Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc of this book.
3/5 stars for The Dangerous Ones
My ratings weigh heavily on whether or not I felt connected to the characters and their fates. I found myself rooting for Jerusalem in many ways. To exact her revenge as a black woman who experienced many atrocities in this civil war era story, to heal her insecurities, and to find her strength in more ways than the physical kind.
The relationship between her and Alexei was cute, and I loved how he just adored her.
I felt there was enough material for this book to be a bit longer. I felt the final standoff between them and Adelaide a little rushed.
Overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"The Dangerous Ones" by Lauren Blackwood presents a unique twist on the Civil War era, blending vampires, magic, and the fight against oppression into a gripping tale. If you are someone who enjoys historical novels with a bit of a twist, you will definitely enjoy this book. If you’re also a fan of the enemies-to-lovers troupe, then you will love this book even more.

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the story follows Jerusalem, an escaped slave turned Union soldier with supernatural abilities. Teaming up with Alexei, a vampire fighting against his own kind, Jerusalem is on a mission to rid the South of vampires who thrive as slaveholders.

This is my first book from Blackwood, and I absolutely fell in love with her storytelling, especially with the development of the setting and the worldbuilding. This alternative supernatural history in the book is, what I believe, the strongest part as I really felt like the world Blackwood created came alive as I was reading. Blackwood's skillful portrayal of the Civil War era and the inclusion of magical elements add depth to the story, making it an engaging read for those drawn to historical fantasy. I thought the novel offered a fresh perspective on a familiar historical setting, making it worth considering for fans of the genre.

While the premise is intriguing and the setting vividly brought to life, the execution fell a bit short for me due to the repetitive nature of the writing, particularly in regards to the romantic relationship between Jerusalem and Alexei. I found it a bit difficult to engage in the story, especially the romance, due to this repetitiveness. Despite the dynamic banter and witty dialogue between the characters, the constant reiteration of their feelings became a bit tiresome. While this is often common with the enemies-to-lovers troupe, I just wish the romance was as developed as the worldbuilding.

Overall, I enjoyed reading “The Dangerous Ones,” and I will definitely keep an eye out for more from Blackwood. As mentioned, I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fantasy/romance as well as to anyone who just really wants to sink their teeth into a new vampire book.

I am a huge fan of Lauren Blackwood’s. Beyond These Wicked Walls was one of my favorite reads of 2021 and I read Wildblood last year in one day. I have come to recognize Blackwood as an author who will deliver unique and enthralling YA fantasy romances with lots of action.

“Dangerous, arrogant, annoying, strong . . . beautiful . . . gentle monsters.”

The Dangerous Ones did not disappoint. I adored Alexei and Jerusalem’s banter and chemistry and loved Tiny’s feistiness and tenacity. She was small but mighty!

“I see danger. I just run at it instead of away.”

“Mama once told me, ‘…Find you something useful you love to do and perfect it.’ Reckon she didn’t think it’d be killing.”

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

The cover for this book is fantastic, it's what initially drew me to it.

It has an interesting premise, saints and vampires fighting in the civil war with the humans, we'll circle back to this in a moment.
Immediately I loved our FMC, Jerusalem, and often the banter between her and our MMC, Alexei, felt like peering into a high school relationship. They're quirky and quick witted, but I'm not going to lie, somewhere in the middle of the book it got repetitive. The kind of repetition that makes a reader bang their head into the book and go "just kiss already and stop arguing about your feelings!" It dragged the pacing down a bit for me, but the last quarter or third of the book redeemed itself.
That being said, we can circle back to the plot... putting saints on the union side and vampires on the confederate side made sense. I just wish we could've had a peak into the supportive roles taken by both sides into the war. There needed to be more meat in this section of the plot. It was such an interesting take and I just wish it had pushed further and gone further with it.
I also wish the plot didn't fall to the wayside for favor of the romance story line at times. It felt a little lopsided while reading.

HOWEVER, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and it was a surprisingly intriguing twist into american history and fantasy.

Thank you for the advanced copy! Lauren Blackwood packs so much emotion into this story: lots of pain, trauma, and heartache, but at the end, joy overcomes.

Vampires and the civil war are not a combination one would expect, but as the author comments in the afterward, it is fitting for vampires to be found among the Confederates — two groups who enslave and persecute those who are different. Sasquatches helping run the Underground Railroad was an interesting touch, as well as giving them the ability to instantly transport to a familiar location as the explanation for why humans have never been able to confirm their existence.

