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.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood is a captivating novel that takes place during the American Civil War and features vampires and individuals with demigod-like powers. This young adult vampire fantasy romance is a thrilling read that left me wanting more.

“Touch me and YOU die.” - Jerusalem

The Dangerous Ones delivers historical-esk fantasy with fun banter and found family. Set during the Civil War, it would be fair to assume it to be a straight historical fantasy. It honestly didn’t feel that way. This was not a negative for me, but worth chatting about so perspective readers know what to expect.

Slavery and the fight for freedom was absolutely a driving theme in this book; still, it was easy to forget what timeframe it’s set in. Modern language was a factor but also, there just weren’t many environmental aspects (not speaking about scenes where there was plainly a slave/master dynamic present) to keep the reader planted in the 1860s. Therefore, it read to me as an interesting vampire book set in a pre-automobile America, not specifically a civil war vampire book.

I liked Jerusalem’s grit and tenacity. I didn’t always agree with her actions, but I really enjoyed her character. Alexei felt as opposite to Jerusalem as possible. I really enjoyed their dynamic and banter. I wanted more from their relationship than we got. Mostly I think Jerusalem’s realization that she can hate the vampires/horrible people that hurt her and love Alexei at the same time got short changed. The book is so action packed, she never got to sit and really sort through her feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Blackwood, and also to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

🖤 The Dangerous Ones ARC Review 🖤

Thank you so much to Lauren Blackwood and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

The Dangerous Ones is a historical fantasy romance set in Civil War America. Jerusalem has escaped life as a slave in the South and is now fighting for the North against the Confederacy. She’s determined to seek revenge from the vampire that destroyed her family and she hates vampires. But she’s been fighting alongside Alexei, an ancient vampire for a year and her feelings for him are more complicated than she imagined

This book was such a unique read! I’ve never read a book like it and I really enjoyed this one! Jerusalem is a strong, independent character and I loved her in this book. Alexei is such a fantastic character and I really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Jerusalem grow. This book did have some time jumps between chapters and I struggled sometimes to figure out when we were, but that’s a “me” issue and not a book issue

Overall this was a four star read for me. This book did have some darker themes including racism and slavery, so please check triggers if you’re sensitive. This book did have a romantic subplot but only light on page smut so one flame for spice

If you’re a fan of historical fantasy romance with magic, vampires, great banter and found family vibes, then absolutely pick this one up!

While the premise of this book sounded good, it just didn't hit all the right marks for me.
We have a dual POV between a former slave and Saint (human with supernatural abilities) Jerusalem and vampire Alexi. This book takes place during the civil war (1863). Alexi is on the Union side of the war where the majority of fighting vampires are not. Jerusalem's former owner was a vampire, so she does not trust them. Jerusalem and Alexi end up in the same encampment and learn to trust one another. Jerusalem wants revenge as well as to find her brother and must work with Alexi to make it happen.
I liked Alexi more than Jerusalem. Alexi is in love with Jerusalem, but she has obviously been traumatized by vampires in the past and lets out all that anger on Alexi for no reason. She is physically violent and verbally abusive. And this happened all the time even though Alexi really never did anything wrong.
We get flashbacks throughout the book which caught me off guard sometimes as well as POV switches mid chapter which sometimes felt like we were switching mid-scene and took me out of the story. Once I got used to the timeline switch, I did like having a little bit of the backstory, as it felt like we were thrown into the book quickly at the beginning.
While this book takes place during the civil war, Jerusalem especially uses a lot of modern phrases and calls someone a "dumbass" at least twice per chapter. That was another thing that kept taking me out of the story.
Overall, the premise was good, and I did like the ending, there were just several things that missed the mark a little bit for me personally.

Originally I was drawn in by the cover, had no idea what it was about, but the cover was pretty so I wanted to read it. What I got was a dual POV fantasy with Vampires and Saints(humans gifted with superhuman powers and strengths) set in the Civil War era. You follow Jerusalem in her journey from slave to a freed Saint fighting for the Union army and Alexei a vampire who is completely smitten with the tiny Saint. This was a step away from the typical romantasy genre. Definitely more plot than romance.I ultimately enjoyed it, though the plot seemed to meander about at times. This book includes material that could be triggering to some: heavy racism, torture, child abuse, implied SA of a minor resulting in pregnancy and death by childbirth.

Upper YA fade to black romance.

I would like to thank Wednesday Books for providing me with an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Take Twilight + smash it together with the civil war and a large amount of crushing trauma of enslaved people and you have The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood.

This book is incredibly fun, but also hits on a lot of really important themes of what was going on in American during the 1800’s. Plus vampires.

