The Dangerous Ones was a captivating blend of Civil War history and fantasy, that explored themes of racism, slavery, and the fight for freedom. This was different than I expected (in a good way!).
The story follows Jerusalem, a former slave with superhuman powers granted by “saints,” who is fighting against ancient vampires in the South with the Union army. She’s teamed up with Alexei, a vampire with a complex personality—handsome and charming yet conflicted due to his past actions. Their relationship evolves from adversarial to romantic as they go on a mission together, where Jerusalem seeks revenge against the vampire responsible for her suffering. The book is praised for its immersive world-building, rich character backgrounds, and engaging dialogue. The romance is present but not overpowering, with some scenes that might not suit readers preferring closed-door romance.
I thought it was perfect, though I did feel like there were some inconsistencies. But overall, a very engaging story!

“The Dangerous Ones” by Lauren Blackwood is a captivating blend of historical fiction, romance, and fantasy. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the novel introduces us to Jerusalem, a fearless Saint, and Alexei, an Ancient Vampire. Their unlikely alliance leads to a thrilling quest for revenge and a chance to alter the course of history. With vivid historical details and fantastical twists, this book keeps readers on the edge of their seats! 📚🔮

I enjoyed the setting and the world, but didn't feel much emotional connection to the characters. And the back and forth or "I love you but I hate you" was just too much for me- it was frustrating, vs compelling.

I could not get into this book…. I tried the kindle version and switched to audiobook but it still didn’t do it for me. The main character held potential but I was honestly lost through most of the plot and couldn’t find the interest to continue connecting with what was going on.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

The setting is during the Civil War, but the language is excessively modern. The disconnect made it impossible for me to settle in.

Nothing was working for me.

DNF

The Dangerous Ones offers a dual perspective, alternating between Jerusalem and Alexei. While the author clearly signals these shifts within chapters, I personally prefer distinct POV changes at chapter boundaries. Additionally, the use of flashbacks felt somewhat chaotic. Jerusalem's enslavement and Alexei's torture could have been better organized—either as separate interspersed chapters or presented chronologically at the book's outset. The novel's magical realism captivated me. Jerusalem, a fierce protagonist, shines, but Alexei falls a bit flat. Their love story lacks depth; most conversations remain superficial. The modern language occasionally jarred with the historical setting. Despite these quirks, the revenge-driven plot kept me engaged, making it a quick and intriguing read.

This book takes place in Civil War times and the main characters are Jerusalem, a run away slave that has supernatural abilities and Alexi, a 3000 year old vampire. They both fight for the Confederacy together, her and Alexi form a bond that turns romantic. This was an ARC I received from the publisher and one of my most anticipated reads but I honestly did not enjoy this book. The first Chapter was fine but the issue I kept facing was the writing style and the fact that apparently Lauren Blackwood's favorite word in the entire world is "Ass" because she used it all the way through this book in different variations, (dumbass, kick his ass, stank-ass, pain in my ass.) I was like, girl okkaayyy we get it, you like the word ass. So that definitely distracted me. Another thing that I disliked is that I just was not interested in Jerusalem and Alexi's characters in general, I thought they were super boring and treated each other like shit, but then they want to be together? Yeah it was weird. I'm disappointed, but thank you to Macmillan Publishers, Wednesday Books for this ARC. I appreciate it!

I struggled with The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood. The premise of this book had me excited! The Civil War but with super humans, Werewolves and Vampires? Sign me up! Unfortunately, the language used in the book made it extremely hard to stay in a Civil War circa 1800’s setting.

I enjoyed this story, but felt like it needed a bit more to be a great read.
I liked the premise, but didn't like some of the simplification of specific characters way of speaking. Was distracting for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

I hadn't read a vampire book in a while so i really looked forward to this one. Interesting story. Good characters and spooky supernatural elements.

This is such a unique story, and I am rating this 3 1/2 stars. Historical fantasy about the Civil War filled with vampires and people with powerful abilities to vanquish evil. I was invested from the beginning but I have to say that this didn't feel very YA. So bear this in mind as it has some mature themes.

The story follows a girl named Jerusalem who escapes from being enslaved in the south after her family is murdered by the vampire who owned her and finds herself in a war camp fighting for the Union army. She is extremely strong and ruthless and she always wondered why she was like this. When she first makes it to camp she meets not only other people with her unique abilities to fight - also known as Saints - but also a vampire named Alexei. Alexei falls for Jerusalem immediately, even though he is a vampire and knows she hates them. Jerusalem vows to fight against the southern army and kill all vampires she comes across - including the one that killed her family. Once Alexei helps her to become even stronger, the group of Saints take their strength to the battlefield - not stopping until they finish what they came for.

This has war, vampires, romance, and violence. I have absolutely no problem with any of this, however it was a little mature for YA. I enjoyed most of the story and loved that it was based during the Civil War. I would have liked a little more of the story to feel like the time period (like language for example) but it was still clever. The relationship between Alexei and Jerusalem, although needed to provide connection between the characters - was a little rushed but I did like the two of them and I did like Alexei's determination. Alexei's story was intense and fascinating and I could have had a whole book based on him. Blackwood created a fun group of characters and I was rooting for them, however I needed more villain time! The last few chapters were fantastic. I definitely could have used more of everything - but I did enjoy reading this and loved the creativity.

