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hanschub's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.5
half a star knocked off due to fmc’s insufferableness at times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual content, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape
smuttymcbookface's review
adventurous
dark
medium-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
This has been my favourite of The Four Horsemen.
In it, we have headstrong, resilient Ana who refuses to simply accept humanity's lot. Although she has a brave face, it's clear she doesn't truly believe herself to be worthy at times, often thinking she's simply going along with Famine's murderous adventure, yet it's not true at all. We see her bravery when she stands up to him and others, time and time again. She never lets her tragic past determine her; holding her head high and her sexuality like a weapon.
Famine on the other hand is snarky and wears his cruelty as a shield to hide his past trauma. Ana's single act of kindness has stuck with him through the years as humanity (understandably) fights back against their destruction. He sees Ana for who she is, and never balks at her past or her hope.
The banter between these two was hilarious, and it was wonderful watching them slowly fall for one another. However, fair warning, that Famine is the cruelest of the Horsemen yet, and there are a lot of needless and graphic deaths.
In it, we have headstrong, resilient Ana who refuses to simply accept humanity's lot. Although she has a brave face, it's clear she doesn't truly believe herself to be worthy at times, often thinking she's simply going along with Famine's murderous adventure, yet it's not true at all. We see her bravery when she stands up to him and others, time and time again. She never lets her tragic past determine her; holding her head high and her sexuality like a weapon.
Famine on the other hand is snarky and wears his cruelty as a shield to hide his past trauma. Ana's single act of kindness has stuck with him through the years as humanity (understandably) fights back against their destruction. He sees Ana for who she is, and never balks at her past or her hope.
The banter between these two was hilarious, and it was wonderful watching them slowly fall for one another. However, fair warning, that Famine is the cruelest of the Horsemen yet, and there are a lot of needless and graphic deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual harassment and Adult/minor relationship
viktoriann's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Confinement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Genocide, Vomit, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Body shaming, Cancer, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
madoav'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Writing: 3.5⭐️/5
I feel like in this book Thalassa tried to strike out and make her writing a bit different, but I’m not sure it worked. Much of the writing felt the same. I was, however, less surprised by this than I was when I read book two, War. I feel like expecting the similarities made them less bothersome.
Characters: 3.25⭐️/5
Famine bears similarities to both War and Pestilence, but manages to strike out on his own as the novel progresses. Ana feels very much like a mix of Sara and Miriam from the previous two novels, and while the story progresses to a point that I enjoyed reading about, I wanted a bit more from the characters.
Plot: 3.5⭐️/5
Girl gets captured by a Horseman. Slowly, she falls in love with him. And then, she slowly finds herself as the only reason he wants to stop the apocalypse. It’s very predictable. Yes, I was prepared for the predictability. Yes, I was still a bit annoyed at how similar it was. However, I will say that I did enjoy how Thalassa struck out to make the ending very different. I just wish this would have started sooner.
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 and second books (but maybe take a break between so it’s not too fresh)
Content Warnings?
Death, murder, sexual content, physical abuse, emotional abuse, kidnapping, gore, blood, injury, injury detail, violence, animal death, torture, grief, body horror, sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, alcohol, swearing, child abuse, child death, misogyny
Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5
Made me kind of pumped for the fourth one.
Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Alcohol, Child abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Blood, Torture, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Gore, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
bangiebangs's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Good read, though I think that Pestilence might still be my favorite of the series. In this book, the relationship between Famine and Ana is a little more playful, and I'm really here for the bratty flirting and the chemistry between them. The horseman's journey here is a little less fleshed out (I thought that the change from hating humans to changing towards believing in saving them... was a bit sudden? But maybe that is because I've read all the books in one go.)
Enjoyable read, some spice (would say 2/5), the flirting is really enjoyable, and I also really liked the story here.
Enjoyable read, some spice (would say 2/5), the flirting is really enjoyable, and I also really liked the story here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, and Death of parent
mspilesofpaper's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The lack of world building is atrocious. In a half sentence is mentioned which continents have been erased and I had to use Google Maps so often to get a basic idea of where they are in Brazil because the author just mentions city names and that’s it.
Famine is just awful. I get it that he’s different than Pestilence and War as he’s somehow nature itself and that he has trauma from getting abused/tortured/… But what exactly does he expect humans in a post apocalyptic world to do when the Four Horsemen appear? Just accept that they’ve to die in utterly unnecessary cruel ways? It’s not even a quick and painless death that any of the three have dished out. 99% of the time it’s cruel and drags out the actual death.
Ana was annoying. Her sex jokes were funny at the first part but they got quickly rather boring because the majority were repetitions. Sex was the defining character trait for her which is just ugh. Of course, it’s a mask/defense mechanism for her trauma but the author didn’t handle the entire topic of being a sex worker very well.
Entire book was: 60% Famine (and Ana) riding from point A to B, 5% were sexual assault on Ana, 5% were "Famine was tortured to death again and Ana helps him again", 20% were make out/sex scenes and the last 10% was Death's cameo.
Death’s an real asshole although I don’t get why he’s on charging of deciding what his brothers have to give up to gain mortality etc because that should be God's position. Also, why has the fucker wings? That’s so out of place because he’s Death and not some kind of fallen angel aka Lucifer.
