Four Horsemen · 2021
CataclysmSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Sarah Bailey
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 12 trigger warnings flagged
Sarah Bailey published Cataclysm in 2021. It is book 4 of Four Horsemen. The pull here is masked hero, enemies to lovers, why choose and war. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are blood, murder, violence. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2021. Book 4 of Four Horsemen.
Cataclysm tropes
On this shelf, Cataclysm is filed under Masked hero romance, Enemies to lovers, Why choose / reverse harem and War romance. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Cataclysm spice level
Is Cataclysm dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Cataclysm scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Cataclysm trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 18 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: sexual content, death of parent, injury/injury detail, infertility, abandonment, body horror, fire/fire injury, cursing, toxic relationship. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (12) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Cataclysm trigger warnings
Four Horsemen reading order
Cataclysm is book 4 of 3 in Sarah Bailey's Four Horsemen series. Start with Chaos.
Order checked against the Goodreads Four Horsemen series page on 13 October 2026. The Four Horsemen series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Cataclysm
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Their Vicious Darling
Their Vicious Darling
Nikki St. Crowe
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, War romance
- Chokehold
Chokehold
Harleigh Beck, Leigh Rivers
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Masked hero romance, Enemies to lovers
- Corrode
Corrode
Sarah Bailey
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Why choose / reverse harem, Enemies to lovers
- Crucible
Crucible
B.B. Reid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Why choose / reverse harem
- Scream For Us
Scream For Us
Molly Doyle
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Masked hero romance, Why choose / reverse harem
- Carnival Hill
Carnival Hill
Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Why choose / reverse harem
- That Sik Luv
That Sik Luv
Jescie Hall
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Masked hero romance, Enemies to lovers
- Bad Bishop
Bad Bishop
L.J. Shen
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, War romance
Books like Cataclysm, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Cataclysm?
Cataclysm spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Cataclysm trigger warnings?
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Torture, Abuse, Gore, Psychological abuse, Captivity, Sexual assault, Grief. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 18 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Cataclysm dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Cataclysm scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Cataclysm?
On this shelf Cataclysm is filed under Masked hero romance, Enemies to lovers, Why choose / reverse harem and War romance.
Who is Cataclysm for?
Pick this up if you want masked hero and enemies to lovers with explicit spice. Check the trigger warnings before you start. Start earlier in Four Horsemen if you can.
What are some books like Cataclysm?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe; Chokehold by Harleigh Beck, Leigh Rivers; Corrode by Sarah Bailey; Crucible by B.B. Reid; Scream For Us by Molly Doyle; Carnival Hill by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/cataclysm.
Is Cataclysm a standalone?
No. Cataclysm is book 4 of 3 in the Four Horsemen series by Sarah Bailey. The series starts with Chaos.
What order should I read the Four Horsemen series in?
2. Chaos; 3. Corrode; 4. Cataclysm.
How many books are in the Four Horsemen series?
The Four Horsemen series by Sarah Bailey has 3 main books.
What is the Cataclysm age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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