Set during the height of the Civil War, this is a novel hell-bent on revenge. And perhaps love. Jerusalem is a Saint, a person w/ demi-god powers perfectly honed to killing vampires. She escapes captivity to help the Union Army fight off the South. But her aims are bigger than just winning a war. Jerusalem is set on killing the horrible, vampiric mistress she escaped from. And avenging her family.
Alexi is a 300 year-old vampire who has been helping the Union Army for the past 2 years. He helps to train Jerusalem and falls more in love with her each day. Even though she hates vampires, Jerusalem has a soft spot for Alexi. Her laser-focus on revenge doesn't stop her from falling for him, either. Alexi and Jerusalem don't realize that their aim is the same; to destroy the ancient vampire responsible for turning Alexi and killing Jerusalem's family.
I enjoyed this novel thoroughly, however, I would have liked a less abrupt ending. It almost makes me think there could be a sequel. ;)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

The Dangerous Ones intertwines historical fiction and fantasy. We meet Jerusalem, a young girl who had been enslaved by a vampire. She’s a Saint, with demi-god skills and manages to escape to the North where she joins the Union army. There she meets Alexei, a vampire who is on the Union’s side. Jerusalem doesn’t trust Alexei, or any other vampires at first, but as they work together they realize they have romantic feelings for each other.

It was really interesting to see the ways fantasy intertwined with history in this book. The language is used is pretty modern, which makes it a bit of an easier read, but doesn’t really match the historical setting. Jerusalem is a feisty and strong main character. She was justified in her anger towards and mistrust of vampires, but she was also often reckless in her quest for vengeance. Alexei was more thoughtful in his actions, as he should be after existing for several hundred years. There was mostly bickering, rather than banter, between Jerusalem and Alexei which made the romance feel a bit unrealistic.

Thank you to the NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

I was very excited about the premise of this one; the idea of supernatural creatures being involved in the Civil War was incredibly intriguing, but unfortunately this one felt terribly disjointed. The first few chapters sucked me in right away, and I initially loved how strong and unique our female main character, Jerusalem, is. Then the story slowed way down...almost too slow. In addition, I felt that Jerusalem used terms akin to more modern day rather than the Civil War (did people call other's 'dumba$$' in 1863?), but Jerusalem's continual abusive language towards Alexi got very old, killing any idea of romance to me as a reader.

This book is a young-adult novel with a mix of thematic elements. It tells the story of Jerusalem, a young woman from a family that was massacred, who escaped slavery and fought for the North during the Civil War. The twist is that some humans have extraordinary abilities and are called Saints. Their job is to kill the vampires, except for Alexi, who is a good vampire in a world of bad ones. Alexi is a multi-centuries-old vampire from Russia and is described as very attractive, this is something you will read about on every other page. He has a tortured past that he doesn't talk about that he's running from. Who wants to talk about their trauma?

Jerusalem is a pint-size young lady who enjoys fighting, this is another tidbit you'll read about every other page. She has to figure out what is most important to her in this war on evil and what she is willing to sacrifice. The book has a lot of potential, but the author may have rushed through the writing process or the editors cut the wrong parts. Blackwood's world is brilliant, with vampires, saints, sasquatch, werewolves, and other supernaturals. However, we barely get to see any of that because once the other supernatural beings are revealed, the book is almost over.

The main characters are both 18 years old, but they act immaturely. The romance is okay, but Alexi's behavior is a bit creepy, and Jerusalem's reactions to him are more realistic than his to hers. Jerusalem is a one-dimensional character, but she is a pretty kick-butt character determined to learn to use her spear. She becomes exceptional when everyone looks down on her because of her height, race, or gender. The overall story is okay, but the ending and how the bad guy dies are odd and rushed. The rest of the ending is also out of character unless this is some character growth that happens on a dime.

In summary, the book has plenty of action, lots of sass and back and forth, and some entertaining elements. If you can look past the repetition and the one-dimensional characters, this book is pretty okay.

Vampires, werewolves, and humans with supernatural abilities. Such a fun premise, right?? I was super excited to dive into this one. While it was an enjoyable story, I have to be honest that it wasn't my favorite. The genre is historical fiction, but some of the language and context wasn't consistent with the time period.

It was still a good story though, so I wouldn't NOT recommend it. I just probably wouldn't read it again.

Jerusalem is many things; a former slave, a fighter in the Union army, a Saint - a human imbued with superhuman physical abilities, but she has only one goal, and that is revenge. Her quest to kill the vampire who murdered her family brings her into the path of Alexei, a vampire with a dark and troubled past who is eager to prove his loyalty to her and the Union. The threat of what they face grows ever more daunting, and Jerusalem and Alexei will need each other if they want to survive.

I liked Jerusalem a lot as a main character. She was complicated as a heroine: prickly and tough, but brave and vulnerable. Her quest for vengeance and inherent mistrust of others made her point of view a unique and interesting experience. The romance was well balanced with the action, and it was a very dialogue-heavy read. The issues of race and PTSD were handled well in my opinion, and I thought the use of civil war era America as the setting was a nice change of pace from other recent paranormal romances.

The story was a little difficult to follow at times, as it jumped around the past as a way to contextualize the present, and switched between Alexei and Jerusalem’s POV a bit too frequently. There were some instances of modern slang in the dialogue breaking my immersion. There are times when this doesn’t bother me as a reader, but it was a bit jarring as modern slang wasn’t consistently used throughout the book so it seemed out of place when it did appear. In general though, the setting of this book was extremely fun, the action was gripping, and the romance was sweet. Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

3.5/5 (rounded up to 4) Sorrow, pain, joy, and vampires.

All I can say is WOW.
I started the book and didn't put it back down.
This was my first dive into Lauren's work and I can definitely say it made me pick up her other books.
I did find there was some repeating but the premise of the book kept me interested enough to keep going.

This is a fun and thrilling novel full of action, drama, romance and fantasy which is entertaining and engaging. While I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, I felt that some of the characters were a bit one dimensional and flat. The introduction of characters with different abilities than what is normally found made this story original and unique; not just another vampire book. I always wanted to know what came next and could not put it down!

Dude, this was fun. A little campy, a little over-the-top, but so entertaining. Honestly, if you liked the fantastical style and Black Girl Magic of any of Blackwood's previous books, this one will be right up your alley. It's like ... Twilight, but Jasper's story during the Civil War. But he's a Russian vampire, not racist, and in love with a Black girl a literal foot and a half shorter than him who can whoop his ass.

So the idea of the story is fantastic, however the execution of the idea- well, it just failed. The writing is choppy and difficult to want to read. The romance was mundane and seemed so forced. The characters felt flat. The settings were during the civil war but that was inconsistent feeling.

I wanted to love this book, and maybe ten years ago, it would have been just fine. Beautiful cover, promising concept, but the devil is in the details. I’m a fan of Lauren Blackwood and will continue to check out her work, but The Dangerous Ones fell flat like a stale soda when it had so much potential to quench a reader’s thirst.

It was repetitive in places, played it safe with common tropes, and the romance was slightly painful (and not in a good way). I did love the action, grit and lore, though.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

2.5 -⭐⭐.💫
The Dangerous Ones is a YA Historical fantasy set in an alternative America during the civil war. It follows Jerusalem, a young black woman who escaped enslavement by vampire to join the war effort. She discovered she is a saint, a human being with paranormal abilities to help fight the vampires. She is determined to seek justice for the murders of her family and desperate to free more black people...and then she gets word her old master is out fighting and she knows she needs to destroy them. Except to succeed she must rely on an ally vampire name Alexi...a vampire that drives her insane as much as draws her in. Jerusalem must decide how far she is willing to go to seek out justice...and at what point will the revenge cost her?

Okay I ended up dnfing this book. I really tried but I got to the 60% mark and then skimmed the rest.

What I liked was the premise. It has this gritty vibe and high intensity. The lore is interesting and sets up the world very well. I like Alexi and Jerusalem...especially when they finally find each other. I liked the twists and turns because BOY this story does keep you on the edge of your seat.

At the same time the writing didn't match the historical vibe and felt inconsistent. I also found being told Alexi loves Jerusalem was a cop out at the beginning. Especially when Jerusalem is oblivious and just berates the pore guy throughout.

Overall, this book just wasn't giving me what I wanted. I think it has promise and maybe I'll come back to it but, for now, I just had to set it down.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the arc!

DNF at 20%

The premise of The Dangerous Ones sounded super interesting. I loved the sound of a YA historical romantic fantasy set during the Civil War. However, very early on I realized that I wasn't into this story. I didn't love the writing style, and I didn't connect with either of the characters as quickly as I like to. I know it was early, but as soon as picking up a book begins to feel like a chore, I know it's time to DNF it.

Thank you for the chance to read an early copy of this one!

A girl hell bent on revenge, a vampire devoted to her, and the bloody battle to hunt down the vampire that ties them together. Jerusalem is a Saint, a powerful person gifted with demi-god reflexes, endurance, and strength. She was a slave until she killed her master only to see her family murdered... and the Vampire involved still lives. Jerusalem is determined to get revenge against the vampire mistress who killed her family, but what she doesn't expect on her quest for revenge is to fall in love with the only thing she hates: a vampire. Alexei is an ancient vampire who has spent years working to help the Union and to free slaves. Alexei is also looking for the vampire who turned him... who tortured and murdered those close to him and put him through hell. Jerusalem hates vampires and yet Alexei somehow manages to get under her shields. Together they both are working in the same unit to free slaves and kill vampires... but when they come face to face with the one vampire mistress who destroyed both of their lives... they might not live through it. This was definitely such a fantastic read, I loved the journey that Jerusalem went through, she was filled with rage and hatred, her sole focus was to get revenge, but she was vulnerable at times and learned to open up her heart and let herself be loved. I adored Alexei so much, he just adored and loved Jerusalem so much and would rather tear off his own limbs than cause her harm. They both endured so much and found comfort and solace in one another.This was definitely such a fun read and I think if you love stories that sink you in and have you invested until the end, I would absolutely recommend this!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I’d like to start my review by thanking Netgalley for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The cover and the premise of this book drew me in and the enemies to lovers and historical-ish fantasy was what kept me going! This book was a really good read and the ending was so good!

Some feedback that I have is that some parts did seem a little repetitive and some of the language was pretty modern in comparison to the setting that the book is in (the Civil War). I feel like this is most likely to be caught in editing though, hopefully.

Vampires are back and The Dangerous Ones was an exciting and engaging read. With well developed characters, and creative supernatural creatives, I read this book in three days and loved it. Highly recommend. Thank you Net Galley and the publisher.

This was a fun, different take on Vampires.

The standout thing for me was that the voice almost sounded too young. And maybe a bit more modern? I think that could be a strength for this book though. It is more accessible to teens who don't read all the time. The content is obviously tough at times, the main character was a slave, it deals with revenge against her master, but I think the tone is kept more modern badass that historical narrative.

The romance itself was confusing. You have to suspend disbelief a little because she bickers with him a lot. So it's not quite believable. But again, I think teens would love it.

Would recommend for teens coming off a Twilight read, because teens always seem to love Twilight.

I have been provided with a review copy of this title from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid themselves with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I was really excited to start this book. Historical fiction and vampires are EXACTLY my thing but for some reason I really struggled to get through this. Not sure if it's the writing but I was quite bored reading it. I'm sorry.

The cover and the blurb is what drew me into this story. There was so much promise, thank you Macmillan Audio and Wednesday books for the opportunity to read and review this copy early.

My thoughts are my own:
I wanted to love this story so much as a Romantasy set during the Civil War but add a sprinkle of magic, vampires and star-crossed love sounded just up my alley of loves.

Sadly it fell flat. There was sections where it was so much repetitive back and forth of hatred between the two MCs. Which do not get me wrong I love enemies to lovers, but this was too much for me.

I just do not believe I was the target audience for this book.