
Member Reviews

I finished reading War practically in one sitting. After reading Pestilence, I knew I had to go into the rest of the series with a strong sense of suspending my disbelief and it paid off for this book. I also liked Miriam and War's relationship better than I liked Pestilence's story (plus somehow crying out War's name in the throws of passion seemed less weird). War contains a couple of memorable secondary characters, like Miriam's friend Zara.
Not a ton of graphic sex in this book, but plenty of gore.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the preview read! I'm looking forward to the next one!

Laura thalassa does it again with the second installment in the four horseman series!
Miriam and War’s relationship begins when he is about to kill her on the battlefield only to realize she is his wife. I don’t know what the author puts in these books but they are addicting. Like the first book I was able to read this 500+ page book in less than a day. I was a little worried that this would feel like a repeat of the first book because these stories all follow a similar formula. While there are some overall similarities, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was different. I am excited to continue this series!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for a review!

This book is daring, gripping and jut takes you by the throat from page one. Beautifully described battles and.... spicier scenes. Lol
The world building and timeline is continued in this book from Pestilence. It shows another type of Horseman and is a lot more deep than I would have imagined.
The main female character is bold, daring and determined. She shows another aspect of humanity that the Horsemen can admire and fall for.
The new cover is also amazing

I loved War even more than the first book in the series. I felt the character development was deeper than Pestilence. The new covers are fantastic. They are eye catching and look gorgeous. I can’t wait to purchase them when they release.

"Netet wä neterwej."
You are the one He sent me.
"Netet tayj hemet."
You are my wife.
“I am yours and you are mine, Miriam-
but I am not like you, and you should never forget that."
I enjoyed Pestilence … A LOT. But there was something even more primal and intense about War that at first I could place but then … it blended into something more that I couldn’t help but love !!!
Another enemies to lovers, some more forced proximity. But this time we have some secrets signals and messages leaving hints about Miriam, a young woman of 22 who lost everything, is War’s destined wife!!!!! I loved that !!!!! I cannot put to words the intense feeling I had right in my stomach each and every time War said “my wife” or even just “wife”. His arrogance and the violence he brought along with him, were simply indicative of his nature and his purpose. The reason he was even created. But there was something about Miriam, her resilience and her stubbornness and her “soft heart” that made him fall for her in an unexpected way not even the almighty horseman of the apocalypse could predict. Their tension, their banter, their connection and their arguments were everything, and I loved immensely every second I experienced it !!! In a story about SURRENDER and love … what Miriam and War went through … tests it all !!! I cannot wait to read book three !!!
"You are a curious creature, that is all." He flashes me a sly smile. " curious, dangerous”
“It's the power of love that I find beautiful."
"Call the men in. Tonight the dead will not rise."
"For your soft heart."
"That's what you do for those you love," he says. "You bring them back."

I just finished the book War by Laura Thalassa, the second book in the four horseman series. This book follows the heroine Miriam Elmahdy in a Post Apololyic world. Pestilence has already come and wiped out most of the people in the world, and at the introduction of this book, War has been running a rampage for several years with his army, leaving none alive in his wake.
War has come to Jerusalem, her city, and when Miriam sees War, her motto of "be brave," she decides she will kill him. Instead of death, he claims her as his bride. Now along with his army, she and her indestructible "husband" pliage and plunder town to town, and Miriam is set on stopping him. If not by force, then by showing that there is more to humanity than war and violence.
I was intrigued by this book; it made me think of that saying about what happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object. One has to surrender. This book had a lot of that push and pull. Will they/won't they submit to each other, their beliefs, and finally love?
I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to continuing in this series.
I just reviewed War by Laura Thalassa. #NetGalley
www.netgalley.com

This book was even better than the first! The character development is phenomenal. The love story is making me excited to read the next two books in the series. I am immediately starting the next book!
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

Absolutely fantastic.
Fast paced, well constructed, well executed.
The story continues with second horseman War .. while doing his "divine" task he finds Miriam and call her - wife- yeah you read this right .. can you imagine? Oof ..
Battle of wills, tension, forced proximity and of course some plot twists you'll be reading this book non- stop.. can't wait to read Famine ...
.
Thanks to author, publishers and netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange of my honest opinion

This is the second book in the Four Horsemen series, and it didn't disappoint. While it didn't match the first book's awesomeness, it kept me hooked. The focus on War's character was intense, and the chemistry between the characters was electric. The post-apocalyptic world-building was vivid, and the action scenes were thrilling. Although the pacing was a bit off at times, overall, it was a compelling addition to the series. I can't wait to see what comes next in this dark and captivating world!

This was another Laura Thalassa book that I really enjoyed. She's done a fantastic job at taking the horsemen of the Apocalypse and making them into people who are damages, broken, and redeemable throughout the plot of their stories.
War was no exception, and I found myself really enjoying this book for the character growth that we saw with War & also with Miriam. The story progressed really beautifully and had me hooked from start to finish. Love this series & will definitely be reading the rest of them!
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved War so much. Even though Miriam initially had me hesitant she eventually won me over. The amount of character development War goes through is phenomenal. Another very enjoyable apocalyptic romance from Laura Thalassa. I love these new covers too. Great job.

such a great compelling story. You want to hate war but at the same time root for him. Miriam is so defiant and a perfect match to him in a hellbent world

Just as good as the first, if not better! The character development is, again, phenomenal. A good love story with just enough steam. Miriam got on my nerves quite a bit, but it was manageable. Looking forward to the third installment!

I do have to say I am loving this series and the unique perspective of the Four Horsemen. The take on the characters is absolutely fascinating.
War, as a character, was well developed. This story differed from the last completely with War being the polar opposite of Pestilence. However, War still shows tremendous character development. I also love how his ending differed from Pestilence's. Miriam's character however, was not my cup of tea. She seemed to be more all over the place then Sara had been with her emotions towards the horsemen. I did really enjoy the tie in of the Angelic Language in this novel.
Overall, the book was well written and the plot was there. Though you can tell the a pattern is beginning to take place.

This was a... strange book. Honestly, I enjoyed it, but I don't really know why. The writing was addicting, the plot was fast-paced, and the romance was steamy, but there didn't seem to be much substance to this story. I guess there was character development, but it happened so subtly that it was hard to notice until the very end. The main character wasn't the smartest on earth, yet I liked reading from her perspective and her sassy commentary made the book enjoyable. War (yes, literally the personification of war), was a good love interest, but that's only because I've read other fantasy romances, so I'm used to some pretty strange dynamics. I read this entire book in less than four hours, and it felt like a strange fever dream. An enjoyable fever dream, but an odd one nonetheless.
Beyond the oddness of the story, the novel also focused on restoring faith in humanity, and I appreciated the effort the characters made to see the best in a world that was literally coming to an end. There were so many moments of light despite the darkness of the apocalypse. I never thought a book about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse could make me believe the best in humanity, but here we are. If you enjoyed other Laura Thalassa novels, smutty fantasy romances, and/or have good romance book taste, you'll enjoy War.

I tried to sleep my review of this book because even though War is slightly better than Pestilence in the physical torture of the spectrum he still manages the other tortures fine. Now I try to consider my biases before delivering a review of the book because I think that's the fair thing to do. I should've read the blurb because the plot and the story were already there.
However, I'm VERY VERY lucky I chose reading Pestilence before reading War. He did a good job at shocking me and setting my standard below earth so by the time I started reading this I was like well he didn't make her run on her feet through a highway... GOOD ENOUGH.
As for the relationship, I didn't feel like the characters were actually in love? It felt like they were supposed to be together because War called her war and mid-way through they just accepted it and went along with it. Their first s*xy encounter was explained as a transactional moment and even though I KNOW I'm supposed to understand that they were attracted to each other anyway I just didn't get it. I didn't get their first kiss, it made no sense to me and I just couldn't justify in my head how they ended up together.
I also did not understand his change of heart, I feel like it needed more depth to validate his change.
In conclusion, I WANTED MORE, DEPTH, RELATIONSHIP, ROMANCE, and more from War. This could've been so much better had the author had more pages to discover and encounter more from the characters. I did love the relationships Miriam had with other females and Miriam herself was pretty cool. However, her relationships with the males were lacking and even when it was mentioned she was almost friends with one of the guys from the army... I didn't get how? yes, she exchanged like 2 conversations with him but they didn't seem like all that friendship kind of conversations.
I believe that having more chapters at the end from War's POV when he's experiencing his change of heart would've benefitted me more as a reader and the story overall since even though from Miriam we can read attractions because of her struggle between being human and developing feelings for the being eliminating her entire species seems far reached him loving her and reading his perception of love would've helped. before... what happened because by the time his POV comes, it read like he wanted what was taken from him and that's it...
In conclusion, this is a 3.5 stars book because regardless of my own biases it still had some flaws that had they been addressed the book would've been a solid enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The next installment of the four horsemen. It had all the dark, gore-filled, post-apocalyptic vibes you’d expect from War.
While I did like War and Miriams’ story, it just lacked some of the very best parts of Pestilence. But hey… any hero who gives off ‘touch her and die’ Khal Drogo vibes is an instant page turner.
Will 100% be diving into Famine asap. Thalassa is an auto-buy author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read it ☺️

The second book of Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series, War, brings us back to the apocalyptic society set up from the first book, but a few years later & we take a hop skip and a jump over to Jerusalem! War and his band of not-so-merry men are traveling through the Middle-East leaving destruction and death in their wake. Enter Miriam, she is captured by the Not-So-Merry Men and War declares that she is his wife, destined to him by God, themself!
I loved getting to revisit the world of The Four Horseman! Thalassa’s writing is still very accessible and easy to get into, despite this book being a bit choniker than its predecessor. There are some repeated themes from the first book that show up, but I do feel that they are well executed. Religion, of course, plays a major part in the story and (to my knowledge) Thalassa still works hard to remain neutral and not convey any bias towards a particular one.
I feel like this book didn’t have the same emotional depth as Pestilence, but War and his armies definitely give off major Khal Drogo and Khalasar vibes. I enjoyed seeing the moments of conflict War had with himself around caring for Miriam and pleasing her against his purpose of destroying the human race.
-Jerusalem/Middle Eastern Setting.
-Enemies-to-Lovers
-Marriage of Convenience (kinda/sorta)
-Forced Proximity
-Slowish Burn
-Pregnancy
CW/TW: Sexual Content, High Death Count, Graphic Violence, Blood/Gore, Attempted S.A.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own

Easily the best Horsemen, giving the classic Khal Drogo vibes with blood riders and the representation of middle eastern women in the FMC only made me love it more.

Slowly but surely making my way down Laura Thalassa's backlist. I read War awhile back when it was a bookclub pick. I like her stories because they are all unique and completely different. I never know what i'm going to get!