Pestilence (Four Horsemen, #1)

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.

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.

• ASIN: B07B6BRTJP
• Publish Date: 20 March 2018
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[mvk]

I really liked it. It’s a solid 4-star book for me, though I was emotionally close to giving it 5 stars. Some minor things held me back, but overall, it left a strong impression.

I didn’t give it 5 stars because the ending felt a bit too harsh and rushed for my taste. While the chemistry between the main characters was great, I was slightly disappointed by how things wrapped up.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The dynamics and dialogues between the main characters were excellent- sometimes funny, sometimes awkward, and even brutal in ways that worked well for their development. There were moments of deep emotion and tragedy that made me cry, as well as a particularly poignant scene with an old couple that felt incredibly intimate and moving.

This book gave me a lot of good vibes. It’s full of strong character-building and interesting ideas. I could see myself re-rating it when I reread it in the future.

[stefu1]

After much deliberation, I did move from 3 to 2 stars. The book was ok, however the theme of the quartet kept me invested. I just don't like Pestilence the character. He's actions are questionable at most. How are you going to say that you think you might have feelings for someone then drag them behind your horse then feel bad about that????? Huh??? excuse me my guy. And then homegirl still likes him after that?? That's a fucking deal breaker to me, pal. Then honestly, how dare you let that old couple die? I just couldn't get invested in Pestilence and that wrecked the book for me. I will say don't give up on the series though! The next book is better!

[moraa]

What???

[Romance Schmomance]

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!

[Caitiebelle]

A little but slow but do worth it

I really liked this book. And the subject and plot was very interesting!

It's a bit slow paced, but I still felt it flowed well. I felt it was a melancholy book more than nesesseraly a dark book. Pestilence was very well written and he made me laugh as well as cry.

The sex is great and there are certainly gross descriptions, but it's not super dark.

Sara is a strong woman but is also merciful and hates as well as loves.

I really liked it and I'm really looking forward to 'War'!

Also I couldn't help it but Pestilence reminded me a lot of DEATH in Discworld. Haha. Especially when DEATH decided to take a vacation and learn about humans, for this familiar with those books. It was just the same type of innocent "but what is this feeling" and questions if "why". Hehe. It had me giggling many places in this book.

Pestilence isn't evil...he is just serving his purpose, and humanity isn't exactly showing him a good side... ;)

[ellieroth]

this was sooo good

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Brandee: I found the premise for Pestilence (and this series) intriguing. I mean, a romance with a horseman of the apocalypse? But I couldn’t have imagined how gripping and thought-provoking it ended up being. I think the most provocative element was that love, although it’s supposed to bring out the best in us, sometimes awakens the worse. But even through that, we’re all capable of change. What did you find most thought-provoking about the book?

Nadene: Knowing what the horsemen of the apocalypse signifies, I must admit the premise intrigued me. Having never read the author before, I was curious as to what creative licence she would take with this prophesied biblical event. Never, had I imagined such an engrossing and thought-provoking tale. The thing that stood out most for me is how we has humans tend to be judgmental of things which we have no knowledge of. Sara judged Pestilence unfairly without trying to understand his purpose. She in turn was judged by others because of her association with him.

Brandee: We humans really do tend to judge that which is different and we don’t understand. A true human failing.



Brandee: One of my favorite elements in the book is the playful banter between Sara and Pestilence. It didn’t start out fun, that’s for sure. But as they got to know each other, their interplay was fun and often had me laughing. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:



I run a hand down the steed’s neck. “You know, beneath your hardened exterior is just a woman who wants love and acceptance,” I say to Trixie.

”My steed is a man.” Pestilence says as he enters the room.



”You’re human,” he says. “I don’t like your kind. I’m not supposed to like you.”

I don’t breathe for a second.

Don’t ask the question, Burns. Don’t—

“But you do?” I say.

His eyes drop to my mouth. He touches my lower lip with his thumb, rubbing it gently. “God forgive me, I do.”



”I cannot decide if you are a toxin or a tonic,” he says, lifting a hand to my cheek. “Only that you plague my thoughts and fill my veins.”

