Hourglass by Myra McEntire (3.5/5 Stars)

Blurb 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 Review:
Have you ever read a book where you couldn’t decided if it was great or whether you just wanted it it be great? Yeah, that’s HOURGLASS for me.

I really did enjoy this book, though. In fact, I read it in two days (which for me, with four small children to take care of, is quite an accomplishment) because I just kept wanting to find out what happened next. I think Emerson is probably one of my favorite female characters. I do think that she was flawed–I found myself, quite frequently, yelling at her to get her head together in certain parts, but I can’t say that I don’t find myself doing that with most of the books I read. I think Emerson is strong, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor. Buuuuuttttt, when it comes to guys, I think she has a whole lot to learn!

I had a hard time with the way she sometimes would just throw herself at Michael. I get that because of her past, she’s all about ‘carpe diem’ and all that, but I still feel like she should have kept a little bit more of herself locked away until she was sure of Michael’s feelings. I will admit, however, that this is just MY opinion. I’m sure not everyone will agree with me here. I also feel like there was a whole lot of back and forth between Emerson and Michael. It just seemed as if we were supposed to just support their relationship, no matter how “off” it seemed, because they had “chemistry”. Okay, I’m done harping on that. I will say that I liked how the DTR (defining the relationship) went at the end. Okay, now I’m REALLY done.

I really appreciated the time-travel aspect of the book. I am kind of a sucker for time-travel, and I think this one was done very well. I didn’t get confused and have a “oh-my-gosh-I’m-SOOO-lost” moment, like I do with some time-travel stories. Ms. McEntire kept the science part of the story simple and easy to comprehend. And I am totally excited to see where she takes the story.

All-in-all, I would definitely recommend this book to those of you who enjoy time-travel, a spunky heroine, and some mystery. I’m really looking forward to digging into TIMEPIECE.

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

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