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xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
5.0
Yep yep yep. A sequel that lives up to book 1. It's been a bit since I'd read Pestilence, so I forgot about that delicious tension woven into these stories but I LIVE FOR IT. Break the characters' hearts. I adore it.
A minor little spoiler though, that deus ex machina War pulled at the very end pulled me out of the story, but I am willing to forgive it for the ending we got.
A minor little spoiler though, that deus ex machina War pulled at the very end pulled me out of the story, but I am willing to forgive it for the ending we got.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Child death, Blood, and War
kirahaycock21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.25
I thought there was a little too much back and forth on and off again between the main characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Cursing, Kidnapping, and Blood
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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
3.75
Writing: 3.25⭐️/5
Alright, so the writing is serviceable. I liked it in the sense that it didn’t get in the way. I did feel like the pacing was a bit off for this one. I noticed a lot more exposition starting to creep in. It felt a bit less polished. Overall, though, it stood out less than her first book in this series (Pestilence) strictly because it felt a bit like a carbon copy in certain sections.
Characters: 3.5⭐️/5
Above I said that the writing felt a bit too familiar. So did the characters. Now, War is completely different than Pestilence. Miriam feels a little too similar to Sara. As the novel picked up, she definitely struck out on her own, gaining her own sense of self. However, by then the similarities were embedded into my brain too much, and it became harder to notice their differences. I did appreciate getting a few more side characters in this one as well, even if some of them lacked a bit of depth.
Plot: 3.75⭐️/5
The plot is fun – and, you guessed it, overall very similar to Pestilence. All in all, I did enjoy the differences, loving how Miriam pushed against her fate as War’s wife. I loved how he, in his differences from Pestilence, forced her to move in different directions. I will say the end felt a bit too pulled out. Everything felt so over, and for everyone to come back to kill War just felt a bit contrived, as though Thalassa was trying too hard to make the ending similar to Pestilence.
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 don’t mind) a bit of spice, but not just spice
- Those who liked and loved the first book (but maybe take a break between so it’s not too fresh)
Content Warnings?
Death, murder, 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, sexual harassment, sexual assault, war,
Post-Reading Rating: 3⭐️/5
I didn’t love how the ending came about. Very contrived and pushed towards predictability, when it didn’t have to be.
Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, War, Blood, Murder, Cursing, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Toxic friendship
ramakn22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Sexual content
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
“Loss is a wound that never heals. Never never never. It scabs over, and for a time you can almost forget it’s there, but then something—a smell, a sound, a memory—will split that wound right open, and you’ll be reminded again that you’re not whole. That you’ll never fully be whole again.”
Read this book if you love;
• Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance
• Morally Grey Character
• Enemies-to-Lovers
• He Falls First
• Forced Marriage
• Post-Apocalyptic World
• Touch Her and You Die
This sequel is pretty much similar to the 1st book, one of the four horsemen (War) met the FMC(Miriam) while doing their mission. I also found Miriam and the previous one has similar traits – stubborn, strong willed and compassionate.
The world building is expanding, this time it takes place in Israel. Compare to Pestilence who works alone, War has a large camp where his captives and soldiers live. It’s interesting that the readers got a glimpse of how life goes for those living at the camp.
Pestilence was right though, War is more ruthless and vicious compare to Pestilence. I would be terrified meeting him face to face, but not Miriam who raised up against him every chance she got.
I like seeing how War slowly changes and learn more about mercy, growing conscience and redemption throughout the story, however it was mostly centered because of his needs to be loved by Miriam.
It takes quite a while for Miriam and War to admit their feelings for each other because they argue/fight most of the time.
The level of spiciness of this book is higher than the 1st book since War definitely know his way around women compare to Pestilence.
Overall, this story is pretty enjoyable. I really like the character’s development and the author’s writing style - it was easy to read and conveyed the emotions very well; the feeling of loss, love and hope.
I want to keep reading this series since I heard Famine and Death gets even better so I’m looking forward to it.
⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Death, violence, sexual content, murder, war, sexual assault, vomit
I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
katbenimble's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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
2.0
The hero was better in this one, but the FMC was AN IDIOT.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Grief, Child death, Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Blood, War, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Medical content, and Gore
emmathebookworm's review against another edition
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
3.5
This was definitely better than the first book. However, I felt like something was missing. I would’ve liked to see more of War’s POV, which could’ve really captured his moral struggles throughout the story. It’s a bit slow at times and the end was quite fast, but that doesn’t make the book much less enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Violence, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
itsnotri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Death, and Genocide
kat1105's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and War
alibookedup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
I really enjoyed this more than pestilence!
What I liked”
- “wife”
- “for your soft heart”
- war was a more amusing and attractive male counterpart and I was very here for the Khal drogo vibes (without rape)
- Miriam as a MFC was also more enjoyable - she was less annoying for me personally than sarah. I loved her strength, attitude, and determination. In other words, she was a badass!
- much more interesting backstories delved into with both war and Miriam. I felt the world expanding in really interesting ways. Loved war talking about his brothers and some chapters from his perspective along with Miriam and her grief of losing her family
- faster romance, spicier, and really cute moments. their relationship progression was just the right speed
- he fell first
-loved that there were more things interacting with war and Miriam like Zara and the Phobos soldiers. Having a community made from war prisoners was really interesting
- wars redemption
- “surrender”
- THE ENDING!!!!
What I didn’t like:
- sometimes I still felt like the author would have Miriam say things to sound cool or hip that felt super out of character. It was really distracting in pestilence and I feel like she reigned it in more this book but there were still sometimes that Miriam said cringey things. Like “he knocked me up real good”. 🫣🫣🫣
- plot sometimes still felt repetitive but way less so than previous book. Because the pacing was way better it was less noticeable
- there was always some iteration of saying “the horseman”, “my horseman”, etc. it’s honestly just said way too much in both books but I did feel like it was better in this one
What I liked”
- “wife”
- “for your soft heart”
- war was a more amusing and attractive male counterpart and I was very here for the Khal drogo vibes (without rape)
- Miriam as a MFC was also more enjoyable - she was less annoying for me personally than sarah. I loved her strength, attitude, and determination. In other words, she was a badass!
- much more interesting backstories delved into with both war and Miriam. I felt the world expanding in really interesting ways. Loved war talking about his brothers and some chapters from his perspective along with Miriam and her grief of losing her family
- faster romance, spicier, and really cute moments. their relationship progression was just the right speed
- he fell first
-loved that there were more things interacting with war and Miriam like Zara and the Phobos soldiers. Having a community made from war prisoners was really interesting
- wars redemption
- “surrender”
- THE ENDING!!!!
What I didn’t like:
- sometimes I still felt like the author would have Miriam say things to sound cool or hip that felt super out of character. It was really distracting in pestilence and I feel like she reigned it in more this book but there were still sometimes that Miriam said cringey things. Like “he knocked me up real good”. 🫣🫣🫣
- plot sometimes still felt repetitive but way less so than previous book. Because the pacing was way better it was less noticeable
- there was always some iteration of saying “the horseman”, “my horseman”, etc. it’s honestly just said way too much in both books but I did feel like it was better in this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Child death, and War