Author: T.A. Chase
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Pages/Word Count: 167 Pages
At a Glance: My favorite out of the Four Horsemen books. How can you not love Death?
Reviewed By: Jennifer
Blurb: Death, the Pale Rider and the most feared member of the Four Horsemen, has been searching through the centuries for a soul to save him from his solitary life.
In the 1700s, Gatian Almasia was rich and a sought-after member of Parisian society. No one realized he’d lost his reason for living three years earlier. When his sister accuses another nobleman of raping her, Gatian does what any older brother would do. He challenges the man to a duel, and kills him. Later that night, the dead man’s family takes their revenge on Gatian.
Gatian’s death is just the beginning of the journey he must take as Death, the Pale Horseman of Apocalyptic fame. While he doesn’t regret taking the nobleman’s life, the guilt of not being there when his lover died builds a wall around his heart, and until he accepts forgiveness, he must always be Death.
Pierre Fortsecue is a spoiled rich young man whose heart is broken by the man he thinks he loves. Finding himself alone in Paris, Pierre sinks into a haze of heroin. He gets a tainted baggie of the drug, and almost dies from it. Death arrives to take his soul, and something about Pierre touches the Pale Horseman, who steals him away to help him heal.
As Pierre heals and Death begins to feel again, they begin to wonder if love really is the only emotion needed to overcome desolation and destruction.
Reader Advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series.
Publisher’s Note: This book was previously released under the same title. It has been re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.
Review: This is, hands down, my favorite book out of the Four Horsemen by T.A. Chase. At least, so far, because after reading this one and doing some snooping, I found out there will be another book, but more about that later! Death was all I had hoped it would be, and more. While, yes, there are the same troublesome inconsistencies that pop up, the story vastly outweighs them.
From the start, Death has been different from the rest of the Horsemen. Unlike the others, he doesn’t feel guilt or regret for anything that he did that put him in his position. He killed a man who raped his sister, and, in retaliation, he was killed. Does he regret it? Not at all. And unlike the rest of the Horsemen, he makes sure his sister is cared for, even after he dies. So how will things end for him? Well, it appears he does have guilt from earlier in his life, and that guilt is what keeps him from loving another man.
Pierre is a character you should want to dislike, and yet you can’t help but be drawn to his self-destructive behavior, much like Death was. Of course, a little angelic intervention helped get Death to notice Pierre, but after that, it was fate. So will Death be allowed his happy ending just like his fellow Horsemen?
First of all, HURRAY LAM! Readers get to see more of the messenger angel, and it is revealed that he is in a relationship that is none too savory. Not even Death approves. So, it seems like the sweet angel is cavorting with a demon. I want to know more! How does that happen?! But it’s Lam and Day that put Pierre in Death’s path so that the two can find each other, so Day can’t be that bad, right?
Death is truly in his glory in this book. Not only are his secrets revealed, but the extent to which he differs from the other Horsemen is as well. While they hid from mortals and only interacted with them when needed, Death lives among them. He interacts with them even when he isn’t guiding their souls to the gates. In fact, he’s even ridiculously wealthy, as he was in life. He also does not care anymore about the rules. Although he told the other three Horsemen never to reveal who they are and chastises them when they do, Death breaks the rules straight out of the gates. Pierre is dying and he knows exactly who Death is. It was a breath of fresh air, really, to get the secrecy out of the way so fast. Instead of hiding, their relationship and pasts were explored to a level the others didn’t quite reach. It just felt more cohesive and of all the couples, I liked this one the best. While War and Russell were great and had a strong connection, Death and Pierre just fit. Both of them grew in this novel, and I enjoyed taking the journey with them.
Now for the excellent news. After finishing this book, I thought, there’s no way the author can leave us hanging after giving such a tantalizing view of Lam and Day! And after checking the Pride Publishing website, I discovered all is not lost! There will be a fifth book, Peace, featuring Lam and Day. Rejoice! All is well with the world!
That said, you absolutely must read the first three books before reading Death. He is revealed little by little throughout the series, and you don’t want to miss out on anything. Especially when it comes to him and Lam! Such great characters.
You can buy Death here:
