The four horsemen of the apocalypse came to earth 24 years ago to destroy all of humanity.  Pestilence and War have wreaked havoc on earth. Famine has now arisen and after being subjected to the worst of humanity, he is taking his revenge on humans tenfold.  5 years ago a young girl showed him kindness, but it was not enough to sway him from his task of destroying humans.

Ana da Silva had a difficult start to life. Her parents died and she was left with an abusive aunt.  She then began working at a bordello to survive.  Five years ago she came across a severely injured Famine and saved him from being tortured over and over again.  She faces him again, hoping he will recognize her.  He doesn't and she is left for dead...but she miraculously survives and decides to hunt down Famine and get her revenge.

"I'm pretty sure sticking around was a supremely bad idea, and this is coming from the queen of bad ideas."

Ana tracks him down and corners him about leaving her injured after she helped him years ago.  He decides not to unalive her and takes her with him as he continues his task. While they are drawn to each other, they are enemies.  Over time they start to realize that maybe they have more in common than it seems. Can Famine forgive the humans for what they did to him, and can Ana forgive Famine for what he has done?

"I feel the weight of not just my armour, but my hate and anger, my task, and my immortality - all if it - on my shoulders."

"Remember what you told me...Forgive. That's what you're meant to do..."

This book was great - and the ending was wild!! I did not expect it and now can't wait to read the next book. We are learning more about the horseman and their "tasks." Ana was such a great FMC.  She is tough and sassy and takes exactly zero crap from Famine.  Her internal dialog had me cracking up.  Famine is ruthless and cruel and also caring and kind.  There was so much more to him underneath his armor (literally and figuratively.)  He might be my favorite horseman so far...words I never thought I would say LOL.

Thank you to Bloom Books, Laura Thalassa, and and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Tropes
Slow Burn
Sassy FMC
Antihero MMC
Banter

In this romance, Ana da Silva, comes face to face with Famine. Yes, Famine, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Scary right? Not at all what you expect but some of what you do. This was an ARC for me and I loved it! I love when a story can be romantic, truthful, intriguing, and a bit snarky and this had it all. Can’t wait to read the next!

Laura Thalassa works her magic again in Famine, making the concept of famine itself come alive as a dynamic, active force. I was initially curious about how she would bring such a slow and passive concept to life, but she brilliantly uses Famine's control over crops as a metaphor, mirroring War's manipulation of zombie soldiers. This clever parallel adds depth to the story.

What sets Famine apart from the other Horsemen is his genuine reason for despising humanity. His past of torture and witnessing the worst of humanity makes his cruelty understandable, even if not justified. His complex relationship with Ana, who has saved him multiple times, adds a layer of equality and intrigue that sets them apart from the other couples in the series. As the series hurtles toward its conclusion, I can't wait to see how Thalassa wraps up this apocalyptic tale and what the world will look like when it's all over.

The third horseman has awoken and he’s not fucking around. He’s been sent here to finish what his brothers before him couldn’t, and wipe us from the earth.

I was a little worried that after reading two other books before this one that this one would seem a bit repetitive. While some bits followed the same basic plot lines of horseman taking women prisoner, eventually finding his humanity and falling in love, it didn’t feel like the same story retold. Famine was a lot harder to sway than his brothers before him and it had you wondering if he was ever going to change his ways.

Like the other books there is a lot of death, I mean they are there to wipe us off the earth… it’s messy work. You really do see the worst of humanity and what we’re willing to do when desperate. It has moments of sweet and spicy, though I was definitely waiting for him to do something extra with all those vines 😏

The end has me eager to start the fourth, and final, instalment of this series and I’m hoping that they all get together for a showdown with Death.

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Dual (mostly FMC)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5
Age suggestion: 18+

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the digital ARC of Famine!

This book had almost every single trope I eat up. Enemies to lovers, hate everyone but her, romantasy, etc. I was a fan of the first two books, I read them so quickly. If there is one thing I am loving right now its fantasy/dystopian. This book was different from the first two, but to me, it made it more interesting.

I think this might be my favorite out of the ones I've read? Definitely recommend this series.

3.5/5 stars

Apocalyptic/dystopian romance is my jam so I’m not sure why I’m so late boarding the Laura Thalassa train, but I’m here now! And what a steamy ride it is.

I loved everything about this novel. The plot, characters, setting, dialogue, romance, suspense, and, the sex. Oh Mylanta, the sex was delightful in all the ways.

The way that the author put such a unique twist on the grumpy/sunshine trope was brilliant, as both Famine and the heroine, Ana, are also anti-heroes. This twist carried through all of the other themes in the novel, including forgiveness and sacrifice. I loved Famine’s supernatural powers: life and death, healing, and measuring the worth of souls against one another and the earth in and of itself. When he grew the rose for Ana, I squee'd in the best way.

Laura Thalassa has a great voice, and I thought that her ability to develop Ana’s character so completely through her sarcastic wit -- which was communicated solely through the written word and without dialogue tags – was really impressive.

