The Laughing Listener
Format: Ebook
Overall Rating: 3 Stars

PICTURE THIS. Me lazing on my couch procrastinating doing work by going through the hordes of junk emails that litter the inbox on my phone. I only keep a precious few, one of which is the Goodreads romance newsletter because I get a kick out of some of the titles they list on that thing each month. This one catches my eye because of the pretty (if not a tad dramatic) cover and once I read the description I download it IMMEDIATELY.

It sounds like the most ridiculous thing ever and I HAVE to know more. I mean, she falls for one of the four horsemen?? Wtf?!? HOW?!



I'm here to tell you that this surpassed my expectations because IT'S HILARIOUS, both intentionally and unintentionally. First of all, for all my friends who don't know (since I had to do a little Googling myself), this is about The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four men on horseback sent to start the apocalypse with each one symbolizing a tragic end—Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. Obviously this one is about Pestilence, the one who brings sickness and plague.

That's right, HOMEGIRL FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE PLAGUE. I can't stress enough how endlessly entertaining that was for me. SHE GETS IT ON WITH THE PLAGUE. And apparently the plague is a hottie. Who knew?

The great thing about this book is that it knows exactly how kooky it is and plays into that using Sara, the hilariously blunt, sarcastic narrator and protagonist. In between my bouts of hysterics over her FALLING IN LOVE WITH PLAGUE (SERIOUSLY), I had some genuine laughs over Sara's inner monologue. The combination made for a strangely pleasant reading experience.

Now I'm trapped waiting for the next one, which I HAVE to read because I'm SO CURIOUS. The next novel will be about the horseman War and I need to know how his power works. Does he start brawls wherever he goes?? When his love interest finally meets him, will they just get an overwhelming desire to punch him in the face??? When he walks into a room, do a million fights break out??? I'm picturing it a lot like that church scene in Kingsman where everyone just attacks each other.



THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS AND I NEED ANSWERS.

Plus, I TOTALLY noticed that offhand comment Sara makes at the very end about wading through kid toys to get to Pestilence. Did they have babies together?!? HOW DOES THAT WORK??? Are their kids immortal?? Does being around them give everyone allergies or pink eye or something??? WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?

FINAL WORD
Despite the insane and amusing plot, I really liked the writing style of this!! I vote you read it for the entertainment value.