War

The Four Horsemen #2

by Laura Thalassa

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.

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 man 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.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Enemies To Lovers, Paranormal Romance, Dystopia, Dark Romance

592 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2019

About the author

Found in the forest when she was young, Laura Thalassa was raised by fairies, kidnapped by werewolves, and given over to vampires as repayment for a hundred year debt. She’s been brought back to life twice, and, with a single kiss, she woke her true love from eternal sleep. She now lives happily ever after with her undead prince in a castle in the woods.

… or something like that anyway.

When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.

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Reviews

[Laura Thalassa]

07/02/2019 Update: And, June came and went ... but good news, War will release July 11! If you want to read more about it, here's the longer post I made:
http://www.laurathalassa.com/2019/07/...

05/27/2019 Update: I've received a lot of questions about War's release date! Originally I was hoping for a May 2019 release, but edits have been taking longer than anticipated, so War will most likely release sometime in June 2019. I know this news blows for those of you who've been waiting on news about War's release. I promise I'm working hard to get this baby polished up, and honestly, I'm enjoying the sh*t out of the book while I do so. (Normally edits make me regret all my life choices, hehe!) On the positive side, the book right now is over 130,000 words, which is more than twice the length of some of my other books (which is partially why it's taking me so dang long to finish--it's much longer than anticipated). Nonetheless, I hope you can bear out these last few weeks with me! So, so, SO excited to share this one with you all!

[☆Liv☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 minutes ago I finished "Pestilence" and I need this book NOW!!


It was SOOO worth the wait!❤ Awesome book!!!!!❤
Have to say, after waiting so long for the book, I was in love with it even before I started it😊
And now begins the wait for Famine😭

[SK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who said love and war don't go hand in hand? 😩😩 This series currently has me in a chokehold and I'm all for it. Although it wasn't as amazing as Pestilence, War had a different charm and I still inhaled it 🤷‍♀️

I liked how although similar in concept to book one, this one is so different from it. War is more ruthless, gruesome rough on the edges with harsh realities and deeply moving- exactly what I expected from a book titled War 🤭 I loved how the story instantly grabs the attention and doesn't waver. The pacing was alright for me, not too fast or slow.

War is a deeply complex character. He is charming in a very brutish sort of way. He's possessive as hell and completely smitten in his own ways. Yet, so prideful and arrogant. Imagine a war general who doesn't know how to love or lay down his weapons but he is willing to do it all for his woman.

Miriam is someone I understood but did not relate to. And although, that's completely fine. There were some places which she got on my nerves. Yet, I found myself admiring her fierce personality. I do think the change from her tough personality to a loving one could have been more smooth.

Their romance was more intense and chemistry great. But I absolutely loved the tension and angst between the two. The slow burn with forced marriage trope was amazing. Also, he falls first and YEARNSSSS. I will take that any day. 🫠🫠 The spice was so damn intense but balanced with emotional intimacy was chef's kiss.

I absolutely adored how it ended. I do admit, certain things were going in circles and it could have been at least 50-70 pages shorter. But hey, that slow burn romance and plot was so worth it, I'm not even gonna complain about it, just having so much fun with the vibes 👀


~•~•~
The first book in the series set high standards. Can this one live up to it? 🤞🤞

[Warda]

DNF at 36%.

I just couldn’t do it any more. Everything about this story was not meshing with me. I was skim-reading way too early on, I found it cringe-worthy, and the story just felt empty and lacked depth.

I tried continue reading it for War, but when I saw the progress I’d made and that I wasn’t even half way through the book, I just had to quit. I couldn’t do it.

Also I wasn’t a fan of the whole ‘New Palestine’ and Israel angle. It didn't seem like enough research was put into it and it bordered on offensive at times.

Meh.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin]

THAT FREAKING COVER!! I want one 😃





Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye]

♛♚♔UPDATE 10/08♛♚♔
ZOMBIES!!!!
GORE!!!
ROMANCE!!!
SEX!!!
HOT HORSEMEN!!!
KICK ASS HEROINE!!!

AND THE COOLEST SETTING EVER!!!! Seriously this book in the middle East and with a multinational cast of characters and multicultural zombies!!!!

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE? Uh? uh?
*coughs* The Cover *coughs*

Yeah, I HATE THE cover, but believe me this book is GREAT!

I'm a huge fan of manga and gory stuff so this book came right into my alley.

MIRIAM AND HER ZOMBIE ENTOURAGE.


I love love love love love it!!!

GUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSS if you haven't read a single book by Thalassa sensei, what are you waiting for? You don't know what you're missing!!! She's a writing goddess.

Read for free with your KU subscription, the best books are always part of KU.

YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE KU ELITE?? Nope? ! JOIN US!!!
*kisses kindle app in her cellphone*

YOU GOT TO READ THIS!!

My favorite horsemen is still Pestilence followed by Thanatos but War is so so hawt!



♛♚♔Pre-reading thoughts♛♚♔
♥♥♥

♛♚♔UPDATE 07/14♛♚♔
My friend Parvati-chan (Goodreads was so rude to her) is hosting the QT's buddy reads for War.
Join the cutest BR elite in Goodreads.

https://urlzs.com/7NVTX

The hype for this one is out of this world!! Join the conversation!

♛♚♔UPDATE 07/11♛♚♔
THIS
IS
NOT
A
DRILLING
I repeat
THIS
IS
NOT
A DRILLING
(it's not erotica either, whatever that cover looks like)

🌈♩♪ ♫ ♬WAR IS LIVE♫ ♬♩♪🌈
*Kisses Kindle*

Live and already in the top of the charts. I'm so happy for Thalassa sensei, she's a writing goddess.

GUYS IN THE KINDLE UNLIMITED ELITE!!!
QT'S IN THE KINDLE UNLIMITED ELITE!!

For all of us in the Kindle unlimited Elite it's



We look so so so so smug now!!


SMUG 'cuz it's FREE for us!!

No offense but not many readers are as cool as us guys in the Kindle Unlimited elite.

Guys without Kindle unlimited!!!!The price for this one is really reasonable!!! Just $3.99 but if you're unsure try a first month KU for free!!!! JOIN THE KU ELITE!! You're missing the best books and We're having so much fun!!!
♛♚♔UPDATE 07/5♛♚♔
WAR IS COMING
🌈♩♪ ♫ ♬JULY 11 ♫♩♪ ♬🌈
I won't be part of the QT's BR but I CAN'T WAIT

ORIGINAL
It rarely happens but You can tell when I'm pissed off.
UPDATE. I JUST FOUND OUT. THE STUPID THIEF IS A WOMAN!! I HATE HER
UPDATE MARCH 04
*looks at her old Pestilence cover*

* looks at War Cover*


Can you tell why I'm so angry? Literally I cried out of rage. This is bad. Really bad. Almost Ember in the ashes bad.

It's not Thalassa sensei's fault, but allow me to rage.

MY COVERS WON'T MATCH!!
ALL BECAUSE A STUPID THIEF!! DIDN'T THEY THINK SOMEBODY WOULD NOTICE THE ART WAS STOLEN? HOW STUPID CAN ANYONE BE?

To the stupid plagiarist who stole from us the original cover I'm SORT OF a witch and I'm sending you bad vibes. What comes around goes around. You stole not only from original artist, you also deprived innocent, AMYzing girls from their beloved covers. Next time something bad happens to you you'll know it was ALL the people sending you bad vibes.



To all the Q-Ts, my amazing BR group. I was ready to start a War Buddy Read with all of you guys but I don't feel like starting a BR for that cover. It's not an ugly cover but it's not what I would've expected after the Pestilence's old cover stylistic approach. My apologies QT's. NO BR for us this time. Don't take me wrong, I'll read on release day, but I'm not organizing nor joining BR's because that stupid thief ruined it for me. I'm seriously pissed off.

GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS can you please help me send bad karma to the plagiarist? He deserves the worst for ruining my fun. I'm fed up with abs in covers!!!! This isn't erotica, you people!!!Thalassa sensei never used shirtless dudes in her covers before THE STUPID PLAGIARIST HAPPENED.

*roars like a lion*
*swears like a sailor*
*gets her butt kicked out of Starbucks*

So let's gather our spiritual forces, our powerful ki's and send them the worst, most hurtful vibes until the thief pays the copyright for the stolen artwork. With whatever he/she loves the most...or worse.

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

War is so awesome!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💜🩷💙💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: ☹️😍😋😀
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration

I loved the first book, Pestilence so I had a feeling I would like this one even better and that feeling was so right! At the beginning I wasn’t quite sure where this story was going to go, since it started out so different than Pestilence. However, I couldn’t turn away and I loved every minute. For one thing I love the fact that these heroines are so strong and capable.

Miriam is a survivor, she grew up in New Palestine, formerly known as Israel and is the daughter of a Jew and a Muslim. She survived the death of her father who was hit by a bus at the beginning of the apocalypse when everything with a motor stopped working. Then later Miriam, her mother and younger sister had to flee the city when there was a war. This was prior to the horseman “War” coming. Her city has seen many wars over the past few thousand years.

When Miriam lost the rest of her family in an accident, she returned to the city and lived alone in the damaged and condemned building where their previous apartment was located. She became adept at making weapons and had several rules to staying alive, the most important of which was to be brave. She was not afraid to kill in defense of herself, but when she sees the horseman “War” coming into her city she is brave enough to try to kill him.

“War” sees Miriam and immediately knows that she is his wife and was made for him. Though Miriam fights him at every turn. And it is no small thing since everyone else that goes against him ends up dead. Miriam keeps trying though because he is determined to kill all humans. He forces the people that are captured to either swear fealty to his cause or to die.

The fact that “War” sees her as his wife makes things both easier and harder for Miriam. Easier since he isn’t so willing to kill her but harder because she is both attracted to him and repulsed by what he is doing. It makes for some pretty steamy scenes. I won’t go further into what happens but to say that “War” won’t let Miriam go, so he takes her and his army from place to place destroying everything in his path while she tries to change his mind and thwart him in other ways.

Miriam’s fierce determination, the chilling destruction, and the complicated dynamic between her and the Horseman were the essence of the story. Her resilience and cunning make her a compelling protagonist, and it’s fascinating how her survival instincts clash with War’s absolute power. That tension made every moment gripping.

The world-building, the character depth, and the sensory details were well defined. The layered storytelling and symbolic themes really shine through. The main and supporting characters are well developed and have their own reasons for doing things. The sites and smells are thoroughly thought out as well. I couldn’t put this book down, and now I can’t wait for Famine!



This audiobook was told in Mirium’s points of view via solo narration and was narrated by Susannah Jones. I don’t generally like solo narration, but I loved this series when it first came out and wanted to listen to it via audiobook. Susannah has a soft, feminine voice which is very pleasant, and I enjoyed it very much and didn’t miss the dual narration. So far, I have enjoyed the first two audiobooks as much I liked reading these books the first time years ago. Though I must say I am glad the next two books have both male and female narrators.

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[Helen 2.0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’all were right, this was better than Pestilence.

In a lot of ways, the books are similar.
➔ Enemies-to-lovers dynamic where the FMC is a fighter who tries to kill the MMC.
➔ The Horseman thinks he sees some kind of “divine sign” from God that he’s meant to spare the heroine.
➔ Plot structure where the main characters ride from town to town so the Horseman can eradicate humanity one settlement at a time.
➔ Slow burn romance where the (anti-) hero falls first and is totally head over heels in love with the heroine takes her time and a lot of convincing before she falls, too.

What I liked better about this second book was the couple.

I can vibe with villain romances, even when the villain is as evil as you can imagine, AS LONG AS he doesn’t hurt the heroine or hurt women in general. I don’t know why I draw the line there but it’s just my boundary, I guess.

Pestilence did not pass that test at all—he shoots several arrows into the heroine’s back then drags her bleeding body several miles across the highway with his horse. He punishes her for fighting back against his pretty abhorrent treatment of her.

But War does pass with flying colors. From the moment he meets Miriam, he keeps her by his side but never touches her without her permission and actively protects her from threats. He also loves the fight in her, showing how proud he is of her strength even when she’s plotting against him. It’s actually adorable, which is not what you’d expect from the embodiment of war.

Miriam was also a lot more likable than Sara. She holds her ground and fights for her morals all the way through the book. She also has more agency in pushing the story forward. The plot mostly revolves around her attempts to save people from War’s army.

Also, this book actually passes the Bechdel test, so hey, there's that.

So since the plotline of War is essentially the same as Pestilence, with only a little bit of movement in the overarching series plotline, I think 500+ pages was too long for this story. It dragged in some places and could have been cut down.

[Penny Reid]

I WANT TO READ THIS BOOK SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for shouting.

[V. A Court of Wings and Ruin is NEW ADULT/EROTICA but Goodreads editors won't tell you to include it in the choice awards · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 for your soft (and safe) heart stars!!! (update to add links of Aubrey and Lex)
Henry Cavill as War.


FIRST OF ALL
Notes for safety gang. For those of you who don't know there's a group of Goodreads romance readers who hate to find things in our reads that ruin our fun. We don't have time to waste with cheating, rapist heroes, and we consider other woman interaction as cheating. It ruins the romance for us. Happy endings are a must for many of us.

Cheating: NO
Other Woman after meeting: NO Yay!*dances the conga*
Other Men: NO
Violence: The graphic violence ratchetes up. In comparison, Pestilence's violence was less in your face.
Doormat heroine: In my opinion no. That's the reason for my high rating. I love Miriam more than Sara.
Abuse: Phychological yes.
Physical No. Not like in Pestilence
Sexual there were rape attempts but thanks god the heroine does everything in her power to stop rape (an impossibility during war times, war and rape come hand in hand) and eventually the hero stopped the sexual abuses that occurred in his camp because Miriam herself was attacked. There's not a single time when H gets involved in those crimes. How sad I have to point out, it should be a given that NO HERO SHOULD EVER RAPE OR APPROVE RAPE but you know that lately we can find rapist heroes in books marketed as romance. However, for a while War ignored humans, he acted very indifferently towards them, after all he's there to kills us, so there are mentions that there was rape in his camp. He stopped this when he fell for the heroine, but careful if this is something that can trigger you.
HEA: Sort of. It's more like a Happy for now, but the good news is that it seems like the couple of book 1 Pestilence is still well and happy!!! So I'd say in Famine, book 3 of this series we will find all our people still happy. I'm really excited about that.
Bareback sex. Yes
Mismatched sexual pasts: Yes because REFORMED MANWHORE!!! He doesn't have eyes for anyone after meeting the heroine. Thank you so much for that Thalassa. Would have preferred if his past hadn't been mentioned at all but it didn't play anything with the romance. No X's, no slutshaming of the x's. No OW drama. The romance was great, in my opinion.
RELIGION: I praised Pestilence to no end because it approaches religion in a non-religious way. This book follows the same BRILLIANT neutral approach. If you looked up the world "religion" in your ebook reader it will return 9 results and none of them favors a religion above another.

Case in point Result 2 of 9
All religions want the same thing-salvation. I can hear my father's voice like an echo from the past. We're all the same
or

Result 4 of 9
But not everything is normal. After all, there's no indictation that religion exits here. Granted, I've only been at camp for a day, so maybe I just need to be patient. However, so far there have been no calls for prayer and no public sermons. I haven't seen anything that indicates which god -if any- these people believe in.

