Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This author's books keep getting better and better! The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood is the newest book by the author of Within These Wicked Walls and Wildblood. The story revolves around Jerusalem, who is a Black Saint with superpowers in an alternate 19th century America. Her family was enslaved and killed by Vampires, so she understandably doesn't like them. But to reach her goal, saving Black people from enslavement by the Ancient Vampires, she has no choice but to team up with Alexei, who is an Ancient Vampire himself, Can Jerusalem get over her feelings toward Vampires, or will she develop new feelings for one Vampire in particular?

Here is a gripping excerpt from the Opening Chapter, which is from Jerusalem's point of view:

"The sky was pitch, and my tears blinding, so outrunning them hounds was tricky. Three times faster than the men, but just as hateful, trained from pups to big old beasts to despise dark skin as much as the rest of them. But it wasn’t so much the dogs I was worried about. It was getting through these daggone woods in the dead of night. I’d been born with better night vision than anyone, but the brush was harsh, and the trees grew close, making it hard to keep a pace. My stupid full skirt kept catching on branches. Thank the Lord the thunder and wind that had been threatening for hours hadn’t yet turned to rain. And that I was still faster than anyone on any day.
My bare feet hurt, was probably bleeding, but I couldn’t stop. Not unless I wanted to be torn to shreds like they’d just done to my brother—"

Overall, The Dangerous Ones is an amazing fantasy book that is like Kindred meets X-Men. Even though it's shelved as YA, I feel like this book is on the verge of adult fantasy, and many adult readers will enjoy it as well. One highlight of this book is how the author highlights the tragic horrors that slaves had to go through during the CIvil War. Some of the descriptions were heartbreaking to read, and others were so horrible that I didn't want to keep reading. Another highlight of this book were the action-packed and bloody fighting scenes.

I took off 1 star, because there were several parts where the format of the book - dual first person POV between Alexei and Jerusalem - just flat-out confused me. For example, Alexei alternates between calling Jerusalem "Jerusalem" and his nickname for her "Tiny" - sometimes in the next paragraph. At one point, I wondered if Tiny and Jerusalem were two different characters. Then, there were many flashbacks that were labeled something vague like "One Year Later" but actually took places many years earlier. Maybe this will be fixed by the time the book is published. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy books in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in May!

**Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC**

Vampires and werewolves during the Civil War? SIGN ME UP! But did this book deliver? Eh, not so much.

I loved the fantasy aspect mixed with real history. It has been done before, and in a YA setting... I instantly hit the Request button for this book. For the last few months, I have gone back and forth with this. Jerusalem started off strong for me, but the way she treats Alexi, the love interest and the vampire who has trained her, rubbed me the wrong way. Also, the modern language used felt wrong. Yes, this is a historical fantasy, or fantasy historical, but if you're going to have the setting be during a certain time period, then make sure to use the language of said time period.

The beginning of this book was rough as I was unsure as to what was going on. Quickly I jumped in and it started to make sense. It was tragic and hard to read with tons of trauma experienced by all the characters but it was still great.

It did not have quite the impact of Within These Wicked Walls but I would still recommend it.

The use of vampires with enslavement was interesting and made some sense.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.

I've enjoyed the other two books I've read by this author, but after nearly 30% this one failed to hook me. As I'm always a vampire fan, I love the concept but just couldn't get into the story. I also have to note that although the setting is 1863 during the Civil War, several phrases used were more modern and took me out of the story. I have no doubt this novel will find an audience, but it just wasn't for me.

I thought The Dangerous Ones was such an interesting concept for a book. Vampires and Vampire hunters in the Civil War? The potential was fantastic. And I will say, I felt it lived up to that potential.

Jerusalem was such an interesting and dynamic character. Her one-track-mind and focus on revenge through the majority of the book really propelled her character, but I loved seeing her grow and change through the foiling of Alexei. Her relationship with him challenging her views on an entire group was so potent to how we need to, as humans, take everyone as individuals and stop generalizing and bucketing people into their stereotypes. I also thought Alexei was an interesting character as well. His fearlessness in everything but when facing his trauma was really deep.

I also really liked the Civil War setting, and how Blackwood kept the historical accuracies while mixing in the fantasy elements. This was a story that really intrigued me and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

4.5/5 stars

I had no idea what to expect as Lauren Blackwood is a new author for me, but I really enjoyed this book...so much. It's a different take on vampires and vampire slayers - and has the trope of the good vampire who falls in love with the slayer. Also they're an interracial couple during the time of the civil war - no small feat there.

So in a nutshell, Jerusalem is a Saint - someone who was born gifted with extraordinary strength and the ability to kill enemies, such as rogue vampires, though she doesn't realize this talent until she escapes from slavery and a vampire master. So suffice to say, she really hates vampires, after they kill her family.

But when she joins the Union army, she is paired up with none other than Alexei, an ancient vampire who is on the Union's side. It takes a long time for Jerusalem to trust Alexei and even longer to realize she loves him. Because A) he's a vampire, B) he's white, C) he's a vampire.

But Alexei is set on proving he's on her side for keeps and man do you work for the HEA. But it eventually comes. Low on spice, high on romance and adventure. It was a page-turner for me.

Advanced reader review: 2.5/5 rounded up

This just wasn't the book for me. I read the author's note at the end where she said she just wanted to write every trope she could think of...and that really sums up why it's not the book for me. It took me forever to finish because I kept waiting to get hooked on the story, but I just couldn't.

