lisersaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Death, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
jess_bythebook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I compared the newer copy with the 2018 original version (almost word for word) to see how the two compare and I am actually pretty impressed. Where the older book was already captivating, this newer script is actually smoother.
Certain words were changed to modernize them while others were cut out altogether. Some capitalized, some italicized, and a couple of sentences and paragraphs were cut out near the end (they were completely unnecessary). While no major changes or new chapters were added, I do admit that the story as a whole reads better than the original.
Pestilence is still just as brutal in the beginning and we do get a true enemies to lovers story that ends up melting your heart in the absolute best way. And I still love Sara - the rough and caring firefighter who knows when to pick her battles, but also isn’t willing to compromise on her core values.
I adored being able to travel the post-apocalyptic Southern Canadian and Pacific Northwest terrain with them again. Even though I knew what was coming, the rewrites smoothed out some of the blunter transitions and I felt like I was experiencing the book through fresh eyes. Definitely worth it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
blackheart's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Torture, War, Murder, and Death
sarrie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Kidnapping
Minor: Stalking
rebar351's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Violence, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Gore, and Genocide
kloughlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Body horror and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Pregnancy, and Rape
ollie_again's review against another edition
How do you take the concept of romancing the Horsemen of the Apocalypse & manage it to be extremely boring and flat at the same time? The MC keeps hamming on that Pestilence is beautiful, sexy and handsome from the very beginning, even in between him torturing her, killing people left and right and generally being the undesirable number one?
There is no gradual development of their relationship. We are meant to feel something for Pestilence as he starts thinking differently about the world, but... yikes. I did not feel any chemistry at all, there is nothing sexy in this book to be found, and when you pile that on the fact that people are dying from plague yet they get kissy-kissy in the next room, I wanna vom.
And to the darkness of the book... yes, the general idea and the things that happen are dark in theory, but the way they are portrayed and relayed left me feeling nothing. When neither the *dark* nor the *romance* in the equation can squeeze some emotion out of me, it's a pretty bad package.
Unfortunately, another overhyped romance off my TBR.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence and Child death
Minor: Vomit, War, and Rape
shananicoletaylor's review
- 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
3.25
a very quick paced read, exploring some harsh topics in a mystical way. i’m not sure if i’ll continue with the series, just because the whole ‘world is being destroyed’ makes me very emotional, but i really enjoyed seeing the character development in this story 💗 the characters are loveable, stubborn, frustrating, and wholesome.
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Kidnapping, Death, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
cinderrunner's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Rape, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Murder
tatiannaskye's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Child death, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Gore, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
I don’t know what to say other than smut and a whole lot of death