Pestilence would really work on his compliments.

Your favorite quotes?

Nadene : I too enjoyed their banter. Pestilence is honest to a fault. He speaks exactly what is on his mind. No diplomacy for this horseman. Sara is definitely a riot. She has no filter and each time she speaks or thinks to herself I cannot help but laugh. However, I also enjoyed the moments where Pestilence never failed to let Sara knew exactly how he felt.



“What are you speaking of?” Pestilence asks.

“I’m quoting ‘The Raven.’ It’s a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.”

Pestilence makes a noise at the back of his throat. “I should’ve known that brief flash of eloquence was not your making.”

“Do you even have the ability to speak without insulting me?” I say. I swear this bastard is just trying to kill my morning buzz. “Of course.” I can hear the smug smile in his voice. “It is just that there are so very many things about you worth insulting.”



“You’re human,” he says. “I don’t like your kind. I’m not supposed to like you.”

I don’t breathe for a second. Don’t ask the question, Burns. Don’t— “But you do?” I say.

His eyes drop to my mouth. He touches my lower lip with his thumb, rubbing it gently. “God forgive me, I do.”



“Amongst my growing list of flaws is cowardice,” Pestilence says in the darkness. “I come to you now like a thief in the night, for I fear you’ll never listen to me under the light of day,” his voice is whisper soft, “and I must confess all the things in my heart.”

Allllright. This should be interesting.

“I find you beautiful, dear Sara, so beautiful. But it’s such a sharp, scathing beauty—like the edge of my arrowheads—because I remember you are not like me. One day, you will die, and I am growing anxious of that fact.”



“And I cannot figure out what this is,” he continues, “only that I feel it when I see you and when I think of you. When we ride together and I hold you, I feel as though all is right. And when you laugh, I think I might truly die. This is an agonizing sort of pleasure, and it’s ever so perplexing. I don’t understand how pain and affection can coexist alongside one another.”



“When you ignore me, I burn with restlessness; it feels as though the sun has turned its back on the world. And when you smile at me—when you gaze at me like you can see my soul—I feel … I feel like I am lit on fire, like you have been called by God to raze my world.”



Brandee: I did find myself frustrated with Sara’s hesitation in admitting her feelings for Pestilence. I understood it at first because she (and the world) saw him as a monster. But then, once she’d seen he was more than meets the eye – despite his insistence otherwise – it aggravated me that she couldn’t verbalize what she felt. How did you feel about Sara’s hesitancy? Especially after Pestilence admitted his emotions?

Nadene: I too understood her reasons for hesitating. After all, how would it look for one to be in love with the person responsible bringing death and sickness to the world. However, after awhile her hesitancy grated on my nerves – even after she saw the goodness within him. I believed that hesitancy was due in part to her fear of what others might think.



Brandee: My favorite scenes were probably those with Ruth and Ron. These two were special human beings and definitely helped in getting Sara and Pestilence to see each other’s point of view. Your favorite scene(s)?

Nadene : I loved several scenes, including the one with Ruth and Ron. It resonated with me. The scene which also resonated with me was when Sara finally came to terms with her feeling with Pestilence. It was where they came under attack and the lengths, she went through to protect him.



Brandee: Overall, Pestilence ticked all my boxes.

Nadene : Yup! One of the best books I’ve read since the start of the year.



Brandee: My last question for you is WHEN CAN WE BUDDY READ WAR?

[kalventure]

I'll admit that I bought this book primarily because this sounded absolutely ridiculous (and Katy was gushing about it on Twitter), but I was really pleasantly surprised! This book is excellently paced with an incredibly witty narrator and an interesting dystopian story that also has a romance.

Five years ago the four horseman appeared and modern life as we know it - electricity, cell phones - goes by the wayside. But then they just vanished and life continues in the dystopian remnants of society. That is until Pestilence reappears and people along his route are dying by the thousands and there is no cure for the Messianic Fever, which appears to be kind of like an Ebola/Plague awful thing that no one would wish to die from.

Evacuation orders have been sent, but Sara wants to save everyone she loves and stays behind to kill Pestilence. But he doesn't die and he is pissed off, taking her prisoner and vowing to make her suffer.

