Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Pestilence

I had heard a lot about this, so thought I'd give it a try. It's first person and only the woman's POV (I prefer third person and dual POV.)

I thought the premise was interesting, but as I continued reading, the actions of the characters didn't make a lot of sense. There's some real gore and terrible things done to each other, and yet the woman keeps thinking about how attractive the horseman is. I know the characters are supposed to eventually get together, but I can tell you right now that I would not be thinking about how attractive or kissable someone is after they shot me with arrows and dragged me behind a horse until my arm dislocated. If two characters are supposed to hate each other, I want them to actually hate each other. Not act petulant but really be attracted to the person.

All that to say, I don't feel compelled to keep reading this. Maybe I'll come back to it someday if I'm in the right mood.

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witchloved's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

Fantastic for a first time smut read

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cait_reads_stuff's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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

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wait_whoissheagain's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5

This book was really easy to read. The chapters are short which kept the story moving at a good pace, and held my attention. I was very engaged in this story, reading it in a total of 4 hours!

Despite this, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the plot. The premise of the story is interesting, and I was intrigued to read a fantasy book that takes place in the “real world”, but I feel like this book’s plot was lacking. We had the hero, but there was no real villain to fight. If we consider Pestilence the villain, then the FMC didn’t do much fighting at all. I’m hoping that the plot intensifies throughout the remainder of the series.

Another aspect of the book that I’m still trying to process, is the FMC’s internal struggle with her feelings for Pestilence. The horseman put Sara through A LOT (no spoilers, but Chapter 18 had me in tears) and she seems to get over these things pretty quickly because “it’s hard to be mad at something that’s so pretty” and because he made a sandwich. I feel like this is a stark contrast to her beliefs at the beginning of the book. It wasn’t until the last few chapters, when Pestilence’s character started developing, that I began to accept this change. Once again, I’m hoping their relationship will be explored and expanded upon in the next book. I would love to see more of Pestilence’s character development.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to continuing the series. I am intrigued to see the role that the other horsemen will play in this world.

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