Hourglass (Hourglass Novels)

by Myra McEntire

• ISBN10: 1606843842
• ISBN13: 9781606843840
• Publish Date: 8 May 2012 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Egmontusa
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 390
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

re-read September 21-30, 2014
read first on September 18-25, 2011

This was better the second time around because I forgot so many things, but remembered enough to keep me excited to continue reading. Now I can finally continue with the series that I never got around to!

The beginning of this story pulled me in straight away, I really enjoyed it and was overjoyed to find it was a little bit different to other paranormal romances I have read. But then I kept on reading and realized that was false, it was exactly like other paranormal romances I've read. The beginning was just really good at hiding it.

The main thing that annoyed me about this book was that it was all about the romance between Emerson and Michael when I wanted it to be about Emerson's 'gift'. It was instalove and it pissed me off. The romance started off way too intense, within the second day of Emerson meeting Michael she's thinking she could trust her life with him. The rest of the story is all Emerson thinking how hot Michael is, how she's drawn to him and how she thinks he doesn't have feelings for her. Which was so annoying that I wanted to stop reading this altogether. In fact I did. I just couldn't read this eye rolling story all in one go, I had to take a break and read something that was gritty and not sickeningly cliche. Then there was a forced love triangle that made no sense and felt completely out of the blue. So stupid.

I think if this story had backed off of Emerson's and Michael's 'relationship' and focused more on the bigger story I would have loved this. However since I had to sit through pages of Emerson pining over Michael that got so bad to the point that she had to keep restraining herself from smelling his pillows (SERIOUSLY?!) I just very nearly hated this. It was nauseatingly sickeningly cliche.

I loved the 'ghost' part of the story, I just wished it had focused on that instead, with the romance being a byproduct. Too bad it seemed to be done the other way round.

[Mary-Allyn]

Actual Rating: 8/10

Ah, time travel. Time travel is tricky to write and therefore tricky to read. Paradoxes, all the rules that could possibly exist. If you alter the future, would you know? Or would you simply forget and only know the new future you created? SO CONFUSING.

Emerson Cole can see visions (called “rips”) from the past. Because she thinks she’s sort of crazy (you know, seeing people from the past — especially in the south, man that’s rough) her brother gets this really hot guy to come tell her she’s not crazy at all! She can just time travel. Duh.

Read full review HERE.

[jnikkir]

Emerson Cole sees things that no one else can - echoes of people from the past. She started seeing them shortly before the accident that killed her parents, and after they died, things only got worse. Emerson was institutionalized for a time, because of her visions and her depression, and also spent a few years at a boarding school - until her scholarship ended and she had to move back home to live with her brother, Thomas, and his wife, Drew. Thomas and Dru are fully aware that Emerson sees "ghosts"/visions, and they (Thomas especially) have been trying to find someone who can help her for some time. Thomas's latest find is Michael Weatherly, a consultant for the Hourglass Institute, which specializes in parapsychology. Thomas and Emerson are both hoping for some kind of cure for Emerson - but what Michael tells her is that her "ghosts" aren't really ghosts, and have more to do with time travel than any kind of paranormal phenomenon. But Michael isn't just there to help Emerson cope with her newly-dubbed "ability" of seeing time-ripples. He needs her help - there's more going on that he lets on, and playing with time-travel is dangerous. Things might never be the same if she agrees.

I am a sucker for time-travel - when it's done right. I am even more of a sucker for a unique take on time-travel that's explained excellently but doesn't get too sciencey - I like to keep some wonder in my scifi, personally, and adding too many scientific explanations can sometimes ruin my enjoyment of an otherwise great plot. Maybe that's simple of me, but whatever. Hourglass is basically my perfect mix of sciencey and imaginitive time-travel, and I loved it. It felt like a blend of scifi and paranormal - probably more on the scifi end, but it definitely has an aspect of the paranormal to it, which was awesome. And even though the actual time-travel doesn't really come into play until the conclusion, I seriously enjoyed the lead-up. The characters carried the story well; I loved the explanations of time-travel and its rules; and there was just enough suspense leading up to the conclusion, that I was never bored and was always wondering how things would play out.

