While I really enjoyed the first chapter when we first met Jerusalem and saw her running from the hounds after her family was killed, I had a hard time connecting to either Jerusalem or Alexi after that. The premise seemed like something right up my alley so I'm not really sure where the disconnect happened, I know I found myself not invested in the characters or what was going on in the story.


While this story in particular didn't work for me I loved Lauren Blackwood's previous book Wildblood and will check out her future works

Rating: 4/5
I received eARC and audio for my honest opinion.

This book takes place during the Civil War, with a young lady named Jerusalem. She gets a chance with a fresh start in the north and takes it. She is now working with an ancient vampire named Alexei and other allies that are known as Saints. They fought alongside the Union army against the Confederate army. Jerusalem isn’t just a normal human, she has fast reflexes and strength, all because she is a Saint. They’re like demigods here to fight against enemies that want to harm humankind. She also has a strong vengeance against all vampires due to being enslaved by one and they murdered her family, but what happens when a kindhearted vamp wiggles his way into her heart.

I really liked this book, it has a dual POV of Jerusalem and Alexei and it switches from the past to the present. It wasn’t confusing at all because the author made sure that the readers know it’s the past or that we are back in the present. I found the plot to be exciting and had a lot of depth to it. I thought the author did a good job with the world building and the pace of the book. However, for me it was the character development that I really enjoyed.

With Jerusalem you have a woman that is young, and she is also African American living in the Civil War times. Her whole family is enslaved to a horrible vampire woman, and she doesn’t care about anything but when it comes time to discipline. Jerusalem has a chance to run away and start a new life, but she can’t do it because she knows she will be leaving her brother behind, but with his encouragement she does and believes that she has helped kill him because of her actions. She holds that vengeance close to her heart, she will do anything and everything possible to make sure that horrible woman is killed. I enjoyed getting to watch her growth throughout the book and to see the strong woman overcome so much in her time. I loved that she was scared about her feelings towards Alexei, due to him being a vamp, but she starts to trust her instincts about him more and more throughout the book and you will see a beautiful slow burn romance come out.

Alexei is a charming, handsome young man who just happens to be an ancient vampire. Who is smitten with Jerusalem. He understands how she feels but he will do whatever he can to make sure that she is safe and helps her to get her revenge.

I thought the narrators did a great job with helping the readers connect with the book and characters. I loved that they put their heart and feelings into narrating.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martins & MacMillan for the opportunity to review this book.

This is marketed as an enemies to lovers story, but all the enemies happened off page before we met them. There were flashbacks, but they really did more to mess with the flow of the story than provide any real context. It almost felt like I was reading a sequel, like I has missed something.
The pacing was choppy. We kept switching pov's but the reasoning felt arbitrary. We weren't learning anything new from these people - Alexi just kept repeating how obsessed she was with Jerusalem, and Jerusalem just kept repeating all the people she was angry at and how much she liked killing.
I had a hard time with the language use. Jerusalem was previously a slave and her verbiage that mimicked that made a lot of sense, but it wasn't consistent - especially in her narration voice. It was very jarring having her voice bounce around the way it did. On top of that there were weirdly modern phrases being used. With the amount of dialogue in this story it really became an annoyance that wasn't easy to ignore.
I really wanted to like this book - the premise sounds amazing. But our main characters were just so one dimensional I couldn't invest in them.

Short Synopsis: 1863, Jerusalem escapes slavery to fight with the Union, not expecting to team up with a vampire to win the battle.

My thoughts: The premise of this was really fun, civil war mixed with vampires! It made it all the better that Jerusalem was a saint and was stronger than the average person.

I really struggled with the modern language used during a Civil War time frame. It kept throwing me off the storyline. And I overall had a hard time keeping my attention focused on the story, i felt like I picked up a book in the middle of a series not having read the previous book. Could have just been a wrong timing issue for me.

Read if you love:
- historical fiction
- Vampires
- Romance-ish sub-plot
- Freedom

I wanted to love this book…

Beautiful cover, promising concept, but the devil is in the details.

This wasn’t my favorite read, maybe because the Civil War/vampire storyline has been done a few times. I was hoping this read would fill the void that books with similar premises left. While in some ways it did, in others it fell flat like 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 gritty action and the unique lore, though. I also love how Blackwood has a consistent knack for transporting you through time with immersive historical time periods interwoven with unique fantastical elements.

I’m still a fan of Lauren Blackwood and will continue to check out her work

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.

First, let me say this book had a different premise than any other book I've read. I like creativity of the author in developing this story that takes place during the Civil War. In this book the main characters are Alexei and Jerusalem a human with supernatural abilities that are referred to as Saints. Saints are supposed to be representative of the Union North soldiers who help lead the North against the Confederate South. I liked the fact that Jerusalem is such a strong and fearless leader. I really enjoyed her character development. This story explores themes of racism, slavery, and the mistreatment of slaves in the fight for freedom.
If you are a fan of stories that includes: vampires; enemy to friend romance; historical fiction; and fantasy this is your book.
I would like to thank Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this book.

