Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Pestilence

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book. Spicy Booktok raved about it and I suggested it to my best friend, kelly as a buddy read, almost as a joke because it looked super steamy.

Pestilence was a slow burn romance and had more religious content than I was expecting, even though it’s literally based on the Bible’s four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I found the spiritual parts to be very sweet and inspiring, even though I was caught off guard seeing them in this very solidly categorized romance novel.

The plot was difficult mainly because this was a 100% character driven story. There is a lot going on with the MC’s, but they aren’t doing too much. The traveling and troubles they run into get a little repetitive. But I understand the nature of why it had to be that way.

The end was a little dissatisfying, with a time jump before a cliffhanger that didn’t give a clue to what the next book would entail. So the series overarching plot is a little ambiguous.

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erynelle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

3.25

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al4ssandra's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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cinderrunner's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

I have a lot of conflicting emotions about this book. I am not a fan of "dark" romances typically and don't see the appeal of fictional relationships that are founded on toxicity/abuse. I didn't realize just how dark this novel was before i picked it up. The relationship between Sara and Pestilence is very abusive, toxic, and violent; all of which was incredibly off putting and made it difficult to get into the love aspects of the story. However, the world in which the novel was crafted and the plot surrounding the relationship made me enjoy it to the point where I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren't for the awful relationship dynamics. The author created a brilliant landscape for a world sliding deeper into dystopia. She also did an incredible job capturing the moral complexity of humanity and of our ideals around right or wrong. The book was surprisingly poignant and tugged tight on my heartstrings. The violence and cruelty of the romance didn't feel pointless and the author made Pestilence's grasp of what humanity really means grow in a way that I was able to feel for him and Sara. I was worried the topic of religion would be overbearing given that the plot revolves around the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but it is handled with tact and in such a neutral way that I think an open minded reader of pretty much any background would be okay with it. But please check trigger warnings for this book because it is very dystopian and dark.

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freckles_13's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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

3.0

This is the first book I’ve truly read outside the fantasy genre and I found that it was okay. I really liked the backwards and forwards both the main characters have with each other as they can’t work out what their relationship is, and what it will mean for both of them. There’s are some magnificent sentences that leave you awestruck, but then there are others that make you cringe too. I will say though, the last couple of chapters are very sweet and I liked the ending.

Maybe I just need more plot to a book for me to rate higher but who knows. Also maybe don’t read this in a middle of a pandemic like I did because it hits harder than it should.

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-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

2.0

An interesting premise, but I found most of it to just be sorta…meh. The world building, the writing, the “romance” - it just lacked the substance that allows me to fully invest in what I’m reading, though I did think Pestilence was an intriguing lead. I found myself wondering, like Sara did, how can one fall for him? Is it his naivety? He did make quite a funny nursemaid.

The sex scenes were rough (and not in a good way) - poor Sara’s vag deserves a break from all the furious pounding. Much like the rest of the story, it’s overly repetitive and not written well. A very underwhelming read.

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ireadinbed's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I went into this book expecting to dnf it with a strong recommendation from a Facebook group as a read like for a dark romance I thought was okay

It was so much better than I expected. I really felt for Pestilence in his struggle to accept humanity when he has repeatedly seen it's worst.

I just found it a genuinely meaningful read.

All that said, I thought the last 15% ish of the book felt very rushed. And what I came to the book for (smut, because of the read like suggestion) was honestly really underwhelming and weirdly written. I felt like the author added them because she had to and honestly I would have preferred fade to black over that awkwardness.

I'm not sure I will read on with the series but I'm sleepy tempted, especially if I need a good cry! You can't get a more intense enemies to lovers of I'm honest.

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