I also loved the ending and the fact that I could not predict it! The climax was fantastic. I am now going to buy the entire series so I can fully immerse myself in the Four Horsemen’s world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.

Read this book if you love;
• Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance
• Morally Grey Character
• Enemies-to-Lovers
• Hates Everyone but Her
• Post-Apocalyptic World
• Touch Her and You Die

Famine started a little bit differently compare to Pestilence and War. Instead of accidentally meet the FMC during his mission, Famine and Ana (the FMC) have met before the beginning of the story.

Something different that I notice from this book is the addition of Famine’s POV in the last few chapters. It’s a nice change for the story and I really wish there’s more POV from the horsemen since most of the time on the previous books we only get to see from the FMC's POV.

I really like Famine and Ana growing relationship throughout the story, their previous encounter has quite a huge role in their character's development.
Famine is slightly different than War and Pestilence, he’s not destroying human kind not only because it was his purpose but also for revenge after what the humans did to him in the past which made him feels slightly more relatable.

While it may seem Famine lost his faith in humanity, he met the stubborn and lovely women - Ana for the 2nd time.
I admire Ana for still believing the good side of humanity even though she had most of her life experiencing the bad side of it. I also love her sassy remarks and her creative way of picking a fight with Famine which is delightful!

Another different aspect from this book is the ending. The previous 2 books didn’t have a cliff-hanger as huge as this one. Now I’m super interested in reading Death’s story!

Overall, this is a great addition to the series.
I’m enjoying this series so far and now after reading the book I finally understand why some of the fans said that Famine was one of their favorite.
I’m looking forward to read the final book in this series and see how everything got wrapped up!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Death, violence, sexual content, sexual assault, torture, brief mention of child abuse

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the digital ARC of Famine.

The publisher is rereleasing the series with new covers and that's how I received access to this ARC, even though the Four Horsemen series has been out for a few years now.

This series has been on my radar for a while and I did receive ARCs of the entire series, so here we are with my third review.

I was not a fan of the first book (Pestilence), which I rated 2.5 stars, and the second book (War) was only a slight improvement (3 stars). Like the previous books, I would say that Famine is an easy read; there's nothing complicated about it and there are no instances of information dumps.

Unfortunately, this book was more of the same - ride a horse, people die, I hate you but you're really pretty, people die, you should stop killing blah blah blah, let's make out, you're the worst, ride a horse, people die, let's have lots of sex, I'm going to give up my purpose for you, the end.

This was my least favorite of the books to date (2 stars) and I did not like Famine. I think Ana, the female main character, might be the love interest that I like the best out of the three, but even that's not saying much because I still found her annoying and not very likable.

I struggled to get through this book, but I forced myself to finish so that I could move on to the last book and finally finish this series.

I will say that what happens at the end of the book when Death appears is my favorite part.

Clearly, there are plenty of people who really enjoy this series; I just don't happen to be one of them. Again, because I do have the ARC for the last book in the series (Death), I will complete it. I have lost all hope that I will enjoy it though.

Thank you, again, to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Famine.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ebook!These strong, powerful beings keep being brought to their knees by human women and I love it every time!!! Only one more to go and I have a feeling he’s the most evil.

This was hands down my favorite book from the series. Famine literally had me laughing with his quips for Anna, and her being so forward with her joking.
I loved his admonishment to SA which I felt like was not addressed well in the 2nd book, it was approved, but War didn't stop it or punish those who participated. In this book Famine did not allow it. I loved seeing him in book 3 as a character.
Overall, I would say this is a Grumpy/Sunshine book in a twisted way, action, death, and one bed situations. I loved his continual growing of a flower for her, the purple rose.
I truly loved that they had previously met, and he wanted to take her with him from the first meeting, and eventually they meet again, right girl, wrong time.
These books can be hard to stomach with how many people get killed off, and trying to justify that can be difficult, but I appreciate the character growth that the four-horseman experience.
I think it was slightly under explained how she managed to survive the multiple abdominal stabbings in the beginning, I wish that was better touched on.

I really enjoyed the Four Horseman books - it is my favorite series by Laura Thalassa. It felt different from many apocalypse plots I’ve read, even though it featured the biblical tale. There was a good balance between survival plot and romance.

This one took me a minute to get into, and somehow it ended up being my favorite. Famine has the sass of Pestilence with the fury of War, and a massive potty mouth. He said the f word more than anyone else, even the human by his side. At first I couldn't connect with Ana but it's because even when we're inside her head, she's putting on a show so that she can hold herself together. Her false bravado is even a lie she tells herself. We see her break and heal repeatedly, both emotionally and physically, and get to experience the real Ana emerging.

It's very hard to read these books and not believe that humans totally suck. In the first two books we get experiences with humans being good in spite of the horror, but not so much in this one. It's brutal, and only some of the brutality is enacted by Famine. The worst of it comes from the people. Then again, alongside a character like Ana, we see all that shining, golden resilience that exists inside us too, to live and love despite horror and pain. Of the two previous female leads, I could not see myself being them, but when it comes to the true first time Ana and Famine met, I could see that. I could feel that. It made me very attached to them both.

