RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥.5

The last book is going to be EPIC!

But I am getting ahead of myself, so let's talk about FAMINE.

Ana da Silva is an orphan left to navigate the streets in Brazil by herself. She ends up working in a brothel until the third of the Four Horsemen comes to wreak havoc in her town.

The thing is, this isn't the first time Ana has faced Famine. You see, she had saved him when she was younger, and in exchange, he wipes out her town and her family, leaving her by herself. He doesn't quite remember her as clearly, however, and she is faced with the same fate as most people in her current town.

Somehow, she survives and promises revenge on the Horseman, but it looks like the third time is the charm, because The Reaper is not quite as enthusiastic to rid of her this time. Held as a captive, Ana quickly realizes that Famine has a vendetta against humanity. It would only be a matter of time when he grows bored of her and turns against her, right? Right?

This was probably the hardest relationship to reconcile to date. I feel like with every subsequent installment in this series, the relationship between the Horseman and humanity grows more adversarial and entangles the Horseman's ability to connect with their respective human. Pestilence was a whole lot simpler as he was only trying to do his job. On top of his own missive from the heavens, War struggled with his own nature. But with Famine..his cruelty toward humans was largely a choice. And I really enjoyed the arc of having to untangle that prejudice as part of Famine's development, especially in light of his connection with Ana.

I also love Ana's character depth. The juxtaposition of her more optimistic view of humanity to her history of misogyny and abuse -- and to hold that in comparison to Famine's more pessimistic view of people -- was so cleverly done.

AND THE TENSION. They might have hated each other's guts, but Famine and Ana is a great case of the thin line between love (or lust) and hate. Laura Thalassa's intricate details provided readers with hints of what is to come with our main character, and that slow burn was so worth the wait.

This is the third in the Four Horsemen series, and while it can be read as a standalone, there are some interconnected plots that reading from the beginning would definitely benefit readers. And that cliffhanger for the fourth book? EPIC. I cannot wait for Death's story.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Laura Thalassa, Bloom Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

I read Famine when it first came out and many times after.
This third book in the Four Horsemen series is my favorite and I can always count on it to pull me out of a book slump when I do a reread.
I cannot get enough of Famine, he's so morally grey, even when he shows Ana a different side to him he still never loses his cold dangerous side.
He's ruthless and sarcastic and in the end, his love for Ana was evident and the build-up was delicious to read.
Also, these new covers are stunning.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books, and Laura Thalassa for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Laura Thalassa and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC.

Famine is the 3rd book in The Four Horseman Series. What can I say, this book is just as good as the previous two books. I'm looking forward to reading the fourth book.

I’m loving this series, such fun entertaining reads. This is my fave of the series so far! Famine starts off so rude and sarcastic, he never loses that cold edge to him. A true morally grey character! Towards the end of the book there are some chapters from his POV and they just add so much to the romance. The FMC is fierce and likeable.
Overall good spice, banter and action.
The book sets up nicely for the next book Death and I’m already invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

CONTENT WARNING: blood, murder, gore, violence, mention of death of a parent, torture, mention of rape, abuse

After reading the first two books in the series, I realized that I was becoming hooked and wanted to see how Thalassa was going to keep things interesting for the second half of the series. The first two books followed a similar pattern, and I was very curious about this book.

This book takes place in Brazil, so it was interesting to see how different parts of the world are affected by the arrival of the horsemen. With the initial arrival of the horsemen, the world lost access to internet, electronics, automobiles, and don’t have reliable use of firearms. So everything about how they live has had to change, and so far, it’s been really different depending on the part of the world. This continues to be a trend in this book, further expanding the world-building. Ana and Famine’s story is set in rural Brazil, where a lot of the land is farms.

Make no mistake, Ana is a heroine like you are not expecting. She’s brash, lewd, crude, and has a filthy mouth, yet is somehow absolutely lovable. I was rooting for her within a single chapter, and a lot of it was because of her personality, but some of it was also learning what made her the way she is. Don’t worry, this isn’t a spoiler, but Ana is a sex worker, and life circumstances pushed her into that profession.

The sassy and fearless exterior that Ana shows the world hides a kind and gentle heart. However, she also has a fiery temper that she doesn’t hesitate to show without thinking of the consequences at times. Thalassa does a fantastic job of showing and not just telling us that Ana has lived a life that puts her in danger regularly, since Ana reacts in a smart and prepared way in the dangerous situations that come up—instead of just waiting to be saved, she thinks ahead and finds ways to save herself.

Ana and Famine’s characters are well-matched, and it’s easy to see how the enemies to lovers dynamic develops between these two. It builds throughout the book, as the characters move from lust to love, until the tension is nearly unbearable. It felt like it took Ana a while longer to win Famine over than it took Pestilence and War to be won over, but that’s explained in the story.