Anyone who disagrees with my POV, could you please quote which parts of the book contradict my statements?

I didn't find anything here that could be offensive to the Abrahamic creeds: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If anything, the mentions of religion in books like City of Bones and Angelfall are potentially more risky to become offensive for some creeds because the protagonists of those books, Jace and Archangel Raphael question the idea of God and their own biblical origins. Yet those books are insanely popular so I applaud Thalassa for the very unique way she transformed 4 biblical figures into interesting Romance heroes in a way that can be respectful to all creeds. BRILLIANT. It almost makes me give this book 5 stars.

There are some things here that didn't work for me personally but those have nothing to do with safety or romance. As a safe romance I highly recommend this book, almost as much as I recommend Pestilence. If you read only for the romance there's a lot of good things to find here. However, fans of post-apocalyptic books that don't care much for romance might find difficult to suspend disbelief around some situations because it's not realistic to expect that dead bodies can be move around by supernatural powerful beings without making human sick. People who work around dead bodies follow certain procedures. There were other unrealistic things here that didn't ruin my enjoyment. If you're here only for the romance I don't think any of those things will bother you.

I suggest to approach this book not as Post-apocalyptic story but as a VERY unique, VERY original Paranormal romance that stepped a tad bit into erotic romance territory (not as much as A Court of Mist and Fury, but unlike that book, War isn't marketed toward 11-13-year-old-children). Just don't expect this book to be as unique as Pestilence. The whole premise is still way different than most Fantasy romances out there. It's compelling and makes for a fun read, but some aspects of this story aren't as original (some overdone romance tropes here that in no way ruin the entertaining factor of the book) or thought-provoking as Pestilence. It's a totally different book with a totally different Hero, who isn't as willing to show his vulnerability as his brother, our dear Pest the conqueror.

Side note ABOUT THE BRILLIANCE OF THIS BOOK considering a bussiness perspective inside this spoiler tag. DON'T READ unless you're interested in the behind the scenes of publishers and the agenda against indie authors: I can't be the only one who notices that lately indie authors have been targeted by members of the GR community. Also there has been a lot of false advertising in the GR features. I want to point out that false marketing is a huge trigger for me because I PAY FOR MY OWN BOOKS AND UNLIKE MANY INFLUENCERS, I'M NOT PURSUING A CAREER IN PUBLISHING. This book has been marketed honestly so I recommend it. I've been saying all along that many people in Goodreads post reviews that hide problematic content of books published by the big five publishers or/and try to discourage readers from discovering authors like Laura Thalassa among many other talented writers. Why? Because many people including influencers think wrongly that the only way to get published is by getting an agent and/or the good will of the big publishers. If you're doing that, if you're covering up p@rn content or posting fake reviews to hurt this author or any other, hoping to gain the good will of publishers you're selling yourself cheap. My contacts tell me that publishing contracts lately aren't Stephanie Meyer's-contract-great. This book opened at number 7 (I heard it peaked at 5) on release day on AMAZON with no pre-sales period, and barely any marketing at all other than the author's hard work that reflects in having been publishing ORIGINAL, UNIQUE series in the past 6 years consistently and gaining new readers each time.



This book is still top of several amazon lists and it has been consistently on the top 100 for weeks. This author didn't start with these numbers. She kept working and publishing until she got them.

Thalassa, Shannon Meyer, C.N. Crawford, Jaymin Eve, among many others might not be as famous as indie stars like Howey, Forrest, Hockings, Hoover, Ward, but if what authors Brianna Aubrey
https://brennaaubrey.net/ and Jex Lane published on their blogs is true these authors must be receiving within the week of their release what many of the trad-published authors will receive as advance. Maybe more.
http://jexlane.com/faq/



And many traditionally published New adult fantasy authors, currently marketed as YA by their big five, can't get 3500 Goodreads ratings within their first month of release. Even well-known authors. This book is sold exclusively on Amazon, no paperback yet and is already past 5000 Goodreads ratings.

So if any of the Goodreads top reviewers who are using their Goodreads accounts and blogs to attack indie authors or hide problematic content of the big five publishers is reading this post, please consider other options that don't imply posting lies in our Goodreads community. Maybe there are other ways to achieve your dreams that don't require you to scoop low.

Now let's back to the book.

Reading this book as part of a Buddy Read was one of the best reading experiences I had this year.


Vicky- Death QT
Fotini- Pestilence QT
Chikiboom Mother-shocker QT
April- Death QT
Laura Elizabeth- Pierogi Princess
Bunny Mouse- War QT
Charlene- Sleepy Charlie QT
Tracy- Iron Maiden QT
Jordan-War QT
Karen-Pestilence QT
Parvati Patil- Desmond Flynn QT

I like the QT's review form. It was a great tool to analyze objectively my rating.

Characters: 5 stars
How can't I love Miriam more than Sara? Sara was a good heroine, but she was more willing to accept Pest's logic and his role in our extermination until almost the end of book 1. Miriam? she fought her husband's mission from the moment she met him. She knew she was no match for her "husband" physically, that she wasn't accepted by the people around him, that she wasn't even properly trained for war, but she did what she could to save as many lives as she could. And she killed a couple of rapists. I read some reviews calling her wishy washy and I strongly disagree. Miriam didn't waver in her purpose, not even when passion consumed her. And under those terrible circumstances I can understand why she needed sex. THIS WOMAN WAS SO LONELY! Sex became a mean for her purposes and a way to connect to someone else. And I applaud a heroine that ENJOYS sex! I can't stand behind that STUPID idea many romance writers have that man can't and won't resist sex, while women not only can, but somehow should if they want to get their happy endings. How many times we have read about separated couples and find H sleeping around during the separation and the stupid h waiting in disgusting, unequal celibate? I hate those kind of tropes and that's why I love this book so much.
War on the other hand was so difficult to love AT FIRST. Half the book he made me miss his brother Pest. Remember when we met Pestilence he was minding his own business when Sara shoot him? And he was in pain! And he asked Sara for a bit of humanity, a bit of MERCY a bit of HUMANITY even though he was the most powerful being we have met so far within this post-apocalyptic world! He was vulnerable and strong at the same time ever since the opening chapter of his book. And later he becomes even more vulnerable and even MORE POWERFUL as love finds him. War shows no pain, no physical vulnerability and his devotion to Miriam seems at first more like a dominance thing than true, passionate love. But eventually War shows us how he fell hard for Miriam and in doing that we could see a little of compelling vulnerability in him. Like Miriam I was surprised when I realized I was in love with War. I didn't even realized when that happened! I was sure I didn't like War at all even after the 65% mark, and suddenly, I didn't know when, I didn't know how. I was rooting for him! I was smiling when he was smiling and got dead worried when things seemed to go terribly wrong for him. It was magical!!!
Character relationships: 4 stars
It was only War and Miriam and for me it was hard at first to root for them. I was rooting solely on Miriam. In general, Thalassa's books are always focused on the couple and their relationship. There wasn't an equivalent of the elderly couple here like there was in Pestilence and I missed that so much.
Pace: 5 stars
Despite my not caring much for War and his raids this book grabbed me and it was difficult to put down. The last 25% of the book is unputdownable. Ignore the DNF's reviews because this book saves the best for last.

Steam: NO STARS. I remember several sex scenes but only two worked for me. One of these sex scenes was as disgusting as the one described in a court of wings and ruin, but Hey! at least this is marketed towards adults and not to 11-13 YO children. I also hated the overuse of porn language. Nothing wrong with dirty talk, but Rhapsodic is one of my favourite books ever and that kind of classy, romantic, creative, not over-descriptive and yet supersteamy sex scenes is what rocks my boat. In other words I only liked the sex scenes that were similar to those of Pestilence and Rhapsodic and there weren't enough of those.