This series is so solid and so unexpected. I am anxious to read Death!

PHENOMENAL!!! Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

GAHHH!!!! OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! ADDICTIVE!! OBSESSED!! FABULOUS!! AMAZING!! INCREDIBLE!! PERFECTION!! WHAT A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, DEEP EMOTIONAL EPIC FANTASY LOVE STORY!!! THE SECOND TO NONE WORLD BUILDING, RICH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, INCREDIBLE PLOT AND GOOD GRACIOUS THE STEAM AND ROMANCE MAKES THIS BOOK A MASTERPIECE!!! I WAS NOT FULLY PREPARED FOR THIS STUNNING BOOK!! EASILY ONE OF MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE BOOKS FOR THIS YEAR!!💜💜💜💜💜

Famine is a ruthless and cruel horseman of the apocalypse that blames humanity for the death and destruction that he brings upon them. His mission was personal because he endured unimaginable torment by humans which left him vengeful with no mercy for them. Well that is until Ana comes along and shows care and decides to save him. Ana is a sassy, strong and compassionate heroine that cannot stand his actions. Famine is so confused as to why Ana saved him? He struggles with why he cares for her. It was so beautiful to see them fall in love with each other. The banter, tension and chemistry between them was top notch! I found myself swooning, laughing, crying and rooting for them. Okay, the ending was freaking awesome!! Seriously, like edge of your seat and heart racing right up to the very last sentence!

Overall, I was completely immersed from start to finish! I cannot recommend this book enough and it deserves infinite stars!! ♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️💫💫💫💫💫

This book was a slow burn. I enjoyed the banter but personally had trouble getting through this book. I liked that author changed things up in this one. The FMC is a prostitute and the MMC is an alcoholic seems like a toxic relationship. I felt the character tried to be a badass but just didn't cut it. And there was so much killing that I was kinda bored of the murder.

AHHHHHH!!! First things first thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review!

Where do I start?! I love this fantasy romance series, despite our “terrible” anti-heroes, and this book has only made me that much more excited for Death's book! The slow burn was everything and I’m not normally a slow burn girlie. Let’s not for get that this has a dash of enemies to lovers as well as a dash of second chance romance. Ahhh it was so good and that ending I’m so ready for the next one.

I am kicking myself so hard right now because I had never come across Laura Thalassa until now. It's 2023 and I'm only just hearing of her now? I've been stuck under a rock for way too long.
Famine is the third book in The Four Horsemen series and happens to be the first book that I've read by this author and let me just say, I am hooked. From the beginning I was captured and engaged with the storyline between Famine and Ana.
Famine is on his mission to destroy mankind. The man is mean, ruthless and cannot be killed. He can be tortured and mutilated, but never die as he simply regenerates. Ana has had to do what was needed in order to survive. After losing her family to the hands of Famine, she is seeking vengeance, and can I just say that things don't go according to plan.
I'm not going to go into detail and ruin this book for those who haven't read it but I will say that it is dark and deliciously disturbing. Watching the slow-burn between Ana and Famine and seeing him become somewhat human, developing feelings and emotions was chef's kiss.
Overall, Laura did an amazing job with this story. A fantasy retelling of one of the four horsemen, Famine, this book will definitely keep you on your toes. There is no doubt that you won't be able to put this book down once you start as it's just so gripping. Brace yourselves though and read trigger warnings. Can't wait to delve into the rest of this series.

Famine is so brutal but amazing. Laura’s writing is great and the FMC is likeable. Famine is a good enemies to lover paranormal romance. It’s features an amazing slow burn romance. Five out of five stars to this third novel in the series. The ending has me itching to read the last book!!

I really wanted to love these but I am finding these stories to just be the same thing over and over again. Famine offers nothing new to this series and I found myself let down. I know this is a unique opinion, but I really wanted more from the series.

This book blew my expectations out of the water!! Of course it's enemies to lovers, of course we get some dual POV action, of course she has to learn to love the horseman despite everything he's done, but that ENDING!! But also the BEGINNING???? Threw me for a loop, made me question humanity quite a bit, and also I shouldn't have found some parts of this as funny as I did. Their banter was top-tier, to say the least. Ana the prostitute and Famine the horseman; like, of course the world was gonna be saved by some magic p*ssy, that's common sense at this point. But the plot twist at the end had my heart in my throat and I was not prepared. I think characterizing Famine as this sassy, deranged, incredibly broken, yet staunchly invulnerable man was absolutely perfect. And Ana is an ego-fueled, self-conscious, brilliant human who falls for Famine because they are really too alike for their own good. I laughed, I cried, I immediately started the next one because this book leaves you needing more.

4.5 rounded up to 5 because I love the cover. This book was so good. I found Famine and Ana to be freaking hilarious together. Honestly not a lot happened in this book and I was here for it. The ending definitely is going to get me to read the next book sooner than later.