Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

73 reviews

sabrina_the_alien's review

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emotional sad tense 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

3.5


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fizzieee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Your run-of-the-mill enemies to lovers romance (with one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, of course). I did enjoy this although I did feel like I had to suspend some level of belief/ignore glaring issues of believability to enjoy it.

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alex_baker's review

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

3.75

A very fun book that I had a blast reading. The change in relationship between Sarah and Pestilence from enemies to šŸ‘€ happened kind of suddenly. It isn't the BEST written, but is a good time and leaves me wanting to read the rest of the series!

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arianna9's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

My god... Sara Burns is such a good character.
Their love was so in-depth, yet Pestilence didn't know it till page 250.
  I love Thalassa's way of interpreting the horsemen. It wasn't frightening at all. But warning. This isn't for people who want a relaxing romance. 

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-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

4.25

Writing: 3.75ā­ļø/5 
Alright, so the writing is serviceable, and honestly better than I was expecting. That being said, the main characterā€™s internal dialogue often felt a bit contrived ā€“ forced to be a bit sassier, a bit quippier than felt natural. However, it wasnā€™t bad, just a bit contrived at moments. And, on the more positive end, the writing is fast-paced and resonant, letting you absorb the plot quickly and easily. It takes talent to write with such smoothness, and I enjoyed reading it. 

Characters: 4ā­ļø/5
Again, our main character, Sara, started out feeling like a cookie-cutter ā€œbadassā€ main character. As the novel progressed, though, she started to grow and I thoroughly ended up enjoying reading about her and through her perspective. I liked Pestilence a lot. The mixture of his naivety with his inability to forgive Sara seemed true to him. I enjoyed the slow reveal that he didnā€™t like his job, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him slowly become more and more human. 

Plot: 4.25ā­ļø/5 
Again, I donā€™t think I was expecting too much from this novelā€™s plot, and it pushed those expectations so very far. Part of my joy with the plot might be heavily attached to the fact that I didnā€™t expect too much, but, regardless, I loved it. I was a bit hooked from the start, when Sara explained her and her friendā€™s half-baked plan to kill Pestilence. And I was extra hooked the moment Pestilence felt fear at her mortal well-being. 

Who Should Read This Book? 
  • Fans of ACOTAR and dystopian societies
  • Someone looking for a romance with an intriguing plot
  • Those who like fantasy/apocalyptic novels that centre on romance
  • Readers who like (or donā€™t mind) a bit of spice, but not just spice.

Content Warnings? 
Death, murder, illness, terminal illness, murder, sexual content, physical abuse, emotional abuse, kidnapping, fire, fire injury, gore, blood, injury, injury detail, gun violence, violence, animal death, torture, grief, body horror, pandemic/epidemic

Post-Reading Rating:  5ā­ļø/5
Addicted.

Final Rating: 4.25ā­ļø/5

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joykeya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark and confronting book with a hint of spice that makes you question some moral things about yourself. 

The end sets up nicely for the next book and im excited to keep on reading. Lucky for me I bought the whole series in one go.

not a 5 star review because I wished there was a way to make sara immortal. Although I understand that the whole point of this book is to understand and appreciate humanity and all that comes with it.
Maybe it's that tiny bit of romancer in myself that wasn't completely satisfied by the ending.

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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

 ā€œWhen you find someone worth spending that time with, you donā€™t want to share those minutes with anyone else.ā€
 
Read this book if you love; 
ā€¢ Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance 
ā€¢ Morally Grey Character 
ā€¢ Enemies-to-Lovers 
ā€¢ Grumpy x Sunshine 
ā€¢ Forced Proximity 
ā€¢ Post-Apocalyptic World 
ā€¢ 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 didnā€™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 Saraā€™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 Pestilenceā€™s handsome face and hot body. 
 
Overall, itā€™s a good and enjoyable read. I found the plot idea really interesting and Iā€™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 šŸ˜‚ 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 against another edition

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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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