Beginning: 4 stars
The opening chapter didn't pull me the way Pestilence did, but if you don't compare, it was still engaging and well-written.
Middle: 4 stars

Ending: 5 stars
The last 25% is the best part.
Overall: 4stars
Trigger warnings for (cheating?, rape?, gratuitous angst?):
I already posted my warnings, and I wouldn't call the angst that comes with the end of world as "gratuitous angst". The title itself is a trigger warning.
What I liked the most about War in 10 words or less:
I can't say everything I liked about this book in 10 words. So many things worked well here. Again if you don't compare to Pestilence you may enjoy this one a lot.
What I didn't like about War in 10 words or less:
An ancient powerful paranormal being using modern porn language.

Thank you QT's for inviting me to read with you. I'm so glad to see honest, real users who PAY FOR THEIR OWN BOOKS (not a single ARC or booktour review on this BR) enjoying a safe book like this one. Bravo QT's.

***********************************
Original
I just realized Pestilence changed cover. What happened? Does Anyone know? I can't take this series seriously anymore with a cover like that.

[Reynita ★ The Night Reader ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻-𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀°‧₊°｡❆

𝓐𝓰𝓮 𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: 𝓯𝓸𝓻 18+

Well, it’s not what I expected. After reading the first book, I mentally went berserk at home for waiting the rest of books in the series to arrive. So you can guess how maniacally excited I was over this book when it arrived.

I had a high expectation over this book. It didn’t necessarily fail me but it didn’t meet my expectation either. Here’s what I think:

‎ꫂ᭪݁ The Plot
So I heard this one was also Enemies to Lovers. But apparently it’s not. There’s no way this is enemies to lovers 🙂. The moment the MMC saw the FMC, he deemed her to be his wife and he tried to win her over. But the girl didn’t even put up a fight 😭 like girl, you were kidnapped (kind of) and you didn’t try to hurt him or run away for real? She did try to run away but the effort was just … no spark at all. Like she didn’t even want to leave his side. 🙂

AND WHAT IS IT WITH THIS BOOK AND THE SMUT?! THE SMUT TOOK OVER THE PLOT and yes I complained about it. They’re in a middle of battlefield and then they kissed. She’s in a burning house and they kissed. They’re all dirty from the battlefield and they had sex. GIRL NO. THAT IS UNHYGIENIC. 🤦🏻‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️ everything about this book screamed sex all the time and that’s the plot which I disliked very much.

On top of that, this book should’ve been shorter. The plot was dragging and info-dumping. But the few chapters near the end of the book saved it for me. Hence, the 3 stars instead of 2. But still not good enough compared to the prequel.

⋆.𐙚 ̊ The Characters

War
I don’t feel any spark of connection with him. He’s broody and aloof and he’s thirsty for sexual touch all the time. I don’t get the appeal over him. I tried to like him but apparently I don’t care about him. He’s too thirsty for my taste. Nothing profound about him. The change in his personality wasn’t impactful as well and I wish he were as dominant and possessive as his brother, Pestilence. Pestilence was PERFECTION.

Miriam
Girl … I don’t even know what’s going on in your head 😂 and I was with her all the time. She was forced to come with War and she said she wouldn’t be agreeable to him and she’d fight him but I DIDN’T SEE THAT AT ALL. She was just following him around and she was lusting over War the moment she laid eyes on him but she said she hated him but then she kissed him and then they had sex. Girl … I don’t get you at all. The lusting part makes sense but it’s like she had no control over her lust in a dire moment 😭 bye

.☘︎ ݁˖ The Romance
THERE IS NO ROMANCE. THEY’RE ONLY LUSTING ON EACH OTHER. Whatever they wanted to call it, I didn’t see the love at all. Booooring and aggravating romance in a nutshell.

The great thing about this series is each book in the series is about a different character with different story (although you can guess how it ends). So it doesn’t matter, if you don’t enjoy a certain book in the series. There’s still hope for a better book in the next instalment. Here’s hoping Famine is better than this one.

𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ 𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖

You know what? I don’t even need sleep at this point. I just want more yearning enemies to lovers and my dark romance story 🫠

✨welcome to my dark romance era✨

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Pray for the world.
War is coming”.

NEED.
Where is the synopsis? I have no idea what will happen in this book, and I couldn’t be more excited 😆.
I took a quiz to know which horsemen I am, and I end up being sometimes War and sometimes Death, so yeah. I really want this one.

[Corina · Rating 4 out of 5]

How is your book hangover doing?? I'm still thinking about this book....

4.5 stars

WAR, I’m still speechless and amazed, but incredibly happy, it was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be.

War, the second of the Four Horsemen, was deliciously dark, dangerous, swoony in a warlord kind of way, and very much everything I wanted him to be!! Again, it just shows how much I like these kind of heroes. He was all kinds of FINE!! His determination, possessiveness, protectiveness and later on struggle made a beautiful man. And I’m going to come out, and say that I LOVED War even more than Pestilence. There I said it!!

War had such tender sides, which were the stark opposite to his ruthless pursuit of his duties. I loved how easy it was for him to accept Miriam for what she was, his wife, with a stubborn streak, there to make his life challenging.

I was also impressed by Miriam, she was incredibly strong, but also as I mentioned above quite stubborn. Brave, but lonely, and hardened by war, she was no damsel in distress. Used to surviving on her own wits she was surprisingly resilient when it came to War and his duties. She fought for a different outcome, even after multiple setbacks, she never gave up. And sooner or later her soft heart chafed on War in wondrous ways. My favorite part of the story.

Both War and Miriam were lonely people. Finding another person that would care about their well-being was foreign to both of them. And although Miriam was forced to be close to War, she didn’t succumb to his ‘charms’ immediately. The change came over time. Because even though War was never overbearing, he also was who he was – ‘nothing’ would change that – inhuman, a warlord, and fixed on his duty as one of the Four Horsemen – he was there to destroy mankind.

There were parts of this book that left me raw, drained, and heartbroken. It’s always an eye opening experience to see the Four Horsemen in their elements. I sometimes forget what they are – which is inhuman. They came to earth to do a job. And that’s what they’ll do.

One of the things I loved the most about this book was that WAR was located on a different continent. It was perfect for the story, and delivered a fascinating background story. And now, I can see how the cover fit the story beautifully – kudos to the cover designer.

As I said before, war on itself is never a topic that induces hearts and rainbows. Following a horseman on his reign of terror is nothing to laugh at. Because of it my heart was full but also heavy, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any differently. Can’t wait for Famine’s book.

___________________________________
I received a copy of this book from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.

[Jilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as this apocalypse goes, I'm ambivalent. I mean, sure, we all expect to die soonish, but I think we are all expecting it to be the robots who kill us, not the four horsemen. It's more of a modern solution. I mean four horsemen? That's so old-fashioned.


Why is this taking so long? I haven't even had one robot offer me cake yet.

If you loved the first book, Pestilence, like me, you will like this one too. But, you will also feel like it's not as good, and you will think it's a bit too long and maybe a tad slow in the middle. Then, you will want some cake. Probably chocolate. Served by a robot.

So, one of the best things about Pestilence was that he was so very inhuman. He was learning to human from Sara. But War has been human for a while before he meets Miriam in this book. He's been humaning all over the place. Maybe a little too much since he has been like a fucking machine. Not machine like a robot - I've already established that. A literal fucking-machine. He's been all about killing people and fucking bitches... and everyone is already dead around him...
So, yeah. Not as innocent and other-worldly as Pestilence was.
But, their main missions were the same: kill all humans. They just had different techniques when it came to accomplishing the same goal.

