Even set against the tension-filled backdrop Blackwood manages to write a heartfelt and sensual romance full of yearning and I loved it.

Had to DNF unfortunately.

I was really excited for this one but it just wasn’t for me. It was all over the place, timeline wise. It doesn’t explain anything about the gaps, and leaves huge gaps that the reader is just supposed to fill in. The MMC is instantly in love with the FMC right when you meet him, talking about how she smells good… Edward Cullen anyone? And the FMC is a complete jerk to him the entire time… I didn’t care about a single character. None of it was believable, and as excited as I was for the civil war/vampire crossover it just didn’t work in this instance. The book was confused.

I wanted to finish it to be able to give a complete review, but I literally could not force myself to read another word. 😬

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher, for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In The Dangerous Ones, Jerusalem (a vampire killer) teams up with Alexi (a vampire) to get revenge on the Ancient Vampire who killed her family. It's set during the Civil War and imagines a partnership between vampires and confederates, fought against by the union army and their Saints, who have demigod-style reflexes and strengths.

This book was a fresh take on a vampire love story, and I really enjoyed it! I found that it had a bit of slow start, but once it got going IT GOT GOING and I was hooked. I especially enjoyed the tension between Alexei and Jerusalem, and how it shifts into something else as they come to understand each other. The action is exciting, and there's some great word-building around the Saints and their silver weapons, other supernatural creatures, and how Ancient Vampires adjust to the "new world."

As would be expected in any story featuring a lead freshly escaped from slavery, parts of this book are intense and visceral. It's well handled and not unnecessarily gratuitous. The jumping between Jerusalem's and Alexi's POV took some getting used to, especially with the occasional flashback thrown in. Separating these POVs with chapter breaks would have been helpful for me. I did enjoy how the timing underscored the connections between Alexi's and Jerusalem's experiences and trauma, though.

Overall I found The Dangerous Ones to be an enjoyable read with some great characters! Fans of YA vampire romance will certainly enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC.

A new romantsay with an interesting fresh story. The characters are complex and the action mixed with romance will hit all the right spots. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for the next big thing.

Once enslaved, Jerusalem is gifted with exceptional strength and speed. This makes her a Saint, able to hunt down vampires and Confederates with ease. There’s one vampire that she won’t hunt yet though- Alexei. Alexei came from Europe to help the Union cause. When Jerusalem and Alexei head out on what should be a routine mission, their lives completely change. Jerusalem and Alexei are soon on the trail of one of the most dangerous vampires to exist. As skeletons from their closets arise, Jerusalem and Alexei must work together to survive.

I loved Jerusalem! She has been through horrible events and yet bravely chooses to use her power to help others. Jerusalem is always courageous and looking for a fight. Alexei has a lot to learn from Jerusalem despite being immortal. The romantic tension between Alexei and Jerusalem was intense and beautifully written. They work closely together, but Jerusalem has to reckon with whether she can ever care about a vampire after what happened to her family. Lauren Blackwood crafts an unputdownable story! The Dangerous Ones is action-packed and filled with historical details with fantastical twists. I particularly loved how creatively The Underground Railroad was represented. Readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers, action-packed adventure, and fierce characters will love this book.

Thank you to Lauren Blackwood, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Instagram, Storygraph, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.

This was really good. Loved that it wasn't like other vampire books that I've read and that it was more than just eating people. It was really good about showing what it would be like for a slave and what it was like during the Civil War while still adding exciting fantasy elements. I did however think the ending was kinda lack luster. The fight was really anticlimactic and I didn't care for what happened with the family.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Ms. Blackwood can do no wrong. The Dangerous Ones was yet another amazing story from her incredible imagination, and her VAMPIRES? To. Die. For... literally. I was invested throughout the entire story, and absolutely can not get enough of her writing. Will be highly recommending to EVERYONE that will hear me. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

This book had a great premise and I feel like it delivered. The Civil War, but add a whimsical and magical touch, and a dash of love.

Where there are some very generic ideas here, vampire listing after a human for example, the modern speech for a time frame set way back did make it a little weird.

However, walking into the book with no real expectations, it was enjoyable and I loved Jerusalem and Alexei. I feel like they did a great job of showing Jerusalem as strong, but with all the vulnerabilities that come with humanity. With the touch on the Civil War, she expertly navigated the topics of slavery as well as racism.

This fast paced novel kept my attention and held it, and even with few qualms, was a good read!

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

3.5⭐️

Jerusalem was a runaway slave who's one remaining goal was to get revenge on the family that owned her. It wasn't until after she escaped that Jerusalem learned that she was a "Saint," someone with demi-god like super abilities. The Saints have regularly paired up with other supernatural beings in their effort to fight for the freedom of Black Americans. That's how Jerusalem meets Alexei, A powerful vampire who's also looking for revenge. She didn't expect to like Alexei, but as they work to free other salves their relationship builds to something more.

This was an interesting premise. I'm not much of a historical person, so I really appreciated what the fantasy elements added to the story. I feel like there were a lot of good comparisons between the Black characters trying to escape slavery and some of the supernatural beings. Each group had their own prejudices that they face and those ultimately lead to the populations working together.

I do feel like there wasn't enough background. It felt more like I jumped into a sequel and that there was a lot I was supposed to already know about the characters that was never explained. I also feel like a lot of the slang used throughout the book was too modern and it really took me out of the historical setting.

