J.J. Bonds

I'm not going to deny that I'm a fan of vampire stories, especially when said stories take place in a boarding school. Lucky for me, there are plenty to choose from! When J.J. Bonds approached me to review Crossroads I couldn't wait to see what new perspective she would put on this idea.

Katia is enrolled at Crossroads Academy upon her Uncle Aldo's insistence. Crossroads is a premiere facility that caters to the vampire "pure bloods" mostly, and Katia's Uncle thinks it is the best place for her. I was a little confused at first as to why it was so important she go to this remote school. However the reader soon discovers that Katia has a secret. Something so dark, that she won't share it with anyone. No, dear reader, not even with you.

Which brings me to the biggest problem that I had with Crossroads, and that was not getting the opportunity to really dive into Katia's persona. She's the narrator. We are inside her head, and yet so little about her actually comes through. I'll admit that I did like that J.J. Bonds essentially lays a trail of breadcrumbs leading up to what Katia's big secret is. However it was such a slow buildup that I soon found myself rather bored of her lack of emotional depth. I understood the tactic, I just didn't feel like it drew me in.

On the flip side, the descriptive writing regarding other people and places in the story really shines. Crossroads itself is shown in gorgeous details, and the supporting characters actually get more love in the depth department than Katia does. Also, the plot was refreshing. Although it falls into a genre saturated with books, Bonds still manages to put her own spin on the way that things work in the vampire world. It's honestly what kept me reading, and what I know will bring me back for more. Now that Katia's secret is out, things can only get more interesting.
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Originally Reviewed At:Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 4 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Author for Honest Review
Reviewer: AimeeKay



So loving’ the Crossroads Academy series! Just finished Red Dawn, the second book in the series and I can’t wait to see what happens next. As in the first book, Red Dawn is written in the first person present. As many of my readers know, I’m not always a huge fan of this POV. Mainly, and I admit, because I’m not used to it, but also because if it’s not done right it just takes away from the story. However, Bonds did an awesome job writing in this perspective. The story and the writing just drew me in right away.



Red Dawn picks itself up after the summer has already passed; as the kids are all coming back to Crossroads. But this time the main bulk of the story doesn’t take place there. While the ending is kind of a cliffie it wasn’t too bad, plus it leads into a perfect set up for the next novel, so I’ll forgive. Also, I love the budding romance between Nic and Katia. They are funny and cute together.



The only thing that really had me wondering…and this will be kind of a spoiler…is how Katia and Nic were able to basically disappear from school and no one noticed. I know some of the school officials did, but I kept wondering why Aldo didn’t send someone out looking for Katia when he couldn’t get in contact with her. It just strikes me as odd that he just sat around not doing anything about it.



Other than that, overall I really enjoyed this one. Maybe not as much as the first one, but it has still kept me interested in finding out what happens to Katia and her friends. I give it a 4 out of 5. Definitely recommend picking this one up!… (plus d'informations)

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.



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3.5 stars


Ok, if you can stop staring at the beautiful cover and actually read the book you'll find that Red Dawn is a little more grown up that book 1, Crossroads. In this sequel we leave the high school behind to find a darker Katia. She will do anything to save her best friend, Shaye.

We start out with a new school year and things are a little back to normal for a short time but then we find Katia, Nik and Keegan on the road trying to track down answers to getting the possible missing cure for the blood disease that Shaye has.

The total feel of the book is darker and more action packed with a conspiracy theory factor that had me guessing who was behind the thief of the cure.

J.J. Bonds does another great job mixing the innocence of high school with a paranormal twist and mystery. Read Dawn brings us to a all new ball game for the series. And as the gang grows older; the heat factor grows too. I know it's YA and that means it's usually on the "clean" side but I just want Katia to throw Nik down and get dirty. LOL

Fans of Mead's Vampire Academy should give the Crossroads series a try. Katia might not be Rose (YET!) but she is getting closer with each book.





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