Laura Thalassa

Death

🫶🏼

"There, standing at the threshold of the afterlife, are my brothers, their wives— And Lazarus, my sweet Lazarus. She opens her arms, and I walk into them. And once again I am home."

"Between one thought and the next, I slip away. There is no ferryman to lead me on, but it doesn't matter. I know the way. I have memorized it over the eons."

"Then, there comes a day when I feel my own death upon me, and I want to laugh that I have somehow come full circle—I am both Death and the dying. My children and grandchildren gather around me-and those of my brothers flesh as well. Ben, who's an old man himself, holds my hand as I draw my final breaths."

"And somehow, I still live, though by all rights, the part of me that matters has left. For a handful of years I exist without her, andI understand finally, truly, Lazarus's words about loss."

"And one awful day, Lazarus goes too, and none of my knowledge of the afterlife does anything to dull the unbearable agony of her passing. I feel her soul slip away, I see its flight up into the heavens, and this time, though a part of my essence does lead her there, it's not this part of me-the conscious, mortal man ľve become."

"Yes, but life and death are lovers, kismet. They always choose each other in the end."

"I love you, Thanatos," I say, taking him in. "Forever and always. Nothing will ever change that. And I'll be waiting for you when even you, the Angel of Death, meet your own end."

"Life and Death are lovers, Lazarus. There is no end for us, no me without you, and no you without me. You are the one exception to all of this. My one exception. I can reap the world... but I cannot—will not—take you with the rest. I will not leave you at all."

"My love for you is eternal and unfaltering, Lazarus. Do not doubt that. Stars will form and die, and what I feel for you will remain undimmed."

"In all of my existence, I have never come across anything worth forsaking my duty for until I met you."

"You were made for me," he says fervently. "And I for you."

"This feeling I get when I'm with you is there aren't human words for it. It's incomparable. All I can truly tell you is that when I hold you close to me, I am sure no one has ever felt as happy as I do."

"And I swear to you, until my dying day, I will love you."

"I have been waiting for you from the moment I was first formed, long before you ever drew breath." He takes my hand and presses it over his heart. "You have been here the whole time, even when I thought I didn't want it, even when I believed love was a curse and a weakness."

"But then," he says, his hand finding the edge of my shirt. His fingers brush the skin beneath, "things changed once I found you. Now, I am absurdly grateful when the sun takes its time setting or rising. i've come to savor it like I do your skin, kismet. Every minute that drags on is one more spent with you, and I cannot imagine life ever returning to the way it once was."

"Life and death are lovers, kis- met," he whispers, shifting my hips to align us. "We are lovers. It has always been this way. It will always be this way."

"I have given you so much pain, kismet. Let me give you pleasure to match."

"You have an exceptional heart, Lazarus," he finally says. "You shouldn't apologize for it."

"My kismet," he murmurs against my lips, "my Lazarus."

"I have known no one as intimately as I know you," he continues.

"Though I can recall the shape of their soul, the person who gave me this coin holds no more meaning to me than anyone else.. except for you."

"I wish I could fully sense your soul the way I can other humans. I'm sure I would find that it is strange and lovely. It—you—are a mystery to me, and I am unused to mysteries."

"I was hoping you'd like it," he continues. "I want you to be comfortable. I gave you a reason to run last time. This time, I want to give you a reason to stay."

This was so refreshing to read after the blood bath that was Famine. I love me a softer villain type love interest.

Sarah Campbell

chateau

The best book of the series! Equal parts lovely and sad, this was the perfect ending. 

Kristen Savage

Estefany 

Aishhh no puedo creer que este sea el ultimo libro, que ya no vaya a leer más de mis jinetes. No obstante he de decir que, amé este final, creo que la autora supo darle el cierre perfecto. Aunque siendo honesta me esperaba más intensidad en este ultimo libro, lo noté muy suave para lo temido que pretende ser Death, hay ocasiones incluso que me parece un osito amoroso jajaja hasta más que sus hermanos. Hasta ahora creo que Guerra fue uno de los jinetes más temible.

También he de decir que, la historia se me hizo larga en algunas partes, creo que hubieron escenas innecesarias. No obstante, lo disfruté mucho, y me da tristeza que acabe, ojala hubieran más jinetes para que la autora siga escribiendo de ellos jajaja.

Asi que si, recomiendo estos libros totalmente, no descarto releerlos e un futuro, me encanta la pluma de la autora.

Gem Koeman

** spoiler alert **
            CAWPILE Review: 7.57 

I guess this will be a bit of a round up on all four books in the series. 

Just a note, if you're not into outlandish spicy books, then the series may not be for you. 

Spice level out of five: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

 Characters (9) 

Ranking for the characters in the four books: War, Death, Pestilence then Famine. 

I feel like the characters themselves were distinct enough that it didn't feel as If I was reading the same person's reaction to the plot in all four. 

War was the most different out of the three and I think his description came across best which is why he is top of my ranking. 




Atmosphere (7) 

Obviously a bit different for each of the books. I preferred the two regions in Famine and War. I think the change in setting for those added a view into what the world looked like outside of the US/Canada. 

All of the books were quite dark in nature with lots of death and destruction. Each of the books had a bit of a dystopian vibe which is one of my favourites. 

One of the best examples of atmosphere and dread in the final book was Laz falling from the sky and being impaled. It felt truly desolate and was quite heart wrenching to get through. 

 Writing (6) 

I'm overall quite impressed with the writing. I think there were a few errors throughout but the way the author was able to create a new story for each of the main male leads was incredible considering they were all dealing with the same problems (fighting their instincts, learning about humanity, giving in to their own wants). 

 Plot (7) 

So, I was expecting to get a bit bored along the way in these books and at times I did. 

The plot was overall the same in each book. 

Meet Female MC doing normal thing > She meets Horseman doing terrible thing > Female MC is aghast, intrigued and disgusted at the same time > The two end up chained to each other as they go from place to place in the world. 

However, I think the intrigue moments, the female internal POV's and spice made up for the sameness of the plot. 

I loved the friendship in War, the straightforward nature of Famine's female MC and the naievety of Pestilence and his interaction with the older couple. 

Death was a little different in that both of the MC's were immortal which led to a lot more risk taking early on. I liked the faster paced feeling of book four. 

 Intrigue (7) 

I got a slow burn romance and enemies to lovers vibes from all four books. As such much of the spice and emotional strain was saved for the last 40% of the books. 

I thought the endings to all four books were really great which is why I kept on reading all four. 

 Logic (7) 

Hmm, this is a tricky one. Were the characters logical in their choices? I'd say no. All of them decided to try and assassinate an immoral being and then followed them around as they killed millions of people. 

Logical, no. However, I gave Logic a high mark because I don't think the book deserves a lower rating based on the plot and characters being a bit obsurd. 

 Enjoyment (10) 

Overall, I thought The Four Horsemen series was great. I was apprehensive about picking it up but decided to read along with the Alphaho book club and I'm glad I did. 

I suspect that these books aren't everyones cup of tea but I grew to like each of the horsemen and the female MC's in each book. So much that by the end I was rooting for the horsemen to take on Death in the final act.

Mabel Palomera

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance


“My love for you is eternal and unfaltering, Lazarus. Do not doubt that. Stars will form and die, and what I feel for you will remain undimmed.”





First Impressions
Death is the finale of the series and this book BLEW MY MIND away, I absolutely adored just about everything about this one. Even though the beginning had a bit of a slow start and I wasn’t too interested in reading for a while (I think mostly due to the mood I was in) I ended up falling so hard for this book. I really wondered how Laura Thalassa would handle Death’s book and I really found that the way certain elements were brought together made for such a great story. I will say that this book isn’t for the faint of heart. It definitely has its darker elements and it does deal with some serious issues obviously, but it has such intricate detail that I believe only this author can cultivate. Now I am not sure that this one beats (War–which is my favorite of the series) but this one definitely ties with it easily. There is such a slow building of intimate love that is gradually growing and I adored every single part of it.


“Death and life, caught in an eternal embrace,” he explains. “They look like lovers,” I whisper. “They are lovers.” His eyes find mine, and I swear they can see straight to my soul.




