Human Blend

Jun 21, 2011 Gigi777 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

Laney/Julie is a beautiful young woman with extraordinary gifts that set her apart from others. The mystery as to how or why she came to possess these special abilities is yet to be uncovered. Haunted by terrible flashbacks and memories of suffering at the hands of her captors, she moves to a small Virginia town hoping to start a new life. But will she find peace without ever looking over her shoulder again?

Upon her arrival Julie is befriended by an irresistible young man, Austin. His biggest dr...more Laney/Julie is a beautiful young woman with extraordinary gifts that set her apart from others. The mystery as to how or why she came to possess these special abilities is yet to be uncovered. Haunted by terrible flashbacks and memories of suffering at the hands of her captors, she moves to a small Virginia town hoping to start a new life. But will she find peace without ever looking over her shoulder again?

Upon her arrival Julie is befriended by an irresistible young man, Austin. His biggest dream is to leave his mother's business, attend college and become a teacher. Ignoring the warnings of her inner voice, Julie continues to see Austin while he is developing abilities similar to her own. Things now become dangerous. He sees that she is special and running from something, his only desire is to protect her.

At the hospital where Julie works as a hospice volunteer, she meets Eli, an alluring surgeon dedicated to his work harboring secrets of his own. One evening he observes Julie using her special gift with a child patient suffering from an awful disease. Eli becomes instantly mesmerized by Julie. He also learns that she is trying to get away from a frightening past and wants to help her. Julie is now equally drawn to both men. Who will she choose? With each encounter I was glued to the pages with anticipation as to what would happen next.

Julie meets an intern who may have all the answers to the questions that have been plaguing her. It's this revelation knowledge that hits her new life like a cyclone and any thoughts of going on the run are once again brought to a dead stop when her captors find her. Oh, but this is not the end... not by a long shot!

Ms. Pescatore pens a thrilling debut novel full of many exciting characters bringing together those from a modern day small town and mixing them with a world of the supernatural. Each is well developed, plays an important role and is needed to give the story its feel and added depth. I admired Julie for her strength and courage and Austin for his support and protection. Eli was intriguing and I found myself rooting for him as well. The triangle that envelopes Julie is quite fascinating. The dialogue flowed smoothly and was quite easy to read. There were some minor editing issues, but they did not detract from the story in the least. The plot was solid and kept me interested the entire way through.

I would highly recommend this entertaining tale to readers looking for a fresh new take on the supernatural world combined with lots of twists and turns and great suspense. Ms. Pescatore is a fine up and coming author and definitely someone to watch out for.

Review written by
Gina (Gigi) Lupo
Paranormal Romance Guild (less)

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Dec 22, 2010 Moonlight Gleam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Laney escapes from a life where she has been used by others for their own personal gain. Having escaped as far away as possible, Laney, now Julie Miller, finally gets to experience the life she never had before. She is immediately befriended by two individuals; Austin, a teen who soon becomes more than just a friend, and Eli, a doctor who is fascinated and intrigued by her supernatural abilities. She finds a job as a volunteer at a local hospital and develops numerous great relationships, howeve...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Jennifer (Fictitious Musings) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Laney's gifts have her running scared from a man that uses her to benefit his pocket book. After creating a new identity, which she calls Julie Miller, she starts fresh in the small town of Marion, Virgina. Her only hope is that she will finally be safe.

Battling the darkness of her past and the many questions she has about herself, she sets out to live a normal life. Right away she meets Austin, who shows her around Marion. She gets a volunteer job at the local hospital, reuniting with her passi...more

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Feb 02, 2011 Shy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, books-i-own, on-kindle, genre_speculative-paranormal

A runaway with special abilities. A young girl with a difficult life. An unfortunate child with a dark, mysterious past. This is a story of a girl named Laney, who arrives at a small town in Virginia, bearing a new identity as “Julie Miller”, in hope that she will stand a chance to start a brand new life and experience some levels of normalcy. Despite her own fear that everything she feels will just be temporary, she cannot help being attracted to a local college student, Austin Dorsett, and the...more A runaway with special abilities. A young girl with a difficult life. An unfortunate child with a dark, mysterious past. This is a story of a girl named Laney, who arrives at a small town in Virginia, bearing a new identity as “Julie Miller”, in hope that she will stand a chance to start a brand new life and experience some levels of normalcy. Despite her own fear that everything she feels will just be temporary, she cannot help being attracted to a local college student, Austin Dorsett, and their relationship blooms almost instantly. Her new job as a volunteer in a local hospital attracts the attention of Dr. Eli Elsworth, a doctor who bears huge secrets of his own and also the only one who witnessed the thing that Julie is capable of doing. As Julie starts enjoying her new life, troubles seek her again, though with them come several revelations that may shatter her own beliefs. Can she handle the truth, knowing that she is not the person she always thinks she is?

