Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should've happened?

A Long Story Short:

Hourglass had a really great beginning, in my opinion, but the novel went downhill from the middle. The side characters were too flat, the plot too slow and detailed, the plot twists either a bit unrealisic or too obvious. You should definitely give Hourglass a try,but I have a feeling I'll be highly disappointed with the rest of the trilogy...

RATING: 3/3 Smarties

Review:

Hourglass was a lot more than I expected and basically everything I want in  a good book.

It is about time travel (always a bonus) and it's done in the best way possible. Not too much fantasy or paranormal (which I suspected), but a lot of science and "facts" that make the story believable, so that you don't always have to close both eyes in order to enjoy the novel.

Big cheers to the heroine, Emerson! A character that not only has an extraordinary (but very sad) background, but one that has visibly grown through that and into a person not only many girls can probably relate to, but also one I'd want my younger cousins to look up to.

She's (mostly) confident, she's witty and although she seems to be a negative person (all that sarcasm!), she really just handles life with a healthy portion of humor.

If that's not enough, Emerson's family is so incredibly nice and supportive! I mean, especially towards the ending it grew a bit unbelievable and fairy-tale/Disney movie - ish, but still.

Let's talk about steamy then. Or, our love interest and the tension that went with it! I'm going to say this - it's not easy for the two of them, it was extremely frustrating for me and in the end, it even got nerve racking and brought me pretty close to tears! What exactly I'm talking about, you'll have to see for yourselves...but let me tell, Hourglass is worth a read, if only for Michael.

Despite my love for Emerson's family and Michael, I do have to say a thing or two about side characters. Her best friend (whose name I actually forgot)? Complete fail, in my opinion. She seemed to appear for three lines (of a page) and then be on the phone with Emerson for two seconds and then she was gone again for half the book, just to reveal a big secret of hers towards the ending. I really wasn't impressed by her, or most of the other side characters.

Or the antagonist/villain. Because he wasn't a  villain. Because yes, he has done terrible things, but...he had no reason to (in my opinion). His motives just weren't big enough for me to count.

In the end, all these things did make me close one eye in order to keep enjoying the story.

It's difficult for me to review this book, since Hourglass started on such a good note, but then somehow lost itself in the middle. I thought it was too long and packed with a few really unimportant details, it had some too obvious plot twists and the ending was a bit...blah.

Finally, I also heard that the second book will not be told by Emerson's point of view which is a huge letdown for me.

All in all I do recommend this book, it is quite amazing and has the potential for "favorite trilogy of the year". Anyway, I really think it depends on book two. If it's anything like the beginning of Hourglass, I'll love it.