Sammy’s review of Pestilence (The Four Horsemen, Book 1) by Laura Thalassa
New Adult Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Romance published by Laura Thalassa 20 Mar 18

I am going to make a confession, I bought this book solely on the cover. I know, so damn shallow. But! Without that shallowness, I would have never given this book a chance. That’s my truth. I am not a big fan of New Adult any sub-genre. I just got off a book high with an ARC that will post in January and went right this one when I finished. My peaks and valleys between reading is crazy, so when the book bug bites, I go with it. I started reading this story about 2:00 a.m. and, before I knew it, the sun was shining and it was 10:00 in the morning! Now, I will tell you I shocked myself, but what was even more exciting was this book rocked my entire year of reading. I’m not saying this is a perfect book, it’s not. I have my thoughts on some things, but what really shocked me most was even with things that bugged me, I am giving this book a high grade and I will whisper it into the ears of all my reader friends. It’s that good. And it’s only $2.99 – that’s a steal! Thanks to Goodreads, I noticed it was up for best romance, and that’s what pushed it to the top of my TBR pile. No regrets, Dear Readers.

The story starts post-apocalypse. Pestilence and his three brothers are awakened from their slumber and they wreak havoc upon the world. They have spotty electricity, many people have died from the plague, towns are deserted from trying to hide from Pestilence, and any news is barely forthcoming. Pestilence is roaming Canada and spreading a disease that there is no cure for. Sara Burns is a firefighter for her town, and she and her co-workers are drawing matches to see who is staying behind to try to kill the first Horseman heading their way. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you see things – Sara draws the burned match. She sets up off a highway crossing his path. As she grabs her grandfather’s shotgun and takes aim, she’s momentarily dumbstruck by Pestilence’s beauty. With his gold crown, his flowing hair, his big body that’s covered in a golden breast plate, she’s struck stupid for a second. She really does not want to kill him, but she knows it’s the only way her mom and dad, friends, and co-workers stand a chance. Her aim is true, and she then goes back to her tent to get her bearings and the next morning she wakes up to one very pissed-off otherworldly being, his hands wrapped around her neck.

Pestilence decides to take Sara prisoner and he’s going to make her suffer. Readers of the Pond, this book is raw and gritty. I need to be very upfront – some would call this torture porn. I would normally agree, but not in this case, though. He ties her hands together and ties the rope to his horse. Thank goodness she’s in good shape and a firefighter, because he certainly puts her through hell. These passages in the book are not easy to read and neither is Pestilence. He doesn’t really speak that much, he has no manners. The truth of the matter is he’s not human, and once you really absorb this fact, you start to see things differently. Pestilence soon finds out that humans are not like him. They tire, they need to relieve themselves, and they need to eat and rest. Of course, Sara has to be dragged through the streets for him to figure this out. He refuses to let her die, which makes her immune to the disease he’s spreading. While Sara is dealing with the onslaught of physical abuse, she’s soon going to learn he’s just as good at mental abuse too. I know you’re thinking to yourselves, “NO FUCKING WAY, SAM!” I am going to tell you, “HELL YES! KEEP READING.”

Sara realizes her need to heal will cause the people where they stop their lives. These parts of the book are heartbreaking, especially because she’s conditioned to help others. She stays with them until their last breath. While this is happening, Pestilence is not around. He drops her off and then disappears – or so you think. It’s at this point that Sara tries to make a run for it. Pestilence catches her and shoots her with his golden arrows. That’s a few more days of downtime for her. Now he won’t let her out of his sight. She has to pee? He’s going with her. Same for baths or showers. He looks at her and she thinks he’s detached. Since this book is from Sara’s POV, you take her word for it. That’s really not what’s going on. As they travel from town to town, they talk, and Sara learns the why, the who, the when, though Pestilence answers only what he wants. It’s during this time that Pestilence and Sara start seeing each other with different eyes. She’s attracted to his beauty and hates herself for it, and he’s attracted to her humanity. They both don’t know this, however. They also don’t know that they are each changing each other. As they move toward the big city, things get very hairy and more dangerous for both of them. It’s in all the little tidbits, as they cross into the United States, that things are heating up between them.

It takes a little old couple to really hit home for Pestilence just what he’s feeling for Sara. Up until this point, they haven’t had sex. Just little kisses and Sara dealing with the fact she has feelings for him and hating him for killing her fellow humans. She really is struggling with all of this. They eventually come together. While I was hoping for a big payoff, what I got instead was more perfunctory. This really bummed me out, because I felt this was the moment for them to show some growth. With that said, that was just my wishful thinking and it didn’t take away from the story. When they are both taken down on the next leg of their journey, these scenes are painful to read. This is where you find out just how much Pestilence loves Sara. The way he shows it doesn’t sit well with her. It’s at this point Sara has had enough and makes her way back to Canada and tries to get on with her life. Of course, this is a romance and there will be a HEA, but after reading the epilogue, the second Horseman is coming. AND I CAN’T WAIT. I am leaving a lot of details out, because you need to take this journey for yourself.

This book is not a sweet, fluffy read. It’s cruel, heartbreaking, flawed, yet it is also beautiful. There is torture, death, disease, yet there is also love and hope. What kept me reading was Pestilence, his battle between duty, need, and want. This book was fantastic and I am so very happy that I was a shallow book buyer! Take a chance, and if you do, hit me up and tell me what you think. Good or bad!

Grade: A

Summary:

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.

No excerpt available.