Jerusalem is an enslaved girl who has more strength and speed than your average 17 year old. She fights her way to the North and freedom and become a vital part of the army as a Saint.

Not a lot of information is given about what Saints are, just that they are faster and stronger than average people. I wish there was a bit more lore about what and who they were.

Jerusalem meets her first friendly vampire, an ancient from Russia who has come to help fight with the North.

There is a lot of banter between our main characters and we see both their points of view. A large majority of this book is seen in flash backs of them reliving their memories as they work on their shared goals.

All in all this is a book about family, freedom, choices, love, and Vampires.

The Dangerous Ones will be available on May 14 2024 at all major booksellers and your local library.

For my review on my blog please see: https://adustibookshelf.ca/2024/05/03/the-dangerous-ones-lauren-blackwood/ or my instagram account @a_dusti_bookshelf

I’ll be honest. This one was…too much for me. I felt like the concept of “stereotypes” was way too distinct and had too much of the focus on it. The plot was supposed to be an adventure with a romance on the side. I felt like I was reading…I don’t know how to describe it but not what I thought it was.

I found myself reading way too much into every word and depiction to the point I just didn’t enjoy myself. I also felt like the cover didn’t match the vibe. The cover is gorgeous. The book is a mix of historical with…modern language? Weird.

So not for me but the writing is good so kudos to the author!

𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

I read the synopsis for The Dangerous Ones, and I immediately wanted to read it - Civil War but add vampires and other paranormal creatures. I felt like the plot lived up to what I expected and found it engaging while fairly fast paced. I also really loved some of the side characters, particularly Odessa. In my opinion, the ending was incredibly well done — it was so vivid and satisfying. The elements that didn’t really work for me were the romance arc and some of the language choices. For the romance, I just struggled to see it and felt the characters could’ve been better as friends. I really enjoyed Jerusalem and Alexei as individuals just struggled to see them as a couple. As far as the language, I couldn’t wrap my head around some of the modern choices in the given timeline.
I had both a digital and audio copy of this and found I enjoyed it most when combining them. I felt that both narrators, Angel Pean and Jay Ben Markson, did well to bring their respective characters and their distinctly different backgrounds to life. This was a book that definitely needed two narrators in my opinion, so I’m glad the decision was made to use both Pean and Markson. Overall, if the premise of the book sounds interesting to you, I recommend checking it out and forming your own opinions.

This was another DNF for me. I was really excited about the overall concept and premise because civil war and vampires...like it sounded really promising, but it just missed the mark for me personally. Honestly from the get go I felt like I was so lost. It felt like I was thrown right into the action with little to no context to back it up, so it was hard for me to get into it. Overall, I think there is an audience out there for this book...it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Are we gagging over this cover or not? ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!!

Vampire slaveowners!

Superhumans called Saints!


I enjoyed this book, it gave Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter vibes. Same setting but there are people with superhuman abilities and Vampire slave owners.

We have a runaway slave with superhuman abilities and a firecracker attitude and absolutely hates vampires and whites as a whole. A white vampire with respect for life and chooses to not have familiars that falls in love with the Saint. Murdered families, revenge assassination plots, suicide plot, found family, and a budding romance. It was a lot to unpack!

The romance didn't really land for me and the main female character had ways about her that did not completely stay within the Civil War area world created.

The voice actors did it for me, they were great!

I had both the written and audio versions of this book which I loved. I was able to read and listen allowing me to connect completely with the story.

This was my first introduction into the writing of Lauren Blackwood, and while this one didn't work for me, I'm excited to check out her other 2 books. I was drawn in by the premise and the cover and had high hopes for this, but unfortunately it didn't deliver and I chose to DNF. The book opens in the middle of action with Jerusalem on the run after her parents and brother have been killed. At first it felt like too big of a jump into a story and that information was missing, but it was cleared up the further we went. The main that thing had me most excited for the story was the romance aspect, but it was hard to buy and I didn't feel invested enough to finish the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to be an early reader! All opinions are my own!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc!

I unfortunately couldn't get into this one and DNF'd, likely due (at least in part) to my current slump. I'll still be giving it a shout out on my bookstagram as I think some of my followers will really like this one!

Loved the premise for this story: Civil War + vampires + natural enemies to friends to true love but I felt it was a bit rushed toward the end which has me hoping for a sequel. The characters were well-written and I am so curious about the side characters especially those we encounter in this book's Underground Railroad I would read a sequel.

The Dangerous Ones was a perfect fictional account of what could have happened if vampires existed and exploited slavery in America's South for their benefit. I was left curious about how the Saints came to be, how they're identified, and their role in the world Blackwood's created. The ending was good but left me wondering what happens next to our new family. Fingers crossed for a follow-up!

I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.