As long as they are enjoying their work - that's all that really matters.



War meets Miriam and decides she's his wife. He takes her back to his war camp, but doesn't rape her. He waits for her consent, even though he believes she was sent by God to be his wife. And, I really gotta wonder... if the fucking God of War can understand the concept of consent, what the hell is wrong with Chad at the frat house? Passing out in your bed from drinking too much at the party is NOT consent Chad!


This is so wrong. That is obviously not a Pringles can. Not long enough. Jilly knows a Pringles can when she sees one.

So, this book is basically Miriam living and traveling in a war camp with occasional outings to massacre the next city. She gets to know War and, for some reason, falls for him. Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. It's pretty much equal to finding the biggest, baddest guy in prison and becoming his bitch because he will protect you from the others. Sure, you are getting ass-raped, but he's also pretty sweet when he forces other inmates to give you their puddings during dinner or he'll shank them. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Bring on Famine!!

[Maca · Rating 2 out of 5]

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

I don't know where the problem is.
Is it the book or is it me? Or both?
Okay, apparently it’s me.
And this was the most anticipated book of 2019 for me, but of course it went downhill, cause why not?

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

War isn't our problem at the moment...

This was my first re-read and my first listen of War and I'm again left emotionally drained. I can't believe how much this reading experience was affected by what's going on around us at the moment. It's scary to think that for the first time, WAR is not the biggest problem in our world and seems to be a past event. I know the 'war on terror' is still happening though, with war-torn countries devastated by death and destruction. But, Covid-19 seems to have surpassed the WAR and become the biggest worry in our world. Those poor people have to deal with the repercussions of war AND the Corona Virus.

Maybe I felt this way because WAR is not in my backyard. I'm not directly affected or connected to the war and I can only 'see' what the media wants me to see. The media wants me to see each country that is struck down by the Corona Virus, how many have succumbed and how many have died. Like looking at a historical event, it seemed like War was in our past.

Laura Thalassa writes AMAZING stories, and Susannah Jones brings them to life for me. I was very happy with my listening experience and thought the narrator did a fantastic job portraying the characters. I will definitely be buying the Kindle and Audible versions of Famine when they come out.

The one thing that struck me while listening was when War mentions that his brothers, the ones who have not been awakened yet (Famine and Death) will not stop, and they are even stronger than him. Oh my LORDY! That is a scary, scary thought.

Famine, I'm looking forward to your awakening and I can't wait to meet who brings you down.

******************************************************

It’s hard to love War

This review is a wee bit spoilerish if you haven’t read Pestilence yet. Please proceed with caution.

I think the hardest part of reading an EPIC book like War is deciding whether to surrender. You are faced with so many internal dilemmas about choices, sacrifices, deciding whether to have faith and whether there is redemption for those who sin. Can we look at someone like War, and judge him for something he has no power over? War's purpose was to judge the hearts of men and send them onto their maker if they are sinners. It’s like reading Pestilence all over again. I can’t help but look at the world around me, and think, we’ve done wrong by our people and our planet, when will we stop?

War is nothing like Pestilence. Well, in some ways he’s like Pestilence, as they’re both mean buggers and their purpose and mission is EVERYTHING. But, in a lot of ways, they are different. Pestilence could kill a city just by walking through it. War brings an army to help him kill a city. I think the biggest difference for me was that I felt sympathy for Pestilence a lot sooner in his story than I felt for War. I hated War for a lot of his story. His single-minded focus on killing, narrow-minded views, and judgemental attitude made him less than desirable. I found War, hard to love.

I spent most of the time reading War thinking Miriam made ALL the wrong decisions. The only problem is…I don’t know if there was a right decision Miriam could have made. Do you kill, or be killed? If you protect, will you let someone else pay for it? When your “husband” is the evilest man you’ve ever met…and he can’t be killed, what do you do? Like Miriam, I spent a lot of time trying to work out how to get through to War that what he was doing was wrong. BUT, in the next minute, bloody humans do what comes naturally to them…fight, rape, kill and steal…and I’m back to thinking maybe War’s right. Well, maybe not right, but not completely wrong either.

Laura Thalassa has an amazing talent for making you think beyond what is in front of you. I’ve had a cold this week and I’ve felt extremely sorry for myself. How can I complain, though? I have a roof over my head, access to medicine and doctors, electricity to heat my house and loved ones to care for me. Not even comparing my situation to War, there are a lot of people who are not as lucky as me. Like after reading Pestilence, for about 2.5 seconds I want to be a better person and do better by my fellow humans. The problem is that this task is bigger than just me, we all need to want to be better and do better by each other.

Ok, ok, I’m off my high horse. But, wouldn’t it be nice if there was no War…

I honestly LOVED this journey and I think Laura Thalassa is a master at her craft. War flowed in a way that felt intimidatingly long but was over in what felt like the blink of an eye. This is a story that will make your skin crawl, heart beat extra hard, and mind whirl with unanswerable questions. You want to kill but know that killing isn’t the answer. You want to care but know that caring will not save them all. You want to love but know that loving the monster means loving what you hate most. I loved that I hated War, but I loved that I came to love him too.

War took me from the highest highs to the lowest lows. I never thought I would end this story with a goofy smile on my face, but I did. It’s ugly, dark and sinful but it’s also about bravery, determination and dedication.

At the end of the journey, I surrendered to War.

I find it almost impossible to finish an EPIC story like War…and just move on. I can’t read anything similar because it will be hard to beat. If I change up the genre, then there’s a chance that I might misdiagnose my mood and pick the wrong sub-genre. The next book after an EPIC is always hard to pick. Maybe I should take a break from reading…HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like stepping into an entirely new world — wild, rich, and humming with danger. I loved how this series lets you travel across vastly different landscapes, cultures, and emotional terrains with each book. ⚔️🔥✨

📖 Book: War
🖋️ Author: Laura Thalassa
🌟 Rating: 5 ✧
🖤 Genre: dark fantasy romance (post-apocalyptic / paranormal)
📚 Series: The Four Horsemen
🩶 Summary: War is the second book in The Four Horsemen quartet, transporting us to a ravaged Jerusalem where the second Horseman descends to carry out his brutal mission. But when fate places Miriam, a fierce, resilient woman, in his path, everything begins to unravel. Can love truly stand against war, or will it burn in the fire he brings? ⚔️🔥💔

♡ What I loved most:
• The worldbuilding: it was absolutely immersive. The different culture, the religious backdrop, the tension in the air… it was a full-sensory experience 🌍

“That was my first lesson in war: everyone loses, even the victors.”

• Miriam: she was feisty, fierce, endlessly protective. She was all bite and bravery, and I adored the way she never let herself — or others — go undefended 🛡️
• Her relationship with War: it was so tender in contrast to the chaos around them. And the way he softened for her specifically? I melted 🫠

“‘I saw you, and for the first time, I wanted.’ His words pucker my flesh. ‘And so, I took.’”

• The ending: it was gentle, satisfying, and had just the right amount of hope ✨

───♡─────────────

୨ৎ Overall:
This book felt like stepping into an entirely new world — wild, rich, and humming with danger. I loved how this series lets you travel across vastly different landscapes, cultures, and emotional terrains with each book. And while War was absolutely stunning in its own right, Pestilence still holds that special, untouchable place in my heart. (First loves are like that, aren’t they?)
There’s something truly unique about the world Thalassa has built — this brutal, broken landscape made softer by these deeply human, deeply flawed love stories. And I’m officially committed. I need to see where the other horsemen take us next.

“‘For your soft heart.’”

xoxo, until the next book 🩶📖✨

「The Four Horsemen series」
#1 Pestilence — 5 ✧
#2 War — 5 ✧
#3 Famine — 5 ✧
#4 Death — 5 ✧

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit September 29
Admittedly, some things here didn't work for me. War used to be a manwhore (his manwhore ways are in the past) while Miriam is barely experienced and I hated that. My 5 stars rating reflects my overall enjoyment of the story, it was hard to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The twists and turns were great and I love the cameos of the other horsemen.

However, I had small issues, from the cover, to the constant repetition of the same plot: they fight-they have sex. But on the other hand, so many things were working for me, like the way War was evil to everyone, but a lamb when he was with Miriam.

Overall a great book, only some small issues that aren't a big deal. Having said that there's something important I have to say: This book isn't racist at all.

To all of those who posted misleading reviews about this book:

Shame.
On.
You.


I recommend this series. I can't wait for Famine.



EDIT AUGUST 1ST
I still hate the cover, but now that some "people" are posting opinions without a back up and trying to get everyone to jump on their bandwagon I want to read this book more than ever and I hope I'll love it. I see many people trying to pull a stupid campaign on War: Making people Hating a book without reading it.

I haven't seen so far any reliable back up based on the book to their negative claims. They posted negative reviews and say the book is potentially offensive but did they even read the book? It doesn't seem like it. If you read their reviews you'll see that everything they post reads as a generic rant that has nothing to do with the book. It's like they can't talk about the specifics of the books because they didn't read it.
Where are the controversial Highlights that triggered them so much?
Where's the Analysis? If you claim something is offensive why don't you explain why?
Where are the offensive Quotes? What in the writing was so triggering to you that you can't quote it?
Where's something to back up their opinions that this book is problematic? And why do these people not only don't back their claims but they also want to impose their opinion on everyone? I love the idea of the setting of this book. I'm tired of every fantasy book being always a variation of medieval England or a variation of American culture. If the setting is so offensive to you it doesn't have to be offensive to everybody.

I'm going to block anyone jumping on the I'll-hate- on- this- book -without- reading -it- because someone- said- something- bad- about- it bandwagon.



Can you please block me if what I say offends you? The people who are jumping on the hate bandwagon without thinking, without reading, without questioning the opinion of a few reviewers who aren't exactly reliable (no backup to their claims), are mentally weak. If you're gonna hate on a book, read it first. Think for yourself.

I read for entertainment, for escapism. Please don't try to impose on me your SJW agenda.

I love that this book will help me to clean up my list of friends.

I'm going to post very good insights from people who never jump into bandwagons and are reliable reviewers, all of them post reviews and interact with their friends.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/user_status...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Parvati Patil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit October 19
Our BR is officially over. This was an amazing reading experience. Thank you for Buddy reading with me. I loved this book.

Let's BR famine next year.

Goodreads continues its campaign against authors outside the established publishers forgetting that indies and their fans are contributing to its Alexa rating as much, if not more, than the fans of traditionally-published books. They modified this post to erase the links to my BR friends and their updates. They erased my previous updates, the invitation to our BR which was open for everyone and our official gif. During our BR they put our updates on hold, and they erased the paperback edition which affected our links and deprived me of my original votes. Right now it's marking 50 likes but in reality this post has more votes and it should be ranked higher in the reviews page.




Notice how the first edition of Pestilence, another book in The Four Horsemen series, and the one I read, is missing the original cover.




In behalf of all the fans of indie authors I'm going to ask the Goodreads staff and librarians to please treat us readers, our reviews, updates, and ratings with respect. No need to be rude.

Update 02 18 20
The links keep being removed, but the slanderous reviews for this book remain.
Staff members: Could you please don't remove the links to the other reviews? It's common practice to link to reviews and I've seen top reviewers use their post to link other reviews. Or is there a double standard? Show you're respectful of readers and their reviews disregarding if they have reached top reviewer status or if they're just regular members. Demonstrate you're civilized and fair.

The QT's: (sorry, for repeating myself: please staff don't remove these links)
🌸Vicky- Death QT

🌸Fotini- Pestilence QT

🌸Chikiboom Mother-shocker QT

🌸April- Death QT

🌸Laura Elizabeth- Pierogi Princess QT

🌸Veronica- Henry Cavill QT

🌸Charlene- Sleepy Charlie QT

🌸Tracy- Iron Maiden QT

🌸Jordan-War QT

🌸Karen-Pestilence QT

🌸Twyla-War QT

🌸Parvati Patil- Desmond Flynn QT

[Navessa]

So fucking here for this.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of weird and I didn't particularly like it for several reasons:

(spoiler alert!)
- Why originally have the setting be Israel/Palestine? That seemed unnecessary and problematic and the author tried to gloss over it by making the heroine come from parents who were Muslim and Jewish, but yeah, that was still a bad choice of location to say the least.
- He's War, I get it, but why the zombies?
- Miriam swings wildly between hating and lusting over War and then suddenly she loves him because he has made very small exceptions to his "kill everyone and everything" ways. I don't get it.
- This just seemed too much like the first book. Only with active killing and zombies (again, why zombies?!)

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sighs loudly.

Well, that was heartbreaking. And not in the fun "oh my feels" way.

I can't even tell you how agonizing it is to wait and wait and wait and wait for a book—a sequel, no less, to a book you absolutely adored—only for it to suck.

And I pray that you will never have to experience that unique pain.

Was I expecting too much from this book? Maybe. My tastes when it comes to villainous love interests are extremely specific.

Namely, they have to have some kind of goddamn appeal.

Of which, War had none.

Now, what made me love Pestilence so much was the fact that Pestilence himself was so unapologetically ruthless. After Sara tried to kill him, he dragged her behind his horse for miles, uncaring of her needs and her wellbeing.

And he had his own sadistic charm. I love that shit! I love sadistic villains!!!!! Sure, that makes me a bit odd to some. So sue me.

And the best part? Sara wasn't struck with insta-love (or lust) for this harbinger of the apocalypse despite how "sexy" he was. The fall was slow, so by the time we reached the end with them together and happy and at peace, it felt earned.

Absolutely nothing in War was earned. Least of all the romance.

God, I don't even know where to begin. I started out enjoying the book, too. I thought Miriam was a very real and relatable character for the first 10% of the book, but pretty much as soon as War showed up, that all went down the drain.

That's not exactly the reaction you want to your main love interest.

Miriam's every thought in relation to War is how attractive he is. I really wish Laura had allowed more time for editing/beta readers, because they might have been able to tell her that you can describe a person's attractiveness without harping on their "sexiness" and "beauty" and whatever other adjective you feel inclined to use every three lines.

A person's bearing and how they carry themselves can be attractive if you describe it properly. Their personality. Their snide remarks. Their utter confidence in their every word and declaration.

But all War had was his looks, unfortunately. And, honestly, he was just a Walmart brand Khal Drogo. I'm not even into Drogo! But at least he and Dany had an actual, real connection that I never once felt between War and Miriam.

My villains need to have a certain charm to them in order for me to fall for them. They need to have a silver tongue, perhaps be adept at deception and sadism. War had literally none of this, and that falls completely on the author.

All of War's dialogue, literally every single line of it, was as bland as a blob of mayonnaise on a white bread sandwich. At one point, Miriam had described him as "silver-tongued" and I literally laughed out loud. Bitch where??? All he did was go on and on about how she needed to surrender to him, and how she was his wife, promised to him by God himself.

Wife, wife, wife. I was having war flashbacks to a certain popular author and her obsession with "mates."

Quite honestly, if you delete 98% of the usage of the word "wife," I think War's dialogue would improve by about 20%. Not much, but God it's something. I love the use of pet names, especially from my villains, and especially if they are disparaging or possessive in any way.

