Blood and Mind

Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Start to a SENSATIONAL SERIES! Super Sexy and FUN
Review: A reluctant Empath, a red-hot vampire, and demonic presence in a small town--what could be better?

Melanie L. Bonnefoux's debut novel is sensational. It follows the story of University student Holly-Anne Feather, a high level Empath and PSI talent. Holly-Anne Feather has lived in relative obscurity for most of her life--hiding from her talents and from others.

It's quite a shock to Holly, then, when Lucien (the ultra hot) Vampire Holder (Leader) of Edwards, N.C. kidnaps her and forces her to investigate a series of vampire murders. Holly is unwilling to help but has little choice in the matter (as it is unwise to cross a Vampire Holder) and before she knows it she's knee deep and fast falling into the preternatural community.

Holly has to juggle midterms, dating (the college jock), spurning the advances of one very hot Vampire Holder and searching out the suspect of several vampire and human murders? Her wit, sass, humor, power and all-to-hilarious tantrums make the book (that and the unbelievable chemistry between Holly and Lucien). Melanie L. Bonnefoux REALLY knows her stuff. The story is well written and designed. The movement quick and action packed and her characters fun, sexy and hilarious. Any fan of fantasy, action, horror with a dash of romance for good measure will love this book. I can't wait to read the next!

Rating:
Summary: awesome read
Review: blood and mind is a smart, clever, sexy, murder mystery.
cool characters, witty writing with a twist. keeps you reading.
i don't read all that much and i couldn't put the book down.
for a first time author, melanie bonnefoux, seems to have what it takes to roll with the big dogs. i hope she continues writing
i'd really like to see her players in another supernatural dark comedy. kudos to this new wordsmith.

Rating:
Summary: So much FUN!
Review: Blood and Mind is Melanie Bonnefoux's first book. All the raw materials of a great book are present - it just needs some more refinement.

Our heroine, Holly-Anne Feather is not your average co-ed. She posses incredible PSI abilities and is an empathy. Because of these powers, she is noticed by the local vampire community. Lucien, the vampire `Holder' or master, takes a very keen interest in Holly. Of course, Holly is torn. Lucien is technically a dead man - reanimated flesh. These facts are not very appealing. Instead, Holly finds herself lusting after Lucien. Into this mix comes Ryan, a fellow student that is also interested in Holly.

Then the bodies start to appear. Edwards University students are being murdered in a very gruesome, ritualistic manner. Holly finds herself at the epicenter of the murder investigation and her love-life only gets more complicated.

Blood and Mind is a fun book to read. Holly-Anne is a wonderful, strong characterization. She has sass and fire with a tinge of very sarcastic, acerbic wit. Holly is the girlfriend we all want to know. The ending of the book held some twists that were unexpected and very daring. My main criticism of the book was the very poor copy editing. The numerous spelling and grammar errors made it difficult to read the book.

Blood and Mind can be compared to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. While there are similarities, Melanie Bonnefoux incorporated many unique aspects to her story that sets it apart. Bonnefoux's vampires are described as an alien species with unknown beginnings.

Melanie Bonnefoux is a first time author and a `lover of things that go bump in the night.' She is currently working on a sequel to Blood and Mind. Please visit her website for more information http://www.bloodandmind.com

Rating:
Summary: Avid Reader & Reviewer
Review: Blood and Mind is Melanie Bonnefoux's first book. All the raw materials of a great book are present - it just needs some more refinement.

Our heroine, Holly-Anne Feather is not your average co-ed. She posses incredible PSI abilities and is an empathy. Because of these powers, she is noticed by the local vampire community. Lucien, the vampire 'Holder' or master, takes a very keen interest in Holly. Of course, Holly is torn. Lucien is technically a dead man - reanimated flesh. These facts are not very appealing. Instead, Holly finds herself lusting after Lucien. Into this mix comes Ryan, a fellow student that is also interested in Holly.

Then the bodies start to appear. Edwards University students are being murdered in a very gruesome, ritualistic manner. Holly finds herself at the epicenter of the murder investigation and her love-life only gets more complicated.

Blood and Mind is a fun book to read. Holly-Anne is a wonderful, strong characterization. She has sass and fire with a tinge of very sarcastic, acerbic wit. Holly is the girlfriend we all want to know. The ending of the book held some twists that were unexpected and very daring. My main criticism of the book was the very poor copy editing. The numerous spelling and grammar errors made it difficult to read the book.

Blood and Mind can be compared to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. While there are similarities, Melanie Bonnefoux incorporated many unique aspects to her story that sets it apart. Bonnefoux's vampires are described as an alien species with unknown beginnings.