Human Blend may seem like many other paranormal books out there but there is a little something about this book that makes it unique. The author, Lori Pescatore, has brought forward new types of paranormal and mysterious species, adding on something rather refreshing into the paranormal world that she created. However, I do believe that readers would benefit more if she explains in a much greater detail about these creatures and the mythology in this book rather than making us wait for the next chapter in the series. Nonetheless, the special abilities possess by each of them are indeed intriguing and I find myself being quite curious as to what else that they are capable of doing.

The characters that the author introduced in this book all come with distinct personalities. I have to admit that I did not feel much towards Julie despite every hardship that she had went through. She is described as a strong-willed, independent person but the way she reacts tells me otherwise. While I can understand that she was badly affected by her past, I cannot fathom the way she suddenly gets panicked and has the desire to runaway a few times and then can be immediately calm down after a word or two from the guys she is with. This shows that she actually needs others to hold her through the ordeals that she is dealing with or else she is going to break. The supporting characters seem to capture my interest more in this book like Eli, the protective doctor, and a mysterious, manipulative character named Percone. Hope that these two characters will be explored even more in the next instalment in the series.

All in all, Human Blend is a good enough read that it keeps me reading till the final page. However, I have to say that I did not feel really attach to the characters nor the storyline of this book and I strongly feel that more concrete explanation and details are needed to make it interesting. There are also some technical and editing issues that I came across while reading the book like typos and the transition from one character's viewpoint to the next that is not being done swiftly. Though if you are not picky about these, I don’t think it’ll prohibit you from enjoying the book. Like I said earlier on, Human Blend does have a unique and interesting concept. So as a new author, Lori Pescatore deserves a round of applause for her effort in bringing something new to the community.

Taken from my book blog: The Bibliophile's Journal
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Jan 30, 2011 Julie Smith (Knitting and Sundries) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Laney looks 16, but is quite a bit older .. you see, she does not age normally. She also has remarkable abilities - the ability to heal and the ability to foresee numbers. The latter ability makes her very valuable to the men who forcibly took her from her father at a young age and have held her ever since.

Now she has escaped them, and in her new life as Julie Miller, an 18-year-old, she finds herself in Marion, Virginia, where she meets a boy named Austin Dorsett, and gets a volunteer position...more Laney looks 16, but is quite a bit older .. you see, she does not age normally. She also has remarkable abilities - the ability to heal and the ability to foresee numbers. The latter ability makes her very valuable to the men who forcibly took her from her father at a young age and have held her ever since.

Now she has escaped them, and in her new life as Julie Miller, an 18-year-old, she finds herself in Marion, Virginia, where she meets a boy named Austin Dorsett, and gets a volunteer position at a local hospital.

Can she keep the men who are after her from finding her? Why is she so attracted to Eli Ellsworth, a senior doctor at the hospital? What are the hazy memories of when she was first abducted trying to tell her? Are there others like her?

As Laney tries to live her new, normal life, is her past is catching up to her? Will she be able to outrun it, or is she placing her new friends in danger as well?

There were some editing issues, although, as a whole, they didn't take too much away from the story. As this is a YA book, I was somewhat taken aback at the physical relationships that seemed to move far too quickly for me. Although an explanation for this eventually appears, I would have felt more comfortable if it had appeared earlier.

I loved this plot concept, and Laney's character (known as Julie through most of the narrative) was compelling. I loved her instinct for healing, even though it meant that she had to take the pain of the sickness she was healing inside of her for a while; the selflessness she showed in doing so was wonderful and endearing. As this is the first in a planned trilogy, I think we will see a bit more character development in the secondary characters; I never really understood how the "bad guys" came to meet Laney or her father or how they knew of her abilities - these are two things I'm looking forward to finding out.

All in all, I liked this read; although it didn't grab me from the start, I eventually found myself pulled into the plot and felt so much sympathy for Laney and for the life she had been forced to lead.