But wife? I never thought I could grow to hate such a commonly used word. If I am ever married, I will drop kick my husband if he calls me that more than once.

And considering War is supposed to be war incarnate... I honestly didn't get that vibe. He was a stereotypical depiction of a warlord that could raise the dead. That's it. I might've had far too specific expectations for this book, but what Laura gave me just... didn't cut it. I felt none of war's violence and fear and panic and desperation and ruin from War himself. He kinda just rode into battle and we were shown what his army did as it raided and sacked cities.

Quite honestly, War did very little actual violence himself. He was just the threat of violence, and even that I didn't feel because Miriam was never in any danger from him, as he swore over and over again that he would never hurt her.

Yawn.

And my biggest most glaring complaint lays in Miriam and the fact that she was constantly flip-flopping between "I care for him despite his ruthlessness" and "I hate him for his ruthlessness!"

Make up your goddamn mind. Maybe I'm a person who is too intent on holding onto her grudges, but based on the atrocities that War committed against countless innocent lives, I would never in a million years be able to look past it just because he has cheese grater abs. No dick is that bomb. And the fact that I was supposed to believe this was possible and a legitimate basis for their "relationship" is insulting to me as a reader.

Anyway, I could complain about War for days, let's move on.

A gigantic gripe I had with the book was Miriam's relationship with characters other than War. Other than it being nonexistent except for a shallow, skin deep friendship with one other woman in camp, nothing at all felt organic or real.

Miriam is fucking War by like... 30% in? I can't remember when the boring as hell oral sex started, but I know it was early. Anyway, the entire camp knew this. Everyone knew that this girl was getting special treatment from the man who had slaughtered everyone they ever knew and loved because she was sucking his dick.

And no one other than War's phobos riders (basically his elite guard/navy seals) were disgusted by this.

I take huge fucking issue with this.

Listen, I am all for female solidarity. I love me some women lifting up other women. We gotta stand by each other in this patriarchal world. But the fact that not one single woman in this camp was even slightly angry at Miriam for shacking up with the man who is soaked in the blood of every dead relative and friend and child and lover they had? Absolutely fucking ludicrous.

Back during World War II, the women who slept with the Nazis were shunned and shamed. Whether they slept with them willingly due do their support for the Nazi's cause, they felt they had to in order to survive, or they were literally forced into their beds didn't matter to the other people in their town/city. They had their heads shaved publicly in the town square and were cursed and spat upon and kicked from their homes.

Was this right? Absolutely not. But it is still very much one of the darker parts of human nature that comes out when war comes to call.

So you're telling me that Zara, the woman who watched her family get slaughtered by War's army, then found her sister and brother-in-law's cold bodies cut down in the middle of the street as her young nephew lay dying of an arrow wound to the chest, is now gonna be buddy-buddy with Miriam and make witty jokes about her fucking War?

What the fuck, Laura?

I won't even get into the fact that Zara didn't know for sure that Miriam wasn't being forced into this arrangement by War, and how insensitive jokes about how much more fun War's company is to hers would be if Miriam was being sexually assaulted by this harbinger of death and violence.

It was a shallow, not well thought out attempt at another relationship for Miriam to have with another character. I mean, if War's relationship with her was bland and dry as sandpaper, you know that no other relationship is gonna be any good.

And holy God have mercy on my soul the sex scenes were so incredibly boring and repetitive. Everything about this book was boring and repetitive, but how do you manage to make the sex with a supposedly adonis-like warlord boring?

There was nothing but missionary levels of sex and oral going on between these two. No amount of pussy eating was gonna make the sex any hotter, Laura, I'm sorry to tell you this. They did not even once try a different position or attempt to spice it up in any way. War kept bringing up how a proper husband "keeps his wife chained to his bed" and yet nothing even remotely kinky or BDSM related occurred.

Not that I really care that much, as I seriously, sincerely felt absolutely nothing for War at all.

God, I'm so angry.

I'm thankful that this series consists of four loosely connected stories, rather than actual sequels. It allows me to be tentatively, warily hopeful for Famine and Death based on the sneak peaks we got of them both in this book.

I so want to be excited, Laura, but God my faith took such a big hit with this. I cannot stress enough how much I must've disassociated and read words that totally did not register in my head from like 45% and on.

God, I'm heartbroken.

And as for how Laura handled the Palestine/Israel conflict? I am nowhere near educated enough on the subject to even attempt to dissect it. But, based on what I've seen others say about how it was handled (who undoubtedly know more about it than me), I'm gonna settle on a "big fuckin' yikes, dude" and leave it at that.

Anyway, here's to hoping Famine will be better. And, if not Famine, please don't fuck up Death.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Four Horsemen series; and it’s War’s story! Obviously, the story had a lot of violence in it; but like the first book...a unique love grew between War and Miriam. In Pestilence’s book there was a lot more touching moments between him and his woman... whereas War and his “wife” ( he truly believes Miriam was given to him by God to be his wife) were against each other for the majority of the story. Even with them being enemies at first, they have attraction and loyalty of sorts towards each other. Once again I was intrigued by the story and loved it all the more for it’s uniqueness.

If a dark tale doesn’t turn you off and you don’t mind a bit of supernatural in your reads... this is a series I highly recommend! If you’re worried about it having a ton of religion thrown in... it’s not like that at all. I am so pleased I found this series and I am hoping hard that the author won’t take too long in writing Famine! I wish I could have waited until they were all out but I am glad I read the first two books! I have definitely found an author that is new to me and I can’t wait to check out her other work!

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

All religions want the same thing—salvation. I can hear my father’s voice like an echo from the past.
We’re all the same.

Miriam is trying to live in post apocalyptic Jerusalem when the second horseman of the apocalypse War makes his way there.

She is terrified, but when she is cornered by War, he spares her life. She is taken back to his camp where he claims she is his wife and she will eventually be his.

It’s a slow burn romance between two enemies.

Miriam is brave and funny.

“Is my wife concerned for my wellbeing?”
I fix my gaze on a horse stall up ahead. “I forgot—you’re used to hotter climates,” I say. “I hear hell is particularly warm this time of year.”

War knows Miriam belongs to him, even though she fights with him.

War gives a malevolent laugh, and despite myself, it raises the hairs on the back of my neck. “Fight all you want, wife. Battle is what I’m best at—and I assure you, you won’t win this one.”

Laura Thalassa writes fantasy enemies to lovers romance so so well. If you’re looking for a post apocalyptic fantasy, give this series a try. Free on kindle unlimited.

