Reviews with content warning for Torture - Famine

Love the FMC! Anna hilarious. First half is more of an actual enemies to lovers romance than many others boasting the same can claim. Sticks with the slow burn till the 2nd half. Much more rewarding than the last book, War. (Where War pretty much just declares the FMC his wife within the first 30 seconds of laying eyes on her, and then they wonder around the desert for the remainder of the book.

While Pestilence wasn’t written to be incredibly plot driven, the MCs seem to be constantly facing down a new near death experience that shifts their perspectives of each other and themselves. War had almost none of that suspense built into the story, bc War OP af imo.

We are given enough information to know that Pestilence takes place 5 years after modern life basically grinds to a halt.

There is still some mass media communication, guns are still prevalent but tend to be as dangerous to the armed due to backfires, no motors or engines run anymore, and all modern utilities are spotty at best.

War takes place 10 years after Pestilence.

Which is why I’d categorize this book at late-stage apocalypse. It’s unclear but hinted that Famine takes place 5-10 years after War, and at least 22-25 years after everything starts shutting down. Which means the FMC is the first of the series who hasn’t known the world of before. I do wish that the author took a little more advantage of that fact. However, seeing as these are basically character driven books with fairly isolated POVs, the world building is admittedly scant - and there’s not much to be done about that w/o shifting the authors intent.

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kinsportch's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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smuttymcbookface's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

5.0

This has been my favourite of The Four Horsemen.

In it, we have headstrong, resilient Ana who refuses to simply accept humanity's lot. Although she has a brave face, it's clear she doesn't truly believe herself to be worthy at times, often thinking she's simply going along with Famine's murderous adventure, yet it's not true at all. We see her bravery when she stands up to him and others, time and time again. She never lets her tragic past determine her; holding her head high and her sexuality like a weapon.

Famine on the other hand is snarky and wears his cruelty as a shield to hide his past trauma. Ana's single act of kindness has stuck with him through the years as humanity (understandably) fights back against their destruction. He sees Ana for who she is, and never balks at her past or her hope.

The banter between these two was hilarious, and it was wonderful watching them slowly fall for one another. However, fair warning, that Famine is the cruelest of the Horsemen yet, and there are a lot of needless and graphic deaths.

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lannahreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.5

This is definitely the best of the series so far. I must admit that famine is INCREDIBLY attractive, and the dynamic between him and Ana is perfect. The ending was amazing! It brings a new, refreshing twist to the books and promises something different besides the same algorithm that these books have followed thus far.

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queerloras's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Higher rating because Famine didn't change. Also responsible sexual behaviour discussions pre-coitus 👍 But God, was that FMC annoying.

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viktoriann's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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madoav's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-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

4.0

Okay, wow. Did not expect the ending to go the way it did, but I really appreciate that this book didn't follow the same formula the previous two did. I was a bit skeptical about Famine, because I thought it was just going to repeat the events of Pestilence, but I'm so so happy I was wrong. I think out of the three, Famine has to be my favorite now, especially because I thought his character development was truly the best out of them. I'm super excited to read the last book!!

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