One of the things that I didn’t like about this book wasn’t specifically this book, but maybe due to the fact that I’ve binge read three of these books and they are starting to feel repetitive. The horseman comes, the girl catches his eye for whatever reason, they ride around, bicker, ride around, bicker, rinse, repeat, fall in love, then more stuff happens which I can’t detail because spoilers but it’s relatively similar in all of the books.

Overall, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I had read this with a bit more time spaced out between this one and the last. But it isn’t bad—I enjoyed the characters, the way the romance developed, the setting, and the writing, yet I found myself not getting excited about reading it, and I honestly think it’s just because I was a bit burnt out on the plot. The one other thing that I didn’t love about this book was the cliffhanger ending, especially since I was already planning to take a little break between reading this one and the last book in the series, but I also really want to find out what happens next!

Famine, the third book in the Four Horseman series begins after a slight time jump from book two and I definitely felt the characters were different. Famine has a lot of trauma and since then is even more ruthless in his eradication of humanity.
Ana was a very different character. She was put into the care of her aunt who was very abusive towards Ana. After losing all her family, she leaves her home town and resorts to sex work as a way of surviving. When she’s told that Famine is in town, she is taken and offered to him as a way of surviving. An indifferent Famine laughs and the two are killed. Well, Ana actually survives the brutal attack and vows to hunt Famine down and stop him.
The two actually have a history. Ana stumbled upon Famine after he escaped and survived captivity by a group of especially violent humans who tortured him. She stayed and cared for him and the two parted ways after he razed the town and people who hurt him. Some of the collateral to this was the death of her family.
Back in the present, Ana is back and stronger than ever, determined to seek out Famine and stop him. It turns out the line between love and hate is a hair widths and the line blurs on more than one occasion. Famine believes Ana is his mate and continue on a journey facing obstacle after obstacle. This book showed a new vulnerability to one of the Horsemen, a deeper level showing they actually feel and experience trauma, love, devotion and of course fury.
The ending varied also with Famine’s godlike status remaining intact after a run in with Death. The book, although ends happily, remains open-ended with Death’s arrival and the deal he strikes with Famine as a way of keeping Ana alive. Although this book was good, it made me more excited to read the concluding book and how Death could redeem himself.
Thank you for the eARC!

3.50

Not a bad book but also not something spectacular, I felt like it was very repetitive considering the plot is recycled from the last two books, I really enjoyed the characters but I think the plot really needed a lot of work. LTs writing also did not disappoint at all.

Who would’ve thought that Famine would be worse than War.
This series is fascinating I’m so many ways. I’m loving the pure desolation and feral state of the world as these 4 horsemen arrive to complete their assigned task.
I really didn’t like Famine. He’s a dick. What am I even saying? I don’t know. I really liked Ana and her determination to be true to herself, even when it contradicted her choices from the day before. Her life has been terror and trauma and still she chooses to be forgiving & empathetic.
The writing is great and the bleakness of the end of the world is front and center.
I am anxious for death. (Yeah, yeah, I know).

The third installment of this series is one of my favorites in some ways. Famine comes off as one of the more realistic horseman, but I had a difficult time relating to our heroine. If you like romance, mythology, fantasy, and religious lore, then this is a good pick for you.

Warning: R rated romance scenes, strong themes of death and gore

Famine is another of the Four Horsemen and struggled a bit in matching the classic image with the one of this nove.
That said it's a fast paced, gripping and highly entertaining paranormal romance.
Well plotted, humorous and compelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I'm such a fan of the Four Horseman series!!! This one is definitely one of my favorites in the whole series. I loved Ana as a main character! She's probably my favorite female lead in this whole series. She is kind-hearted, but she is not afraid to speak her mind or protect the ones she loves. As weird as it sounds, I actually loved how Famine had legit reasoning behind his cruel actions. The other four horseman are just cruel because they can be, but Famine has a past and it lets the story blend seamlessly.

Overall, I really liked this one!! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Around you [...] I feel the oddest urge to use my power to create rather than destroy..

Ladies and gentleman, a round of applause for the supernatural man of the hour himself (who managed to redeem this entire series after the mess that War was)... FAMINE!

I absolutely ate this entire book up like a woman starved. No pun intended. The humor in this was delectable and the plot actually broke out of the mold set by the previous two novels, which was a breath of metaphorical fresh air.

And our characters??? SO MUCH BETTER THAN EITHER OF THE TWO PREVIOUS NOVELS. Ana was strong, independent and sassy without being immature or annoying. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, but has a kind heart which is a lot of the drive behind this particular story. And Famine? Talk about your full course meal. Are the Horsemen awful? Yes. Are they here to kill humanity and do so without any sort of care in the world? Also yes. But while Pestilence and War didn't really have all that much of a rationale behind their fury and downright cruelness, Famine did and it made this entire story come together so cohesively.

And the ENDING?! It's a good thing I've got Death standing at the ready because whew. Talk about your cliffhanger??? Just gonna leave this quote right here:

“And what about Death?” I ask, switching topics a little.
“What about him?” the Reaper asks.
“You mentioned how you were worse than Pestilence and War,” I say, “but what about Death?” Famine holds my gaze for a long minute, then gives me a slight nod , like he’s conceding a point to me.
“Nothing is worse than him.”

Famine was first published in October of 2020, and is now being republished with a brand new cover as of August 15th, 2023. Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

OMG! That ending and last line! Laura Thalassa knows how to write them.

Going to be honest and say it took me a bit to get into this book thinking it would be very similar to Pestilence and War but it stands on its own. I eventually began to love the characters of Ana and the fire she has as a character plus the mischievous side of Famine. I cannot wait to read the final book in this series.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This series is just not for me. I’m not sure if it’s the concept or the characters but I can’t get into any of the books. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

In the third installment in the Four Horsemen series, we have Famine. Famine has seen the absolute worst side of humanity and the way he wants to destroy the world is not surprising considering the things he has experienced. Ana, our FMC, has also been afflicted by humanity’s cruelty and what you get when you join these two together is insanity. Ana and Famine are perfect for one another because they understand what the other has been through without trying to change who they are now.

I really enjoyed Famine and I think, so far, out of the 3 I have read, Famine is definitely taking the top stop for my favorite Horseman.

“Famine’s eyes settle on mine for a moment. “Do not read into this.” Oh, I’m planning on reading the entire fucking series of Famine Acting Abnormally Kind and What it Means.”

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★     

I would rate this an overall 2.5, but I rounded up because it was closer to a three than a two. I was not a fan of the FMC of this novel. I enjoyed Miriam and Sara’s stories, but Ana just did not resonate with me. She treated everyone around her like they were there for her personal amusement. She tried to be funny, but I found her to lack depth.

I liked Famine because he was a bit darker than the other two horsemen. Unlike the first two, Famine seemed to enjoy the assignment to end the world, whereas Pestilence was doing what he was assigned to do.

Overall, this book is quite similar to the first two books in the series when it comes to plot and the layout of the storyline. Personally, that’s not something that bothers me. I could read the same book over and over as long as there is just enough difference to recapture my attention.

At times this was a 4 star read and others it was a 3.
I just felt it was repetitive? Same plot different characters. I’m bored of it. I must admit though, famine just might be a favorite of mine.
Famine was an interesting fellow, I admit. Bit petty, but interesting. He has many powers, and gladly uses them to eradicate human race. He spares Ana because she had saved him once, and makes a conscious choice not to hurt her. And from then on, their story ensues.

Famine might just be my favorite? Now, I know I say that with each book but seriously, how do they keep getting better? An oh so slow burn that is just perfection in tension and angst. Ana has the best mix of sass and "dont mess with me attitude" that she honestly stuck out as a more unique FMC than the previous two? Not that the others have been bad but there was something about Ana that just felt different.

That ending? Psh, if Death's book follows the trend... I'm about to be absolutely wrecked.

The third Horseman has arrived and he's weighing out humanity on his scales. This book was a little bit different in that the FMC saves Famine before she begins to despise him. If you've read the previous two books in the series then this one will be familiar in many respects. Death is coming in book 4.

5/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

I just keep falling and falling for these horsemen. Famine was just fantastic. I feel like these men get more and more brutal in their unaliving as we go too. Famine was just ruthless at times and I wasn't sure how he was going to finally fall for Ana, but fall he did and hard too. I listened to this one along with reading it and once again Susannah Jones does an amazing job. And this time we get Jay Ben Markson portraying Famine (and Death too) and I really enjoyed him as well.

I think one of my favorite pieces of this story was the spice level, I'm still giving it a 3 chili like the others, but famine has vines y'all and it's hot as hades. I absolutely loved him giving Ana her sass right back in the form of tying her up, it was perfect. I really enjoyed the back and forth between these two, Ana was such a spitfire.

I also loved the ending and how it went down for Famine. I was not expecting it to be so different from Pestilence and War, but Famine didn't give in to humanity quite as easily and Death made sure he had to work for it. I'm really excited for Death's story and how The Four Horsemen series wraps up, it's been amazing so far.