Summary
The last of the horseman have arrived at Earth, Death, and is wreaking havoc upon the human population as is his duty. Lazarus Gaumond, saw her family and all of those that she truly loved fall dead at her feet but for some reason, she was left alive. Lazarus, it seems is impossible to kill, every time that she dies, she comes back alive. And she proves to be more than a match for Death. Lazarus had a sweet loving nature, but when she lost everything, she realized she would have to become something to face up to Death, as she was the only one that could. Death and Lazarus begin playing a game of playing with death with each other, but there is something more tangible building between them. They have a connection to each other that neither of them fully understand. But then Lazarus and Death get tired of fighting each other, and Death is determined to claim Lazarus as his own, the only woman who could ever hold his heart. But even when Lazarus makes a deal with his brothers to do what she can to convince Death to change his agenda, and give into the chemistry that she feels more strongly each day, she begins to genuinely care for this angel of death. Even though he is the enemy and is killing the human race as is his command, only Lazarus will have the capability of showing Death the true power of love and save humankind as is her destiny….

What I Loved
This Book!!! *sigh* This story was so delicious and I couldn’t seem to get enough of everything that encompassed this story. Despite its beginning (which granted I think was mostly due to my mood which is why I waited till I was in the right mood to pick it back up) its still going to be a top read of the year and what a way to KICK OFF the new year with such a book. I am so happy that I decided to come back to Death and read the epic finale we have all been waiting for here. I will admit that reading this one had a very bittersweet feeling to it. While I loved being able to read this book I am also sad that I had to see this series go as well because I have loved it so. These books have been highlights of my reading in the past four years. I really do love a good edgy romance and this one definitely has many dark elements. So fair warning before going into this book and if you get triggers (please check the trigger warnings before reading this book). I had also forgotten the style of Laura Thalassa, its stunning how flawlessly she can cause havoc on my emotions where I am laughing one moment and sobbing tears in the next. This book tore my HEART apart but also put it back together.


Because you were designed to be mine. And it’s time I claimed you.




The romance that develops between Death and Lazarus was quite interesting. I loved the slow building of their chemistry. At first, they are true enemies, although Death is more fascinated by Lazarus than anything else because only his brothers are safe from his wrath. And his fascination turns into something deeper, where he wants to treat her as his mate, and starts to genuinely care for her. Out of all of the horsemen, Death is the one most devoted to his duty. I loved how protective he could be of Lazarus, in the small moments that he cares for her or will do things just to make her laugh or bring joy to her life even in the small ways. You really see how much he is changing. On the side of Lazarus, she hates having feelings for this sexy dangerous man that is destroying her world. She has many mixed feelings for Death, and doesn’t know how to react to these changing emotions and the intensity of their connection at times. I adored her strength and bravery. Even till the end, she stands her ground and fights for what she believes in. I found their story to be so captivating and the most endearing moments were in the small ones. In their quiet ways of sharing together and seeing their intimacy build was truly a powerful thing to witness throughout the reading of this here.

Even if it takes centuries, even if you and I are the last creatures in existence, I vow to you this: I will get you to love me—mind, body, and heart.”




And the ENDING tore me up, and I won’t reveal too much as I don’t wish to spoil it at all. But I will say that this author tied everything up in a bow in such a beautiful way that just tugged at my heartstrings. I couldn’t believe the way that Laura Thalassa weaved her way with this story and brought together such an epic romance that had me hooked.

Overall Evaluation
The final of the series, Death, is a story that I can guarantee that you will fall in love with. Its a story of redemption, character growth, and standing for what you believe in no matter the cost. It’s an intimate portrayal of love in its most powerful of moments, and the author cultivates a story that is bound to tie you up in knots and capture your heart.

5 finally finished a series this year stars!

I really loved this series. I remember Pestilence blowing me away. I am so glad I finally managed to read the conclusion of the four horsemen's story. I thought Lazarus was a really interesting character, and her inability to die was a great touch for death's book. There were so many interesting quotes about life, death, love, and humanity. I really enjoyed this book. I will say some of the plot felt a little forced (but that could be due to the creator Herself's influence), and the ending was very predictable. However, a predictable ending could be good if it's due to good writing or it could be bad if it's cliche or unoriginal. I felt like it might have been a little bit of both (reminded me of twilight -if you know you know). Overall, I think this series was fantastic and had a solid ending. I would 100% recommend this series and if you need the push to read the final book this is it. It's dark and it's lovely.

Kelly Casey

5 finally finished a series this year stars!

