Hourglass Review

Hourglass
by Myra McEntire
From Goodreads:

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 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 have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

 My Thoughts: Okay, first I must say that if I was just rating this book on cover alone then it would get a perfect Midnight Book Rating.  Love, love the cover art!  I remember seeing a lot of buzz about this book months ago, when the ARC was making it's rounds.  I don't know why, but I thought it was a ghost story, so I picked it up expecting a good spooky story for the month of October.  But Hourglass is much more complex than a haunted girl book (like I thought it was).  It deals with time travel.  I like that McEntire kept it simple, because honestly she could have gone very technical and scientific and completely lost my interest.  Of course, characters like Michael and Kaleb make it easy to overlook any talk of physics.  I liked Emerson's relationship with her brother Thomas, and sis-in-law Dru. I didn't get her friendship with Lily as much, but I have a feeling we will see more of Lily in future books (because I'm assuming there's going to be a sequel because if not than Lily was just wasted). 

Things I really liked: Guessing if characters were good or bad- some I got right, others I was surprised about.  It's nice to not immediately know who the knight in shining armor is, and who's going to be a friend. I liked the time travel story line, it's refreshing to have a book without vampires, werewolves, selkies, elves, pixies, mermaids, fairies, your choice of supernatural here, and still have it be a paranormal story.  I liked the outrageous amounts of caffeine sucked down by Emerson and crew because I am currently obsessed with coffee, especially Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha.  It is yum.  I also liked that, unlike me, Emerson can down all these coffee drinks without gaining weight and shaking like a diseased squirrel (you'd think the shaking would burn off the extra calories, but you'd be wrong).  I liked how hot everyone was, but obviously this is a town I could never hope to fit into. Sigh.


Things I didn't like so much: The fact that everyone, and I do mean everyone, is drop dead gorgeous.  Em and her brother, Dru, Lily, Cat, Ava, Michael, Kaleb, Jack... um, is this an ugly free zone?  Or even just a average looking person free zone?  No one's nose is too big, no one's carrying a few extra pounds, no one has hangnails.  Okay, Em's short and allegedly has unruly hair, but the boys all seem to think she's hot enough so I'm not counting that.  It is simply not possible to have that many beautiful people in one place and not be  on the set of CW tv show.  I found that a bit unrealistic.  I know, you're thinking that I've just read a book about time travel and the thing I find unrealistic is how insanely attractive all the characters are.  You may have a point.  The other thing I didn't like, and I'll dislike it less if there's a sequel that addresses it, is some of the minor characters.  Lily and Ava really don't get as much book time as I felt their characters deserved, and I feel bad for those other two friends of Michael's whose names I can't remember because they really didn't have a whole lot to do other than be there when they were needed (and I think one of them might actually have been less than sexy).  I especially thought Lily was wasted in the book, but I'm just going to assume her particular gifts will be used in Hourglass Two: Like Sands Through the Hourglass, So Our the Days of Our Lives(note, this is not the actual title to the sequel I'm not even sure exists, I just made it up.  Well, with a little help from daytime television).

Still, Hourglass is a great read and I really liked it despite feeling that the ending was a bit rushed (would really have liked to hear more about Emerson's alternative life).  I didn't love it, but it was a perfect kick off for my Halloween reading. And kudos to Myra McEntire for writing a book on time travel, because my head starts to hurt when I start thinking about all the possibilities for changing the outcome to any given situation.  Next month I'll be reading Stephen King's time travel book, so thank you Hourglass, for getting me interested in the concept!  Of course, unlike Emerson, I would totally use my time travel skills for evil, but I promise, I'd be a very generous rich person after winning mega millions a few times!

Hourglass gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

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