Crossroads (Crossroads Academy #1)

This review was originally posted on Big Al's Books and Pals review blog on December 11, 2012

Katia is the sole heir to the single most powerful vampire on the Council, her Great Uncle Aldo Lescinka, who has just enrolled her in the preeminent Crossroads Academy nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. With her mysterious past, she has no desire to fit in or make friends. She and Aldo were both hoping her nightmares would fade once she arrived at Crossroads from Romania, but they are changing, growing more frightening, and more frequent. When bodies start showing up around the town of Rutland the whole Academy becomes concerned about exposure and Katia becomes entangled in a web of danger and deceit. Nothing could have prepared her for what she finds here.

Crossroads is an academy boarding school for vampires only. J. J. Bonds has taken great care to reinvent her vampires and their hierarchy in a unique way that I found refreshing. Her vampires actually procreate and it seems the young do not turn until adolescence, where their vampire selves awaken with a ravaging hunger. There is also a blood disease, known as otrava de sange, which threatens to wipe out the born vampires.

The story is told in first person through the eyes of Katia, but she holds her secret past very close so we are not privy to the whole story. She makes a good heroine; she is self confident, assertive, and witty. As the Prologue opens we are thrust into one of Katia's nightmares, it is engrossing and leaves us with questions that are not answered until the very end. Even Katia does not fully understand what has transpired in the past as Aldo is keeping the whole truth from her. Despite J. J. Bonds wonderful and engrossing prose the secrets that Katia keeps from us readers is frustrating. It keeps us from fully engaging and becoming Katia. I felt cheated by this stylistic choice.

Otherwise the story is pretty typical high school foibles and the conversations and tensions are realistic. Katia is a dedicated student and wants to do well in all areas. One of her areas of study is Martial Arts. I enjoyed her interactions with Nikolai Petrov , an upper classman and teacher's assistant in her Martial Arts class, who offers Katia one on one training with her fighting and weapons skills. It is clear that a romantic relationship is developing with him, despite Katia's resistance. I enjoyed this story and felt like Katia's secrets from us held the story back because Aldo's reveal at the end was very satisfying. It will be interesting to see how the rest of this series develops now that we know and understand her on a deeper level.

I found no significant errors or issues with editing or formatting.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

This book starts ok enough, introducing the characters and whatnot. You meet Katia right away and she's your average teenager, except that she's also a vampire. Then chapter two starts and the first thing Katia says is "FML" when she wakes up late for her first official day of school. I knew then that I was going to love this book. Katia is a lot like the teenagers out there today and even though she has a LOT of stuff going on that maybe the teenagers of humans don't have to deal with, she is still a teenager and she acts like one. In good and bad ways. Her choices are stubborn, she makes up her mind and whether right or wrong she sticks to her guns but she doesn't try to get along with anyone. She has only one agenda and it's that agenda that holds her away from everyone and from living her life.

JJ Bonds purposefully doesn't tell us what Katia is going through and I hated it! The entire time I was guessing and then second guessing myself. Trying to figure out who the culprits were who were upsetting Katia so much. JJ Bonds writes Katia so well that you just want to protect her, to pull her under your arm and tell her it's going to be ok. Not that Katia will ever accept that and you'd probably want to keep her away from your throat! But the fact that JJ Bonds does a great job of showing us tiny itty bitty clues throughout the entire book and then whipping us upside the head just when you thought you have it all figured out. Not nice by the way but it makes for a really fun read!

As you can tell, I really enjoyed reading about Katia, more than just her also. The other characters, like her uncle and even the jerks that don't like her at school, are well thought out and interesting. Only downside which isn't really JJ Bonds fault is that this story seems to be played over and over. The whole school thing is interesting though and JJ Bonds has a way of telling it that makes it a unique perspective. I would definitely say if you've read Marked but didn't like it, give Crossroads a try. It's different and the twists are great and take you by surprise. Plus the way the vampire rules are set makes it maybe not better but again, unique and definitely a fun read.

After being a bit disappointed with Salem's Lot and Dracula, I was glad that JJ Bonds brings us vampires that we can fall in love with! And I am reviewing book two, Red Dawn as well which makes me dance in my seat!

High school is hard for everyone, vampires included. Throw in the fact that this a stuck up private school and things are even more bloodier. Katia is the new student, with family ties to a very powerful vampire but all she wants is to go unnoticed. But there is always that one girl or group of girls in high school that just loves to make someone's life a living hell. And let's not forget there is always a hot guy, Nikolai.

Yes it all sounds very high schoolish but it's not that bad of a read. If you like Vampire Academy series you will like the vamps that Bonds has created in her Crossroads Academy trilogy. There are a few similarities between the two series. But I think Crossroads has a little more mystery to it.

In Bonds' world there are two kinds of vampires. Pure bloods, born vampires and the mixed bloods, humans that were turned. The mixed bloods are seen as second class. They both drink blood; human or animal. But most prefer to drink their blood from donated blood and not directly from the source. It's not that the vampires value human life it's more that they don't want to draw attention to their kind.

I really enjoyed reading J.J. Bonds' debut novel, Crossroads. If you are in the mood for a high school based vampire mystery with a touch of romance give it a try. I'm very curious to see what turns the trilogy takes with the next two books.

Book description: When Katia enrolled at Crossroads Academy she knew things weren't exactly going to be easy. The sole heir to the worlds' most powerful vampire, her presence was bound to cause a stir. But nothing could have prepared her for this. Whispers follow everywhere she goes. So does trouble.

But Katia will do her time at Crossroads. After all, she's only enrolled at the prestigious school for pure blood vampires to fulfill a promise to her Great Uncle Aldo. Tucked away in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Katia hopes to shed the demons of her past and focus on her education. Raised blissfully unaware of the entire vamp world, she's got a lot of catching up to do.

As Katia learns more about this dark society and her own legacy, protecting her past becomes increasingly difficult. Bodies start turning up in nearby Rutland and Katia is sucked into a twisted web of danger and deceit. Haunted by nightmares she can't explain and a thirst for blood that is never sated, Katia will do whatever it takes to keep her past buried. What choice does she have? Exposure will shake the Elder's Council to its core and likely result in a death sentence at the hands of the Linkuri.

Nothing at Crossroads is what it seems and Katia's secrets may be the darkest of them all.

When I read the description for crossroads I just HAD to know the story!

Crossroads is the first book in the Crossroad's series (a trilogy), and the first book published by J.J. Bonds. I was impressed by how smooth the writing was, and how easy the story was to follow, given that J.J. Bonds a debut author and this is the first novel in a new series. However being a series, I was glad that Katia's secret is revealed just before the ending, I would have hated to wait for later in the series to find out. Luckily, Bond gives you plenty of little clues along the way.

Katia has been through hell, but the worst is still to come. At school, she tries very hard to not let anybody get close to her, keeps her guard up almost all the time. Even during her weekly meetings with her counselor, Anya, she gives very little away. Trust doesn't come easy for her. However a few students do break through her reserve and become important to her.

Nicolai, her martial arts help-instructor (and a classmate) gives her private lessons to make her a better fighter, (and just gets under her skin). Shaye, a girl, who loves to stand out, is fiercely protective of who she loves and don't give a shit about what the popular kids thinks, and slowly even Anya makes her way into Katia's heart with her candor, frankness, stubbornness and her protectiveness toward both Katia and Anya's own brother, Nicolai.

When her nightmares begins again, she starts to realize that something isn't what it's supposed to be,her nightmares are more than just dreams. As bodies starts to turn up in the nearby village, Katia realizes that her worst fears are coming true. She will have to make a decision; will she run, or will she stay and fight? And now that her secret's out, will she do it alone?

I REALLY enjoyed reading Crossroads! The characters were very vivid, the school just like any other boarding school - well except for the fact that this was a boarding school solely for vampires.You still had all the elements from those awkward teen years at school, the kids you love/hate, the jealousy, pettiness from the other kids who don't like you and the warmth from the kids that you know are going to be your friends one day. And just like real life - everybody has their own secrets to protect.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series (no title yet), to see the characters grow a little bit more, what kind of trouble Katia will get herself into, if her secret can be kept hidden and if the slowly building romance between Nicolai and Katia will develop.

Boarding schools, I'm so there. Once I started this book, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I did not. This book completely took me by surprised with elements I did not see coming.

What hooked my about this book is the plot line. A young girl getting sent to a boarding school And not just any boarding school, but a private one with nothing but vampires. On top of that, Katia is not all what she seems. I thought I knew her and knew where the plot is going when suddenly it took a twist revealing a secret I did not see. This was the best part of the book since I was taken back by it.

Now the character Katia. She is my type of gal. She doesn't take crap for nothing, doesn't rely on anyone and doesn't trust more than she can throw them. Her smart remarks always made me snicker. I love her attitude towards anyone who try to come close to her. She is guarded but learn to trust very carefully.

The love interest is particularly enjoyed cause I like to see the guy work for it. He kept coming at her and she just kept turning him down. I admire his ambition to get close to her and knowing that he was trying so hard made it seem liked he really cared. He is set out to show her that actions speak louder than words and that folks, stole my heart.

Crossroads is rare story that everyone should read. Despite what you have read before Crossroads will change your mind about what you knew about vampires. The is no meddling but really just getting down and dirty to the solid facts. Crossroads is an epic story that really I don't want to share. It just soo good!

Katia's the new girl at Crossroads Academy, an elite school for vampires. With a tormented, secret past, a great-uncle who just happens to be the most powerful vampire in existence, and a chip on her shoulder, things were bound to not be easy for her. She faces scrutiny and bitter jealousy from her classmates, and all the while she's dealing with the nightmares that plague her every night. But Katia was a tough cookie and seemed to embrace her life of relative solitude, and with some enviable fighting skills there was no doubt she could hold her own. As far as heroines go, she would put many to shame!

I love vampire stories, and I'm always on the lookout for something different. While there were aspects of Crossroads that set it apart from the masses, the similarities to parts of the Vampire Academy and Covenant series made comparing them hard to resist. Tough heroine with an attitude goes to an impressive academy for schooling and training, a gorgeous muscle-clad guy ends up giving her personal training lessons, and dangers from the outside world threaten her time in the school. It's not really something new, and there wasn't enough going on between any of the characters to give them the depth and intrigue that would make this story stand out. That being said, there were some unexpected twists that really caught my interest and that were unique to J.J. Bonds' book, so readers who aren't familiar with the other series may really take a liking to it.

As far as the romance factor, it was virtually non-existent until well into the story and I never really felt the chemistry between Nik and Katia, which was disappointing. I think if this had been brought to the forefront earlier on, the characters could have had some much-needed dimension brought to them. As it was, I did like the characters together but it was kind of too little too late for me. The lack of any racy scenes would be a plus for readers who want to steer clear of the sexier YA reads, though.

It's evident in the writing that J.J. Bonds has the chops to be a great story-teller, I just needed more depth and originality when it came down to it. Overall, a decent spin on the vampire world that I would say definitely has an audience with YA paranormal fans.