Famine is just awful. I get it that he’s different than Pestilence and War as he’s somehow nature itself and that he has trauma from getting abused/tortured/… But what exactly does he expect humans in a post apocalyptic world to do when the Four Horsemen appear? Just accept that they’ve to die in utterly unnecessary cruel ways? It’s not even a quick and painless death that any of the three have dished out. 99% of the time it’s cruel and drags out the actual death.
Ana was annoying. Her sex jokes were funny at the first part but they got quickly rather boring because the majority were repetitions. Sex was the defining character trait for her which is just ugh. Of course, it’s a mask/defense mechanism for her trauma but the author didn’t handle the entire topic of being a sex worker very well.
Entire book was: 60% Famine (and Ana) riding from point A to B, 5% were sexual assault on Ana, 5% were "Famine was tortured to death again and Ana helps him again", 20% were make out/sex scenes and the last 10% was Death's cameo.
Death’s an real asshole although I don’t get why he’s on charging of deciding what his brothers have to give up to gain mortality etc because that should be God's position. Also, why has the fucker wings? That’s so out of place because he’s Death and not some kind of fallen angel aka Lucifer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Gore, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
cluckieduck's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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
3.25
A much better entry than Pestilence and War but still just an ok read.
I enjoyed Famine & Ana - like other reviews have mentioned, it was actually quite funny considering the setting. They have good love/hate interactions, which broke up the monotony of the same recycled story of 'oh-he's-a-bad-evil-person-but-he's-so-darn-sexy-that-maybe-I'll-overlook-the-mass-murder-and-stuff' thing.
The ending was quite something, so I'm looking forward to the big reunion.
I enjoyed Famine & Ana - like other reviews have mentioned, it was actually quite funny considering the setting. They have good love/hate interactions, which broke up the monotony of the same recycled story of 'oh-he's-a-bad-evil-person-but-he's-so-darn-sexy-that-maybe-I'll-overlook-the-mass-murder-and-stuff' thing.
The ending was quite something, so I'm looking forward to the big reunion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, War, Vomit, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
cocpop_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-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
Ana and Famine are probably my favorite couple so far. I loved both of them and I’m glad we got some dual POV in this book.
Their relationship was heartbreaking, heartwarming and hysterical.
I think because these two probably have the darkest backstories, the banter between them was necessary. And I ate it up. Their dynamic made a lot of sense for both of them. And honestly I loved Ana falling in love with Famine when he was at his absolute worst. Because both of them were deprived of actual love and to see them give it to each other unconditionally was the best.
And I loved the way the book ended, definitely more of a cliffhanger than the previous two and a great setup for the final installment in the series.
2/5 on the spicy scale. Again I felt this was more innuendo than actually dirty sex scenes. Plus you don’t get any spice till 65% into the book. But I think this couple didn’t really need that for their relationship, theirs was emotional first and then physical.
Their relationship was heartbreaking, heartwarming and hysterical.
I think because these two probably have the darkest backstories, the banter between them was necessary. And I ate it up. Their dynamic made a lot of sense for both of them. And honestly I loved Ana falling in love with Famine when he was at his absolute worst. Because both of them were deprived of actual love and to see them give it to each other unconditionally was the best.
And I loved the way the book ended, definitely more of a cliffhanger than the previous two and a great setup for the final installment in the series.
2/5 on the spicy scale. Again I felt this was more innuendo than actually dirty sex scenes. Plus you don’t get any spice till 65% into the book. But I think this couple didn’t really need that for their relationship, theirs was emotional first and then physical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Gore
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
zabeishumanish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This book gave me so many feelings, almost all positive although I did genuinely sob as well. I felt more emotional reading the sex scenes in this book than actually have sex with someone I love. The depth of emotions between Ana and Famine are tangible and potent. This book made me feel, perhaps more deeply than the first two, why a horseman would give up his purpose for something so different than they’d ever known.
I appreciated the tiny peeks we got into Famine’s perspective towards the end of the book and am now incredibly excited for the last book.
I really liked Ana’s character being a former prostitute. Ana’s years in such a harsh career made the almost paradox of her gentle heart and traumatic childhood feel realistic. Her prostitute’s confidence and brazen attitude towards Famine was also incredibly entertaining. Prostitution is often a tricky subject but the book treated the profession with respect while acknowledging negative public perceptions and physical drawbacks. This did contrast pretty sharply with the first books on the series though, especially the first, where minor characters offering sex was treated incredibly disdainfully.
I appreciated the tiny peeks we got into Famine’s perspective towards the end of the book and am now incredibly excited for the last book.
I really liked Ana’s character being a former prostitute. Ana’s years in such a harsh career made the almost paradox of her gentle heart and traumatic childhood feel realistic. Her prostitute’s confidence and brazen attitude towards Famine was also incredibly entertaining. Prostitution is often a tricky subject but the book treated the profession with respect while acknowledging negative public perceptions and physical drawbacks. This did contrast pretty sharply with the first books on the series though, especially the first, where minor characters offering sex was treated incredibly disdainfully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment