Review | Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass
Series: Hourglass #1
Author: Myra McEntire
Genre: YA - Science Fiction/Fantasy
Publication: 06.14.2011 by EgmontUSA
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Summary: 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 have happened?

Thoughts: I was excited to start reading this, but quite frankly, I was very disappointed in the book overall. While there are a few redeeming and interesting bits about the story, Hourglass turned out to be a young adult cliche with it's love triangle, predictable storyline and sometimes spunky, but rather lame heroine.

The story starts off rather interesting. Emerson sees "ghosts" which we later find out are remnants of the past, called "rips." She's strong, but broken from her loss and depression, and has a great friend and family that support her. The problems begin when she meets Michael, punches him in the stomach to make sure he's real (really, does that make sense?) and loses all sense when she realizes he has great abs. While the story develops slowly, we get a whole lot of "tension" between these two characters. Emerson acts stupid when Michael is near and blushes over everything...and I mean, everything. It was ridiculous. And Michael is obviously attracted to her, but since he wants to remain professional, he doesn't act upon it. Except when he does. He pretty much leads her on with his touches (which electrify them, by the way) and compliments but acts like a jerk with his mood swings when he realizes she doesn't do everything he wants. He threw me off and annoyed me most of the time.

I had a difficult time liking Emerson too. Like mentioned above, she came off as a strong heroine who had been through a lot and was just trying to deal with it the best she could. Then there's a guy involved and all she can do is swoon, even though we know she can kick his butt. Then the love triangle kicks in about two thirds into the book. When Kaleb is introduced, we find out that he and Michael are like brothers and he obviously knows what is going on between the two. But it doesn't stop him from hitting on her, telling her he might be in love with her, and that he'll wait for her (to get over Michael maybe?) And Emerson falls for it.

Along with Kaleb, we are introduced to a few other members of the secret Hourglass, a specialized place to help, educate, and bring together people with special abilities. Sounds like X-Men right? Yes, it is. Except we never learn anything about any of the characters. We get tidbits of what they can do and then they pretty much stop existing.

The plot becomes a little more interesting when we find out that Emerson sees rips because she can travel through time; to the past, to be exact. I love time travel and McEntire was able to create a unique idea with the way the characters were able to travel, but I feel failed in executing properly. First off, Emerson has never traveled before but decides to risk her life by going back a few months to save the founder of the Hourglass, a man she's never met because he has a family. Ummm, okay? That's fine. I can handle that. But then it's time to travel and they pretty much explain it to Emerson in like two seconds and she's totally okay with the whole thing even though she has no idea what the heck she's doing. Then of course not everything goes according to plan, there's a huge twist and then the book is wrapped up nicely and left with too many loose ends for me to be comfortable.

Overall: I am not sure if I ever enjoyed the Hourglass. I wasn't too impressed with any of it, except the idea of rips and time travel. Honestly, I forced myself to finish it and I while I know that there are many who loved it, I simply didn't. It was too slow for me and the romance too thick to be enjoyable. The twists in the story provided some fun in the plot, but otherwise, I wasn't too interested in how it would all end. I have a copy of the next book in the series, Timepiece, and am debating on whether I want to read it. I am a bit curious and hope that the romance bit will be brought down a few notches so that the rest of the story can be developed more. I am not sure if I would recommend this book, but there are hundreds of raving reviews and I am among the few who didn't enjoy it. I definitely suggest you check it out if it sounds like something you'll enjoy a lot more.