User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
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!
Rating: really liked it
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😭
Rating: really liked it
THAT FREAKING COVER!! I want one 😃
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
[ZOMBIES!!!! (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
War is so Awesome!
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.
The world building is terrific, the supporting characters are well developed and have their own reasons for doing things. The sites and smells are certainly well described. I couldn’t put this book down, and now I can’t wait for Famine!
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Rating: really liked it
[ NO (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
”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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
You can find me on my blog and on Bookstagram
Rating: really liked it
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!!
Rating: really liked it
⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️
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?
👇
I know The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse are not supposed to be "good" and they are not cute puppies, but we still have to root for them in some way, right?
So when I started Pestilence I almost immediately like Pestilence (character not book), but when I started War I just wanted to...choke him a little?
I think this was hate at first sight for me.
I know he's not Pestilence and he's a completely different person, but I was expecting them to be at least a little similar.
What disgusted me the most was that the women had to offer themselves to War for sex just to keep soldiers from raping them and War didn't even care.
„Better his woman than someone else’s.“I hated him.
But than when someone tried to rape Miriam (his lover), he was suddenly like :
„Anyone who lays a dishonest finger on another woman will suffer the same fate.“NOW you care?! Really?! Until now you didn’t give a shit about those women!
And I almost forgot this shit he said:
„Why don’t I fuck you raw and feast on your pussy and keep you chained to my bed like a proper husband?“
So Pestilence was a cuddly teddy bear compared to War. I know Pestilence wasn’t a saint, but still I think he was better person than War.
Pestilence didn’t like killing people, but War did. He was just horrible.
And what should I tell about Miriam (War’s lover)? I guess I am going to repeat myself, but Sara (from the first [Pestilence] book) was wayyy better.
Miriam was smitten too soon with War. She was always thinking about his “sexy” voice, lips, body and blah blah blah.
Miriam:
„Stop ogling a horseman of the apocalypse, Miriam.“Yeah, I told her that too and she would totally deserved an amazing slap or two.
And then there was this:
„One day my vagina might stage a coup and overpower my brain—but that day won’t be today.“ She was kind of right, but it didn’t last long. OF COURSE.
She thought that everything was about sex.
She was thinking and talking about sex like every 5 minutes.
She even offered sex to him in exchange he didn’t burn the aviaries.
She wanted it to look like she was doing it for people, but of course she just wanted to BANG HIM.
I also didn’t feel much chemistry or love between them. Maybe a little bit, but I cringed hard at all their sex scenes.
If I am not a fan of the characters then the whole book is not great experience for me.
Storyline of the book:
-battle
-arguing
-battle
-arguing
-battle
-making out
-battle
-arguing
-battle
-making out
-sex
-sex
-battle
-arguing
-sex
-battle
-sex
-arguing
-making out
-sex
-sex
-sex
-battle
-making out
The end.The story was (mainly) set in Jerusalem.
I think it was not a great choice, because it seems to me like Thalassa didn’t know much about the people, who are living there and about their religion. I don’t want to offend anyone, but it just seems like it.
P.s. I think that the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is so not true right now.
I think the cover is as ‘meh’ as the book🤷🏻♀️
And I hope this is The second book syndrome and the next book (Famine) will be better and Famine won’t be such a pig like War.
Like okay, War kind of redeemed himself, but I still don’t like him.
2,25-2,5⭐️
——————
07/02/2019
Finally we have a release date! It’s July 11! 🙌
I’m so excited 😍
——————
03/01/2019
Eeew! Am I the only one, who is sooo pissed off, because this cover doesn’t match with the 1st edition of the first book, but match with the 2nd edition, which was not so damn pretty?! 🤬😡
It looks like some cheap erotica.
Why they do this? WHY?!
——————-
12/25/2018
Teaser for War ☺️:
His eyes search my face. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you, wife?”
He studies me some more. “Yes, definitely trouble.”
War steps in closer, close enough for his leather armor to brush against me. Close enough for me to see the gold flecks in his eyes. Those eyes are terrifying. Beautiful and terrifying.
“You’re wrong to think that angers me.” His smile is menacing. “Everything you are was made for me.”
This arrogant bastard. I bet he thinks all humans were created for his entertainment. To fight, to fuck, to kill.
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.”——————-
Yayyy, Laura Thalassa finally confirmed that she started working on War today 👏👏🙌
Rating: really liked it
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 WarThis 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!
Rating: really liked it
Edit September 29Admittedly, 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 1STI 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...
Rating: really liked it
Edit October 19Our 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
Rating: really liked it
So fucking here for this.
