A review by illstoptheworldandreadwithyou
The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood

3.25

Set during the Civil War with a mix of paranormal and fantasy creatures, The Dangerous Ones centers around Jerusalem, a former slave and Saint with preternatural strength and agility, and Alexei, a 300-year-old vampire fighting alongside the Union Army. After being enslaved under a vampire and watching her family be murdered, Jerusalem has a deep-seated hatred for all vampires, but, after a year of training with and fighting alongside Alexei, he’s the exception for her. 

 

And Alexei? He loves that tiny Saint. 

 

The premise is fascinating, and Jerusalem and Alexei are such strong characters. 

 

Between the war, the blossoming love story, and Jerusalem’s desire to take out the vampire and its family that destroyed her own, there is a lot going on in the book. But sometimes when there’s so much going on, it feels like not everything is as developed as it could be, and that was the case for me here. 

 

I was fortunate to have advance copies of both the ebook and the audiobook. Angel Pean’s narration was spot-on for me. Her accents for Jerusalem and fellow Saints Odessa and Gael were believable, and I liked her voice for Alexei. Jay Ben Markson’s 1863 voice for Alexei worked for me, but I would have liked to have heard Alexei have more of a Russian accent in the flashbacks. Markson’s Southern accent for Jerusalem unfortunately did not fit the character for me. 

 

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Wednesday Books and advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio, both via NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.