“I wondered if we might cross paths again.”

Famine is book three of the Four Horsemen series and it is by far my favourite of the bunch.

Ana da Silva, orphaned at a young age, has spent most of the past 5 years as a prostitute in a brothel. She crossed paths with Famine, third Horseman of the Apocalypse, and saved him out of compassion and he, in turn, destroyed her village. When they meet again he does not recognize her and she almost meets her maker at the hands of his shabby goons. However, Ana is resilient and out for his blood, and she intends to make him pay.

Of all four horsemen, Famine is my favourite. I describe him as a lovable jackass. (I even said as much to Laura Thalassa herself and she laughed and agreed.) He’s sarcastic, bloodthirsty and imperious. However, he also has the capacity to be curious, decent and well intentioned. Famine, for all that he is a horseman, is also a victim of the cruelty of humankind. So it’s little wonder why he hates humans. Ana is a freaking delight. She’s got spunk, drive and a snarky mouth on her. She knows enough about herself and her worth that she doesn’t take any shit from anyone, even Famine. She is quick thinking and, while sometimes she doesn’t make the right choice, she also has such a huge capacity for love.

The plot in this seems to be a bit more bloodthirsty than the previous books (which seems crazy considering WAR was the last one!). Famine has a bone to pick with humanity and, unlike War and Pestilence, it’s intensely personal to him. He is fulfilling his purpose but also getting vengeance for what was done to him. It makes his story a bit more interesting, seeing as it’s not just some ~purpose~ that is driving him to do this.

This book also does a great job of setting up the finale book of the series. The twists and turns literally keep going right up to the last page. And it is the perfect cliffhanger that makes you want more.

As with the rest of this series, I HIGHLY recommend it! Famine, weirdly, is my comfort reread so I recommend it to basically everyone.

Thanks very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm going to go ahead and review the series as a whole, because there are common themes that run throughout that are uniquely explicated in each book.

Where do I even start? First, that I totally understand the hype about this series now. It’s one of those series that grabs you by the throat and takes you along for one hell (pun intended) of a ride.

Each FMC brings different elements of humanity to the fore that speak to their angelic counterparts in profound ways. And the ways in which author Laura Thalassa explores idea about God, humanity, frailty, good, and evil are so intriguing. Though these were written starting in the “before” times, Thalassa’s work seems all the more prescient today.

If you want your mind and heart challenged, if you want to experience the beauties of love and human nature (and their ugliness, too), then please, please read this series. It is masterful.

The Four Horsemen series is so amazing. Famine is one of the most vindictive characters in this series. While the other horsemen seem to want to carry out their duty, Famine wants mankind to suffer for their brutality. Ana works tirelessly and selflessly to change Famine's mind, despite his continuous mistreatment of her. And when Famine finally comes to see the error of his ways, its too late for Ana. Just wow, such a great series. And Famine was really one of those characters that you love to hate, but the way Ana transforms him is absolutely beautiful! Must read series!