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Mind Sweeper #2
The Fledgling
Book Two in the Mind Sweeper Series. This book is a novella at approximately 20,000 words.
A Mind Sweeper novella that peeks into Jean Luc Delacroix’s past. He has lived for centuries as a vampire, but the 1980’s may be his biggest challenge yet. How does a nearly four-hundred-year-old vampire survive a decade of shoulder pads, big hair, and music videos? Simple. Concentrate on his job.
Jean Luc and his demon partner, Misha, work for the Bureau of Supernatural Relations. Their task: keep humans from finding out about the supernatural. Not a simple thing to do when dead bodies keep turning up with their throats ripped out. So the team’s first priority is to stop a supernatural serial killer from striking again. The only problem is the beautiful bounty hunter who keeps interfering with the investigation.
Talia Walker is a bounty hunter who also happens to be a newly turned vampire. She deliberately avoids other supernaturals and knows nothing of what being a vampire truly means. Her job: find a murderer and bring him to justice. The problem is she has never dealt with a supernatural bounty before…or an overbearing, ridiculously sexy vampire.
When Jean Luc and Talia butt heads over the investigation, only Misha can see that their animosity has more to do with attraction than anger. And unless Jean Luc and Talia can set aside their troubled pasts and learn to trust each other, they may never have an opportunity to explore their true feelings. Especially when they come face to face with the killer.
Books in the Mind Sweeper Series:
Book 1 – Mind Sweeper
Book 2 – The Fledgling (A Novella)
Book 3 – Shifter Wars (coming late fall 2014)
A Mind Sweeper novella that peeks into Jean Luc Delacroix’s past. He has lived for centuries as a vampire, but the 1980’s may be his biggest challenge yet. How does a nearly four-hundred-year-old vampire survive a decade of shoulder pads, big hair, and music videos? Simple. Concentrate on his job.
Jean Luc and his demon partner, Misha, work for the Bureau of Supernatural Relations. Their task: keep humans from finding out about the supernatural. Not a simple thing to do when dead bodies keep turning up with their throats ripped out. So the team’s first priority is to stop a supernatural serial killer from striking again. The only problem is the beautiful bounty hunter who keeps interfering with the investigation.
Talia Walker is a bounty hunter who also happens to be a newly turned vampire. She deliberately avoids other supernaturals and knows nothing of what being a vampire truly means. Her job: find a murderer and bring him to justice. The problem is she has never dealt with a supernatural bounty before…or an overbearing, ridiculously sexy vampire.
When Jean Luc and Talia butt heads over the investigation, only Misha can see that their animosity has more to do with attraction than anger. And unless Jean Luc and Talia can set aside their troubled pasts and learn to trust each other, they may never have an opportunity to explore their true feelings. Especially when they come face to face with the killer.
Books in the Mind Sweeper Series:
Book 1 – Mind Sweeper
Book 2 – The Fledgling (A Novella)
Book 3 – Shifter Wars (coming late fall 2014)
116 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2014
About the author
A.E. Jones
25 books112 followersGrowing up a TV junkie, award winning author AE Jones oftentimes rewrote endings of episodes in her head when she didn’t like the outcome. She immersed herself in sci-fi and soap operas. But when Buffy hit the little screen she knew her true love was paranormal. Now she spends her nights weaving stories about all variation of supernatural—their angst and their humor. After all life is about both…whether you sport fangs or not.
AE won RWA’s Golden Heart® Award for her paranormal manuscript, Mind Sweeper, which also was a RWA RITA® finalist for both First Book and Paranormal Romance. AE was also a recipient of the Booksellers Best Award for her book, Sentinel Lost.
AE lives in Ohio surrounded by her eclectic family and friends who in no way resemble any characters in her books. Honest. Now her two cats are another story altogether.
AE won RWA’s Golden Heart® Award for her paranormal manuscript, Mind Sweeper, which also was a RWA RITA® finalist for both First Book and Paranormal Romance. AE was also a recipient of the Booksellers Best Award for her book, Sentinel Lost.
AE lives in Ohio surrounded by her eclectic family and friends who in no way resemble any characters in her books. Honest. Now her two cats are another story altogether.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 9, 2022
Vampy
The story of Jean Luc and Talia is sweet, action packed and leaves you with a bit of a cliff hanger (if you read the first book). Now I really need to know what happens, as I love Jean Luc and don't want to be upset at what "could be". Fun read
The story of Jean Luc and Talia is sweet, action packed and leaves you with a bit of a cliff hanger (if you read the first book). Now I really need to know what happens, as I love Jean Luc and don't want to be upset at what "could be". Fun read
October 7, 2024
A really entertaining read.
June 28, 2026
Second book in the series, but is a standalone story. You can read if you have not read the first one, but recommend that you do as it is good, and helps give a bit of background to Jean Luc and Misha. But, again, can read alone. Characters are good, but need a bit more oomph with the female. The love story is ok, but I know from reading the descriptions and having started the third book that it continues into book four. Good overall book, so I recommend, but you might consider if you want to do the next books for a complete overall look at the story. Note: all are available on Kindle Unlimited.
March 29, 2025
It was ok. There was a bit of backstory for Jean Luc (a bit). It was sort of an insta-love thing and I just didn't connect to Talia - the fmc. My guess is something similar for Misha will come up soon. It was a novella so not a ton of detail or much plot at all.
July 14, 2025
Good novella
This was a fun way to learn some of the background on Jean Luc and Misha, as well as a great introduction to Talia. What ever happened to her anyway? Hoping she’s be back soon
This was a fun way to learn some of the background on Jean Luc and Misha, as well as a great introduction to Talia. What ever happened to her anyway? Hoping she’s be back soon
July 20, 2018
Good short story
Gotta love these guys. They are strong powerful lovable creatures. Even the demon is irresistible. One-off to read the next installment.
Gotta love these guys. They are strong powerful lovable creatures. Even the demon is irresistible. One-off to read the next installment.
May 26, 2025
This was a fun quick read with great characters. Romance was interesting. No cliffhanger but a good ending. Bonus chapter on Deanna and baby was good. I’m looking forward to book 3 in this series.
August 9, 2025
another good one
The next book was as good as the first. Need to read the next book now though. I am enjoying this series of books.
The next book was as good as the first. Need to read the next book now though. I am enjoying this series of books.
June 10, 2026
I am usually not a fan of stories about vampires but this one was less about dominance and more about personal enlightenment.
July 3, 2024
This one is about the character of Jean Luc, the vampire. It feels like a plot fill-in for the series. I have to say, I'm not liking any of the female characters in this series. They're all extremely beautiful and not much other development.
October 16, 2014
Wonderful, Satisfying, Awesome!
AE Jones has done it again. She will make you laugh OUT LOUD at the antics of her supernatural crime fighting partners in this novella that explores the past of the edgy, sexy, French-accented vampire Jon Luc Delacroix that we adore so much from from Mind Sweeper. More importantly, she makes you beg for the next installment of her Mind Sweeper series which will be out in late fall of 2014.
We know from AE’s first book that the lonely Jon Luc (who wears his long dark hair tied back in a queue at the back of his neck, how hot is that?), who lost his wife and child centuries ago when he was first turned as a vampire, has had a great love. This novella is the exploration of that story.
Jon Luc and his partner, the endlessly hungry but large-hearted Russian demon Misha, meet a bounty hunter, Talia Walker, who is a fledgling vampire who was turned against her will. She trusts no one, not unlike Jon Luc. She is a kick-ass woman with a troubled past who can hold her own as she joins forces with these two supernaturals to keep humans safe from (and prevent them from finding out about) otherworldly troublemakers.
As they work together to search for a supernatural serial killer who is ripping out people’s throats, Jon Luc helps Talia understand and control her new and growing powers.
Can two lonely people—I mean vampires—with troubled pasts learn to trust again, even when they butt heads at every turn? And how long can they deny the attraction between them?
I cannot wait for the next book in this series. Misha and Jon Luc feel like my brothers. I care about them and worry about their love lives and I am dying to know what happened between the 1980’s and the present! I will be buying Shifter Wars the day it releases!
AE Jones has done it again. She will make you laugh OUT LOUD at the antics of her supernatural crime fighting partners in this novella that explores the past of the edgy, sexy, French-accented vampire Jon Luc Delacroix that we adore so much from from Mind Sweeper. More importantly, she makes you beg for the next installment of her Mind Sweeper series which will be out in late fall of 2014.
We know from AE’s first book that the lonely Jon Luc (who wears his long dark hair tied back in a queue at the back of his neck, how hot is that?), who lost his wife and child centuries ago when he was first turned as a vampire, has had a great love. This novella is the exploration of that story.
Jon Luc and his partner, the endlessly hungry but large-hearted Russian demon Misha, meet a bounty hunter, Talia Walker, who is a fledgling vampire who was turned against her will. She trusts no one, not unlike Jon Luc. She is a kick-ass woman with a troubled past who can hold her own as she joins forces with these two supernaturals to keep humans safe from (and prevent them from finding out about) otherworldly troublemakers.
As they work together to search for a supernatural serial killer who is ripping out people’s throats, Jon Luc helps Talia understand and control her new and growing powers.
Can two lonely people—I mean vampires—with troubled pasts learn to trust again, even when they butt heads at every turn? And how long can they deny the attraction between them?
I cannot wait for the next book in this series. Misha and Jon Luc feel like my brothers. I care about them and worry about their love lives and I am dying to know what happened between the 1980’s and the present! I will be buying Shifter Wars the day it releases!
December 29, 2014
"Fledgling," the second book in the "Mind Sweeper" series is a novella rather than a full blown novel and showcases the early days of the two supporting characters, Misha and Jean Luc. We get an up close and personal view of how Jean Luc lost his wife and son causing him to shut himself off from close relationships until he meets fledgling vampire, Talia.
Talia was turned into a vampire five years ago against her will by none other than a former boyfriend. The pain of this betrayal has kept her on the run avoiding the need to register with the bureau of paranormal; yet, her inexperience puts her in the direct line of sight of Jean Luc. When Jean Luc encounters the feisty Talia he decides to take her under his wing, teaching her the necessary information about being a vampire and hopefully keep her alive. Little does either of them know but they are both in for more than they bargained for.
This is a sweet little story the makes you love Jean Luc even more. His tenderness and concern for Talia is admirable. My only complaint is I felt as though I was left hanging in terms of how this past relationship between these characters transcend where they are today. Hopefully, book two will bring it all together.
Talia was turned into a vampire five years ago against her will by none other than a former boyfriend. The pain of this betrayal has kept her on the run avoiding the need to register with the bureau of paranormal; yet, her inexperience puts her in the direct line of sight of Jean Luc. When Jean Luc encounters the feisty Talia he decides to take her under his wing, teaching her the necessary information about being a vampire and hopefully keep her alive. Little does either of them know but they are both in for more than they bargained for.
This is a sweet little story the makes you love Jean Luc even more. His tenderness and concern for Talia is admirable. My only complaint is I felt as though I was left hanging in terms of how this past relationship between these characters transcend where they are today. Hopefully, book two will bring it all together.
October 15, 2014
A E Jones latest The Fledgling is the perfect amuse-bouche to hold us over until the next installment of the Mind Sweeper series.
This novella set in the 80’s follows Jean Luc Delacroix, a sexy four hundred-year-old vampire and his TV loving demon partner Misha. Their work with the BSR (Bureau of Supernatural Relations) is to protect and keep humans from finding out about the supernatural.
Jean Luc’s perfect little world is rocked when smoldering bounty hunter and newly turned vampire Talia Walker shows up. Together they must find a supernatural killer that is ripping out the throats of his victims.
A E has created a fantastic character with Talia. I hope we haven’t seen the last of her. Any woman that can holder her own with a bossy, uber sexy vampire gets my vote!
This novella set in the 80’s follows Jean Luc Delacroix, a sexy four hundred-year-old vampire and his TV loving demon partner Misha. Their work with the BSR (Bureau of Supernatural Relations) is to protect and keep humans from finding out about the supernatural.
Jean Luc’s perfect little world is rocked when smoldering bounty hunter and newly turned vampire Talia Walker shows up. Together they must find a supernatural killer that is ripping out the throats of his victims.
A E has created a fantastic character with Talia. I hope we haven’t seen the last of her. Any woman that can holder her own with a bossy, uber sexy vampire gets my vote!
October 12, 2014
This novella came hot on the tails of the first installment of the Mind Sweeper series. That being said, I liked the look we got into Jean Luc's character. It really gave a good background to his protectiveness of Kyle and even Misha. Talia was a great character, kicking ass and taking no snark from Jean Luc without giving it right back. I liked that in this novella we get a dual-character narration from both Jean Luc and Talia's POV for that reason. In the first novel, I think a little more of Joe's insight would've given it a little boost. Hopefully, we get another novella about him and maybe even Misha! I'll be reading whatever the author comes out with next!
April 27, 2015
Interesting backstory to a secondary character in the series. Would have liked it to be longer and more than a novella.
June 7, 2015
If you've read Mind Sweeper, you'll love this quick insight into vampire Jean Luc.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews