Review Detail

THE DANGEROUS ONES is an intriguing YA historical fantasy. The story is told from alternating perspectives of Jerusalem and Alexei during the Civil War. Jerusalem is a saint, someone with special super-human-like skills. She fled the plantation where she had been enslaved after they killed the rest of her family, fighting along the way. She found her passion in vengeance, and has been fighting with the Union army along with the other saints, who are known for their particular acumen and lethality.

In this version of the past, vampires joined the South as plantation owners and are thus fighting for the South in the war. Alexei is a vampire who had joined the Union, not particularly liking most of his kind and appalled by what they have been doing. Jerusalem is determined to kill the vampire who had enslaved and killed her family, and while she was reluctant to trust Alexei, he has been proving himself to her every day as he tries to have her back and help with her training, showing her how to kill his kind. As they fight for freedom and revenge, Alexei is also falling in love with Jerusalem - and she is maybe falling for him too.

What I loved: This was a unique premise that was laid out well throughout the book. The fantasy elements were well done with the vampires coming to life as both horrible and flawed. There were also humans amongst the vampires, showing the cruelty of human nature and the brutality faced by those enslaved. Even amongst the Union soldiers, Jerusalem and the others face microaggressions and prejudice, which are demonstrated and addressed in the story.

Themes around revenge, oppression, family, found family, loss/grief, and racism were all really thought-provoking throughout the story. Jerusalem was a particularly compelling character, and her story unravels throughout the book as the readers learn what happened to her family and what led to when she ran. Alexei was also intriguing, and though his story also unfolds, he felt secondary to Jerusalem. The two perspectives were easy to keep apart and follow throughout with their voices being unique from the other.

What left me wanting more: The story felt a bit slow in places and took a while to build. The romance felt like much of it was built before the book began/off-page, and a lot of it was the banter in between as well as conversations amongst the characters, rather than action or moving the story forward. It ended up feeling a bit easy to put down and felt a bit repetitive in the middle.

Final verdict: THE DANGEROUS ONES is an intriguing YA historical fantasy about revenge, family, and love.