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mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Writing: 3.75⭐️/5
The writing is serviceable. Somehow, Thalassa made this very relatable despite being a novel about the apocalypse. AND YET, I wanted more. I fully believe Thalassa could have made me contemplate so much about humanity with both Death and Lazarus, and yet she almost held back, depending more on tropes and less on the potential for sections of more interesting prose. Overall, still a good read.
Characters: 4⭐️/5
I liked Lazarus. She was much different than Miriam, Sara, and Ana, even if only in her ability to defy death – both literally and figuratively. I liked how her voice came through differently than with the other two. Death, on the other hand, felt fascinating for the first half of the book, and then he fell into a rut where he really just seemed like another carbon-copy Horseman. I feel like there was so much potential with him, and I’m a little disappointed it wasn’t used, even if the outcome was still enjoyable.
Plot: 3.75⭐️/5
I wish I could pull this book in two and rate each half. The first half of this book was so fascinating – and so different from the others. I wanted a bit more from this section, and would have loved to see Thalassa push this section as far as it could go. I liked the two chasing each other, slowly coming to look forward to seeing the other person. And then, when Lazarus meets Death’s brothers, it would have been much more interesting to keep Laz with them for longer, or to tease out this section in a new one. I feel like there was so much potential for more, and I felt a bit disappointed those choices weren’t followed. However, I do appreciate that this plot (at least for the first half) varied from the plots in books one, two, and three of this series.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Those who liked and loved the first three books (but maybe take a break between so it’s not too fresh)
- Those who like spicy scenes (there were quite a few of them in this one)
Content Warnings?
Death, murder, sexual content, physical abuse, emotional abuse, kidnapping, gore, blood, injury, injury detail, violence, torture, grief, body horror, alcohol, cursing, child death, illness, medical content, medical trauma, pandemic/epidemic, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, sexism, misogyny, vomit, pregnancy
Post-Reading Rating: 4.25⭐️/5
A good end to the series.
Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Police brutality and Pregnancy
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Abandonment
twinklepuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kat1105's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oh this book.
So, first off: almost perfect, and the "almost" here is some iffy pacing mainly (the story of Death and Lazarus felt a little off in the first half, but recovered for the second).
This book gives all our favorite tropes (dark romance, enemies to lovers, fated mates, forced proximity, and an eons-old virgin MMC - love those!), and once more the journey is the destination.
That said, I think the middle is a bit eh. Death and Lazarus are mainly fucking (which, 3/5 for spice, that was really, really well written and better than in previous books imo), but Death's motivation to never relent and keep killing is "it's my job", and we don't get a satisfying reason. If the horsemen are here to punish humanity in ways we have used to kill each other, then what is the point of Death just dropping entire cities without even entering them sometimes?There is one scene where he explains that if God is everything, she (and it's a she in this story) is constantly being hurt by humans destroying the world, and if humans are only part of a much bigger whole, then they are like a festering sore that needs to be cut out for the whole to heal. That makes sense in principle, but even if humans are only a part of creation and seen as part of a much bigger whole, humanity's ability for redemption is portrayed much better on the examples of Pestilence, War, or even Famine.. but doesn't work for Death.
I didn't particularly like the epilogue (it gave Vampire Diaries final scen), but the ending itself is satisfying and honestly, I'd been wondering how the author would wrap up all the storylines that dragged over from previous books (yes, we see Victor/Pestilence, War, and Famine again). So that was surprisingly well done.
So, whole series review: LOVE the series, and my favorite book is still Pestilence, I think? Followed by War. I might re-read those first two, but maybe not the second two? Not entirely sure. Maybe reading them not in one go but as palate cleansers between other books makes more sense.
Wholly recommend this if you're looking for a series with well-trodden tropes where you still get surprised sometimes, especially if you relish some frustration with the characters that isn't based on miscommunication for once. Nice levels of spice throughout, mostly on a slow - medium burn.
So, first off: almost perfect, and the "almost" here is some iffy pacing mainly (the story of Death and Lazarus felt a little off in the first half, but recovered for the second).
This book gives all our favorite tropes (dark romance, enemies to lovers, fated mates, forced proximity, and an eons-old virgin MMC - love those!), and once more the journey is the destination.