While the Civil War is the backdrop, the story focuses on Jerusalem, a former slave who has unnatural speed and strength. After escaping slavery and making her way north, she learns she is a Saint, a select group of vampire hunters harkening back to Van Helsing. She becomes part of a group of fellow Saints assisting the Union Army.
Also in this group is Alexei, a Russian vampire who has personal reasons for wanting to aid the North in ending the scourge of slavery. As her mistress and one of the master’s sons were vampires, and were sadistic in the use of their power, Jerusalem despises and distrusts vampires, which makes coexistence with Alexei difficult, even though he is the one training her in use of her chosen weapon, a spear, and one of the few people who does not make assumptions about her worth based on her skin color. It doesn’t help that he knows exactly what to say and do to get a rise out of her, and enjoys doing so, as he has developed feelings for her. However, their relationship will be tested when they realize they each have unfinished business with the same ancient vampire. The greatest danger may be each other.

The dangerous ones
I was given an arc copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you net galley. Set during the time of Civil War and slavery, the author intricately mixes fantasy, vampires, and the dynamics of that time period beautifully. I love the banter between Jerusalem and Alexei. This love story was absolutely beautiful. I read this book in three hours and I want to read it all over again. Beautiful storytelling. 5 ⭐️

This cover looked so amazing and the premise sounded interesting, especially as paranormal historical fiction always gets me, but seeing some other readers discussing it I’m not comfortable giving this my attention. I appreciate the opportunity to read it, but this does not sound like my kinda book after all.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood is such a gem. I requested this book almost entirely becasue the cover is stunning only to be greeted with a tightly plotted and wonderfully developed story about vampires during the civil war.

The dialogue and character chemistry were two of the strongest highlights of this work and really carried the weight of any moments that the plot needed to slow down.

I can not wait to get my hands on a physical copy in May.

The Dangerous Ones is such an interesting concept, combining historical fiction with a bit of fantasy and romance. The author does such a good job bringing the reader into the civil war, really making you see and feel all the emotions the characters are feeling. It's raw and brutal, and left me sick to my stomach at times. The pacing of this felt very quick in the beginning half and last quarter of the book, but that other 25% where Jerusalem and Alexei were bickering about their emotions felt really dragged out. The romance between them was still very sweet (specifically Alexei, he had some really endearing one-liners). Jerusalem will perhaps go down as one of my all-time favorite FMC. She's determined and headstrong and SASSY. Her sass, the nicknames she came up with, her quick comebacks, and just her inner monologue as a whole were perfection and had me laughing. Really, really enjoyed this, and it's opened my eyes to the world of historical fiction (which isn't something I thought I would be interested in, but this book has proved me wrong). Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really love Lauren Blackwood’s other books, but this one just didn’t click with me. I think part of my problem here was the juxtaposition of love and violence. I didn’t always feel like there was an adequate transition between horrific acts of violence and moments of love and passion, it took me out of the story.

A enthralling, lush fantasy with world-building that dominates and a romance that will delight fans of Sarah J, Maas. The tone was spot on, and the characters were enjoyable and root-worthy. I will definitely be reading more from Lauren Blackwood in the future.

I'm having a really hard time describing this book without giving too much away. This is an entrancing
historical fantasy novel, there were no slow parts. I was hooked from the beginning. If you're looking for a vampires
fantasy romance, please check this out! You will not regret it!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to read this one as I have read Lauren Blackwood's "Within These Wicked Walls" and absolutely adored it! However, I struggled with The Dangerous Ones. I generally find historical fiction style stories hard to get into. I thought adding the vampires fantasy twist story and even the romance would help to keep my interest, but sadly that was not the case. I really enjoyed our two main characters and the dynamic they had through the book. Ultimately the fact that I couldn't get into the civil war world Blackwood created kept me from fully enjoying the story as a whole. Will for sure probably keep my eye out for any other releases from Lauren, this one unfortunately just didn't land with me.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, Lauren Blackwood, and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book at the moment is a DNF! I am about 30% into the book and I am enjoying what is happening but I genuinely feel that this book is the wrong time for me to read. I will pick it up but right now it is not for me. I will update my review once I complete it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Such a unique spin on the vampire romance! Love books that take something most of us know at least some about, like the civil war, and throw in a fantasy twist like “what if there were vampires?”
Great enemies to lovers too.

The plot and cast of characters was intruiguing, but I had trouble with this writing style — I tried to get into it again and again but ultimately it’s just not for me. 😬 Wish it were otherwise.

i loved the concept of this one. owever, for me, the civil war world was a bit harder to get into then i expected, especially with it more primarily being a romance historical fantasy as opposed to a fantasy historical romance or a fantasy romantic historical fic if you know what i mean. thanks for the arc, this one was still good tho

I really enjoyed reading this book. I mean the civil war with vampires!!!!! Such a cool concept. Add in the “saints” like Jerusalem and Dess, well it’s definitely a new perspective.
I will say that the book definitely has some material that can be triggering. For myself, Jerusalem attacking Alexei multiple times and then being insta sorry and apologizing after hurting him definitely hit my trigger button. Luckily, those parts were short so I could get through them.
Definitely worth the read!

This was an interesting read that kept my attention. I found it unique, which is so hard to come by now days.
I always love the enemies to lovers trope and this was top tier! 🤌🏻