Review: Crossroads

Crossroads - J.J. Bonds

Genre - Young Adult Paranormal

Released - November 9, 2011

As if high school isn’t miserable enough, try being uprooted and dropped fangs first into an uptight prep school where everyone knows your name and they’ll stop at nothing to uncover the secrets of your past.

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.

I purchased this book on a whim based on the positive reviews of it. I didn’t have high expectations of it because we see these kinds of novels popping up a lot. Well, let me tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by Crossroads. Actually, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was absolutely blown away! The premise of this book doesn't sound fresh: Girl has a tragic past, she goes away to an academy, she has private training lessons with a hot guy and she’s a vampire.

Really, though, this novel is a hundred per cent original. The main character, Katia, is antisocial and we find out that this is because she has experienced something in her past which has made her this way. We are left to wonder what it is, as Katia is very good at keeping her secret from everyone, including the reader. Believe me, I formulated numerous theories as to what her secret was. I didn’t even come close to guessing it. That’s how original Crossroads is.

I liked the hint of romance in the novel between Katia and Nik, but was glad that it took a long time for it to build up. I also loved how Katia is independent and not thinking about boys all the time. She is reserved and doesn’t have many friends and I’m glad we got to see a main character who is a social outcast by choice. By all means, she is not weak from it. She is so strong.

This didn’t seem like a self-published or debut novel. It was pretty much error-free and the writing flowed well. The execution was done like a pro and the only thing disappointing about the novel is that the sequel isn’t done yet. I want to read more from the Crossroads world and more from J.J. Bonds.

I paid 99 cents for this book. I would have happily paid a lot more money for it. Add this one to your TBR list, guys! You are going to love it!

Recommended: If you enjoyed the Vampire Academy series or the House of Night series.