I was completely fascinated by the storyline surrounding 'Pestilence'. So fascinated that I decided to take a chance on an author I have never known before just to see how a world invaded by the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse would cope. I'm glad I took a chance on this book.

I liked the heroine, Sara Burns, from the very first chapter. She's a strong and determined firefighter who is desperate to save her town and her family from experiencing the same wave of disease infecting the rest of the country. To do this she must sacrifice herself for the cause and attack one of the most feared Horseman to exist, Pestilence. Yikes! I don't envy her in that mission. There are moments where I was just as squeamish as Sara with the details of her attack on Pestilence. It's just as gritty and disturbing as other scenes in 'Pestilence', but I understood Sara's desperate need to protect the ones she loves.

Yes, there is a strange romance brewing in between the fighting and it is just as dark and angsty as you would expect in a apocalyptic situation.

If there is one downside to this story it deals with Pestilence. I wish I could have experienced his thoughts, at least in a few chapters. I would have liked to see the world (and Sara) through his eyes. It would have been interesting. I still loved this story, though, and I will definitely look into the author's other books in the future.

Oh my goodness gracious! Where to even begin cause this book is CRAZY!! Had me in a tight grasp from beginning to end cause like it has all these insane moments I had to back and reread it cause it just had me gasping! This is very much a dark romance!

"Pestilence" by Laura Thalassa is a total blast! It's the first book I've been totally obsessed with. The characters are awesome, and their journey from enemies to lovers is super exciting. The post-apocalyptic world is wild, and the romance is on fire. If you want a fun and thrilling read, this book gets five stars from me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Four Horsemen series by Laura Thalassa
Post-Apocalyptic fantasy romance

Pestilence 3.75 stars
War 3 stars
Famine 4.25 stars
Death 4.25 stars

As you can tell by the name of the series these books feature the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (from the Bible, so there is a smattering of religious talk). For those of you seeing the genre as “fantasy romance“, a bit of clarification: the first three books are more fantasy with a romance subplot, whereas the fourth book focuses more on the romance. And these are only fantasy books in the sense that the titular characters are made-up beings with magical powers; otherwise this takes place in our world, and there are no other magical elements.
A word of warning to you all — I read these back to back, but I don’t think that was the best way to go. Spoiler alert: because these are post apocalyptic, they are dark. There’s a lot of death and destruction. A LOT. This makes for heavy reads full of despair. So maybe sprinkle in some fun reads in between, ok?

Pestilence was a great introduction to the world. The books span around 20 years, so this first one is at the beginning of the apocalypse. He also seemed to be one of the more “human” of the Horsemen (in addition to Death).
War didn’t work as much for me. He seemed almost robotic for most of the book. I also had some issues with some of the dialogue – the FMC is from Jerusalem, and we are almost 10 years into the apocalypse, so some of the slang and terminology she uses didn’t seem realistic.
Famine has a great FMC! She was a sex worker, so doesn’t have too much of a filter on her mouth. She was sassy and brash and lots of fun.
Death is where the romance ramped up, and it was a great finale to the series. Out of all of them he seemed the most sad about his duties. He’s got a job to do but he ain’t happy about it.

Overall I really enjoyed this reading experience, and would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This latest edition to the Horsemen series tackles the arrival of Pestilence and the plague carrier's devotion to his task versus the need for humanity to prevent him from succeeding. Initially, I found the idea of a captive falling for her captor disturbing. It brought to mind other real-life instances when similar events (the Patty Hearst captivity, for one) occurred in history...Stockholm syndrome, I believe.

However, Thalassa does address a number of moral issues inherent in the premise, including following blindly a specific path without considering all the consequences. Readers willing to abstain from early judgment will find this an interesting read, although one that requires them to ponder the dilemmas that arise for both Pestilence and Sara. The graphic attempts to murder the immortal horseman are difficult for Sara and the reader, so be warned of that.

Honestly super surprised by how much I loved this book. I've been trying to get back into fantasy and I am really glad I got the opportunity to read this, this book is exactly what I needed. I can see where some people might not have an easy time reading it, but I actually enjoyed the entire thing from start to finish. The FMC trying to kill the MMC immortal, that was golden. He wasn't happy (obviously), and took her prisoner which gave me acotar vibes (i love acotar) and it was everything I needed in a fantasy. Definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in order for me to give my honest review! 3.5/5 stars

I had high expectation going into this book, the premise sounded really interesting with four horsemen coming to earth. However, it missed the mark for me. The focus was definitely on the romance, and even though I usually enjoy romance books, especially mixed with fantasy, I found it hard to connect with our couple. The ending was rushed but overall I still enjoyed the book. And I will be continuing the series!
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me about 50% of the book to really get into it. Overall I enjoyed it, but it didn’t really stick out to me. It’s the kind of book that I wouldn’t really recommend, but I also wouldn’t tell people not to read it if that makes sense. I’ll probably look into reading the other books as well, but they won’t be a high priority on my TBR. They follow different characters, so I don’t necessarily feel like I’m missing out on anything if I don’t get around to it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

I had high expectations for it because of the synopsis, since it talks about one of the four horsemen in a dystopian world, and although I enjoyed it, the story didn't impress me much.

Sara is tasked with killing Pertilence as he passes through her city in order to save humanity and Pestilence is tasked with ending humanity. Sara is taken as Pestilence's prisoner because he cannot die and decides to make her suffer.

Sara is presented as strong and determined, but as the book goes on, there is not much of that nature left. On the other hand, Pestilence is shown as a supernatural and quite mysterious being. And as they spend time together, both will be drawn to each other.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as it is fast-paced and has short chapters, so it reads fast. The only thing I found uncomfortable was that Sara kept repeating how supernatural and beautiful Pestilence was.

This review is my opinion and my opinion only. I did received this book pre-publishing, but this review are my thoughts and mine alone. This is my first book from Laura Thalassa, and it definitely won’t be the last. I loved this book! It’s very rare for me to cry while reading a book, but Laura Thalassa made be cry. The story was so well written and the world building was phenomenal!
This is the first book of the Four Horseman series. This one is about Pestilence and Sara. Pestilence is spreading sickness to people and kills any vegetation he chooses. Sara was chosen to kill Pestilence when he comes to her town. After Sara kills him, she is riddled with guilt.
But, can Pestilence really be killed? What will happen to Sara if he’s not really dead?
This story pulls you in from the very beginning. I just loved it! I highly recommend reading! I read this book in a day. I had to buy dinner for the family. (I think they were happy about it because we had pizza. 😉)

I'm not sure how I feel about this. The idea of the story was actually intriguing that's why I stayed until the very last page, but the stockholm syndrome vibe was too much for me. I also felt that the ending was way too rushed nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting tale to the four horsemen series loved the enemies to lovers it was a very long book and I felt some parts were a bit boring and didn't need to be mentioned but overall good book for paranormal and fantasy romance novel.

Your girl loves a romantasy, so I was excited to try out a more sci-fi romance as well. It did not disappoint! The world building was so good! It did take me a good 100 pages to get into it but once I did I couldn't put this book down. I really enjoyed how Laura Thalassa had the characters fall in lust before love, which based on the nature of Pestilence's character rang undoubtedly necessary. I did spend some time wondering how do-gooder Sara would fall for an anti-hero, and by the end I was a believer. I also liked how invested in the series story I was by the end. This snuck up on me because I was so invested in the love story I didn't think much about the post-apocalypse world around them but it was woven together so nicely that it all came together (or as much as we are supposed to know) at the end.

I really enjoyed this romance! It got a little repetitive at times and I didn't always love the narrative voice, but the chemistry and tension between the love interests, as well as the examination of death, apocalypse and what we give to others vs. ourselves really elevated this from a run-of-the-mill romance for me. I'm definitely interested in exploring other titles in the series!

It's five years after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse road across the earth inexplicably changing it forever, then disappearing. Now, Pestilence is back and spreading a deadly plague wherever he rides upon his immortal steed. Sara is tasked with killing Pestilence, only no matter how badly his body is destroyed he cannot die. In vengeance, he keeps her alive to pumish her ("Suffering is made for the living."). Only, things don't go as planned and slowly Sara is changing Pesilence. Becoming more human. But will he be able to change before he wipes out the human race? Will what is building between them save humanity or doom it?

I absolutely loved Pestilence. The slow building relationship was shaped just right. Pestilence's inner war between his emerging humanity and his duty causes so many obstacles. Sara changes are subtle and beautifully written. I actually cried when reading this book. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

In all honesty this book just wasn’t my jam. I knew it very early on too, I’m talking the first chapter. So I didn’t really enjoy it, and the whole experience was pretty much what I was expecting to get after reading the first handful of pages, no surprises at all.

I do think that for people looking for a truly dark fantasy romance this is actually quite good. For me though, it was just a little too dark. It gave Stockholm Syndrome in a pretty unsexy way. I also just couldn’t quite get behind the writing, a couple of the stylist choices felt a bit off.

Anyway. I don’t hate this, I don’t really even think it’s bad. This is defined a case of different strokes for different folks. It definitely wasn’t for me and I doubt I’ll keep on with the series, but I definitely know some people I’d recommend it to 🤷‍♀️

A Horseman of the Apocalypse and his would-be assassin fall in love in this tale from Laura Thalassa. When Sara Burns is taken prisoner after failing to kill Pestilence—it turns out he can’t die—she never expects to fall in love with him. As they spend time together, however, her presence begins to humanize him. Can Sara save the world from his plague after all?

This one is definitely unique. I liked how in awe Pestilence is as he begins to feel more human emotions and experiences, but be aware that many of his attitudes are very Old Testament in tone. He has been sent on a mission. His purpose is to take out humanity, so he has difficulty seeing the positive aspects of it. And we see the victims of his plague as well as the darker side of human nature in this story. Sara comes across as a mix of caring and snarky with a penchant for reciting poetry. At times, Pestilence in his baby foal attempts at being more human seems more likable than our story’s heroine. When he turns around and is very iron-fisted about his mission, their relatability/likability positions swap.

Overall, I was sucked in by the story and the writing style, and my interest is piqued enough to pick up the second book—especially since some things seem open-ended/unresolved at the end of this one.

I received a copy from Bloom Books via NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

This was quite the read if I say so myself. I mean this in a more positive way. Although the smut wasn't THAT descriptive, the story itself ruled everything else. Our FMC, Sara, was such a badass with some compassion in her personality throughout the entire story. The MMC himself wasn't bad himself. I really enjoyed the immortality and morality in this story line.

What happens when the actual Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse come to Earth to wreck civilization...and then disappear?  

It has been five years since all technology was destroyed.  There have been no horseman sightings when Petilance appears, bringing deadly plague to earth. We are talking biblical plague with a 100% death rate.  As he travels the earth, each town he comes to is effectively exterminated.  

Sara Burns, a firefighter and self proclaimed atheist, draws the short straw and makes an attempt to unalive Pestilence.  She is successful, and even though this is a death sentence for her, she feels comfort knowing she has saved millions of lives.  This scene would be lovely except that Pestilence is immortal, and now he's pissed.  Instead of killing Sara immediately, he decides to keep her prisoner and make her suffer.  He forces her to walk behind his horse and follow him from town to town and watch her fellow humans die.

“Is it wrong to feel flattered when Pestilence is clearly having an existential crisis?”

The longer they are together, Pestilence slowly starts to see that maybe humans aren't all bad.  Sara's compassion for everyone she meets starts to have an effect on him.  The same goes for Sara, over time she starts to see cracks in the facade - maybe Pestilence isn't all bad?  Does any of that matter when Pestilence has to finish his task of spreading disease across the globe?

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

I wasn’t sure about this book at first. Pestilence is a difficult character to read about as he is wiping out all humans. Why is he doing this and why does he hate humans…or does he? There are some funny moments when it becomes clear that Pestilence doesn’t understand humans. Sara’s internal dialogue is very entertaining and I really liked her as a character!!

The story touches on some deep questions like will humanity go too far and are they worth saving? On their journey they come across some of the worst of humanity but also some of the best…Are we redeemable?

“Love is the greatest gift we can give or receive…love is the only thing that can get us out of this mess.”

Thank you to @netgalley and @laureathalassa for a copy of this book!  All opinions are my own.

Glad this romance is getting a new life. Laura Thalassa is a staple in the romance community and her books have garnered many a conversation over the years. I'm excited for the Four Horseman to reach a new audience.