Enjoyed.

Spoilers.

Despite it being dark and very sad at times, I really enjoyed this book. I'm glad I didn't listen to all the negative reviews I've seen. Pestilence is cold and at the beginning really does treat Sarah bad after she tried to kill him, but he isn't human and doesn't see that her trying to kill him was a sign of good and that she only did it to try and protect humanity. Pestilence has one purpose, and that is to punish humanity for being cruel, greedy and unworthy by spreading a killing plague. He doesn't even like doing it, but is driven to do so by the will of a higher power and what he believes is his only purpose. He wasn't even a man before this, and was only given an human, yet undying, form to do his job, so he has a lot to experience. It takes a lot to change him and all the while Sarah has to witness the worst of the plague that he spreads by seeing people die. Even children. Seeing her care for the sick and show them kindness is a big part of his change, as is seeing a lovely old couple show him kindness despite the fact that they know they are going to die and that he is the cause. Sarah shouldn't love him, considering all the people that have died because of him, but love is what it is. It isn't prejudice. And in the end it's her love that changes him, and potentially saves millions of other people. I say potentially because there are three more horsemen to come. I'm looking forward to the next ones.

4 people found this helpful

Very obvious

If you are looking for some trashy end of the world supernatural romance this is the book for you. Think twilight with plague. It is ok. Sometimes steamy. Often problematic.
I think we all know what happens in the end

2 people found this helpful

Amazingly good and sad

I was not sure what to expect when I started reading the book. It was recommended by a friend and, after reading the reviews, I gave it a go and I am super glad I did. The way their relationship develops and we find out more about pestilence and his purpose made me feel conflicted. Their first time was beautiful and I loved how their relationship ended up. There is a lot of sadness and macabre scenes when the author describes the plague. Even so it is a great book, beautifully written and I adore the audiobook performance, she really makes you feel and her different voices are really good, even when she plays the male ones.

Apocalyptic, dark romance and much more.

I don't think I can put into words how great this book is, I've re-read it several times and listened to the audio version. The narrative is amazing, she brings Sara to life. The story is so heartbreaking, twisted in some parts. But by the time you get to the end, you're desperately praying for it to never end. This is by far my favourite Laura Thalassa book, I love the whole series, but pestilence will always be my absolute favourite. He captured my heart right from the beginning, I'll even admit that the narrator makes a perfect definition of him and makes him sound..... Well sexy, just like he's portrayed in the story.

Amazing

I love this book there’s nothing I can give it but praise .
Sara was perfect trying but failing to deny the feelings she had for Pestilence and the way she tried to change him and make him see through her eyes. Pestilence was trying his hardest to ignore Sara and that she was his prisoner but love wormed it’s way into his heart and changed who he was. This is my first book by Laura and I’m now starting War then Famine and eagerly awaiting the release of Death on audio. Susannah Jones narrated perfectly and all the characters had different voices I will be looking for more books narrated by her.

Very intriguing

The story, the characters and the setting - it's a pretty interesting concept to begin with. Laura takes these promising ingredients, marinates them with a huge dose of awesome before cooking them like a boss, and the end result is the most amazing dish I didn't even knew I favored. Now I do. I've read this book countless times, and now I've listened to it as well. The narrator does a very fine job.

2 STARS ... barely ★★✩✩✩

I recommend this book to… my enemies :) Have fun you losers.

⤐ Overall.
Ladies, Gentlemen and everybody in between and outside of that binary, I give to you: white people.

We love to listen to gruesome podcasts that exploit other peoples' misfortunes via the wonderous and yet cursed format we know as true crime podcasts, eat the food of cultures we are unable to appreciate and acknowledge beyond their kitchen skills and romanticise the idea of victims of kidnapping going full Stockholm on their captor-slash-mass murder. But only if he's Christian. Everything else would be treason to humanity in favour of terrorism.

That being said, I do not reject the idea of taking Christian lore/narratives and make them into something interesting. Bible-inspired retellings can be fun and exciting, as is the case with the The Road to Hell series. Neither do I want to put any of the above on the shoulders of the author. I'm positive she didn't intend to enforce any sort of islamophobic behaviour onto her readership! It's just something my wandering mind kept coming back to simply because the narrative didn't quite catch on me. This specific thought is also not the reason my rating is so lol. That's mostly owed to the Dark 'Romance'/Stockholm relationship and the flat arc of suspense.

⤐ The Pros.
Pestilence gave me the chance to rediscover my joy for crocheting... That's about it, I'm afraid.


⤐ The Cons.
Let me phrase it like this: Had the book been any worse, I wouldn't even wish it upon my worst enemy.

The world-building was ghastly. Up until the second third, I was nothing short of confused about what kind of world I had to imagine myself in. Personally, I felt like It is only through the plot itself and not smooth use of literary tools that we learn that Pestilence is set in some post-apocalyptic/mid-apocalypse world wrecked by the horsemen as we know them from the bible. Of course, that might also depend on my level of engagement.

The first paragraph of my review already gives you a decent impression of what I disliked about the general idea behind the narrative. Adding to that is the poor execution as well. I'm currently in the middle of another one of Laura's series and it is clear that she is able to engage an audience despite the twisted nature of a romance. Why she didn't manage that in Pestilence is a riddle to me.

At least, because of this experience, I had super low expectations going into The Queen of all that Dies and was positively surprised in the end, despite some reservations towards the dark romance genre in general. If you seek a questionable romance with a fierce heroine and a two-faced love interest, please look either there or completely elsewhere.

⤐ What’s happening.
‘Ah, America,’ Pestilence says with distaste, dragging me back to the present. ‘Here they are made particularly mean.’

Read this book and follow the story of a woman who falls in love with a mass-murderer who is reimagined after the image of the four horsemen. Despite him constantly and viciously killing people, Sara will not be able to resist this sexy, tanned six-pack on two legs.
_____________________
2 STARS. Definitely a disappointment. It might not even have been worth finishing for a variety of reasons.

Brutal and addictive

A brutal paranormal romance.
it's dark, sexy and addictive.

My fave book by Laura Thalassa!

I was unsure at first.. but!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to write a review for this book.. I do think this book was quite drawn out but if I was reading it instead of listening to the book I may have thought differently..I like the narrator... The story was well written as I was unsure how a romance could be put into the four Horsemen but Laura Thalassa managed it....Just found War so lets hope its just as good or better...xx

Brilliant

Sarcastic, foul mouthed and hilarious. What more could you want from a book. 5 f**king stars