Review: War by Laura Thalassa

War
(The Four Horsemen #2)
by Laura Thalassa
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: July 10, 2019
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Rating:

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp.

Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one man responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible “husband”. But there’s another side to him, one that’s gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist.

However, if there’s one thing Miriam has learned, it’s that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him.

Let’s just take a second and look at that gorgeous cover. I mean, hot damn. Now, what if I told you that the story inside was just as good as that cover on the outside. Too good to be true, right? Well, it’s not. I mean, I suppose it is if you don’t like the idea of War, and all that he stands for. Let’s be honest, there is a lot of killing in this book. I think the only chapter that doesn’t have any killing in it is the last one. So, if you aren’t a fan of that sort of thing, then definitely don’t read this book. But, if you like a little darkness in your romance. Perhaps an nonredeemable character so loathsome that you soon start seeing the good in them, and start to root for them. Well then my friend, this series is for you.

I honestly didn’t think it could get any better than Pestilence, but I was wrong. Miriam has somehow caught the attention of one of the four horseman. The moment she come in contact with him, he immediately starts calling her his wife and seems baffled that she doesn’t respond kindly to him. I mean, could you imagine trying to survive for over a decade in this world, only to have War (or really any one of them) look at you and decide ya’ll are married? Then they cart you off back to their camp where you are to be obedient and happy, as they continue to slaughter the surrounding areas of all life. I mean, what?! Basically, that’s exactly where Miriam finds herself.

I loved that this book, and really the series thus far, has a very very slow burn romance. I mean, these guys are bad news bears, and yet over time, both the heroine and the reader starts to see small, subtle changes with horseman. They make you question, and hope that they can change and be better. They make you think maybe they will stop the killing and instead start helping… and then they start slaughtering mass groups and you (and the heroine) are left flabbergasted. I mean, surely you didn’t imagine it all. Then, just when you think there’s no hope left for them to change or show mercy, they give you a tiny little morsel of hope. Just a little piece that leaves you hanging on for more. That was pretty much this entire book. You kept waiting for War to change. Hoping he would change. Heck, you could see tiny little moments that meant there was a flicker of hope, but then he just continued to slaughter. And yet, I clung onto that hope that he could change for the better.

Miriam is thankfully not a meek, mindless heroine. She stands her ground, challenges War, and even goes out to fight with him. However, her idea of fighting with him is to go to these towns they are slaughtering, try to warn the townsfolk, and kill off War’s soldiers in the process. Is it a death sentence? Why, yes it is. We know this because War kills one of his soldiers in a public display for having the audacity to kill his fellow comrades in battle. So, clearly she’s not under the illusion that her offense will go unpunished. However, that doesn’t stop her from doing all that she can to save as many people as possible, even at the expense of her own life. Miriam was definitely no meek little lamb being led to the slaughter.

If you can’t tell by now, I REALLY enjoyed this book. During this crazy time, I really should be reading something a bit more uplifting, but something about this story made the rest of the real worlds chaos melt away. Behind all the death, and all the pandemonium, is one hell of a story.  I don’t know about you, but I for one cannot wait to see what the next book has in store. It’s Famine’s story and I’m kind of intrigued to see what happens in his story.

Previous reviews from The Four Horsemen
Pestilence