Reviews with content warning for Torture - Pestilence

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

48 reviews

bellebookcorner's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense 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

4.0

“When you find someone worth spending that time with, you don’t want to share those minutes with anyone else.”

Read this book if you love;

• Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance

• Morally Grey Character

• Enemies-to-Lovers

• Grumpy x Sunshine

• Forced Proximity

• Post-Apocalyptic World

• Touch Her and You Die

Pestilence is a story about one of the Four Horsemen who came to earth to destroy the world and a woman with a mission to stop Pestilence and save her town.

This story is intended for mature readers and I would highly suggest checking the trigger warnings below before reading this one.

I didn’t have any expectation toward this book and upon reading the blurb and seeing it a couple times on social media, I finally gave it a try.

Surprisingly, I enjoy reading this book. The plot keeps me interested from the beginning until the end with easy to read writing style, nice pacing and a well writen post-apocalyptic world building.

So many emotions played in this story by seeing it from two different sides - Pestilence and Sara.

I really like the character development of both Sara and Pestilence, especially seeing Pestilence started to slowly change as Sara show him that mankind is not all that bad. As they get closer, feelings also grow which is how they find themselves at war with their own self.

I also like the funny moments of their never ending bickering and Sara’s sassy comments that she would throw to Pestilence which liven up the story.

However, some parts got a bit repetitive especially about how much Sara keeps saying about Pestilence’s handsome face and hot body.

Overall, it’s a good and enjoyable read. I found the plot idea really interesting and I’m looking forward to see what the next horsemen will do in the next book.

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katbenimble's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

I do not even know where to begin with this 😂 it was so bad. The plot holes are big enough for Tricksy to ride through. The graphic violence was almost too much for me. The MCs are both idiots. The spice started like...75% through the book. The end.

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lacrimaeignis's review against another edition

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dark hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've always held a certain fascination for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse so when I heard about this series, I knew I would have to eventually read them (especially when I heard that Death, book 4, is being represented by Thanatos, the name of the greek god of death, whom I've always held an unexplainable but particular fondness for). I wasn't sure what to expect going in but this book definitely wastes no time in throwing you into the Apocalypse. This novel is graphic in detail at times and definitely not for the faint of heart or those who can't stomach violence or gore.

The book brought up many interesting points on the concept of religion/faith and why the Apocalypse was happening. It was very interesting to see Pestilence as a character and how he adapted and changed throughout the novel. The Female Lead, Sara, felt very realistic in how she dealt with what she was going through, especially as a young woman in her 20s. However she does come across as annoying at times, especially with some of her side comments that serve no purpose and ended up throwing me out of the story, and she fell flat towards the end of the novel. Because of her I almost DNF'd with only 20 pages left (although my interest was waning around page 200).

The book was also very repetitive at times and therefore, very predictable. Many of the chapters/events just felt too similar to each other but because most of the chapters were short, it was easy to get through them.

The only reason I continued the book was because I was so close to the end and also because I do plan on reading the rest of the series. I gave the book 4 stars because I did like the concept and I really liked Pestilence and it also kept me intrigued enough to want to continue the series.

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bookmom92's review

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adventurous dark 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

4.0

Did I think that I would ever read a fictional romance surrounding the horsemen of the apocalypse?
No.
Did I have doubts that I would like it?
Maybe a smidge..
Did this deliver?
YES!

The transformation between Pestilence and Sara's relationship was set up beautifully.
We have a cruel horseman and an avenging human both bent on doing what they feel is right.
What transpires is a blossoming forbidden romance that hits you RIGHT in the feels!

Why it has taken me this long to read, I don't know but I'm hungry for more.

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itsnotri's review against another edition

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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

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katie_lacour's review

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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.

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mardavv's review

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Ew falling in love with captor +torture

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kat1105's review against another edition

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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

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ellalife's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

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bookedupchick's review

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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

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