Jerusalem is obviously traumatized and that fits into the story. But her jumping into a relationship with Alexei was almost painful to read. Not only does she not trust him because he's a vampire, but she also views him as a monster like her former owners. The will-they-won't-they of their relationship was so back and forth and at times Jerusalem was borderline abusive to Alexei and he would just take it. The whole relationship didn't feel healthy at all and there was no obvious effort put into working through their issues.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC to me!

3.5/5
(Rounded up)
I enjoyed this book, it was a good mix of some of my favorite genres, Fantasy & historical fiction. I absolutely love Jerusalem, she’s so interesting and strong! I loved that this was set during the civil war. My biggest complaint would be the language, it was too modern for the setting it was supposed to be. Would recommend.

The premise of this story is so good - what would the Civil War have been like if vampires, werewolves, and humans with supernatural abilities were involved?

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing this ARC!

The premise for The Dangerous Ones is incredibly original and it should be a book that I would devour in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to finish. Usually anachronistic pieces in a book like this don't bother me but for some reason I could not get behind the modern language in a Civil War era setting. This one just didn't do it for me.

First I want to say thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for me receiving this arc, for an exchange an honest review.

Gosh, I hate leaving bad reviews. I really do.
When I read the sinopsis I was like, “oh my gosh it sounds so good” and I was so happy to get this arc.
Don’t get me wrong. The story is very well written. But I just hate how the chapters are. Like one, you have dual point of view. Which I don’t care, I really do like. But in the same chapter? Like, at times the chapter never ended, because it kept going back and forth instead of separate chapters.
Then the story of a vampire lusting a human. I feel like this is the “it” topic all of a sudden. I feel like the lusting vampire to a human, it’s just getting old. A more original idea would have been great.
I love how you wanted to write about the civil war, but it was too much for me.
I believe a lot of people would like this book. But it was not for me. Sorry.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for giving me this opportunity to review my second arc ever; I would also like to apologize for the time it took to get this review out as a result of a personal matter.

I want to start off by saying that I had high hopes for this book, I am always looking for fantasies of any kind that has black female leads, and I have been craving supernatural fantasies for some time now so I was happily taken in by the cover and excited after reading the synopsis. Not only that, but a revenge plot, enemies to lovers, vampires, so many elements were calling my name.

Unfortunately the execution of those elements amongst other things made it hard to truly immerse myself into this world. The first chapter was so well written and then chapter 2 with Alexei's pov happened and it wasn't as sharp. I was having trouble believing him as a male character, and I found myself rolling my eyes at a couple of things mentioned'. Alexei's chapter truly felt like a hammer, and any subtlety became lost. And I think after that I couldn't stop myself from seeing flaws in future chapters especially in Alexei's pov.

I think this book could have benefited from being a book only from Jerusalem's pov with at most a couple of Alexei's pov being used as interludes at some points. I don't know if I believed in the relationship between Jerusalem and Alexei, but I was still happy they got together. I liked the plot and elements though I wish the execution was sharper, but overall I did enjoy this book.

In 'The Dangerous Ones' by Lauren Blackwood, I found a captivating blend of Civil War history and fantasy, exploring themes of racism, slavery, and the fight for freedom. Following the journey of Jerusalem, a powerful 'Saint,' and Alexei, an ancient vampire, as they join forces against their adversaries, I was immersed in a world where fantasy seamlessly intertwines with historical events. I particularly enjoyed Jerusalem's portrayal as a strong yet vulnerable character and the intricacies of her relationship with Alexei. The novel skillfully tackles issues of racism and slavery, using vampires as a metaphor for oppressors. While some may have desired more depth, I was hooked by the fast-paced plot, despite a few predictable moments. Overall, 'The Dangerous Ones' is a compelling story of courage and hope, perfect for fans of dark fantasy and historical fiction.

The premise of this book had a lot of promise however there were so many things I am unable to get past.

1. This book takes place during the Civil War however some of the language Jerusalem uses doesn't fit the period.

2. Jerusalem is 18 years old and Alexei is 300 - I struggle with these types of age-gap romances - I just don't understand how a 300 year old vampire would want to be with someone who is 18.

3. I struggled to get into the story because I felt like we were dropped into the middle with no real explanation. The book starts with Jerusalem on the run and having super strength and speed so I assumed she was a vampire but she is not a vampire and is something called a Saint. There is little to no explanation at the beginning of the story to explain why they are this way and what that means.

Overall this was a big miss for me

So excited to read this after the blurb. Great idea with great characters but lacking good execution. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I really enjoyed Blackwood's two previous books, so it comes as a great surprise that I have to DNF this one at the halfway mark. Jerusalem is just too much. She's had a year of getting to know Alexei, trusting him, and learning who he really is, and yet she's still an absolute pill to him. Every chapter is, "I hate him" and "he's not trustworthy," and it's tiring, so very tiring.

And don't get me started on Alexei. "She's the sweetest thing I'd ever smelled in my life?" Edward Cullen, anyone?

Gah, sorry, this one isn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in return for an honest review.

This was my first read by this author and I can say that I was not disappointed! The choice to set this book during the time of slavery, while also incorporating some supernatural elements, was a superb decision. I found that I both loved and hated characters, I could experience their emotions right along with them. I found myself cheering on certain characters as well.

All in all this was a great read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.