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I have finally completed all four books from the Four Horseman series from Laura Thalassa! Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death.
It feels like it has taken forever for me to complete the series (even though I just started reading in October) but wanted to read other books in-between to really drag out the series since I didn’t want it to end!
I decided instead of doing an individual review post for each book, I would combine all 4 into one review! Although now that I have finished, this was definitely a big task at hand to review 4 books at once. Moving forward, I’ll probably do each individual book! We’re learning, we’re growing, that’s what this is all about!
I’ll be honest, I do not know very much about the four horsemen of the apocalypse…like, at all. So when I found out there was a fiction series about the four of them and features sexy, steamy romance? Oh yeah, sign me up! Let’s be clear: this is NOT a conventional, fluffy romance novel: it is dark, graphic, and touches on a lot of difficult themes/topics. The themes of these books are wholly unique as well as the characters in the stories. These men are the antagonists, the anti-heroes. The women are the protagonists and they are bad-ass. There are a lot of moral gray areas in these books. I would highly recommend reading these novels; it is such a unique concept that has not been done before. It is philosophical and thought-provoking. I love how we were able to examine humanity and spirituality through a magnifying glass. Also do not forget the romance and the sexiness littered throughout the books. Definitely helps the difficult parts of these books go down much easier. My biggest takeaway: it isn’t humanity that saved itself, it was four badass women that saved the day ultimately. Just saying.
Now let’s get on with the individual reviews!
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 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.
Review:
"He’s sheathed in golden armor and mounted on a white steed. At his back is a bow and quiver. His blonde hair is pressed down by a crown of gold, and his face-his face is angelic, proud. He’s almost too much to look at. Too breathtaking, too noble, too ominous.”
The first book sets the mood for the rest of the books to come. Enter Sara Burns, our badass firefighter ready to risk her life killing the horseman for the sake of humanity. Then there is Pestilence, ready to watch the world crumble to his horrible diseases… or is he? Pestilence is our first taste of the horseman and he is ruthless, or at least it seems that way. He is so naïve and innocent when it comes to the ways of man. The only thing he does understand is disease.
The romance in this book is definitely a slow burn. It takes a lot longer to develop in book one versus the other books. There is an overall theme of Stockholm Syndrome in this book (actually all of the books) so be warned. Sara is Pestilence’s captive. A horseman is set to kill all of humanity and a human who is his captive is not willingly going to fall in love. I think having a slow burn romance is much more appropriate, as much as it can be, in a setting such as this.
Pestilence is also the first horseman that is willing to sacrifice his purpose for his love of Sara and for humanity. This has never been done before. The amount of love and bravery it took for Pestilence to make that sacrifice. Pestilence has to be one of my favorite horsemen. Although, there is currently a tie between him and Famine right now, so I am not sure who shall come out victorious.
Quotes:
“Love is the greatest gift we can give or receive.”
“I came to conquer this land and its people, but instead, one of its people conquered me.”
“A woman should not be oddly pleasing. She should be a ball busting, skull-crushing, badass motherfucker who is impossible to forget.”
"Love has a funny way of rearranging priorities."
The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp. Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one many responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible “husband.” But there’s another side to him, one that’s gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist. However, if there’s one thing Miriam has learned, it’s that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him.
Review:
"A monster of a man sits on his blood-red steed, a massive sword strapped to his back. There are gold rings in his dark hair and kohl thickly lines his eyes. His cheekbones are high and the scowl he wears makes him look absolutely petrifying."
This book was such a stark difference in comparison to Pestilence. I definitely appreciated the difference in scenery in this book in comparison to Pestilence. I actually appreciated all the different changes of scenery/location in all the books as well. It really changed the mood and added more diversity to all the books.
However, the murders and attempted rape seemed to be more frequent, graphic, and hard to read. Although, this does accurately depict the worst in humanity, so I understand why it may have been essential to the book, especially when describing war.
I appreciated the push and pull, the tug-of-war, between War and Miriam. They both required a surrender and sacrifice but both individuals are so stubborn and head-strong. I appreciated the insights into War’s experience with mankind. “War is the only horseman who has lived in human’s hearts. He knew men’s hearts intimately and judged them.” I will say that War was my least favorite of all the books. I’m so sorry if this book and War himself was your favorite out of the series!
Quotes:
“For your soft heart.”
“All creatures can experience pestilence, famine, and death but war, true war that is a singularly human experience.”
“Over the course of human existence, your kind has come up with hundreds of thousands of words for everything imaginable, yet somehow none of you have figured out how to actually speak your mind.”
Ana da Silva always assumed she’d die young, she just never expected it to be at the hands of Famine, the haunting immortal who once spared her life so many years ago. But if the horseman remembers her at all, he must not care, for when he comes face to face with him for the second time in her life, she’s stabbed and left for dead. Only, she doesn’t quite die. If there’s one thing Famine is good at, it’s cruelty. And how these blighted bastards deserve it. Try as he might, he can’t forget what they once did to him. But when Ana, a ghost from his past, corners him and promises pain for what he so recently did to her, she and her empty threats captivate him, and he decides to keep her around. In spite of themselves, Ana and Famine are drawn to each other. But at the end of the day, the two are enemies. Nothing changes that. Not one kind act, not two. And definitely not a few steamy nights. But enemies or reluctant lovers, if they don’t stop themselves soon, heaven will.
Review:
“His hair is the color of melted caramel, his sun-kissed skin only a shade or two lighter. There’s this sharp, chiseled line of his jaw, the high brow and cheekbones, and the haughty curve of his lips. Most striking of all are those moss green eyes of his. Devilish. His shoulders are broad, and that bronze armor, embossed with spiraling floral designs, fits snugly against his powerful, sculpted physique. Up close, his beauty is a shock to my system.”
When I first started reading the third book, I was not a fan of Famine. Famine as a character was such a jack-ass. I was struggling to see why anyone would like him. I guess that was the whole point. He is supposed to be this monster that was impossible to love. But he swiftly became a lovable jack-ass that curled his vines around my heart. There is lots of violence in this book as well. Lots of violence and torture. Well, all of the books are that way but I feel War and Famine had the bulk of it. It was very difficult to read all of the horrific things that happened to Famine. It is hard to not understand why he is so spiteful and loves killing to be honest.
I thoroughly enjoyed Ana. She had been beat down over and over again but she kept getting back up. She was such a fighter and admired that so much. It was also difficult but important to read about all the atrocities men have inflicted upon Ana, especially as a sex worker. However, despite all of that, she once again refused to stop fighting.
I also absolutely loved the banter between Famine and Ana. This book has to be the most humorous out of all the books. I loved the connection that formed between the pair. They both have had the most horrific things happen to them by the hands of men and that bonded them. But also the kindness and compassion they showed to each other.
I also really enjoyed that Famine was willing to give up his purpose not for humanity, who he still deemed unfit, but simply for Ana and being able to live and grow old with her. That was so special.
I genuinely was pissed off at Death at the end of this book. I was NOT looking forward to his book with how he acted at the end of book three.
Quotes:
"I feel...everything," he finally says. "Every blade of grass, every drop of rain, every centimeter of sunbaked clay. I am the storm that rolls in, I am the wind that carries the bird and the butterfly."
"I'm fucking over being forced to fit into roles of men have out for me."
"I'm a bar-fighting, pussy-hustling, scrappy-ass bitch, and I'm not going to just go along with this quietly."
"You were made from the earth," I whisper to her skin, "I can feel the universe moving through you, and yet you are something else unto yourself."
"That's the difference between me and my brothers," he continues. "We are all meant to ravage the world, but we have our distinctions: War is the most human, Pestilence perhaps next. But even Thanatos-Death-is intimately connected to life. I am the one least truly alive. I have more in common with wildfires and clouds and mountains than I do anything else. So to be something that lives and breathes is a stifling, unpleasant experience. I am...trapped in this flesh."
"I love you, you foolish little flower."
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