They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all. When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking … angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.
Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.
Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.
And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she’ll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.
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It was dark and fantastic! Get your tissues for this one because you won’t want to stop!
I read this book late at night while up nursing one of my son’s, and I could not put it down. Pestilence as a character is mysterious and fascinating.
Look at that cover!!! So beautiful. This book was amazeballs. Dark. Thought provoking. Brave. Poetic. And unique, too. It’s rare for me to get deeply snagged by a story, but Pestilence lodged his arrows under my skin and kept me reading into stupid-o’clock in the morning. And then sighing with fuzzy-pleasure the next day. And again the day after that. Bring on more horsemen please, Laura, because if I’m going down with the apocalypse, I might as well take a hot guy with me! Pestilence is a novel that I’m going to re-read and even buy a paperback to fondle—which is a truly miraculous event—it’s just that good. Hugely, massively recommended. Off I go to make more happy sighs and dream about the redemptive nature of love. Stars till the end of days for this one!
Oh man, oh man, oh man!!! This is the MOST amazing book! I loved every freaking moment of it. A story about the apocalypse is not one you would usually consider to be romantic. However, when you put a strong, determined woman into the path of Pestilence, one of the four horsemen, and mix in just the right amount of humor, kindness and mercy, you couldn’t be more wrong.
I loved Sara and all her quirky one liners. Her internal monologue had me smiling and chuckling throughout this story. And then, even as I was still smiling over one of her witticisms, the truth of Pestilence’s purpose would reinforce itself and I was left gasping for breath or fighting against tears.
Pestilence is a hero unlike any I have ever read before. There is no insta-anything going on here. He has a task to complete and the end result will be a world of illness and death. He would be the first to proclaim he has no humanity and his actions certainly give proof to that. If you think this is some trick and he’s not really killing masses of people, think again. He is the ultimate anti-hero and I absolutely loved him.
With the exception of just a few scenes, this book has very few secondary characters. The most memorable is Rob and Ruth and I found the scenes with this couple to be some of the most poignant and eye opening.
I do not want to get too much into the story. I suggest you read the blurb and then let it unfold on its own. But I will say that there is so much that’s good (and that’s a weak good because what I mean is incredibleness) in the midst of the turmoil that this book carries you through. You will enjoy it all the more for not knowing where Sara and Pestilence’s journey will take you.
This author has the ability to convey so much in just a few simply spoken words. Nothing is ever bogged down or overstated. And the feels! Oh my gawd! Again with just a few words Ms.Thalassa had me feeling every emotion conceivable. The writing is fresh and the story so incredibly original as soon as I finished I wanted to reread it. I have definitely found a new author and apparently she has what looks to be an awesome backlist I can bury myself in as I wait for the next book in the series.
I have a bit of a mixed bag of feelings when it comes to this one. I’ve heard so many rave about it and it has been sitting on my kindle for months. With all the raving, I was kind of expecting more. I found it to be a little bit redundant because in the grand scheme of things, they were riding through different cities doing what he was created to do. However, I tapped into the emotional side of things and how he has been processing it. The more time he spends with Sara, he’s becoming more human and starting to feel all these emotions he’s not accustomed to. That is where the true story lies.
I couldn’t quite connect with Sara at all, to me, she felt a lot younger than her age. And at times, I kind of found her immature.
I found their conversations very interesting, they were constantly going back and forth with one another. His reasons were valid at times despite all the destruction he was causing. These two were always at war with what was right and wrong.
As far as the world building goes, there was so much room for more and that’s kind of where things fell flat for me. I had so many questions about Pestilence and how he and his brothers came to be. He stated every time that he wasn’t able to talk about it and I was always wondering the why.
For the most, I did enjoy the read, it was something I easily devoured, but I just needed so much more. I am planning to keep reading from the series in hopes we get more world building!
Loved this book! One of my favorite protagonists, Sarah was heartbreakingly realistic and brave. If you like a dark sense of humor set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, I would highly recommend you check this out!
I abso-freaking loved this book! I adore Laura Thalassa’s Bargainer Series, but now I have another to love! Pestilence was beautiful!
This book is character driven (which I love) as we follow Pestilence and Sara around on their journey. They go from hating one another for what they are/represent to loving each other with such heartbreak. Pestilence learns what it means to be human, what it means to feel love and loss, and he struggles with the task he was given – can he deny what he is, his task, to keep Sara?
There was ups and downs of happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain. I cried. Oh, how I cried. This was a beautiful tale and I seriously can’t wait for the next one which happens to be War! I SO recommend this!
Yes, yes, YESSSSS!! Enemies-to-lovers and slowburn are my favourite tropes… throw in a dystopian environment and the mother of all delicious, un-human badboys… and you’ve got me.
Then there’s the sassy, witty, strong-yet- vulnerable Sara – she’s everything I love in a heroine. The banter and angst that grows between her and Pestilence is pure gold.
And let’s get back to the man himself for a moment – this author isn’t afraid to go really dark with the things Pestilence does. He’s a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and believably so. Despite that making for hard reading at times, I love it all the more for it.
If I raved about this book for days and USED ALL THE CAPITALS, I’m still not sure I’m shouting enough about how much I love this book!!
I just looked through other reviews.. I knew there would be 1 stars slating the fact that Sara was prepared to ignore the fact that Pestilence was killing everyone. I understand why that seems unrealistic and disturbing. But in my opinion this is fantasy not reality, and my love of badboys allows these anti-heroes to get away with anything! Plus, I think it’s plausible for Sara to crave comfort, connection, and the hope of changing him. Then there’s this thing called Stockholm Syndrome…
Aaanyway, I’d recommend giving it a go.. if you’re ready to leave your morals at the door 🙂
At first when I started reading this book I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it. It had a gruesome tone which considering the title I should have expected and initially the characters just fell short. However I can’t explain how but by the third chapter I was hooked. Finally this odd dynamic between the two main characters developed and it drew me in somehow and I couldn’t put it down. I read it in two nights and I recommend it for those who enjoy a good fantasy romance novel that is different and in a league of its own. The author spins a chilling but loving tale that is captivating. I can’t wait to read the others in the series and will probably even reread this one.
This book was fascinating, unique, and poetically tragic.
This book has been in my TBR for a long time now and I’m glad I finally got the urge to indulge. I loved Pestilence, both his fierceness and his vulnerability, and Sara was one tough chick! If you enjoy post-apocalyptic books with romance and suspense, this one is a must read!
Holy Sh*t!! You guys. If you haven’t read this, get on it right now. I know during a pandemic is probably not when we want to read about Pestilence, but oh my god. This was… it was the gamut of emotion. This book did me so dirty in the best way. It’s dark as hell, but it also makes the hope pretty bright, too. I think that’s what I love most about it, that while it’s a journey through some of the darkest times we can imagine, if there’s hope for Pestilence, there’s hope for us. This was so well-written. It was beautiful, haunting, moving… I gobbled up the next book right after. I can’t tell you guys how long it’s been since I’ve read two books in two days. I absolutely love this series and I can’t recommend it enough.
Pestilence never seemed so compelling, but after reading this unique tale I might consider changing my mind. Though I truly disliked the female lead because she was crass and very unfeminine, the story kept me engaged, mainly because Pestilence was thoroughly captivating. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began reading, but the notion of interacting with one of the Four Horsemen drew me in from the moment I stumbled across the book on Amazon. I wasn’t looking specifically, but am glad I took the chance on this one. Steamy, Unpredictable and a definite page-turner, Pestilence captured my imagination.
I love this cover as well and wish the author would not have changed it.
5 stars
Wow, this book was certainly different from anything I have read in a while. Centred on the earth after the apocalypse and the return of the Four horsemen. This book focuses on the first Horseman. Pestilence and his journey across the world spreading disease, but he unexpectedly comes across Sara Burn, her need to protect her town and save humanity…. what could possibly go wrong?
This book is hard hitting, raw, often dark with two characters who are certainly polar opposites but wok together really well. Pestilence is well what his name suggests, a guy (who’s not really a guy but an entity) destroying the world and purging it of humans and Sara who is just trying to survive, get back to her family and save mankind. It all seems pretty straight forward in theory but what we have is a really complex book where you feel both sympathy and anger at humanity and are trying to understand a plague that doesn’t discriminate but kind of wish it would as there are genuinely good people in the world. You also have to deal with the ongoing relationship of the two main characters who seem to torture each other whilst falling in love/lust and trying to balance out how that works with two people who certainly sit on two very different posts.
Overall, you have a really great book which makes you think about what you would do if you were ever in that type of situation and at times you do have to push through the cruelty that Pestilence dishes out not only to the world but also to Sara. I guess being reminded that he is redeemable does help in the end. If nothing, this book will definitely make you think.
A great read for those who like dark, post-apocalyptic, paranormal books with some steamy and sometime graphic scenes thrown in.
Pestilence, book 1 of The Four Horsemen series, by Laura Thalassa. I don’t normally read fantasy novels, but I was recommended by my book friends, and thoroughly convinced to give this series and this new-to-me author a try. And was I glad I did … It’s a combination of dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic world, great character building, witty sense of humor, and steamy romance that will make you blush …
The immortal Pestilence had a task to spread lethal plague throughout every city he crossed by. It was a way to punish humankind for their brutality and depravity. When he came across Sara Burns, the brave firefighter who was assigned to kill him, his attempts at holding her hostage and making her suffer quickly turned into a series of events that had transformed him completely. He’d learned to enjoy food and alcohol, to have compassion and feelings, to kiss and make love for the first time, and to experience love and sacrifice. At the same time, he’d made her realize how vile and cruel humans could be to each other. Both of them continuously went through their own internal struggles, but would he give up his task for her ?
This enemies-to-lovers story was well crafted. I especially enjoyed Pestilence’s character development, his learning process to become a human was beautifully described. I hated him for being a cold-blooded brute in the beginning, and I was having doubts that I’d be able to fall for him… Alas, more than half way through, I swooned hard just from his gallantry, his tenderness, and his protectiveness over Sara . That being said, the ending was a bit puzzling to me, and I felt like it needed a bit more explanation regarding the outcome of Pestilence’s task . Perhaps in the later books in the series? Even though there were some repetitive details across chapters, this book was well written with a refreshing combination of human’s wittiness and immortal’s seriousness. A 4.5- read for me, and I can’t wait to check out the next books in this series .
This one took me by surprise. A fantastic read!
REVIEW:
5/5
The Four Horsemen have come to end the world. The first horseman Pestilence is up and reeking havoc on the world with the Messianic Fever, or the plague. He traveling through small towns and big cities throughout North America. He doesn’t like humankind, for a good reason. Sara a firefighter, stays behind to try and save her town. She shoots Pestilence off his mighty steed, and things don’t go as plan. Sara is now his prisoner and he will make sure she suffers, until lines starts to blur, until they both start to change.
I know I am like a year late for this review, but my wonderful friend from @Wssbookblog, told me I had to read it. I am so glad I did. The plot is amazing. It’s not just an end of the world story, but really a story about mankind and how we are as a society. Their are a few life lessons, and makes you check your inner self. Pestilence is a beast, he there to do a mission, he so Old Testament, sometimes it’s brings almost a childlike thinking way, out of him. Sara, is a strong female character. I loved her, just because she strong, doesn’t mean she not emotional. I love how the author blended those characteristics together, because usually females characters are super b$tchy, or super naive, when it comes to plots like these. This book is a must, it will keep you on your toes. It’s very suspenseful, tragic, funny at times, and just an excellent read. I will be reviewing War next week. So come back and see what I think.
What sells me on a book? The conflict between the protagonists. That’s what I look for when I read blurbs. Pestilence was used as an example of a universal fantasy with the enemies to lovers trope by a presenter at a writer’s conference. You can’t get better enemies than Pestilence, who has come to destroy the world, and Sara, who will kill him to save it. She does kill him, but he won’t die, so revenge is his when he captures her. Awesome set up. How Pestilence and Sara negotiate their relationship is finely written and engaging. There were a few scenes I think went too far with the gory details, but they were offset by the slow buildup of the romance. I don’t normally read the fantasy genre and I’m glad I made an exception for Pestilence. I can’t wait for the rest of the series.
Gah, I loved the heroine Sara!!! She was hysterical.
Not usually my kind of read, but I loved it. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series.