Unfortunately a DNF for now. Didn't not grab my interest, despite attempting to read it several times over the last few months. Concept is intriguing, so hoping to revisit in the future.

I finished this one a while ago, but I needed some time to develop my thoughts. I have read Lauren Blackwood before and was looking forward to another novel by her, but this one fell a little flat for me. I had two main issues with the book. The first is the flashbacks—the constant back and forth pulled me out of the main timeline. And the multiple viewpoints and time jumps in the same chapter were a little jarring. The second thing is the relationship between the love interests. We don’t really get to see the relationship develop because they’re already there, and one side was borderline toxic.

That being said, the concept was very cool, and the backdrop was very unique (vampires during the civil war? Never read a book quite like it!). The writing itself is great, as is the representation and the diverse cast of characters. The themes were very poignant and impactful and I enjoyed that. I would recommend the book for the creativity, the writing and the message, but not for the romance.

4.25 stars This was an unexpected find. The plot was set during the US Civil War and featured Vampires, not what one was expecting in a story about a slave finding freedom. I will say I wished for more of why some people were Saints and others were not. Hopefully, Blackwood will expand later with more in this universe.

The audiobook was great!
Narrator Angel Pean 10/10

Excellent premise! I knew I would like this one. Civil war! Vampires! I was really excited to read this. 3.5 stars. Will def recommend!
I recommend the audiobook! Nicely done!
Thanks, NetGalley!

Special thanks to the author, @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2024 for my advanced listening copy & @WednesdayBooks for my gifted e-ARC!!!

This was an interesting book it had a lot of potential but fell short for me. Jerusalem was a young teen with supernatural abilities who escapes the plantation where she was held captive and teams up with Alexei a couple centuries old vampire stuck in a teenage body to help get revenge for her family and kill those who enslaved her. The premise was quite clever and original with the vampires during the Civil War but the slavery aspects involved threw me for a loop. I think I would’ve loved it more without that being included in the context because it just seemed weird to me.

For it to be a historical fantasy I also felt the dialogue was very modern. Imagine Buffy the Vampire Slayer mixed with True Blood and the book The American Queen these are the vibes the book was giving.

I wasn’t feeling the chemistry or connection between Jerusalem and Alexei. For the majority of the book she had a lot of anger and aggression towards him kinda felt like she hated him. I do understand why she felt the way she did considering her past encounters with other vampires. But when they began working together her thoughts about him slowly changed. Still wasn’t feeling them together but I liked that Alexei was a good guy.

Overall, the book was okay not at all what I expected. The author touched on quite a few themes surrounding slavery, the Civil War, death, physical abuse, hate crimes, racial discrimination, and references to sexual abuse. The characters are kinda fascinating in their own way once you understand their backstories. The pacing was up and down but if you’re a lover of vampires, Romantasy, or historical fiction you may like this book.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️

Thank you publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Fantasy is typically not a genre I reach for, but the mix of vampires and historical fiction drew me in. This was a good read!

I normally do not read fantasy books, but I did enjoy this one. It was well written and kept my attention. I loved the characters and the storyline. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Dangerous Ones had such an interesting premise and I wanted to love this book, but I only liked it hence the 3 star rating. I did enjoy this book better than Wildblood, which I also read by this author earlier this year.

The Dangerous Ones is set during the Civil War and the author has reimagined it with vampires and other magical beings. Jerusalem, the main character, is a former slave who escaped from a plantation run by a vampire. Jerusalem is also a Saint, someone with enhanced speed, strength and durability, and she uses these gifts to fight with the Union Army. She belongs to a select group of other Saints that use their gifts to help fight the vampires in the Confederate Army. Since vampires killed her family, Jerusalem has a very good reason to hate vamps.

Alexei is an ancient vampire that fights alongside the Saints. He also has a growing attraction to a certain vampire hating Saint. While Alexei and Jerusalem have some things in common, her distrust of vampires and especially white people keep them apart. However when they are sent on a special mission that goes south, the two must learn to rely and trust each other if they both want to survive.

The book had some things going for it. I liked Alexei’s character and it was neat getting to see some of his backstory spread throughout the book. Jerusalem was a tough character to like, however I did like her. She reminded me of Tara from True Blood at times because of her snarky attitude. The vampire mythology was fleshed out pretty well in the book and it was nice to see some extra abilities that they had. I also really liked the book once Jerusalem and Alexei decided to work together. At that time in the book other mythical creatures are introduced which added some extra elements to the book. Plus around this time the action really picked up too.

There were some things that bothered me with the book. Some of the vernacular in the book seemed to modern and took away from the period setting of the book. I wish the author would have delved a little deeper into the mythology of the Saints and gave more explanation as to what they were. I felt this book took too long to really get to the heart of the book. It dragged for about half the book before the action really picked up.

Overall I’d say give this book a try if you like historical fiction with some fantasy and vampires thrown in.

This book was overall confusing to me. The story was hard to follow and even though it was a historical book there was so much modern language used that brought me straight out of the story.