I really loved this series. I remember Pestilence blowing me away. I am so glad I finally managed to read the conclusion of the four horsemen's story. I thought Lazarus was a really interesting character, and her inability to die was a great touch for death's book. There were so many interesting quotes about life, death, love, and humanity. I really enjoyed this book. I will say some of the plot felt a little forced (but that could be due to the creator Herself's influence), and the ending was very predictable. However, a predictable ending could be good if it's due to good writing or it could be bad if it's cliche or unoriginal. I felt like it might have been a little bit of both (reminded me of twilight -if you know you know). Overall, I think this series was fantastic and had a solid ending. I would 100% recommend this series and if you need the push to read the final book this is it. It's dark and it's lovely.

Jessica Lynn

It took me 6 months to finish this book and once I picked it back up I didn’t know why I ever put it down.

freya.nightwolf

This series is officially one of my favorite ones. And this book! Oh boy, this book crushed me. I felt my blood bubble, then I had my heart in my throat, then I laughed with tears [there are very few books where I laughed until it hurt :)))], then, by the end of the book and was screaming at it and then I was crying.

DEATH IS DEATH! HE'S ENDGAME. He is one of the best characters on my list. He's well written, he does not disappoint and he is eternal! Life is death and death is life. I loved every page and the way Laura wrote Death, and now I mean not as an immortal, but as the very essence of death, it was mind-blowing. I agree with many statements from this book about death and I'm happy to see someone else seeing/writing death like this. 

I LOVED HAVING ALL 4 HORSEMEN IN ONE BOOK. AND WHAT BETTER BOOK TO HAVE THEM ALL THAN "DEATH", THE LAST STEP IN THE APOCALYPSE! THIS BOOK IS PERFECT! I loved every interaction of the horsemen and I loved every single thing Famine did. :)))) This guy is nuts :))) and I laughed because of him until it hurt. Famine is the same psycho, War is the same bastard hungry for war :)) and Pestilence... I did not expect that and I love him in this book. He is the ONLY ONE who can temper the other three! PERIOD!

Now. DEATH. I can't put into words what he made me feel. He is exactly what I wanted from him and even more. He is endless and knows he is FINAL. He's the END. He knows his task and he doesn't want to fail, he doesn't want to make the same "mistake" his brothers did. And is very hard for him to do that. I think he hungers for life, just a glimpse of feeling alive. And when he finds Lazarus, he can hope and it terrifies him. But you don't see this from the beginning. At some point, you start to see through his eyes, and thank you Laura for giving us his POV too. You can see his struggle and also his determination. Like I said in War's book, war and death do go hand in hand. And here you can see Death's inner conflict, he's at war with himself. He kills and he's giving humanity the best death, so to speak. They don't feel pain. It's like dying in your sleep. To the other horsemen, you can see an increasing pain in each step of the apocalypse, but the final one comes, when the actual Death comes, humanity got a peaceful death, a quick one. 
If the level of pain in dying is nonexisting, the level of excitement and action in this book is magnificent. You can feel the thrill with every page you read. 

Lazarus is a fighter and she is perfect for Death because she is also determined and knows her task and she also is fighting not just with Death, but with herself too. There was a moment when she started to be annoying and then was the moment of realizing that what's dead should stay dead. That particular scene I think was her lesson. You don't play with life and death and I absolutely loved how Laura wrote that scene. I know it was painful for Lazarus and a horrible moment in her life, but that is a very important lesson and Death let her feel everything. He didn't invade her space, but also he let her experience that lesson on her own. No backup, nobody by her side. Her alone. 

I recommend this series to everybody. It's absolutely astonishing. Every book has its own charm, and the excitement increases with every page and every book. You don't get to see the same story, you don't get to see a horseman doing what the previous one does. Every horseman is unique and every story it's unique. Laura, Pestilence, Sara, War, Miriam, Famine, Ana, Death, Lazarus, you have taken me into a magnificent story, which I think is a lot closer to the truth than what our leaders and priests are trying to get into our heads. I know that practically these books are fiction, but this is what I feel, what I believe. Thank you again, Laura, for this exceptional series.

Rebecca okeefe

I cried, I laughed, I cried some more. 
I was so excited for Deaths story but knew it would be the end of this amazing world. 
Was a beautiful ending and way his true love ce to him was so much fun to read

As the last horseman carries out his mission to wipe out humanity, he meets the one woman who is immune to his abilities in this long-awaited enemies-to-lovers romance.

Death (The Four Horsemen Book 4)

Was a great ending to this series. Loved Death and Lazarus's fights. I laughed I cried and I jumped for joy.

