The Dangerous Ones falls short of its potential, hindered by flat romance, inadequate worldbuilding, and pacing issues. The insta-love between Alexei and Jerusalem feels contrived, lacking depth and believability. Alexei's possessive behavior and the inclusion of modern slang in a Civil War setting are particularly jarring, detracting from the overall immersion in the story.

While the premise of vampires and demi-gods during the Civil War era holds promise, the execution is lacking. Lengthy chapters with frequent POV switches and flashbacks disrupt the narrative flow, making it challenging to stay engaged. Despite the attempts at character development, some mismatches in voice and tone further detract from the reading experience. Overall, The Dangerous Ones may appeal to fans of paranormal romance, but its flaws in worldbuilding and character development make it a disappointing read for those seeking depth and coherence in storytelling.

Great narrators. I’m not a big fan of alternate history usually, but I really loved this book. The story line was great, and I did not have to suspend disbelief once I understood the world building. I love the main characters and really enjoyed both points of view. I will be reading the author’s other works.

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. I loved the idea of it, but for some reason it just felt tough to get through. I wasn’t hooked and kept finding reasons to put it down.

This wasn’t my usual read but I really enjoyed it! It was entertaining and creative. I loved the mix of historical fiction, vampires, and fantasy. The story had me interested the whole time while reading/listening. I think the narrators did a great job of portraying the story.

I've been a fan of Lauren Blackwood since Within These Wicked Walls. I finished her latest, The Dangerous Ones, not too long ago.

The book has a great premise with vampires fighting in the US Civil War, many of whom appear to be on the side of the Confederacy. The Dangerous Ones has one of the best openings as Jerusalem is being chased by a son of the family who enslaved her. Jerusalem's escape gives way to a time jump with her now fighting in the Civil War and her status as a Saint, essentially a vampire hunter. She now fights with the Union along with other Saints and a vampire named Alexei who she does not want to be attracted to (but she is).

It started off great and was full of promise, but it focused a bit too much on the romance. Despite the attraction being a preexisting one, it still felt very much like instalove. I was still trying to figure out what was going on when the romance was thrown in.

Jerusalem is a frustrating character. I both liked and didn't like her at times. Her angry, which is justified, drives her, but she allows it to lead her to make decisions that are not very smart. She is often unable to think beyond her bloodlust and revenge. I would not have minded less of Alexei and more or all of the book just about Jerusalem to allow her greater character development, especially giving her an opportunity to better wield her anger.

I was also disappointed because I hoped for more history to be integrated and a lot more fighting, especially with Jerusalem kicking butt and finally seeking vengeance.

While I liked the premise and parts of the book, it did not meet all my expectations. Individuals who like alternate histories and paranormal romances may want to pick this up. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

Didn’t finish… unfortunately I read about 100 pages and had a very hard time getting into the story line

1.25

I had really enjoyed Blackwood's debut Within These Wicked Walls, so when I saw this and read historical fantasy romance featuring vampires in Pennsylvania 1863 I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, I really did not love this.

For one, I really have no clue what was happening with the prose here. There were moments that felt like it was trying to stay in line with the Civil War era, but 99% of it was written in modern slang. Like there was a "that's rough, buddy" a la ATLA and a variety of "asses" including "stank-ass", "lazy-ass", and "a whole-ass battalion". At one point Alexei literally thinks "As beautiful as my body was, I could see how it might be distressing for a woman traveling alone." I could not handle it. I'm sure there is an audience for this, but it wasn't me.

And the romance? I have questions. There is nothing that makes me believe they actually love each other, or even like each other. I'm a hard sell on vampire/human relationships, or any kind of immortal and human relationships because of the age/maturity differences generously present, and this is no different. Alexei is 300 years old and Jerusalem is 18. And that's not even taking into account the interracial aspect of the relationship.

There's a moment early on where their talking about Confederate vampires and mention Jasper Whitlock which is when I should have DNFed because from there on I just kept thinking of this as a side story in an alternate universe Twilight fanfiction.

If you like romance, magic, and vampires-- this is for YOU! I cannot wait to add this to my classroom because I know my oldest students will LOVE it! A really great read!

The two main characters share plenty of witty banter and bicker like an old married couple which left me giggling at some of their interactions. I thought it was going to be a better book in general, however, the progression of the storyline felt a bit chaotic. There were plot points included that felt like they were there to waste pages and others where the plot wasn’t described as well as I would have liked. The action packed scenes were few and far between but when they did occur, the characters really came to life to work together and get out of their challenging situations.

The premise of the story was interesting and different. I did not enjoy the writing or the dialogue. I didn't like the direction the story went either. I felt like this story had so much promise. I look forward to reading something else by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I knew from the cover and synopsis this one was going to do it for me, and it sure did. Just yes, pick it up if you think you may be interested. You won't be disappointed.

“'You make me so mad sometimes,' I muttered, but I didn't sound convincing.
'And you try to kill me sometimes. We're even.'"

From the author's note at the end: "[U]ltimately, The Dangerous Ones is the journey of a Black girl seeking vengeance, falling in love, and taking her freedom into her own hands . . . and I also just wanted to write a book about hot, powerful people and include every fantasy romance trope I could think of on my own terms. The result is a fun, emotional ride that is full of just as much Black Joy as pain."

I really enjoyed this book! This book features modern vernacular, which I actually liked. It's a fantasy reimagining of the Civil War with vampires; the author can do what they want. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Don't go into this book expecting Empire of the Vampire or high brow writing. This is an author exploring generational and racial trauma in their own way. I think it works overall.

I LOVED that the dual PoVs were very unique and individualized. I feel like there are a lot of samesy first person PoVs. This book makes it very clear whose mind you're inside from tone, writing style, etc.

There was a lot of talking after the first battle sequence. I didn't mind it, but I would have liked another action sequence mixed in there somewhere.

Am I going to bring up dialogue and "voice" again? Why yes, yes I am. Does the FMC, Jerusalem, say a lot of snarky banter to her vampire cohort? Yes she does. Does he put up with it because he fell first and hard and he's 300+ yrs old and can handle it? Yep! Is this verbal ab*se? Well she's a freed former slave vampire hunter, and he's a white vampire fighting with the Union to end slavery. Does she have trust issues? OF COURSE SHE DOES. You think people just get over trauma in a year? You think just being nice and I'm love with someone who has experienced trauma will solve all the problems? It won't. It takes time. to. heal.

Listen. I have four older brothers. FOUR. I grew up being picked on all in good fun and picked them right on back. When my brothers would get angry, they'd wrestle each other. If they left a hole in the living room wall? They'd patch it, and move on. People react to trauma in different ways, and that's ok!

I don't know. Why is it completely acceptable for Nesta to treat Cassian like garbage in A Court of Silver Flames and not someone who literally grew up enslaved to the kind of person who is in love with her to be not the nicest all the time to her love interest? Not gonna compare fictional traumas here, but I mean, come on!

Also, dialogue period: people don't need to talk like you for their voice and opinion to matter. PEOPLE DON'T NEED TO THINK OR TALK LIKE YOU. They also don't need to write things that make you comfortable. Truth be told, this is definitely an easier pill to swallow than Kindred by Octavia Butler. That book is DEVASTATING. I feel like this author did a good job balancing the trauma, the backstory, with hope and growth.

Loved how the story and plot unfolded through flashbacks and forward plot movement. I love when slices of a character's past are revealed over time.

Love the (one sided) mortal enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers.

There's some Twilight level fawning but with less of a creepy creep factor (though it does skirt the line with that sleep watching incident).

The depiction of PTSD is well done. I love that they don't make it a contest, that they allow the other person to feel what they feel about their experiences, no matter how long they lasted nor how long ago they occurred, I love that she is helping him recognize the extent of the abuse so that he can move forward towards true and lasting healing and growth

Tropes: shared tent, one bed in the inn, friends to lovers, he falls first, deathbed request to take care of each other, vampire x vampire huntress, mentor x mentee, healing and growing together

Content Warning: graphic horse death and violence against horses, off page r*pe of a sibling by their "master" resulting in pregnancy, traumatic and fatal induced C-section of r*pe victim resulting in her death while initiators son and daughter-in-law take biracial child to raise as their own, violence, biased trial resulting in near death by mythical creature, hypnosis manipulation, blo*d sucking for food, graphic deaths by violent means, slavery, Civil War setting, casual n*kedness while swimming, cracked open door spice, PTSD, language

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

The Dangerous Ones is a standalone young adult alternate fantasy - one in which the Civil War is fought with the help of vampires and demi-gods (called "Saints"). The main character of the story, Jerusalem, is a Saint who escaped slavery from a Southern vampire and rode the underground railroad to join the war in the North.

Blackwood's writing is choppy and a bit shallow, but checks all the boxes for a young adult novel. The fresh, intriguing world building pulls the reader in quickly.


Thank you to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for sending me a complimentary eARC.

The Dangerous Ones has such a cool premise: take the upheaval of the Civil War, but add vampires! Here for it, of course. Jerusalem is a young woman who escapes slavery, though sadly the rest of her family does not. She finds herself fleeing from her captors, and ends up meeting a group who is fighting on the side of the Union- but not specifically as Union soldiers, I guess? Honestly, I wish their role in the war had been a bit more fleshed out, because I was kind of confused to how it fit into the war. Anyway, Jerusalem is a Saint, which means that she has some supernatural powers that can kill enslavers and vampires alike? Again, this part was not fleshed out enough, and I would have liked a bit more backstory on what these "saints" were, how they came to be, etc. Regardless, I did like that Jerusalem and her new friends were teaming up to rid the world of enslavers, always on board for that!


One of the folks she finds herself fighting with was Alexi, an old Russian vampire and therefore not Jerusalem's favorite person. But he is actively fighting for the Union, Jerusalem's friends trust him, and he has saved her life multiple times. Still, she claims to hate him. He, on the other hand, is quite enamored with her (though this is far more telling than showing, he tells us often). That is obviously a pretty big plot point, as is the new found family Jerusalem makes with an older Black woman named Odessa who becomes both a mentor and big sister to her (I hesitate to say "mother", though she does have a nurturing role), and her trusted second Gael. I really liked these characters, and I actually wish they'd been featured a bit more. There is also some other paranormal stuff that happens later in the book that I don't want to spoil, but seemed a little out of left field too. I think this is where more world building and background may have come in handy- I imagine we're just supposed to be accepting of the world "as is", which is okay, just a little tough for me personally.


Pretty much every review I have read for this one has the same basic complaint: it does not sound, in any way, that the characters are from the 1800s. And that is really a fair gripe, they definitely don't. But it seemed like a deliberate choice the author made, and I just kind of went with it and tried (and mostly succeeded) to just ignore it. I did like the premise a lot, and I liked a lot of the messages, and of course seeing Jerusalem and the others fighting against the very evil enemy.


I did have a bit of an issue going from past to present without any real "notice"- we'd just be in a character's memory, but without warning. Maybe this is somehow fixed in the finished copy, but it did throw me more than once. I did, however, like that we got glimpses into the characters' pasts, so that was good.

Bottom Line: Incredible premise and themes, and though I might have wanted a bit more from the execution, it was still a worthwhile read!

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The whole concept was really cool … vampires & the American Civil War. But the execution wasn’t quite there.
It tried to do some flashbacks with the timeline but I wish it was told consecutively (except for the 300+ year flashbacks). We only know Jerusalem and Alexei after they’ve become friends <spoiler>and they ARE friends despite the bickering that they aren’t. </spoiler> I would have liked to see their friendship develop linearly instead of through flashbacks. By doing in this way, I think it lost a lot of the impact and potential emotional tension.
Also Jerusalem’s narrative voice was great. I loved how it was written and think really added to her character. But Alexei fell flat to me. He seemed lovesick and that was all.
I understand the balance between world-building and plot but we are suddenly introduced to <spoiler>werewolves and Sasquatch's with very little reference. </spoiler> It felt a bit too much without even hinting at it priorly. It was hard to tell what basis the story has in the Civil Wars besides some minimal links.
I did like it but thought it could have benefited from some more edits.

There are some heavy topics discussed here but the romance out weighs it. I am a sucker for a good romance and vampires. I really liked the setup of a white vamp and a slave girl fighting together during the Civil War and BFF to boot. Would love some more adventures with them.

This one unfortunately wasn’t for me. I struggled to get into it and unfortunately had to DNF @ 20%. While it wasn’t for me, I definitely think there are many who will enjoy!

Thanks to Netgalley & SMP for the chance to read this one.

I really wanted to like this but I quickly realized that this story wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I definitely hope that others enjoy it more. The writing wasn’t terrible but I struggled to stay within the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me and e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First let me say that this book maybe should have a trigger warning. There is a lot about torture and abuse in this story.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this book. I was super intrigued by the idea of vampires during the Civil War and what part they would have played in slavery. The plot of this book was very interesting and I liked the mix of fantasy elements with actual historical situations.

At first I couldn’t put this book down, but when I got to about 65% I started to lose a little interest. I think that my main issue was the romance. Individually I really enjoyed Lex and Jerusalem. I also liked the will they/won’t they at the beginning, but once Lex admitted his feelings and Jerusalem continued to treat him fairly badly even though he hadn’t done anything that warranted that treatment, I got frustrated. I know obviously she has a lot of trauma to work through, but her treatment of him seemed excessive.

I also didn’t love all the time jumping. It was confusing because it wasn’t really delineated clearly. There would be a page break and then I wouldn't realize that the sections I was reading was happening in the past until I was a few paragraphs in. It made my reading experience feel choppy.

Overall, this was a really interesting concept for a book and there were definitely some parts that I really enjoyed.

What a fantastic concept for a story. The Civil War, the Underground Railroad, vampires, werewolves, and vampire hunters. If I were a teen this would check all my boxes including the ones I didn't know I had.

I've been contemplating how I should review this. As a woman in my 40s who has ready many many books in my lifetime, this was a story that kind of fell short of my expectations. I loved the idea of the thing. I loved the setting and the backstory. But every time it was a section where the main characters interacted, it was awful. The MMC was in love with the FMC from the beginning, and she was supposedly his friend. Frienemy? She was always putting him down, even when she was a attracted to him, while he was always trying to make her feel safe. Then when the frienemies become more, there is over-the-top pet names and cutsie fawning IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR! On top of this, it is set in a time period, but the dialogue is constantly using modern slang and terminology.

I actually kept thinking this was Twilight for historical fantasy. SO many people loved Twilight. It is exactly the story formula for a teenager to potentially fall in love with history and learn something. That definitely redeems my experience a little bit, to be honest. I'm no longer a teenager, so it's ok that this book wasn't for me. I think there is definitely a reader base who will absolutely love this story.

Content contains violence, trauma from enslavement, and nudity.

Thank you to St. Martin Press and Netgalley for sending me a complimentary ARC. All the opinions in this review are my own.