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War
by Laura ThalassaSeries: The Four Horsemen #2
Published by Self-Published on July 10, 2019
SubGenres: Paranormal Romance
Format: AudioBook, eBook, Paperback
Pages: 495
Narrator: Susannah Jones
Length: 15 Hours And 1 Minute
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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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.
The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp.
Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one man responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible "husband". But there's another side to him, one that's gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist.
However, if there's one thing Miriam has learned, it's that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him.
War is the second book in Laura Thalassa’s The Four Horsemen series. This book has been on my TBR for a while, and thanks to the Romanceopoly 2026 Challenge, I finally picked it up for one of the prompts. Once again, Laura Thalassa wrote a true Enemies to Lovers storyline where the FMC, Miriam, doesn’t care for the MMC, War, one of the Horsemen come to earth to destroy mankind. War’s mission is to slaughter everyone with help from some humans who have joined his army. When he comes across Miriam, though, he doesn’t want to kill her. Instead, he announces she is his wife. Miriam doesn’t take the news well, and War takes her captive. All he wants is for her to surrender and admit she is his wife, but she’s not going to make it easy for him, especially since she sees him only as a monster.
My thoughts on the second book are much the same as the first. I enjoyed it, but I had some issues. The MMC, War is ruthless and kills throughout the whole book. Not everyone will like his character. I didn’t mind him because he is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, and I understood he was only doing what he was told. I knew he could be redeemed like his brother Pestilence, especially when he meets the one woman who might convince him. It just won’t be easy. Miriam didn’t like War for most of the book and tried to undermine and manipulate him at every turn, even making him do things he shouldn’t. I didn’t think she would ever change her mind about War because she saw him as a monster, which is why I didn’t really believe in the romance between them at first, until eventually they do get together and things do start to change for Miriam. It’s a slow burn, so it will take a bit.
This book is told mainly in Miriam’s POV for most of the book, but toward the end, War does get his POV. I always love reading the MMC’s POV in a romance book, especially when something significant happens, and I get the MMC’s feelings in the matter.
One thing I noticed while reading War is how the storyline seemed similar to the first book. It even had similar tropes, which was fine, but I hope the third book is a little different and not as repetitive. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but it won’t be a favorite. I give it 3.5 stars. Laura Thalassa’s Bewitched series is still my favorite so far, but maybe the third book, Famine, will win me over.
POV: First Person (Mostly in FMC’s POV, but there is MMC’s POV toward the end of the book)
Standalone or Part of Series: Interconnected Standalone in The Four Horsemen series.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy Dystopian Romance stories with an Enemies to Lovers storyline and Slow Burn Romance, check out War.
Content Warning: This book does have some content that may be triggering for some readers. Please make sure to read the CW beforehand. The ones that I noticed while reading: Attempted Sexual Assault, Violence, Gore, Murder of Adults and Children.
What to Expect:
⚔️Dystopian Romance
⚔️Enemies to Lovers
⚔️Forced Captivity
⚔️MMC Falls First
⚔️Morally Grey Hero
⚔️Slow Burn
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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