Review: Human Blend

Human Blend by Lori Pescatore

publisher: self-published/CreateSpace

released: June 10th, 2010

paperback, 234 pages

intended audience: Young adult (+14 recommended*)

rating:


source: from author for review

description:
Marion, Virginia seemed like a nice place to live a normal life, but she is not a normal girl. Laney has special abilities that keep her looking over her shoulder as she makes her escape from the men who had kidnapped her. A young doctor's interest is piqued when he witnesses her mysteriously curing a young child's illness. He befriends her due to his growing fascination with uncovering the true nature of her abilities, but not without harboring secrets of his own. Laney's budding relationship with a local boy puts both of them in danger when the men she was hiding from find her. All of their lives will change forever as ancient secrets become unearthed.

Review: I really enjoyed Human Blend. I am so glad the author contacted me to review this, as it would have gone completely under my radar otherwise. The cover is nothing special and would have never caught my eye, but inside hides a fast paced and thrilling story!

The protagonist, Laney, has lived almost her whole life in captivity, forced to use her mysterious healing powers and her ability to "see" numbers to aid a group of criminals. She has finally escaped to a small inconspicuous town and is trying to form some sort of stable life for herself, but she is constantly wary of being found and dragged back. Laney, or Julie, the identity she creates for herself is very likable...smart, funny, kind. She immediately set out to find a hospital where she can sneakily use her powers to help people who are suffering. She knows very little about her powers and where they come from or how they really work and that puts her in a few dangerous situations.

She meets a local boy on the very first day she rolls into town. He knows she hiding something, running from something, but is respectful and doesn't push her. The really fun part of the story was watching her rediscover the little pleasures in life---good food, a day at the lake, a first kiss with someone new. The relationship was very sweet and very quickly escalated, which at first had me a little thrown. It seemed every person she met immediately formed this intense relationship with her. By the fifth encounter, I literally said to myself, "Oh, come on!". I couldn't understand why all these men were falling all over her, but then you find out why, and it all falls into place. The explanation was actually quite funny to imagine!

Lots of fun little surprises as the story goes along and everyone's true nature is revealed---no one was who I thought they would be!

The writing is sometimes a little formal for the story it's conveying, and there were a few plot points that were just a bit too convenient, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this. *I recommended +14 because of sexual situations, including an implied rape, and quite a bit of violence.

Definitely give this one a try! Not sure if there will be a sequel but I would definitely be eager to read more!

Purchase Human Blend at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository