Laura Thalassa also writes the most nuanced emotions into her characters.

Her comebacks when people do try to shame her are absolutely hilarious and made me laugh out loud. She doesn’t let anyone shame her for her work or what she’s had to do to survive. At the beginning of the novel, Ana works at a bordella, or brothel, and she totally owns it. They push back against stereotypes in such a refreshing way. Laura Thalassa writes a female protagonist like no other. One moment that made me laugh out loud is wen Ana kicks Famine the groin, and he “let’s out a painted grunt, releasing me to cup himself.” I laughed because it’s such a human moment happening between a deity-like figure and a normal human woman. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s absolutely gorgeous. He isn’t good or bad- he’s somewhere in that gray area in the middle. He cries and has mental breakdowns, and it is so refreshing reading about multifaceted characters. Famine is also by far the most emotionally evolved horsemen. When he’s anxious he taps his fingers, and he also mindless hums and whistles to himself when he’s doing something. Speaking of Famine, he was surprisingly hilarious and he seemed like the most human of all the horsemen. In the first two books, it takes almost the whole novel to fully develop the horsemen’s humanity, but with Famine we see it from the beginning. It humanized Famine right from the get go. This immediately created a dynamic between Ana and Famine that was very enjoyable to read. However, after starting Famine I quickly realized that this book was going to break away from the previously established template.Īt the beginning of Famine, Ana, our main character, and Famine already have a history, and as a result their relationship and feelings towards each other are more complicated and developed.

I enjoyed this plot template, but I admit reading it three times could become a drag.

The main character meets/is kidnapped by the horseman, eventually they develop feelings for each other and their relationship progresses, and finally after struggling with his purpose, the horseman gives it up and they go on with lives. The first two books in the series, Pestilence and War, had a plot that was very similar. Now, for the long, spoilery version of my thoughts.

War book by laura thalassa