Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass

Author:  Myra McEntire
Publisher:  Egmont USA
Publishing Date: June 14th 2011

Pages: 330
Genre:  Sci-Fi Romance

Series:  Hourglass #1
Source: Paperback

  

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?

I have not read too many time travel books. Probably because the concept is quite confusing for me and makes my brain think to much but I had heard wonderful things about this series so I gave it a shot. I liked the first book. The story was interesting and I actually loved the concept of time travel in this book. I did like the characters enough to enjoy the story and the pacing of the book was done well.

Emerson sees people that aren’t real, from the past. She has been seeing them for a while and has been institutionalized, medicated, and has seen many therapist. Her brother, Thomas, finds a company named Hourglass to help her. They send out Michael. What Michael helps Emerson understand is that what she is seeing is not ghosts, is not hallucinations, but is actually real time rips from the past and it’s just the beginning. Emerson finds a completely new world that exists and she is a part of it along with many others. Now that she has been introduced to things she can do …. Like time travel… it is up to her and Michael to go to the past and save the founder of Hourglass.

I liked the story very much. It was fresh and a very creative world. I am not usually good with time travel books. The concept of past present and future and going to each of them and finding your other self so on and so on kind of exhausts me and makes my head spin. I guess this is a downfall of reading about a concept that doesn’t exist. Time traveling is just confusing, but this story was done very well and I felt a part of it instead of on the outside looking in, wishing I could get it. I didn’t feel lost or confused and my head didn’t spin. The parts that needed more time so that I could understand were just that and parts that were exciting and thrilling and fast paced were just that. The book didn’t drag and didn’t end abruptly. The pacing seemed just right for my tastes.

The characters for the most part were pretty cool. It didn’t take long to get cozy with them but it was hard to relate to them. I understood them but they seemed really cliché to me so it was hard to really like them or not like them. I was more watching them then living with them. I liked them enough to read the story and to continue the story but there were quite a bit of the expected in a ya book involved. There was a love triangle, there was insta love, there was the shouldn’t be together but we can’t help it aspect. I really felt that with a story concept so original I thought the characters should have been more original… their personalities and their relationships.

Emerson was a likable character for the most part. Smart, witty, loyal, she had all the checks on the list but she didn’t stand out for me as much as I liked. A little more snarky would have been right up my alley. I didn‘t dislike her… I liked her really just think she could have been more, bigger…. Maybe in the next book. I didn’t feel a real connection to Michael. He was also a list of checkmarks… good-looking- check, mysterious- check, knight in shining armor- check, protective- check, stupid when it came to girls- check. He was sweet and all that came with it and yes I did root for them but I would have liked a bit more. My favorite character was Kaleb. He was the bad boy, yes another check… but he was funny and snarky and trouble. He made the story a little more exciting and his part was played well. I felt him more than the others.

I can say that there was a bit of a surprise at the end. I guess most of the happenings ahead of time but there was one I wasn’t expecting. I had some bad feelings leading up to it….. but I didn’t quite figure it out. So there were some surprises that left me with the wow factor at the end.

I think that as the series goes on I will enjoy it a lot more. The first book really did feel like a lead up to me and I am looking forward to reading more. It did have its flaws but nothing I can’t get over and finish out what I started. It was still a very enjoyable read.

Not quite what I expected but enjoyable and fun.