I really liked Emerson's character. She's spunky, smart, doesn't take crap from people, and even though she's been through seriously tough times, she's made it out the other side even stronger. And I loved her sense of humor; some of her sarcastic comments had me laughing out loud. I love these types of heroines. Michael was fantastic, as well - but I was destined to fall for him the minute he showed up and started talking all timey-wimey (like I said - I'm a sucker for time-travel). Michael and Emerson have an immediate and undeniable connection right from the beginning, and I loved their chemistry. And though this was definitely a case of insta-attraction (they both have abilities that complement each other, which almost literally causes sparks when they're together, lol), they are forced to take things pretty slow because Thomas hired Michael to help Emerson, and Michael promised to keep their relationship professional. This was frustrating at times (I often just wanted to squeeze their heads together - NOW KISS!!!), but it forced them to become good friends and get to know each other, which just made their relationship even better.

So Emerson and Michael were great - but one of my favorite things about this book is Emerson and her relationship with Thomas and Dru. So many main characters in scifi/paranormal YA decide to bear the secret of their ability alone, not confiding in anyone - but Hourglass is an exception to this rule. Emerson tells Thomas and Dru what she sees, and their reaction isn't to say she's crazy, it's to offer support. (In fact, Emerson is harder on herself than Thomas and Dru ever are.) They just want to find someone who can help her make sense of the things she sees. I found this incredibly refreshing in a genre where familial relationships tend to be more adversarial than anything - the parents don't support the main character, or think they're crazy and need help... It was awesome to see that not only did Emerson decide to confide in them about her "ghosts", but that they reacted and supported her the way they did.

Another intriguing character was Jack - who shows up very early but whom we learn little about until the end. At first, Emerson thinks he's just another time ripple, and in a way he is... but all is not as it seems. Jack and his mysterious presence really added a sense of suspense throughout the book which I loved.

In conclusion...
I reeeeeally liked Hourglass. The characters were all great - Emerson and her take-no-crap attitude, Michael and his loyalty, Thomas and Dru and their welcome support of Emerson. The beginning might have been slow compared to the end, but I didn't mind at all. There was tension and suspense throughout, thanks to Jack and other factors, and the characters carried the story really well. Whatever slowness there might have been, it more than paid off with an ending that made me melt in the timey-wimey perfection (think Harry Potter time-turner scenes - SO GOOD). I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of YA paranormal romance, especially if you're also a fan of scifi. You really do get the best of both worlds here.
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{ Find this and other reviews at my blog, There were books involved... }

[elvinagb]

Pretty good story, although it was a little over the top with the ab gazing and electrified touching. There is a sequel told through the view point of one of the secondary characters in this book. May read that... or not.

[lizarodz]

I really enjoyed Hourglass. It was an unexpected read with many twists and turns, but I loved the ride!

Emerson is a great heroine. I loved that although she is short and is beautiful and looks delicate, she is everything but. She has lived through tragedy, depression and the burden of an unusual “gift” and has conquered it all. That doesn’t mean that it was easy, but she has a very strong character and it’s open to possibilities. Emerson is funny, snarky, loyal and very stubborn. I really loved Michael and I trusted him instinctively from the beginning, even though it looked like he was forever holding back part of himself and a lot of information. The chemistry between Michael and Emerson was understandable given the premise of the book, but a little to instant for my taste.

I really like that Emerson had family that cared about her. Thomas and Dee are two characters that were attentive and loving and not MIA like so many parents seem to be in YA lately. I hope we learn more about Kaleb and the other members of the Hourglass in the next installment. One word about Jack: BOOO!

The plot is very original, even if you have read about time travel before. It was unexpected, interesting and difficult to put down. The writing was easy to read, straightforward and fairly fast paced, a lot happened in a short amount of time. I really hope to get a better sense of the work that the Hourglass does (and how) and that they can find Jack soon. I will eagerly await the publication of Timepiece, due in June.

About the cover: It is breathtaking, is it not? It portraits Emerson and gives the illusion of traveling, of movement and flow.

[empressbrooke]

This book started out well enough, and it had some good ideas in it (I liked the idea of all the different time manipulation abilities the Hourglass denizens had), but then it just became a mess of YA cliches and wobbly writing. Getting rid of the obligatory love triangle probably would have gone a long ways towards fixing the issues I had with it; why do all these YA protagonists have to have multiple boys falling for them? And it always happens the first time the dude lays eyes on her. I get that it's supposed to appeal to the teen reader, but so few authors write these flirtations convincingly.

[tellemonstar]

A really interesting story that I definately would have enjoyed when I was a teen, and did enjoy at the ripe old age of 22. I can't give a detailed review without giving spoilers, but I will say that Myra McEntire has given readers a spunky, likeable and realistic seventeen year old girl in Emerson, and I will definately read the next novel.