Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

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Title:  Hourglass
Author:  Myra McEntire
Series:  Hourglass
Publisher:  Egmont USA
Publication Date:  June 14, 2011
Source:  purchased

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 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.

Any novel involving time travel is going to pique my interest. It’s just a given. And a book with a cover like that is going to grab my attention that much quicker.

I only thought this novel was about time travel. Okay, it is, for all intents and purposes, but I felt that too much time was spent focusing on the romance, and the time travel aspect wasn’t explored nearly as much as I would have liked. The foundation for the story is painstakingly laid out, and the pacing is slow, up until the last quarter of the book, when things picked up quickly and my interest in the story was once again reaffirmed.

For the most part, the characters seemed shallow and uninspired. I wanted Emerson to be excited about her ability, to revel in the fact that she was different, but she hides from it. That is, until a tall, dark, and handsome stranger steps in to save the day and tell her she’s not alone, that he shares her gift. Yes, seeing ghosts might be frightening at first, but it shouldn’t take a guy coming into the picture to open your eyes to the fact that maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. I like a good, strong heroine who’s not afraid to face her fears, and Emerson was definitely not what I was hoping for.

Enter Michael, the love interest. Right from the start, the reader is told that they have an electric connection. Told, not shown. That always grinds my gears. Show me a guy who studies a girl’s face when he thinks she’s not looking or subtle touches just for the sake of touching. I felt more of a connection between Em and Kaleb, Michael’s best friend, than I did between Michael and Emerson. Maybe that’s a hint of a love triangle to come, but I hope not.

I may not have much love for the main characters, but the supporting cast was a little more bearable. Emerson has a supportive older brother, who’s trying to get her the help she needs in understanding her ability, and his wife is the closest thing Em has to a mother now that her parents are gone. Absentee families are all too common in YA novels, so this was a welcome addition in Hourglass. Also of interest is the ghost that seems to have taken up residence in Emerson’s bedroom. This one she doesn’t seem to mind, for whatever reason, despite the fact that he’s an older gentleman.

There were some unexpected twists, and that ending did leave me curious for more. My hope is that more of Em’s gift will be explained in the next book because a lot was left unanswered in Hourglass. I mean A LOT. She barely even had a chance to explore her developing ability. But I should expect this, right, since it’s only the first book in a series? I don’t know. I really wanted to love this one. It started off alright, and then it was just okay. I’m telling you, that last quarter of the book really saved it for me, though, which is why I’ll be picking up Timepiece when it’s released in June. And in case you were wondering, it, too, has an awesome cover.

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Labels: beautiful covers, hourglass, reviews, time travel