Melanie Bonnefoux is a first time author and a 'lover of things that go bump in the night.' She is currently working on a sequel to Blood and Mind. Please visit her website for more information http://www.bloodandmind.com

Rating:
Summary: fast paced murder mystery and sexy vamps
Review: Bonnefoux has started an addictive storyline here. Holly-Ann Feather is a reluctantly powerful empath (reluctance due to emotional abuse early on from mom) with a lot going on. Vampires have "come out" to the world and the ones in her vicinity have taken quite an interest in her, especially the sexiest and most dangerous dead guy, Lucien. This heats up as she's busily getting ready for midterms, doing extra research for a prof, dating a new guy (all-American cutiepie) , oh yeah, and murdered humans and vampires are showing up at an increasing rate. Bonnefoux takes you inside the head of this sarcastic college student with a lot on her mind. I can't wait for her next book!

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I have to say that I didn't know what I was getting into when I was handed this book, but it was a very pleasurable experience. While I am not a big fan of the writing style used by Ms. Bonnefoux, I was able to put my feeling aside because of her quick wit and easily accessible plot. The book went by quickly with each chapter flowing together like an established writer's would. For a first book, Ms. Bonnefoux should be commended for her fresh take of the supernatural/vampire world. I highly reccommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I'm not usually a vampire/supernatural book fan, but this one was excellent! Despite a few grammatical errors, I devoured (haha) this book within 2 hours. The plot was fast-paced and at times a bit gruesome (hey, it's my first time reading this type of book), yet it does have its share of romance and humor. Holly is a spunky, sarcastic, stubborn, but definitely likeable heroine. Being a student myself, I can totally empathize for her as she bemoans her Calculus class and the midterms... This is definitely a must-have - looking forward to reading more of Melanie Bonnefoux's books. A great start by a great new author!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I'm not usually a vampire/supernatural book fan, but this one was excellent! Despite a few grammatical errors, I devoured (haha) this book within 2 hours. The plot was fast-paced and at times a bit gruesome (hey, it's my first time reading this type of book), yet it does have its share of romance and humor. Holly is a spunky, sarcastic, stubborn, but definitely likeable heroine. Being a student myself, I can totally empathize for her as she bemoans her Calculus class and the midterms... This is definitely a must-have - looking forward to reading more of Melanie Bonnefoux's books. A great start by a great new author!

Rating:
Summary: Yo, Anita Blake Fans!
Review: If imitation is supposedly the sincerest form of flattery, then Laurell K. Hamilton has got to be flattered by Melanie Lee Bonnefoux's "Blood and Mind". I just finished reading it, and did enjoy it. For those of you craving an Anita Blake fix while waiting for the next book, this book would probably fill the bill, especially if you're into the vampire-human/human-human romance aspects of the Anitaverse.

Best way to describe the story would be to say "throw the Anitaverse into a blender and add a little Buffy". A lot of the scenarios are going to be *very* familiar to LKH's fans. In this world, laws have been recently passed making vampires legal - surprise! The main character is a female college student (with dark hair) who is an Empath with extraordinarily high PSI abilities. Naturally this makes her extremely attractive to the vampire Holder (read "Master") of the city, who is, of course, gorgeous, but who has a faint British (not French) accent. Sound vaguely familiar? She becomes his human "Companion" basically against her will and tries to resist her sexual attraction to him. Now, where have I read that before? Because of her abilities, she gets involved with a series of murders that are happening in the human and vampire communities, and surprise, surprise, winds up assisting a very tall detective on the case. She is self-assured, intelligent, easily aggravated, and emotionally locked-down. She differs from Anita Blake in that she hates her dead mother, because her mother always hated her because she was "different". Still, the "mother issue" is very familiar...

As I said, I liked the story, and would like to see a sequel to it. The story was fast-moving and interesting, and I really did like the characters. They were all different enough that they became their own persons as the story progressed. Be warned, though, that this is a first novel, issued through a non-mainline publishing house, so the copy editing is almost non-existent. The run-on sentences and punctuation errors alone almost drove me crazy (anyone ever hear of ending a question with a question mark?), and there were quite a few spelling errors (e.g. "cow tow" instead of "kowtow") which should have been caught.

Rating:
Summary: So much FUN!
Review: Melanie L. Bonnefoux's 'Blood and Mind' is SO MUCH FUN! A quick read that really packs a punch--it's full of mystery, violence and romance. Holly-Anne Feather is a thoroughly likeable character, and her chemistry with the lead vampire, Lucien, is hot. The mystery, although easily detected, holds some great twists...and the plot doozey at the end will make you wonder, how she came up with it. The book, published by a small house, has editing problems, that is my main criticism. But Bonnefoux's story is nearly flawless--lends itself to a sequel. This is a great, fun read.