Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - War

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ loved it but probably won’t re-read
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ a lot of descriptive spicy scenes throughout the book
TW: ⚠️ stockholm syndrome, violence

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After some of the experiences I’ve had with Kindle Unlimited, I can’t believe we get these books for free. Thalassa clearly spends a lot of time structuring, writing and editing her stories. This one was cohesive with clear arcs, but managed to include twists and turns as well.

Although set in the same mid-apocalyptic world as Pestilence, War was a very different book (aside from the enemies-to-lovers, stockholm syndrome vibe… which, honestly, is probably the only way you can really do a romance book about one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because they’re coming to wipe out the human race). There were WAY more characters in this book, and I really enjoyed that because it allowed us to watch Miriam and War in the context of how they related to other people as well as each other. The expanded scope allowed for much more depth, which in turn, made for greater character arcs. It’s great that Thalassa has been able to take tales as old as time and put this type of spin on them, because the plots deal with familiar concepts surrounding the end of the world, but the stories themselves are incredibly original.

I liked Miriam more than the FMC in the first book of this series. She actively fought for humanity and was unwilling to accept War’s mission as gospel—not even for a moment. She knew that he had a choice in spreading war and she fought tooth-and-nail to get him to make the right choice.

There was definitely a lot more violence in this book, but the title is literally “War”, so I mean… that was to be expected. The pacing of the battles/invasions was done really well, with each one holding a significant purpose for furthering the plot (which I didn’t expect). Thalassa was not gratuitous in her battles, she made each one of them count—and it created a very tightly-knit story, which I appreciated.

The spice in this book was much more frequent than in Pestilence, and I really liked the way it was done. Thalassa has a way of capitalizing on her scenes, of making each and every one of them count for something—and I think there are a lot of authors who could learn from her in that regard. The steamy parts of this book the kind of hot scenes that make you want to curl up and re-read them, but they somehow always manage to also further the plot. It’s masterfully done.

Anyways, enter at your own risk (I mean, this is a romance book that is literally called War)… but if you can do so, this book is a delicious read.

Content Warnings

parfwen's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

1.5

Content Warnings

jlaz_13's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

readwithelle's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Content Warnings

rapgamenancyreagan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-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

4.75

Content Warnings

zabeishumanish's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved Miriam as a character. When I think of someone able to overcome the apocalypse, she’s the type to survive.
There were some points of the story that felt incredibly familiar to the first of the series. And at first, I was concerned that the author couldn’t make substantially different storylines when the premise of both book (or the whole series) is the same. My fear was that two stories of Apocalypse Harbingers fallings for women desperate to stop them by any means, couldn’t possibly be unique and interesting. While there were similar elements to the stories, I am happy to say the fear was mostly unfounded.

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