Overall I really enjoyed this read, but I knocked it down to three stars because I didn't buy the romance - it was a weird combination of enemies-to-lovers and insta-love, but there was literally no development of that relationship. At all. Given the care and development Thalassa put forth in the worldbuilding and overall plot, I was a bit disappointed with how the relationship came to be (but I am down with this pairing for sure).

Thank you Katy for gushing about this one, it was a fun read!

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[stacey_is_sassy]

It's time to prepare for WAR!!

War is coming!! War is coming!! War is coming!!

Well, I think War is coming. The last message I saw from Laura Thalassa mentioned a June release date. I can hear you all scoffing that we're more than halfway through June and there is no War but, I still wanted to be prepared just in case. I decided that a re-read of Pestilence was the best way to prepare for the second of The Four Horseman to arrive.

I was so excited to see that Susannah Jones was narrating and it made me even more excited to start my re-read/listen. Ms Jones is one of my favourite narrators. Her acting abilities shine through in her narrating and I find her one of the easiest to listen to when it comes to females "doing" males. It's a slight drop in her voice and rumble that makes it believable and not hard on the ear. Her portrayal of Sara and Pestilence was spot on and I enjoyed the experience.

Pestilence is an amazing story and the narration did it justice. Honestly, I think my read was just a smidge better, though. I'm glad I've bought the audio version for future re-reads/listens, but I'm thankful that reading it was my introduction to The Four Horseman.

If you haven't tried a Laura Thalassa yet, I highly recommend giving her a try.

**********

Pestilence made me question my path…

For the first time, Goodreads’ “likes” lead me to a book. A lot of people might be sitting reading this thinking *Duh, Sassy, that’s what Goodreads is all about*. Well, in this case, it was a little different. I had seen the name Laura Thalassa around the traps, and I had been meaning to check her out. I saw the cover of Pestilence, liked it and when I realised she had written it, I decided that this would be my starting point. So, I added it to my Want to Read shelf and instantly my friends liked it. Liked it so much that my curiosity was even more piqued. Obviously, other readers loved Pestilence or maybe it was Laura Thalassa? Either way, my one-click-finger was influenced and I bought without even checking out the blurb.

Thank you, Goodreads friends, I am grateful you lead me to The Four Horsemen series.

Wow!! Some books come into your life and give you a shiver up your spine. Pestilence gave me a shake/shimmy/shiver that rocked my foundations. I loved the author’s writing style, her characters and the storyline sucked me in from the very first page. Almost instantly my feelings and emotions were in tumult. On this journey, I felt anger towards a killer, that morphed into guilt…because I played a part in setting his path to destruction.

This is the type of story where you can’t help but look at yourself and wonder if you should change your path a little. Am I dooming our world by my thoughtlessness? Should I be showing more love and forgiveness to my fellow humans? Has my disillusionment with politics, media and bad people in general, turned me away from lending a helping hand? The facts are there, but what will be the turning point when we really accept that we’re killing the environment? Are we already doomed because of our greed and selfishness? I loved that Pestilence made me think.

Pestilence is a dystopian romance. I don’t read a lot of these types of stories but in this case, it made me think more paranormal romance than dystopian. Bossy alpha male who makes the rules and expects them to be obeyed. A feisty heroine who stands up for what she believes in. A connection that can’t be denied. These are all things I adore in my romance, so I was left very satisfied.

I don’t really want to go too far into the storyline because I think you will enjoy it better without knowing too much. There is a lot of growth within these characters that you can’t even expect to happen when you first meet them. It’s easy to judge a killer. It’s easy to be tarred with the same brush when so many people act without thought to the consequences. Sometimes you need to look below the surface of a killer. Not everyone is bad and you just need to be in the presence of good, kind and generous people to remember that.

I absolutely LOVED Pestilence. It can at times be a little confronting, a wee bit gory and a touch dark but it was never too much or over the top. The characters were interesting, the love story was at times sweet and also sizzling. I loved getting to know them better and enjoyed seeing them come together.

I highly recommend Pestilence and can’t wait to be on the War path.