THE DANGEROUS ONES by Lauren Blackwood reimagines the American Civil War by adding vampires and vampire hunters to the mix. Her story revolves around Jerusalem, a former enslaved person who escaped her vampire enslaver and found her calling fighting with the Yankees against the South and their vampire allies. Jerusalem fights alongside one of the few vampires who don’t side with the South. The rest of the story follows pretty much as you can guess. In fact, there are no major surprises here. The story is formulaic and filled with tropes. Jerusalem and Alexei are great together. Their chemistry is perfection, and Ms. Blackwood takes care to highlight their friendship before moving on to other aspects of their relationship. Individually, both are engaging characters, flawed and better for those flaws. Together, they make sparks fly.

That being said, THE DANGEROUS ONES is cute but ultimately forgettable. It is the type of book you enjoy reading but put aside once finished and never think of it again. In fact, I had to read the synopsis before I could recall what the book was about before writing this review. It is a fun book in that vampires in the Civil War is a premise I always love. Ms. Blackwood keeps the gravitas and pain that is necessary and deserved when Jerusalem thinks about her time as an enslaved person; you can tell she aches for all of the enslaved and takes the pain of generations upon her shoulders. But, there is nothing that makes the story stick in my mind, and that is okay. Not every book can be profound or life-altering in some way. Everyone will come across a read-and-forget book at least once in their life. THE DANGEROUS ONES is the latter for me.

What a fun, alternative history story! I love urban fantasy so much (actually my favorite genre) but I struggled a little bit with the timeline of the novel versus the dialogue,

The book cover is what got my attention and I like the title. The beginning was really good and had a potential but it got really boring towards after that. The characters were really interesting and a bit likeable.

Thank you netgalley for the arc !!

I really really really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately I struggled to get through the book from start to finish. I switched to the audiobook which eventually helped me wrap the story, but I do not foresee continuing the series.

It had such a strong opening, and the FMC, Jerusalem, exhibits the strong and spirited heroine characteristics that I love in fantasy books. However, I felt a disconnect between Jerusalem’s modern dialogue despite the 1860’s setting, and was strongly turned off by her verbal and physical abuse of her love interest, Alexi, which ultimately overshadowed the other positive things the writing and plot included.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this arc, and wish I had connected to the story on a deeper level.

If you're looking for an emotional romantasy with a black female main character... look no further! This was gut-wrenching at times. Full of both love and pain, you follow our girl on her journey for freedom amongst the Civil War and vampires. Fight for life, truth, love, and above all, freedom. For herself and for those who didn't feel they could fight themselves.
I will never presume to know what anyone goes through... but this is one of those books that solidifies my want to go and just fight for what's right.

This was ……….. alright. The writing was good and the storyline was great but the delivery was a bit flat. Also I went in thinking that this is about black vampires in the civil war time period so that was my fault for not properly reading the synopsis. I mean it was cool, just not my vibe.

In "The Dangerous Ones," Lauren Blackwood crafts a gripping tale of vengeance and unlikely alliances set against the backdrop of the Civil War. Jerusalem, a fearless Saint with a thirst for revenge, finds herself teaming up with the enigmatic Alexei, an Ancient Vampire, in a quest to change the course of history. With its compelling characters, thought-provoking themes, and relentless pace, this novel is a must-read for fans of fantasy and historical fiction alike. Highly recommended.

If you’re looking for a really in depth book this is not it, but if you want a sweetish love story with vampires this was fun, was everything accurate to the civil war times no not really, but I did enjoy this book it was a fun read, it was heavy on slavery and dark pasts and death. Alexi is my love and he deserves the world.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Great story, enjoyed how different this book was, the world building is very well done, the characters are full of personality and interesting. Will be recommending

There's nothing I love more than a historical book and vampires, so of course I would love this! It's beautifully written and the story was very intriguing. what would the Civil War have been like if vampires, werewolves, and humans with supernatural abilities were involved? Uhm, yes please! My only concern was the modern language that was used, it felt off and didn't flow with the story, however, it's still a wonderful book and the story kept me interested!

The Dangerous Ones-A romantic historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood, set in the American Civil War with vampires and people with demigod-like abilities.

What is not to love about a story that has vampires, demi-gods and is historical romance/fantasy! I really wanted to love this book whole heartedly but the use of so much juvenile phrasing/lingo held me back from giving it a higher rating. Too much use of words like "dumbass" and other juvenile name calling between the main characters. I had a hard time finishing this book, after stepping out of my comfort zone and reading a historical fiction. I typically read modern or future books. If you like historical fiction and ya literature, I say give it a go.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: May 14, 2024

I think some of my students would love this. A great book for historical fantasy but also young adult as well. Thank you for the opportunity to read this work.

THE DANGEROUS ONES is a well written, voice-y, and unique blend of TWILIGHT meets BLOODMARKED. It's a dual-POV YA historical romantasy, following a vampire and divinely-gifted vampire hunter who has recently escaped slavery, as they work together for the Union army.

The speculative bend on the American Civil War was so enjoyable and interesting. I especially loved the addition of paranormal creatures helping with the Underground Railroad.

Trigger warning for intimate partner violence. While our MMC and vampire, Alexei, is devoted to the FMC, Jerusalem, from the beginning, Jerusalem struggles to put aside her preconceived notions about vampires. Jerusalem's struggle makes sense with her lived experience, but her continuous physical abuse toward Alexei veered too dark for me personally. For example, once romantic interest is confessed on both sides, Jerusalem takes out her inner conflict on Alexei, punching him in the face between kisses. Alexei takes the face punch in stride and they continue making out, almost like nothing happened.

Fictional characters do not need to behave in morally perfect ways (certainly no one does in real life), but the extremely one-sided intimate partner violence did not hit the enemies-to-lovers fantasy for me, and instead felt like undeserved retribution. Other readers may feel differently though.