Review + Giveaway : Earth Blend (and Human Blend!)

Earth Blend (The Blend Series No.2)
Lori Pescatore
Release Date: July 01, 2011
Self Published
Young Adult, Paperback, 194 pages
Source: Author, in exchange for an honest review
Overall: Fabulous!

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Earth Blend is the second book in the Blend trilogy and the sequel to Human Blend. In this installment, the mystery of the Blends and Earthlings are revealed. Dealing with new abilities, Julie and Austin once again find themselves in danger. Lies and secrets hinder them at every turn. Is the past destined to repeat itself as the Earthlings once again rush to save them?

May Contain Spoilers for Human Blend, Book No.1 in The Blend Series.

My Thoughts:

Lori Pescatore delivers another self-published win with Earth Blend, the second installment of The Blend Series.

Although I found the first book of this series, Human Blend, to be highly entertaining with a good plot and characters, I also found myself with tons of questions by the end of the book.  I wasn't sure if Lori Pescatore would ever touch base on some of these questions because I wasn't quite sure how relevant they were to the overall plot of the series but my worries were completely unnecessary.  Oh, and my questions and those answers... completely relevant!  |Read my Human Blend review here|

Earth Blend opens up where Human Blend left off and takes us on a tour of the past through several different points of view instantly opening up the Earthlings and Human Blend world to the somewhat-secret inflicted deceit and chaos that was inflicted by a few choice individuals.  It seemed as if the it only took the work of the few individuals to make The Blend Series to come to life.  After all, without their traitor-ish ways would there even be a story for Julie and the rest of the Blend gang?

The character development in Earth Blend is equally as wonderful as it was in Human Blend.  I became easily vested in the characters and found myself unraveling the mysteries alongside them.  I never mistook a character for another even with the increased amount of characters in the forefront of this story.  It was also great to have a cast of well rounded, or perhaps some were slightly jagged, characters to help carefully further develop the world we were first introduced to in Human Blend.

Julie is still proving her strength, trying her hand at a normal life, trying to have a normal job and take care of herself in Earth Blend.  Her attitude is why I love her and hate her all at once.  Sometimes Julie's strength is her downfall and causes problems.  Austin is still Austin except his is attempting to learn to cope with his Human Blend status and what he sees as betrayals from those he loved and trusted most.  These two together are the equation and the formula both.  We were also reintroduced to Eli, the last component to make the love triangle we first witnessed in book No. 1.  It was hard to watch the evolution of the triangle and the crumbling of one of the walls but it was one of the things that I found most intriguing about the story.

Earth Blend held a fast but steady pace and was artfully erected by Lori Pescatore.  Unique with a large dash of everything good ( mystery, romance, paranormal-ish-sci-fi) Human Blend and Earth Blend both are worth a read.



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Thank You to Lori for offering up TWO giveaway packs.

Pack No.1 - E-book of Human Blend + E-book of Earth Blend
Pack No.2 - Finished Copy of Human Blend + Finished Copy of Earth Blend

To enter for your chance to win one of two prize packs simply leave a comment along with your email address! Sorry, but giveaway entrants must be able to provide a U.S mailing address. Giveaway ends 9/30 at midnight!

Extra fab-kudos goes to those that tweet:  Win #HumanBlend and #EarthBlend at @areadersrecord http://tinyurl.com/winBlend #Giveaway

Author Interview + Giveaway: Lori Pescatore

Author Interview + Giveaway  

|My Review|

Today on the blog we have Lori Pescatore the author behind the title Human Blend.  I have corresponded with Lori a few times over the holidays regarding her book and each time I become more excited for the next.  So let's welcome Lori to the blog.

Why Human-Blend?  What fueled this vision?

Human Blend came about from the characters. They were in my head, well at least Laney/Julie was and she had a story to tell. Once each character was introduced the story just flowed from there. The fuel was just an opportunity to create something all my own after years of writing fan-fiction.

Which of your characters did you enjoy writing the most?  Did you feel more connected to one over the rest?  Did you put a little of yourself into the characters?

Oh wow, um, well I love writing evil characters. I like seeing just how far they will go. I feel connected to all of them, of course being female I most likely connect more with Laney/Julie. They are all unique characters though my girlfriend says she sees some qualities of me in Laney.

Writers block seems to be a common theme amongst those who write.  How do you go about remedying this?  Any tips? Anything you find that works for you?

I did get a block writing Human Blend. it took me a while to figure out why. I think there is usually a reason, the trick is figuring out what that reason is. In my case it was a scene whether the character was revealing too much too soon. It took me having the guts to throw away a big scene and reworking it twice 'til it unblocked me.

Care to give us who are awaiting your second novel in this series any tid bits of what to expect?  We all know which three characters I'm asking about :-)

I am really excited about the second book. It will actually start as a prequel giving some background details on the fantasy paranormal creatures I created for the novel. It will explore their beginnings as well as how certain characters came to be. You also get a glimpse into to the first Blend and their agenda. It, of course, will then pick up where the first one left off. My only disappointment is pushing it back from a February release to an April one but I promise, readers will not be disappointed.

Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you and the readers. Now its back to writing and editing!

Thank You Lori for stopping by!  And as Lori knows I am totally itching for the next installment of her this story!  

Find Human Blend....

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|My Review|

Find Lori...

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Review: Human Blend

Human Blend by Lori Pescatore
Release Date: June 12, 2010
Pages: 234 pages
Young Adult
Overall:

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.
Synopsis via Goodreads

My Thoughts:
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 getting close to people and despite all her attempts she finds herself doing just that with not one, but two individuals who both, unknowingly or not, harbor secrets of their own.  Both of these men who Julia finds herself being drawn to and accepting some sort of affection from are also both pulled into the web that is "Laney's" past.

With Lori's character development I couldn't help but really invest myself into a few of the characters, I don't believe I need to even mention which two really caught my attention.  I also found Julia's personality very likable, she was exceptionally strong but extremely vulnerable.  The complex of each character seemed real and never wavered.  We never had any real Jekyll and Hyde moments which was an absolute plus and kept the story consistent.


Lori did a wonderful job at writing a unique and mysterious story that I really had no clue what was going on until it was happening. Set at a wonderful pace the highlights of the plot, and the intricacy of how the whole story came together, really shined through. 

I really did love this story and can't wait for book #2 of the Human Blend trilogy. The only thing I didn't care for about this book is my inability to actually write a review without giving something away, that is how well and intricate this story fits together.  That really isn't something to complain about, is it?

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