As with all of the YA books that come in for review, I gave this one to Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn to read, and she blew through it in less than a day. She said, "Well, she's a pretty fast girl" (speaking of the physicality), but she also said, "I understood more later, and I really liked it ... can I loan it to Jasmine (her bf) to read?", which is high praise, since she only wants her friends to read the books that she really likes.

BOOK RATING:

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars(less)

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Apr 11, 2011 Shari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading Laney's story was like being on a roller coaster. One minute I was in happy, love land with her and the next I was on edge worried about who was after her. I was suspicious of every new character she met and I just knew someone was going to pop out to get her at anytime. When she strolls into town she immediately draws the attention of Austin a local boy in the small town of Marion and they quickly become involved. Sometimes when a couple forms quickly in a book like this it really bothe...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Faye rated it 4 of 5 stars

'Human Blend' was so much more than I anticipated it to be. I loved the Characters (for the most part) and the storyline was consistent, engaging, and it made sense. As with all books and characters, there will probably be something you like and something you don't like. The only problem I had with any character in this book was Laney. She can be a bit much sometimes haha. But she is still a GREAT character.

'Human Blend' is the story of Laney who runs away from these terrible people and attempts...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ever since Laney was a little girl , she has had powers and once others develop an awareness , it's not safe for her anymore. This part reminded me a bit of Smallville when they put the boy who Clark Kent befriended in Season One in an institution as of course , people with special powers are seen as abnormalities. When Laney decides enough is enough, she decides to escape to the smalltown of Marion, Virginia "Home of Mountain Dew" . All set with cash and a new identity as Julie Miller, she is s...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Tamela Quijas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I stumbled across a stunning new author by the name of Lori Pescatore. Ms. Pescatore wrote Human Blend, an enthralling sci-fi/paranormal novel. Fast paced and thrilling, Human Blend centers on Laney and the secrets of her past, which is horrifying. Changing her name to Julie, she has an extraordinary gift that sets her apart from those in her world, as well as a past that makes her seek comfort in the shadows on a small town in Virginia.

Life is never simple though, especially when Julie meets A...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Bonnie at A Backwards Story rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fantasy

Just when everyone starts grousing that paranormal has been done to death and there's nothing else to explore, along comes something new. Human Blend by Lori Pescatore introduces a new breed of supernatural being to readers, one that's fresh, exciting, and unique. Pescatore builds suspense over what kind of beings her characters are by delaying full revelations until later in the novel.

Human Blend starts with an eighteen-year-old named Laney on the run. While not really eighteen, she ages slowly...more Just when everyone starts grousing that paranormal has been done to death and there's nothing else to explore, along comes something new. Human Blend by Lori Pescatore introduces a new breed of supernatural being to readers, one that's fresh, exciting, and unique. Pescatore builds suspense over what kind of beings her characters are by delaying full revelations until later in the novel.

Human Blend starts with an eighteen-year-old named Laney on the run. While not really eighteen, she ages slowly, so she's actually older than she appears. Kidnapped as a child, she's been used and abused for years due to her special abilities. She's always been good at seeing numbers, making it easy to predict things like lottery numbers and horse race winners, making her valuable to the men who want her back after she makes her escape. Disguising herself as "Julie Miller," she begins to reinvent herself in a small town in Virginia, where the men chasing after her can never find her...or so she thinks.

Early on, she meets a college student named Austin, who introduces her to the area. It isn't long before the two are involved in a serious relationship with one another. Julie's nervous, though; everyone she ever lets into her life winds up getting hurt due to the fact that they know her thanks to the men she's hiding from and her unwanted powers. To complicate matters even more, Julie finds herself attracted to Dr. Eli Elsworth, who works at the local hospital she volunteers at. In addition to being good with numbers, Julie is also a healer. Not only that, there's more to Eli than meets the eye as well. He knows about Julie's abilities and wants her helping out at the hospital. The two have remarkable chemistry, but both attempt to hide from it due to Julie's relationship with Austin.

The novel picks up speed once Pescatore lays out her world. The second half of the book is full of action and suspense. There are parts that are true nail-biters, and when Human Blend reaches its conclusion, readers are left wanting to know what happens next, especially with the introduction of new characters leading up to the next story arc. The second book is scheduled to be released later this spring, the second in a trilogy. Throughout the novel, I had a few questions regarding backstory and how these characters became what them are. I wanted to know more about what happened before Laney/Julie arrived in Virginia. Luckily, the second book will begin as a prequel with all of the events leading up to Human Blend before moving forward to "current day."

Human Blend started out as a Smashwords novel. It can be bought digitally for nook, Kindle, etc. for the low price of $2.99. The book is also available in paperback at your local bookstore, though it may need to be special-ordered. The early edition of the book has a few typos and inconsistencies, but nothing that can't be overlooked once the story takes over. While marketed as a teen book, be warned that this title is for older teens and adults. It has both sexuality and violence in it and shouldn't be presented to anyone not mature enough to handle such themes.(less)

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Jan 18, 2011 Ellz Readz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My thoughts...Author Lori Pescatore is a fresh face in the world of paranormal authors. She introduces readers to an exciting new world of mysterious beings.

Human Blend is a very original story of a girl who is hiding from her past. The heroine Laney, changes her identity and tries to make a new life in a small town in Virgina. Unfortunately for her, this is not as easy as it sounds.

Laney has the special ability to heal illness and pain in others. Her character is very multi-dimensional. I not...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Stacey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-reviewed, reviewed-on-the-blog

I have learned that some great stories come in the form of self published material. This would be one of them.

Human Blend is the story of Julia, otherwise known as Laney in her previous settings, and her struggle to be normal. With abilities that far surpass that of a normal human she knows she is different despite her lack of knowledge about her true capabilities or her origin.

Laney finds a fresh start as Julia after she finds herself wanting to settle in a small town. She has a rule of not ge...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Laurie Jenkins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Paranormal Fans, Young Adult readers

Recommended to Laurie by: Author Blurb on Amazon Conversation thread

Shelves: paranormal, romance, suspense, aliens, kindle

An Entertaining Paranormal Suspense
4 STARS

I recently ran across the blurb for this book on one of the Amazon conversation threads. The story concept was appealing and I was looking for a light, fun read with a little romance and a little mystery. Julie, the protagonist, is a special young woman who has some very special abilities. As the book opens she has just moved into a new town, is scared, but determined to make a new life for herself. She had recently managed an escape from the thugs who h...more An Entertaining Paranormal Suspense
4 STARS

I recently ran across the blurb for this book on one of the Amazon conversation threads. The story concept was appealing and I was looking for a light, fun read with a little romance and a little mystery. Julie, the protagonist, is a special young woman who has some very special abilities. As the book opens she has just moved into a new town, is scared, but determined to make a new life for herself. She had recently managed an escape from the thugs who had kept her captive since she was a small child. Certainly, she has every reason to be cautious and concerned.

As the story progresses, the author gives us glimpses into Julie’s past letting us relive some of those experiences through Julie’s recollections. Abused and mistreated by her captors for years, Julie struggles with questions of her personal identity. She feels isolated but is concerned she will put others at risk if she allows herself the luxury of friendships. After all, this is not her first escape and she vividly recalls the unhappy consequences of another earlier attempt. However, she has a spunky spirit, is a kind person and others just naturally seem to be drawn to her. She makes new friends and accepts a volunteer job at the community hospital where she feels she can use her gifts to ease the suffering and illnesses of others.

The author has a talent for creating unusual characters. Most of the secondary characters seem compelled to want to assist or protect the beautiful Julie though they each have their own agendas and reasons for doing so. The relationships become more tangled as the story moves along and for me that helped make this novel a more rewarding reading experience.

I enjoyed the story and loved the author’s conceptualizations of the various paranormals and alien beings. It easily held my attention and I hope there will be another book with characters like these. I think Julie is a likable person and I'd love to see her mature a bit and learn to better control (at least sometimes) her remarkable abilities. But that's just me, I really like to see us girls kick ass!
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Mar 31, 2012 Larissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 STARS: A great read, I definitely recommend.
Human Blend really grabbed my attention from the beginning. It is very fast paced and the plot takes many twists and turns. I had no idea what was going to happen next! The main character, Laney, who changes her name to Julie, is seeking the normal life she never had, but ends up uncovering more mysteries about herself and the doctor she befriends than she could have imagined. Besides the fact that there was a lot of information about Laney/Julie’s l...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Human Blend was a little more sci-fi than I usually read. However, it caught my attention from the very beginning and there was never a point where my attention was lost. Laney/Julie, the heroine, is being hunted by the "bad guys" who kidnapped her as a child and used her special abilities for their own ends. She makes her way to small town Marion, VA where she meets some strange yet interesting characters, Eli, a doctor without a heartbeat, Marcus, another doctor who seems to be just like her a...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Cynthia (A Blog about Nothing) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review posted on http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/

2.5 Stars-

From the beginning Human Blend seemed very interesting and original. I was really enjoying the story and I liked the main character a lot, but it kind of changed for me about four chapters in. It became a little bit of a struggle to get used to the writing, it changed from just one point of view to several all of a sudden. I found that even though the storyline intrigued me I kept getting distracted by little flaws in the writing here and...more Review posted on http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/

2.5 Stars-

From the beginning Human Blend seemed very interesting and original. I was really enjoying the story and I liked the main character a lot, but it kind of changed for me about four chapters in. It became a little bit of a struggle to get used to the writing, it changed from just one point of view to several all of a sudden. I found that even though the storyline intrigued me I kept getting distracted by little flaws in the writing here and there, some of the sentences didn't really make sense to me.

I thought Julie (the MC) might be one of those strong female heroines, she seemed very mature at the beginning, but she changes all of a sudden and becomes whiny, childish and stubborn, I was surprised she didn't stomp her foot a couple of times through the story. She became more of a damsel in distress through the whole novel, and I was a little disappointed in that. I really didn't feel a lot of the romance in this one, it just felt like they rushed right into it and more like an infatuation or lust. It only took about a day for Julie to have an intimate relationship with one of the guys, but even then she seemed to be attracted to someone else, and that was a little irritating.

What kept me flipping the pages and actually finishing the book was the curiosity I had to find out what Julie really was. I really did enjoy the originality of it, the main character had this really amazing ability of healing others and herself also seeing numbers and predicting wins. I loved that she wanted to do good and use her powers to heal the sick while volunteering in a hospital.

I liked the mystery of not knowing what she really was, it kept me wondering and guessing but unable to figure it out until it's all explained towards the end. I also enjoyed the addition of some other paranormals that come into Julie's life and seem to have some surprising abilities of their own. The ending definitely leaves room for a sequel, not with a cliffhanger ending but one that seemed more of a beginning of a new journey. If you enjoy paranormal novels for older YA readers, with mystery and a bit of sexual tension then you might like Human Blend.
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Dec 21, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-i-own, for-review, signed-author-copy

Giving away an author signed copy to readers ages 18 and older here http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/2...

3.5 stars

I have really mixed feelings about this book. From the beginning the relationships seemed WAY too rushed until you find out a little tidbit of info. near the end. However, there were several points during my read that I almost put the book away and didn't finish due to content. I really wouldn't want my teen reading this book. While pitched as YA fiction with 18 year old main cha...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Kathy Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an exciting and engaging story about a young woman on the run. She had been taken from her father when she was very young and raised by criminals because of her unusual powers. You see, Laney can heal by touch and she can see numbers - lottery numbers, safe combinations, the next number on the roulette wheel, etc. Seeing numbers makes her captors rich. They will do anything to keep control of her including killing anyone she befriends - horribly and right in front of her. Luke is her ma...more This was an exciting and engaging story about a young woman on the run. She had been taken from her father when she was very young and raised by criminals because of her unusual powers. You see, Laney can heal by touch and she can see numbers - lottery numbers, safe combinations, the next number on the roulette wheel, etc. Seeing numbers makes her captors rich. They will do anything to keep control of her including killing anyone she befriends - horribly and right in front of her. Luke is her main captor and a more scary, sociopath would be hard to imagine. We get to see way too much of him for our comfort both in Julie's memories and in the exciting events of this story.

I don't know where she gets the courage to run. But when we meet Laney she is on the run. She reinvents herself as Julie Miller and tries to find a place in a small Eastern town. She looks no more than sixteen and she is beautiful. She is going to say that she is eighteen so that she can be considered an adult though she is actually older than that. Almost the first person she meets in the town is Austin. He is eighteen. They fall for each other - Laney (Julie) reluctantly; Austin wholeheartedly. He introduces her to his friends and they go on a series of dates that are all new experiences for Julie.

Julie also gets a job as a volunteer at a local hospital where she can use her healing gift. There she meets Dr. Eli Elsworth who has secrets of his own. He quickly recognizes that Julie is different and special and he is attracted to her too. Julie is also hit on by a couple of Austin's friends - Mark and his brother Neil. You see one other thing Julie does is cast out some sort of psychic Lure that draws men to her. She doesn't even know she is doing it.

When a new intern - Marcus - comes to town, he recognizes her as another like him. They are Human Blends which are aliens from another planet who are made by combining their DNA with human DNA. Marcus knows so many of the things Julie has been wondering about all her life but he is an extremely annoying character. He is thoughtless, cocky, rude, and abrupt.

Things really come to a head and excitement peaks when the men Julie is on the run from find her again. So many secrets are revealed and so many questions are answered. But so many questions remain. I hope they are answered in the second book of this series - Earth Blend.

At first I thought that Julie was too good to be true - beautiful, able to heal, could be rich without work. But I soon came to like her. She has a good heart and good instincts but she is definitely damaged by the mistreatment of her captors. Both Austin and Eli are interesting male characters and I can see Julie's conflict in choosing between them.

I recommend this story to readers who like paranormal romances and adventure. This one was packed with excitement. It also had a number of unusual characters not usually seen in YA paranormal fiction.
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Nov 19, 2011 The Pen & Muse added it · review of another edition

Young Adult is one of my favorite genres to read because just like romance there are so many great authors with great stories. Pescatore brings that with her Blend series and I was fortunate to read the two in the series. The first book in the series, Human Blend follows Julie/Laney is a beautiful young woman with extraordinary gifts that set her apart from others. The mystery as to how or why she came to possess these special abilities is yet to be uncovered. Julie suffers from terrible flashba...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Anaiz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-on-blog, own

Laney (or Julia as she goes by to protect her identity) is on the run. She just wants a normal life after she spent many years with evil men who used her abilities for their own benefit. As soon as she arrives in town she meets Austin, he is sweet and chivalrous towards her. They hit it off immediately, at first I thought it was just too fast to be realistic. Towards the end of the book however, I changed my mind, I think there were other ah *forces* at hand. Then we meet my favorite character,...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Kiki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was hooked early with the underlying, back story suspense which began on page one. Then, I became simply enthralled with the characters and the present mystery surrounding them all while hints of the back story continued to rear its ugly head.

For most of the book, the paranormal elements were so subtle, yet completely understood. I believe the settings had a lot to do with that early on. Eventually, Ms. Pescatore let me in on exactly what the characters were, and I am not too proud to admit t...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Natasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: genetics

This book had a catchy title, a promising synopsis, and an interesting promise of science and healing. The major problem, however, was the writing.

Had this book been written by a more mature writer, I would have raved and gushed over it. As it is now, however, I am reluctant to buy its sequel because I cringed as I made my way through the pages. Much of the book was telling instead of showing, with choppy sentence structure, characters that were so close to being rounded that it made you cringe...more This book had a catchy title, a promising synopsis, and an interesting promise of science and healing. The major problem, however, was the writing.

Had this book been written by a more mature writer, I would have raved and gushed over it. As it is now, however, I am reluctant to buy its sequel because I cringed as I made my way through the pages. Much of the book was telling instead of showing, with choppy sentence structure, characters that were so close to being rounded that it made you cringe with the promise of it all, and terrible dialogue.

The writing would not be an issue if it was a middle grade book. However, it is most definitely not a middle grade book what with the amount of cursing and the adult circumstances dealt with called for a higher caliber of storytelling. I can overlook the semantics of a book if the plot is especially riveting and engaging, but it just wasn't and I had a hard time ignoring the flat "He said", "She said", and "He thought". Hardly engaging dialogue words, to say the least.

The other main problem, though not quite as prominent as the writing, is the fact that the perspective changes so frequently and unexpectedly that it throws you for a loop. You're reading about one character and mid-thought you're reading about another character. Then you double take, make sure you haven't just read the entirety of the scene with the wrong character in mind, and you get lost.

Being a scientist, I also have a problem with the "biology" portion of this book. It's hard to explain this without spoiling anything, but you go through the book thinking one thing and, out of the blue, the conclusion is totally different, a very illogical jump with nothing solid to back it up. That was completely frustrating to me and I wanted to shake the author and plead for better transitions and science. It's fine and dandy to create your own laws, but at least make them more consistent. The law of physics can be 'bent', but there's a (mostly) reasonable explanation as to why. Pescatore's laws always clashed with each other and often cancelled each other out.

I gave this book three stars because of its promise, but honestly I don't recommend reading it unless you have high hopes and are able to silence the writer portion of your brain.(less)

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Jan 24, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Julie as a character was really fun to read. She was a strong girl with a strong personality and knew how to take care of her self. She also had a love for helping people which I thought was great. With everything going on in her life all she wanted to do was lead a normal life and help the people around her.

When Julie comes to the town of Marion, she never intended to meet Austin. He immediately is drawn to Julie. As Austin and Julie become friends, it becomes apparent to Julie that she is gett...more Julie as a character was really fun to read. She was a strong girl with a strong personality and knew how to take care of her self. She also had a love for helping people which I thought was great. With everything going on in her life all she wanted to do was lead a normal life and help the people around her.

When Julie comes to the town of Marion, she never intended to meet Austin. He immediately is drawn to Julie. As Austin and Julie become friends, it becomes apparent to Julie that she is getting to close to Austin. Even though she knows she needs to distance her self from him, she seems to be doing the complete opposite.

I liked Austins character, he was that sweet boy next door type. He was caring and wanted to make Julie feel special throughout the book. We see him doing all types of sweet things for Julie that would give any girl the worm fuzzies.

When Julie goes to the local Hospital to do volunteer work she meets the Eli the resident Doctor. He immediately knows her is not all human and he wants to know her secret. Julie shortly finds out that Eli isn't entirely human either. As Eli and Julie learn more about each other, they start to have feelings for one another.

I absolutely loved Eli's character, he was a protector. He wanted to help Julie at all costs and does everything he can for her. He was kind and caring but also knew when to lay down the law. As Eli and Jules relationship progresses, Julie is faced with the choice of what direction to take.

Without giving too much away, I will say this, Human Blend was a great story with mythological beings that we are introduced to that are pretty uncommon in the YA scene today. I loved the uniques story and the great relationships that were introduced.

Overall I really enjoyed Human Blend. I do feel the characters could have been described in a bit more detail. The visual details were a bit vague(hair color, and eyes) I am a very visual reader and I wish I had a better sense of who I was reading about. Other than that I really loved it. I am really looking forward to more from Lori Pescatore and am hoping that there is a sequel to Human Blend and it comes out soon!
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Jan 19, 2011 Kelsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, science-fiction, fantasy, romance

Holy smokes! So didn't see the ending of this book coming!!

Laney escapes to Marion, Virginia in hopes of leading a new life and changes her name to Julie. She can't remember a time when she hasn't been in captivity of people who uses her abilities to heal and pick winning numbers for their own good. She meets Austin right away and for me, IMO, the relationship gets serious too fast. She also decides to volunteer at the local hospital and ends up attracting the attention of Dr. Eli Elsworth (who...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Candace (Lovey Dovey Books) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Human Blend was so intriguing. I was wrapped up in it as soon as the story started. All the characters were well developed and fun to read about.

Julie was so amazing. Who would think that a girl trying to run away from her past would still have the capacity to care for other people. Her experiences didn't hold her back from making her own new life and this made her a wonderful lead.

I really loved Eli too. His protectiveness was endearing to me and he had such great chemistry with Julie. Austin w...more

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Aug 26, 2010 T. Tolles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Definitely

Recommended to T. by: Author herself

Human Blend sucks you into its Sci Fi/Fantasy roller coaster ride

You are in for a treat that will have you reeling from this suspenseful adventure ride. You'll find yourself rooting for the scared and emotionally wounded heroine Laney/Julie and be enthralled by the love triangle that envelopes her. On one corner she has the lovable grounded Austin and in the other, and on the other handsome mysterious doctor. How will she ever choose? I adored them both.

Throw in some gangster thugs, and flashbac...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Mareena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who likes paranormal mysteries

Recommended to Mareena by: Lori Pescatore

When Laney escapes her captors, she runs to Marion, Virginia, hoping to escape an abusive childhood and trying to find any family that she may have left. She is older than she looks - about 18 in human years - can see numbers and is a healer. She begins work in the local hospital and generally lies low until she meets Austin and the dour Dr. Eli Elsworth. Now known as Julie Miller, she doesn't have any idea that she is being followed by her captors and when the murders start she attempts to shun...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Ivy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Human Blend is a type of book that I would never thought of reading because it is different from what I usually read. However, I gave this book a chance and LOVED it!

Laney has been running away from the guys that had captured her for a long time. She is now on the loose, so she changes her name to a Julie Miller to try to live a “normal” life. But how normal is she when she can do things not many people could do?

Laney has some special powers she was borned with. She knew little of what she could...more Human Blend is a type of book that I would never thought of reading because it is different from what I usually read. However, I gave this book a chance and LOVED it!