My only complaint is the wait for book 3!

~~~~~~

Remove one book from the tbr pile, another one takes its place 😃

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 “For your soft heart” stars; how can a cruel man be so swoony?!?

2025 reread
Sigh. I couldn’t downgrade more 🥹. The way this book ends made all the pain and crying worth it 😭

Even with his damn previous manwhore status 😒 I couldn’t 🫠🫣🫣🫣
I HAAAAATED… WITH A PASSION OF A THOUSAND SUNS… 🤬🤬🤬🤬 every time we get reminded of it 😐😑😑😑
But if I took in all the circumstances
And the world building
And the change and dedication in War…
It’s hard to be mad at him 🫣

Plus. He’s ALLLLLL about his Wife 😭
He’ll do ANYTHING for her 🥹❤️
The amount of swoon in this book 😭🫠 and this is in an apocalyptic world too! it’s hard to feel swoony when the hero is killing people left and right 😬😅🫣🫣🫣
and when things like cars and or technology aren’t a priority

But WAR made me believe in him ❤️

The ending?!?!? 😭😭😭
JEEEEEZUS 😭😭😭😭

2021 Review
Laura Thalassa… girl… how do you get me to understand that these men are here to DESTROY HUMANITY yet somehow allow me to find redeemable qualities in them? *standing round of applause*.

War… War is here to cause… yup, you guessed it, destruction and war😅. Pestilence came and tried to conquer (ahem kill) by spreading sickness, but he “failed” because he fell in love. So now his brothers must pick up the slack- in this case- by killing people in a bloody/gruesome way. War makes his appearance (side note- I really enjoyed the little sneak into Pesty’s life, his HEA). War’s on a mission- and nothing’s gonna stop him… well, nothing but his WIFE…

Yup, I said it… this man is MARRIED?! 🤣 But the funny thing is that the woman he’s married to… doesn’t know it 😂👏🏻 and doesn’t want to be his wife… enter some delicious push/pull fighting scenes.

Miriam, age 23, has been on her own for years. At this point in the world, there’s very little electricity or technology because they’re in an apocalyptic world, people are barely surviving, and in times like this, you gotta do what you gotta do to live another day😬. Miriam kills whenever she needs to in order to defend herself; she even makes her own weapons. One day, War comes into her town, and right behind him are all his men, his army, which only means one thing- they’re all gonna die. But she’s not gonna go down without a fight- and War’s ready👀. She fights, she pierces his armor and hits her target… but he doesn’t die😱- come on- he was created by God himself (OK, let me rephrase, he CAN die, but he just doesn’t STAY dead🙃) and then… he speaks in a random tongue and she understands. EVERY. WORD😳. Which means only one thing- he met his match, his other half, his WIFE. 🫠

Because she hates him, she refuses to go with him, which means he has to abduct her🤷🏻‍♀️. She’s so BALLSY that when they ask her if she wants allegiance or death she says DEATH; shoot, she tries running away a few times, but come on, how dare you run from MOTHA👏🏻FREAKING 👏🏻WAR?! He will do ANYTHING to protect her, even if it’s to protect her from herself and her rash decisions😅👀. She HATES that he’s here to kill everyone, so she’s gonna do whatever she can to ruin his plans, and save as many people as possible in the process, even if she has to use her feminine wiles to convince him 😈🔥.

Oh god War… the moment he calls her “Wife” and uses it as her nickname, I was done for. So swoooony!! Was he a manhoar before? Yeah😐 but all of that stops the second he recognizes that Miriam’s his wife. He ONLY sees HER. She’s IT for him 🥰🥺❤️. This man’s so damn swoony that he WAITS for them to go all the way until she SURRENDERS… mind, body, and soul… and damn… does he do whatever he can to convince her 🥵of his love🔥. There’s so much TENSION and VISCERAL, PALPABLE CHEMISTRY 🔥🥵. This is wayyyyy more steamy than Pestilence 😅. They might not have smexx until 60%, but the journey to that stage in their relationship was very… ah… satisfying 🙃😉🥵.

Their connection is unlike any other, for both of them. The fact that she can understand him in ANY language shows how deep it goes, and her scar further solidifies it🥹. He goes ABOVE and BEYOND for her, going against his instinct, his mission, so many times, because he loves her THAT much, and he HAS to protect her… but things happen…

There was one super annoying scene where Miriam’s about to do something… my eyes were bugging… and I was doing this 😐😒😑. I felt all the emotions- she doesn’t do it, but the intent was there😏.

I didn’t think I was gonna cry in this book, but damn, I was wrong🥺. I felt the angst like a punch in my stomach! The ending😩… gah- I am SOOOO glad all of the books are out… next is Famine. I can’t wait.

Looooooveed it!

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/owd/omd/sharing
-violence/death/bloodshed
-r@p€ attempt
-H was previously a man hoar before h

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dragged through this one and the love connection was meh to me. However ending was good.

[enqi ☾⋆˚*̣̩✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The horseman reaches out and draws a finger over my collarbone, his gaze never leaving mine. “I saw you, and for the first time, I wanted.” His words pucker my flesh. “And so, I took.”

OKAY THAT WAS SO GOOD. It’s nothing less than I expected from Laura Thalassa. I'll admit I didn’t love this as much as I loved the first book, because I think Pestilence had that little pinch of otherworldly heartache I didn’t find in this book, but it was still amazing nonetheless and I just really love this series in general.

Let me just say I adore Miriam. She’s brave and she’s strong and she’s funny -- I laughed quite a lot reading the book because she just couldn't give a damn about so many things. As for War, he’s brooding and cruel and so so INTENSE, which is the biggest reason why I love him. His cruelty was immense at the start, but somehow Laura makes us look past that and fall for him anyway. (At least, I fell hook, line and sinker for the fucker, just like Miriam). His character arc was very believable. My heart absolutely melted after he gave up his purpose for Miriam and was eager to start a normal human life with her.

Eventually he pulls away enough to gaze down at me, his eyes intense. “I love you,” he confesses. I don’t breathe. “I love you, Miriam,” he repeats. “I hadn’t known until last night what this strange happiness I felt around you was. But I do now. Being with you makes me feel as though I have swallowed the sun. Everything is brighter, fuller, better because of you.”

Let me leave you with a quote from my beloved horseman:

“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.”

[Aisling Zena]

23/3/18

I don't know why but the minute I saw that cover this guy came to mind:



Remember him?! Showing my age here. He played Ares (God of War) in Xena Warrior Princess. I guess the two just connected in my brain lol. Is it bad I'm hoping War in this book takes after him a tiny bit?

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 MOTHERFUCKING STARS!!!



YOU MUST READ THIS SERIES!!!

I'm writing these reviews after reading the entire series, so I've had time to think at length about the plot of every single book, my feelings about the characters and their romances, and how each story compares to the others. Usually, when I binge a series, the details of each book become less clear with every book I read. The stories just kind of all begin to mesh into one giant blob in my head. That wasn't the case with The Four Horsemen. Each book as well as the emotions they evoked are still fresh in my mind, and I credit the author's brilliant storytelling for that.



Okay, okay! Let's talk War!

For starters, War is my probably my favorite hero in the entire series. Even though I adore his brothers, something about him just hits different for me.



The character development War goes through is the most thorough and well done of all of the horseman. I appreciate how he goes from being this violent brute of a man that literally gives zero fucks about humanity to one that falls in love with a human woman and finds compassion for mankind itself. He begins to relate and care for them on a personal level, and it is absolutely fucking beautiful!



I appreciated that though the heroine, Miriam, was falling for War, she never forgot her purpose. She didn't put her personal happiness over saving the world. Every chance she got, she was out finding ways to warn others of what was coming and sabotaging things as much as she was able to. She intervened on other people's behalf when she could, and she tried to use War's affections for her for the greater good. I couldn't fault her for anything she did.



Yes, she was sleeping with enemy while people were being slaughtered by him on a regular basis, but ultimately, that's how she saved everyone's ass! Plus, they had an otherworldly connection. She understood the Angelic language and was clearly put in his path by God for a purpose.

When I finished Pestilence, I was worried that the rest of the books in this series would be carbon copies of each other, and if you're worried about the same, please know that isn't the case at all. The author makes sure that each individual story and couple dynamic is unique. The setting of every story is different than the last, and the endings differ more and more as the series goes on.



If you're interested in The Four Horsemen at all, please don't hesitate to pick them up. You won't regret it! This series is one of my favorites of the year, and if these books are any indication, Laura Thalassa will be going on my list of unicorn authors in the very near future.

Fantasy/apocalyptic romance fans, this one's for you!

[A Romance Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread July 5, 2021

I love this book so much! War and Miriam are so great together. Also, I had forgotten how amazing War is. I love him so much!

Original review-July 19, 2019

Loved it!!! This series is so unique! I can’t wait for the next one :D