Review: Death by Laura Thalassa

Posted January 31, 2022 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book via the author, Laura Thalassa. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: Death by Laura ThalassaDeath by Laura Thalassa
Series: The Four Horsemen #4
Published by Lavabrook Publishing Group on 2021-11-09
Length: 519 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:

They came to earth--Pestilence, War, Famine, Death--four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

He’s known by many names: Thanatos. Horseman. God’s last angel. And then, of course, there's the one I’m all too familiar with—

Death.

The day Death comes to Lazarus Gaumond’s town and kills everyone in one fell swoop, the last thing he expects to see is a woman left alive and standing. But Lazarus has her own extraordinary gift: she cannot be killed—not by humans, not by the elements, not by Death himself.

She is the one soul Death doesn’t recognize. The one soul he cannot pry free from her flesh. Nor can he ignore the unsettling desire he has for her. Take her. He wants to, desperately. And the longer she tries to stop him from his killing spree, the stronger the desire becomes.

When Lazarus crosses paths with the three other horsemen, an unthinkable situation leads to a terrible deal: seduce Death, save the world. A hopeless task, made all the worse by the bad blood between her and Thanatos. But Death’s attraction to her is undeniable, and try though she might, Lazarus cannot stay away from that ancient, beautiful being and his dark embrace.

The end is here. Humankind is set to perish, and not even the horsemen can stop Death from fulfilling his final task.

Only Lazarus can.

What an end to a fantastic series! Death by Laura Thalassa is the final book in her series The Four Horsemen, and, boy, does it deliver. I savored this one, limiting how much I read each day, because y’all I did not want it to end. It is no secret that Thalassa is one of my all-time favorite writers, an auto-buy for me, and I eagerly wait each of her books. This one did a number on me though. She put me through the wringer before she pieced me back together again. Death exceeded all expectations, plus we get to see all the Horsemen together at last.

I love Lazarus. She is a tortured soul, surviving against all odds (even a broken neck). Every time she faces death, she is resurrected, immortal but no one knows why. She is bitter and enraged for most of this book and understandably so. She was orphaned as a young child, surviving what killed her parents, raised by another family only to stand helplessly alive when Death rides through her town. She is an enigma and one that Death must solve if he is to complete his mission.

Of all the Horsemen, Death was the hardest for me to reconcile my feelings for. Each of them has had a redeeming quality of some kind. Death seemingly has none. He is ruthless and unmerciful. At least that is what you are supposed to think and feel for him from the outset. With each encounter with Lazarus, we get to know him better. Death wormed his way into my heart, and while I still wouldn’t say he’s my favorite of the Horsemen, he is definitely in the running to be.

This book is the culmination of the series arc. For the first time, we see all four of the Horsemen together. Lazarus is the only character to interact with all of them in the series so far, and I was so excited to see them all again. Pestilence, War, and Famine have their own agenda for stopping Death, but they need Lazarus’s help to do so. I love the dynamic and banter between these characters. It is so much fun. Thalassa captures sibling rivalry well and kicks it up a notch with the paranormal powers at play.

And I cannot talk about this book without mentioning romance because at its heart, that is exactly what this book is: a romance. As I already mentioned, it took a little while for Death to worm his way into my heart. Same is true of Lazarus. She sees a kindred spirit in him, another tortured soul, doomed to live alone for eternity. But she also begins to see the good in him. Despite how humanity treats him (and rightfully so when they are scared and trying to live), Death gives them a swift and merciful death, not a long tortured one. And just like his brothers, Death controls life, meaning he can end it as swiftly as he can heal it.

Overall, I really enjoyed Death. Thalassa should be proud of this series and how she was able to craft this post-apocalyptic dystopian and create romance and joy in the midst of all the chaos. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each book. While they do standalone from each other, I highly recommend that they be read in order. If you are a fan of paranormal romance, I highly recommend it!

About Laura Thalassa

Found in the forest when she was young, Laura Thalassa was raised by fairies, kidnapped by werewolves, and given over to vampires as repayment for a hundred year debt. She’s been brought back to life twice, and, with a single kiss, she woke her true love from eternal sleep. She now lives happily ever after with her undead prince in a castle in the woods.

… or something like that anyway.

When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.

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