As always Lauren Blackwood stuns with her ability to weave words and suck you into her stories. I enjoyed The Dangerous Ones, at times it felt familiar while being wholly unique and new. With historical elements interwoven with the fantastical, I liked the vampiric influence and the demi-gods, it was different and kept me reading. Jerusalem, a Saint with demi-god powers and a heartbreaking past teams up with Vampire Alexei to take down a villain from her past and it's pretty epic.

This was fun, it doesn't pull its punches, is well written and the characters kept me in tune with the story and wanting to see what would happen next. I don't think it's a repeat read for me, but I'm not mad at it, I enjoyed my time in this story and was rooting for Jerusalem every step of the way.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love it! The characters, the historical aspects, then vampires! Like give it all to me! I love the world-building the author does in this story while still advancing the plot. It is so fascinating to read something like this! I really like Odessa, Jerusalem, and Alexei. It's awesome to see how these characters are so different but come together so well when they need to. I will certainly keep an eye out for this author in the future.

5/5 stars for battle, love, friendship, and weapons!

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Set during the Civil War with a mix of paranormal and fantasy creatures, The Dangerous Ones centers around Jerusalem, a former slave and Saint with preternatural strength and agility, and Alexei, a 300-year-old vampire fighting alongside the Union Army. After being enslaved under a vampire and watching her family be murdered, Jerusalem has a deep-seated hatred for all vampires, but, after a year of training with and fighting alongside Alexei, he’s the exception for her.

And Alexei? He loves that tiny Saint.

The premise is fascinating, and Jerusalem and Alexei are such strong characters.

Between the war, the blossoming love story, and Jerusalem’s desire to take out the vampire and its family that destroyed her own, there is a lot going on in the book. But sometimes when there’s so much going on, it feels like not everything is as developed as it could be, and that was the case for me here.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Wednesday Books and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this, as I am a fan of Blackwood's other works, but this one isn't for me. The breaks in dialogue for the time period and the pining was a bit much for me. (I will say I have a background in History, therefor, this is probably why this didn't fully work for me)
There is some great world building, a complex character creation, and the overall idea of an alternate history of vampires openly fighting during the American civil war is great. There are moments of written description and dialogue that are simply magic and reflective of Blackwood's capability as a great author.
I can see readers of fantasy, alternate histories, and general literature enjoying this work.


Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

I'm bummed because I love the cover of this book but the writing was almost laughable how much it left to be desired. Vampires during the Civil War is an interesting idea but the dialogue in this was just......not good.

I loved Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood and was thrilled to be re-entering the world of Lauren's writing. I also thoroughly enjoy historical fiction and found the concept of historical fantasy to be so exciting! Unfortunately, The Dangerous Ones did not land for me. I found myself constantly being pulled back to "modern day" throughout and could not stay "sunk into" the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

A new different take on vampires and other supernatural creatures.
Good interesting characters,story set during the Civil War.
Intense drama with saints,vampires other,supernaturals and Gods.
Jerusalem and Alexia are great together with a romance.
Enjoyed the story.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Happy pub day to “The Dangerous Ones”!

First off, I have chosen not to review this on my social platforms because I only got about 40% of the way through. I had the realization that this book was not the right fit for me. But I wanted to come give my feedback on what I did read on Netgalley!

First, I was so excited about the plot of the Civil war and the supernatural creatures tied into that. However, I didn’t feel they meshed as well I was hoping! It didn’t feel quite as natural as I wanted in such historical moment.

Another quarrel I had, was with the dialogue of our main denial character, Jerusalem. Her inconsistency with modern terms thrown into her dialogue as a slave in the 1860’s, took me out of the experience and made the book feel not as entrancing and real.

I think the hardest thing for me with this book was, it almost felt like this was a sequel. And I had missed the first book which included all of the characters development. I felt I was just kind of thrown into a story, the characters, and the plot and then expected to find my way.

Even though this book wasn’t for me, I’m excited for the novel to be read by others! I hope it finds its people! Thank you Wednesdays books & St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy. It truly means a lot to be trust with an authors words before it comes out into the world!

The Dangerous Ones is my third novel by Lauren Blackwood. While I enjoyed Within These Wicked Walls, I did not quite connect with Wildblood. The story is set in an alternate universe in 1863 Pennsylvania. It follows a “Saint,” someone with demi-god like super abilities, named Jerusalem and a powerful vampire named Alexei. Both of their POVs are included and the writing switches between them. While there is romance in the story, it felt very one-sided. I “saw” the feelings Alexei had for Jerusalem, but I did not see the opposite. I think the romance between them needed a bit more just to have me believe it, especially in a romance novel.

The novel, for me, reads like the second in a series where the world and relationships are already set up and they are just expanded on in the writing. Other readers may feel entirely differently, so the writing is more subjective compared to some other novels where opinions seem more or less universal. There are a lot of action moments in the story and those were all well done. As characters Jerusalem is explored more than Alexei, but I still felt Jerusalem wasn’t explored enough. The historical setting plays a large role in the story as the elements of the time period were used as various plot points. There are young adult elements in the story with some new adult ones mixed in. For me, there are elements that had a lot of potential and were enjoyable. Overall, I think this story had pieces that I wanted some improvement, but I still continue to enjoy Blackwood’s work.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. It didn't keep my attention and I also found the FMC annoying.

Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC.

Set during the American Civil War, specifically at the Battle of Gettysburg, The Dangerous Ones is an alternate history novel that includes vampires, werewolves, and humans with enhanced abilities known as Saints. The expected human atrocities are here, and in a fun twist, there is extra gore and mayhem thanks to the supernatural creatures fighting alongside the armies.

I am 100% satisfied with this ending, but I would not hate reading a sequel and following Jerusalem and her coven - IYKYK - as they continue to fight the monsters, human or otherwise, that are keeping people as slaves.

Recommended for: historical fiction readers looking for some monster mayhem in their stories

Content warning: war; slavery; blood and gore; violence; murder; racial discrimination; physical abuse; references to sexual abuse

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"You and me, Tiny," he murmured. ⠀
"Till the end of us," I whispered back.⠀
⠀
Lauren Blackwood, The Dangerous Ones⠀
⠀
The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood was a heart pounding supernatural historical book set in the Civil War Era in America. The mix of history and fantasy was done really well and I love how the author wove enhanced humans and creatures like werewolves, sasquatches, and vampires into a unique take on U.S. slavery and war. Jerusalem is a dynamic character with a strength that surpasses her survival and training. Her character grows so much in the book and I love that she gets the satisfaction of retribution in the end. Alexei is a great counterpart to Jerusalem and I really like their training and banter. The romance seemed less important than their friendship and trust in one another and I think that's why I enjoyed this story so much!⠀

This was a novel that was a lot about trauma, healing, and learning to not let pain take you away from feeling love. Both Alexi and Jerusalem were gravely traumatized by the actions of a vampire in the past. While, they both experience the trauma differently, a big part of the understanding between them comes from the shared experience of trauma.

Alexi greatly admires Jerusalem’s strength. She escapes slavery and fights as a saint to enact justice upon those who have treated her and her people unjustly. Even though Alexi is a Vampire, his vampirism was forced upon him and he does not hold loyalty to Vampires just because he is one. He too wishes to fight against them and make right the wrongs that have been committed against him and Jerusalem.

Jerusalem does not trust Alexi at first and Alexi understands why. He doesn’t get upset with her for the way she treats him because he knows she doesn’t know any better and she’s acting out of rightful fear and distrust. He continues to be there for her and he shows her he wants to protect her and fight alongside her and support her strength. He trains her in how to use her spear and understands why she uses it against him at times. It’s a long battle to break down her walls and get her to see him as not a threat to her.

As someone who has experienced trauma, it is lovely to read a love story where the partner is willing to accept the others pain and not get angry at them for it. Trauma is a years long process to heal from, and even Alexi hadn’t healed from what occurred to him hundreds of years ago. He’s willing to take his time with her and even provokes her in a teasing way until she accepts his friendship and then his love. It’s really beautiful.

I recommend this vampiric revenge story and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

If you are not reading Lauren Blackwood, where have you been? I absolutely loved her last book, and The Dangerous Ones is even better! This book is all about Jerusalem, a formerly enslaved person who escapes to the North during the Civil War and discovers she is a Saint, a human with super abilities. Their goal: to destroy the vampires working with the Confederacy. Throw in some romance with a vampire working with the Union and you have this book.

What I liked: Blackwood knows how to create an eerie ambience and characters with strong voices. The story was well-written and the plot flowed so nicely. I loved how we got to see the past from both Jerusalem and Alexei’s point of view, and the dual perspectives was well done for this book. Jerusalem is such a cool character who has gone through so much, but has harnessed that pain to defeat her enemies. Alexei is a perfect compliment to her character as someone who has gone through similar experiences. This story was so interesting and I liked the addition of vampires to a Civil War story.

To keep in mind: My one critique of this book would be that the perspectives switch multiple times within one chapter. I think keeping it to one switch would make the story reach those five stars. This book is also gory, so please read with care.

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ I could not put this book down and would frequently find myself awake at midnight on a workday trying to read as much as I could. I definitely cannot wait to see what Blackwood writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Lauren Blackwood for the opportunity to read this book prior to its release.