Review of Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Title: Crusade (Crusade, #1)
Authors: Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié
Published by: Simon Pulse
Pages: 470
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain's Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.

Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated—and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose.

Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself—and her heart.

Do you ever stumble across those books where they start off so uninteresting and you want to put them down, but before you know it you're completely hooked?  That was how Crusade started for me.  I struggled to get through the first couple chapters of this novel, but once I started to get to know the characters and their backgrounds I wanted to know more and fast.  

This story is so much more than just Jenn getting betrayed.  The group of Salamanca hunters is an eclectic group of elite individuals brought together for one cause...to destroy vampires(the blood-thirsty, controlling kind).  They each came to the school to train for their own reasons and have their own vendettas to carry out.  This was the best part about the novel.  I can't begin to explain to you how unique each of these characters are.  I strongly believe each one deserves their own novel so we as readers can share in the complexity of their lives. 

While this book may have started off slow, the plot continues to build and thicken throughout.  The conflict grows intense and is interwoven between each of the characters leading up to an epic battle at the end with an unexpected twist.  The characters and the story made this one definitely worth sticking with, so if you are struggling with Crusade, don't give up...it gets so much better.