Laney has been running away from the guys that had captured her for a long time. She is now on the loose, so she changes her name to a Julie Miller to try to live a “normal” life. But how normal is she when she can do things not many people could do?

Laney has some special powers she was borned with. She knew little of what she could do and no one was able to explain it to her because she was taken from her father when she was young. She was told to find an Uncle G that will explain everything to her and keep her safe. It was hard for Laney because she was captured and she had to do things that she didn’t want to do told by the men who captured her, otherwise, she will get hurt, physically.

I really like Laney because I think she is smart and strong. It’s just the fact that the men have more power over her because Laney had a special ability that everyone would like to have. I like that she likes to help people and she helps people when she has the chance to. She is a caring person. She cares deeply about the people around her and the people who try to help her even though those people have been killed in the past.

She tries to runaway and changes her name to Julie Miller, hoping that the men would not find her again.

She meets a guy, Austin, who she really likes. They get very close to each other and are involved together. She thought she could finally have a relationship… She also meets a doctor who tries really hard to keep her safe. And he does try really hard. She also gets involve with him because of a lure she gives off. I get confused between who Julie really likes because it seems like she likes both, Austin and the doctor. I like her liking both guys. I don’t have a problem with her liking either of them. But who likes a two-timer, right? I don’t know who I would want Julie or Laney to really be in a relationship with.

The ending is really good. It makes me feel like I am part of a police chase. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole book. There wasn't anything I didn't like.

Lori did a wonderful job with Human Blend. She makes me not be afraid to try new genres of books to read. Excellent story and a must-read! I cannot wait for the sequel to this book, Earth Blend!

(But I am kind of dying for more Julie/Laney and Austin!!)(less)

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Dec 20, 2010 Yvonne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did not know what to think going into this book. The book has an interesting cover and a unique plot that keep me interested.

Human Blend is about Laney (Julie) who has a combination of unusual abilities. She was kidnapped as a child so she’s never been taught how to use her abilities, where they came from, or exactly what they are. All she knows is to do whatever she is told to stay alive. She has tried several times to escape, but each time they find her, anyone that has come in contact with...more I did not know what to think going into this book. The book has an interesting cover and a unique plot that keep me interested.

Human Blend is about Laney (Julie) who has a combination of unusual abilities. She was kidnapped as a child so she’s never been taught how to use her abilities, where they came from, or exactly what they are. All she knows is to do whatever she is told to stay alive. She has tried several times to escape, but each time they find her, anyone that has come in contact with her or tried to help her in anyway end up dead.

Human Blend is another good book that kept me wondering what would happen next. It has romance, action, a little bit of paranormal mixed with science fiction and fantasy.

I immediately liked Laney and felt her pain of wanting to fit in and just be normal. She was young and naïve so she naturally she sucked at fitting in. Her first mistake was choosing a small town where everyone knew each other and someone new would easily stand out. She also had that vibe where anyone that came in contact with her never forgot meeting her. Besides being beautiful and super sweet, her vibe drew people to her and made them take notice. At times, that vibe drew unwanted attention, but in the end, it provided her with the protection that she desperately needed.

The love triangle kept me frustrated because I couldn’t decide who I wanted Laney to end up with. Austin was the sweet, romantic guy next door that she easily fell for. But knowing her past might catch up with her at any moment, she could never be completely honest with him and tell him about her life because there was no way he’d ever understand. She also didn’t want him to get hurt.

Then there was Eli, the handsome doctor with secrets of his own. He had a way of seeing right through Laney’s lies and making her trust him enough to share. I have to admit, when Eli was introduced, all I could think about was Dr. Cullen from Twilight. Weird, but the mysterious doctor had vampire written all over him, or so I thought. I had him pegged all wrong, but I enjoyed finding out about him and the other not so human characters in this book.

Another character that I liked was Marcus. He was also a mysterious and a little too blunt with his words. All of his scenes were memorable and funny as hell. (less)

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Mar 16, 2012 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nook, lendable

To be honest, I shouldn't be giving this 4 stars. I have serious issues with Pescatore's writing style. It seemed quite....simple. She's no wordsmith, that's for sure. Add that to her lack of conjunctions (annoying!!!) and the "Julie said" "Austin told" "Eli asked"... after each and every time someone spoke..... I just didn't care for it. I found myself taking out periods and adding commas- using the conjunctions and skipping over the "said" quips. It was all so stiff and formal. I can understan...more

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Human Blend (Blend Trilogy #1)

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