itsnotri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Please pay attention to the trigger warningskatieammon27's review
4.0
As someone who grew up in the age of book dystopians and apocalypses (Hunger Games, Fifth Wave, etc.), I loved how this adult book takes on a new concept of the apocalypse with the four horsemen mentioned in the Bible: Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. This author combines a little of everything I love: fantasy, romance, adventure, spice, character development, and she manages to do it with a very original concept- this cannot be underrated, as in today’s day and age I believe it is so hard to not inadvertently contain the elements similar to other books. The world-building for the series is well-written, it is easy to follow, interesting, and not overly detailed. It includes some of my favorite tropes, such as enemies to lovers and forced proximity. My biggest frustration with this book was that the back and forth between the heroine and the love interest was at times repetitive, although I understand the author trying to show the moral conflict. The torture was a bit graphic, which made it somewhat hard for me to envision the love interest as redeemable to the heroine. I also felt as though the ending was somewhat poorly thought out. While it makes sense for Pestilence to give up his mission for the heroine, I find it difficult to believe that he is able to “retire” with no consequences. With the media coverage of Pestilence, it seems unlikely that he would be able to live a normal life without confronting people who not only realized who he was but who would want justice or revenge for the death of their loved ones. Although this series will be leaving KU soon, you should make a point to read it regardless! Content warnings include kidnapping, torture, death, pandemic, sexual content, and fire-related death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping and Sexual content
caseyf's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
kat1105's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
mustbehayley's review
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
iggyebab's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is definition of you really shouldn’t fall for this guy along with pining and internal conflict. Also it’s forced proximity, road-trip, and enemies to lovers.
I mean it’s a horseman of the apocalypse. What did you expect? Rainbows & bunnies?
For such a fraught angsty story, this book is a quick read. It is so well written.
I am so CONFLICTED. It opens with her being tasked with killing him and it’s real gruesome. Then he’s determined to make her suffer. How does that turn into a love story? I do not fucking know but here we are.
I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
I mean it’s a horseman of the apocalypse. What did you expect? Rainbows & bunnies?
For such a fraught angsty story, this book is a quick read. It is so well written.
I am so CONFLICTED. It opens with her being tasked with killing him and it’s real gruesome. Then he’s determined to make her suffer. How does that turn into a love story? I do not fucking know but here we are.
I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Violence
anollylollymolly's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was a fun book! I enjoyed it more than I anticipated and will definitely read the next book in the series.
In this story, we follow Sara Burns- a young Canadian firefighter, who literally draws the short end of the stick and is tasked with killing Pestilence, a horseman of the apocalypse who’s actively spreading plague through the world. When killing Pestilence doesn’t go according to plan, Sara winds up his prisoner and is thus subjected to suffer as she joins him on his journey.
I wasn’t expecting this book to be as deep, dark, or sad as it was. It was a pleasant surprise. On the surface, this book is just a fun and imaginative romance, but it also has interesting commentary about humanity and how love can both bring out the best and the worst of us.
I did enjoy the story, but occasionally found the writing to be lacking, which is why I rated this book 3.25 ⭐️s.
In this story, we follow Sara Burns- a young Canadian firefighter, who literally draws the short end of the stick and is tasked with killing Pestilence, a horseman of the apocalypse who’s actively spreading plague through the world. When killing Pestilence doesn’t go according to plan, Sara winds up his prisoner and is thus subjected to suffer as she joins him on his journey.
I wasn’t expecting this book to be as deep, dark, or sad as it was. It was a pleasant surprise. On the surface, this book is just a fun and imaginative romance, but it also has interesting commentary about humanity and how love can both bring out the best and the worst of us.
I did enjoy the story, but occasionally found the writing to be lacking, which is why I rated this book 3.25 ⭐️s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
bookedupchick's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
“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.” 🖤🖤🖤
Sara is a firefighter who drew the short straw and was sent on a mission — to kill the horseman. Pestilence is an immortal horseman sent by god to infect the human race with the plague. When their worlds collide and turn upside down, what they thought was their purpose completely changes…🤴🐎
I thought it was interesting, but I was enamored by it. The spice was okay, but not really what I was thinking. 🤷🏼♀️
🦠 Post Apocalyptic
⚔️ Enemies To Lovers
💀 “I was sent to kill you” Vibes
🌹 Beauty & the Beast Vibes
👥 Forced Proximity
🔮 Romantasy
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️/5
Sara is a firefighter who drew the short straw and was sent on a mission — to kill the horseman. Pestilence is an immortal horseman sent by god to infect the human race with the plague. When their worlds collide and turn upside down, what they thought was their purpose completely changes…🤴🐎
I thought it was interesting, but I was enamored by it. The spice was okay, but not really what I was thinking. 🤷🏼♀️
🦠 Post Apocalyptic
⚔️ Enemies To Lovers
💀 “I was sent to kill you” Vibes
🌹 Beauty & the Beast Vibes
👥 Forced Proximity
🔮 Romantasy
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Gore, Torture, Sexual content, Gun violence, Child death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, Cursing, Alcohol, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh this book was something else...
You get dropped into the story, and the first third of the book is savage - not to spoil, but it's not easy to like either of the characters then. Understand their motivation? Yes. But not like.
I really enjoyed the setup here, and also the twists that really went against what I was expecting the story to be. Yes, tropes and the ending are as expected, but how we get there was particularly enjoyable here. I also liked the pacing (even if at times it went slower than others), but this worked well for me.
I've since read the second book and am on the third, and I love that (so far) the journey is always different, and there is some food for thought in there as well (humanity and how we treat each other).
Slight warning to heed the CNs, because this is brutal at times.
You get dropped into the story, and the first third of the book is savage - not to spoil, but it's not easy to like either of the characters then. Understand their motivation? Yes. But not like.
I really enjoyed the setup here, and also the twists that really went against what I was expecting the story to be. Yes, tropes and the ending are as expected, but how we get there was particularly enjoyable here. I also liked the pacing (even if at times it went slower than others), but this worked well for me.
I've since read the second book and am on the third, and I love that (so far) the journey is always different, and there is some food for thought in there as well (humanity and how we treat each other).
Slight warning to heed the CNs, because this is brutal at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Child death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death
blue_mountain_sky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death