That said, I think the middle is a bit eh. Death and Lazarus are mainly fucking (which, 3/5 for spice, that was really, really well written and better than in previous books imo), but Death's motivation to never relent and keep killing is "it's my job", and we don't get a satisfying reason. If the horsemen are here to punish humanity in ways we have used to kill each other, then what is the point of Death just dropping entire cities without even entering them sometimes?
I didn't particularly like the epilogue (it gave Vampire Diaries final scen), but the ending itself is satisfying and honestly, I'd been wondering how the author would wrap up all the storylines that dragged over from previous books (yes, we see Victor/Pestilence, War, and Famine again). So that was surprisingly well done.
So, whole series review: LOVE the series, and my favorite book is still Pestilence, I think? Followed by War. I might re-read those first two, but maybe not the second two? Not entirely sure. Maybe reading them not in one go but as palate cleansers between other books makes more sense.
Wholly recommend this if you're looking for a series with well-trodden tropes where you still get surprised sometimes, especially if you relish some frustration with the characters that isn't based on miscommunication for once. Nice levels of spice throughout, mostly on a slow - medium burn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
booksalacarte's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
thebookwrym's review against another edition
dark
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? Yes
1.5
Hhhhhhhhm this was a big let down, and super boring. I didn’t give to shits about the characters. Actually I really didn’t like this.
<Spoiler> there’s nothing romantic about a man as soon as he lifts a hand to injury the mc. What a turn off
<Spoiler> there’s nothing romantic about a man as soon as he lifts a hand to injury the mc. What a turn off
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
caseygirlreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
5 finally finished a series this year stars!
I really loved this series. I remember Pestilence blowing me away. I am so glad I finally managed to read the conclusion of the four horsemen's story. I thought Lazarus was a really interesting character, and her inability to die was a great touch for death's book. There were so many interesting quotes about life, death, love, and humanity. I really enjoyed this book. I will say some of the plot felt a little forced (but that could be due to the creator Herself's influence), and the ending was very predictable. However, a predictable ending could be good if it's due to good writing or it could be bad if it's cliche or unoriginal. I felt like it might have been a little bit of both (reminded me of twilight -if you know you know). Overall, I think this series was fantastic and had a solid ending. I would 100% recommend this series and if you need the push to read the final book this is it. It's dark and it's lovely.
I really loved this series. I remember Pestilence blowing me away. I am so glad I finally managed to read the conclusion of the four horsemen's story. I thought Lazarus was a really interesting character, and her inability to die was a great touch for death's book. There were so many interesting quotes about life, death, love, and humanity. I really enjoyed this book. I will say some of the plot felt a little forced (but that could be due to the creator Herself's influence), and the ending was very predictable. However, a predictable ending could be good if it's due to good writing or it could be bad if it's cliche or unoriginal. I felt like it might have been a little bit of both (reminded me of twilight -if you know you know). Overall, I think this series was fantastic and had a solid ending. I would 100% recommend this series and if you need the push to read the final book this is it. It's dark and it's lovely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
This was by far my favorite love story of the series. It was nice to see some old faces and get to know the new ones. Not all of the questions are answered but everything was still wrapped up nicely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child death
xlaurareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
what a bittersweet but perfect ending to this series. i have many thoughts on this one, but let's start with the most prominent one: after the ending of famine's book, i was expecting death to be way differently than he actually was in his book. i felt like he might be the harshest, most murderous one that's connected to humanity the least and, thus, doesn't give a shit about humanity. however, in the first chapters of the book it became blatantly obvious that death is the softest of the four horseman, the one who falls for the woman (lazarus) in an instant when he sees her and needs to resist the urge to claim her from the first second on. i liked the "banter" between them and the on-off-killing situation, although it's always been clear how much death feels for her. what put me off a little was the time he "captured" her and the ongoing process of that; however, lazarus meeting the other horsemen was great and essential to the story unfolding. nonetheless, for the 500+ pages i feel like the book was a bit dragged at some points and there wasn't happening very much except laz and death trying to seduce each other and falling in love. like, don't get me wrong, I'm all here for passionate lovestories with good spice, but i was essentially bored at some points and, as the storyline of all four books was essentially somewhat the same, the ending seemed incredibly predictable to me. that's not a bad thing at all and i was prepared for it but i grew hella frustrated with death and his decisions at that. the ending was beautiful and bittersweet still, and tbh i couldn't imagine it otherwise. for me, the epilogue wasn't really needed because the real ending was, to me, perfect as it is. all in all, i did probably like this one second best of the series but it still had its weaknesses.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore and Alcohol