The Dangerous Ones

"This book was so much fun. It has found its own little special place in the vampire lore, and it shines. This is an alternate history urban fantasy that reimagines the time of the civil war and vampires. The book opens with Jerusalem running away from life as a slave. She has been gifted the superhuman powers of “saints” to counter the dark powers of ancient vampires that run the south. The Union army employs saints and even other vampires in their fight to reclaim the south. Jerusalem has spent a year with the union army, working closely with a vampire named Alexei. Alexei is the standard enemies to lovers handsome bad boy with a heart of gold. He is attracted to Jerusalem despite her skin color and obvious disdain for his kind. He helps her train to defeat his kind while also watching out for her to make sure she stays alive and well. Jerusalem on the other hand has a hard time letting her guard down enough to trust Alexei. His kind is the reason for all of the suffering in her life. Together they embark on a scouting mission for the union army, but only Jerusalem knows that this is a revenge mission. A chance to finally take down the ancient vampire that has plagued her life. Everything about the world building in this book is perfect. You feel transported back in time to a magical world that never existed and there are enough clever surprises that enhance the magic of this book. The characters are to die for. They have rich backgrounds that are glimpsed at in flashbacks and asides plus, they have the smart and snarky banter that makes romances so much fun to read. The romantic aspects of the book were not too overdone, without them there would still be an amazing story, but there are romantic scenes. So, if you prefer closed door romance, please take that into consideration. I think they were handled well and don’t pose any power dynamics/coercion issues but I feel You, the potential reader, should be aware of this before you decide to pick up this book.<br/>Thank you to MacMillan audio for the chance to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook presentation. Angel Pean and Jay Ben Markson embody their characters and were a pleasure to listen to. The emotions of the characters shine through their performances and it was so easy to get caught up in the worldbuilding/ story. There is not one thing I would change about this production, it’s perfect.<br/>"