The Four Horsemen series and tells the story of Pestilence...obviously.

The Four Horsemen have come to Earth and there is major death and destruction. Every person Pestilence encounters is infected with disease...awful disease and they DIE. Until Sara attempts to kill Pestilence, when she fails, he takes her captive and continues his route of death and destruction. But somewhere along the way, Sara proves to Pestilence that not all humanity is bad...and there's somehow a happy ending for Pestilence and Sara! No spoilers!

There's lots of gore and repetition...and a handful of trigger warnings for some people. Also, not as smutty as I was lead to believe. I still enjoyed it... A guilty pleasure for sure.

This book was absolutely fantastic! It's been on my list ever since I read the Bargainer series and it did not disappoint. It had just the right amount of action, drama, and spice, and I can not wait to read the rest of the series!