Ley Stanton

My least favorite of the series, just felt like there were long stretches where nothing happened. I would like to see a book (or novella) about what happens after the series end, specifically chapter 80. But I doubt we will ever get that. Definitely interesting characters, Laz had her work cut out for her trying to convince Death to be human. I'm sad the series is over though.

Ale ♡

dnf @70%

2 stars.

There are some spoilers ahead, you've been warned!

well, that was... disappointing.

I could have easily finished this book, but I didn't want to anymore.

I was really excited and hyped for this one because I waited for it an entire year and I thought it was gonna be something different to the other 3 books, but nope. You can see on my updates that I was crying and screaming of the emotion, but then... well, it flopped.

In some way, I was reading an acotar fic and ew, I'm avoiding all the acotar/tog related things that I can.

Lazarus was really stupid, but had some guts. However, she didn't have much personality and her only traits were Ben, fuck with Thanatos and complain. And Thanatos/Death only traits were being really horny, kill people and being naive.

About the 30% of the book, I was already predicting the things that were gonna happen and I was right in most of them. I wish I could say I didn't, but I did. This book turn out to be repetitive and boring at some point.

There was no worldbuilding whatsoever beside of the poor description of the lonely towns and all the dead people.... Something that we see over and over and over in the first 3 books... ??

The smut parts were a little bit overwhelming, and even more when there's a part where Lazarus and Death are fucking and she's like "well, that's too much for today" and he's like "nope, it's not. let's keep doing this", totally ignoring her and it's ok because she's having an orgasm and it's great because he's causing it. No, please. Fucking. Consent. She said it was enough. Also, the thing of sex in the sky was pretty weird, lol.

The "baby" plot was really ????? I don't know if it's because I hate kids (don't blame me, I grew up with kids and that's why I don't like them, lmao) or because I see these girls as 19/20 yo girls and not like 24/25 women... Idk, bruh, but I didn't like it at all.

A cool thing was that Pestilence, War and Famine showed up. I was kind of missing them, and Famine and his rage were really funny... Tho I know how the thing's gonna end up: Death realizing that humanity is worth it, the typical "to live is love, ho ho ho, merry xmas, y'all" shit and he's gonna stop killing people... And they're gonna live happily ever after, with animals doing some chores, taking care of the kids, all of the horseman and their wives living in the farm and the humanity recovering...

I just... Don't. Please. Humanity isn't worth it, lmao.

Also, the fact that Lazarus couldn't die was cool, but it wasn't explained. Like, what's the purpose to make her "immortal" if you're not gonna explain it? I need answers, no more unanswered questions, thanks.

It's sad that I don't finish this book because was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and I'm pissed off, but oh well.

Everything turned out repetitive and boring, nothing different of the rest of the books, aND THIS MAKES ME SAD.

Ashlee

Maya Federman

As far as series finales go, this might be one of the best I’ve ever read. I was so honored to receive an ARC of Death, because this series has left a horseman-shaped indent on my heart since I first read it last year. And daddy Thanatos was everything I was hoping for and more.

Death and Lazarus are beautifully constructed characters—both have strong convictions and know a long life of loneliness.

I definitely cried toward the end, not out of sadness, but because it was just so beautiful to see the embodiment of Death express such deep emotions.

I would give this 10 stars if I could, and if it’s not obvious at this point I highly recommend picking up this series.

Amanda 

Death is hot! Not my favorite of the horsemen but still hot, pretty boring for being death though. Could have been cut down more, definitely a lot of repetition but I still enjoyed it. Sad to see this series end, it had a lot of my favorite tropes.

Yaneli | @aquariusbookadventures 

Yeah so this broke me. Here I am, sobbing my heart out because this is the end.

I knew that I was going to love Thanatos and Lazarus but I didn't expect them to break me like this. 

The entire book was beautiful. I was either crying or on the verge of tears the entire time. 

I started this series a month after book 1, Pestilence, had released and now 3 years later here I am at the finish line. 

Right now I don't even know if I could ever reread this book because of how devastated it has me😭

Kelly Graham

All the emotions!

Laura, you really wanted this book to make you feel all the darn emotions a person can feel in this one! This was the BEST book in the series and Death definitely earned a place in my heart!

Beatriz Aires

I felt like the ending was a bit rushed idk I had higher hopes.
Didn't really like this female protagonist either.

Death

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