Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass

Author: Myra McEntire

Publisher: Egmont, USA (June 14, 2011)

Rating: ★★★

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?

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I regret putting this book off for as long as I have. It started off slow and I was sluggish to continue. Hourglass is another example of the duel-natured book. The first half required the setting up of the plot and introducing characters. I don't mind when books follow this common formula, but sometimes it is not entertaining to read, as in this case. In the beginning the main character of Emerson is not likable at all. She is extremely self-effacing and whiny. And don't even get me started on the first few times she met with the love interest, Michael. Every other sentence was Emerson's internal monologue of how hot he was and she wanted to touch his lips (?). And when she did:

"I was pretty sure I was on fire, and at that moment I would have sworn that bursting into flame was a glorious way to go."

Over the top? Maybe just a tad. The romance was at best....meh. I was over it before it started. Like I said it was Emerson's constant internal monologue (even his muscles had muscles.....really?) Cheeseball city. Only when Kaleb came around and there was that little love triangle thing was I interested. However, neither of these gentlemen had any depth. They were 2 dimensional scratching posts for Emerson.

Luckily, the second half was like the other side of a coin. Emerson evolved into a more confident person even though she still shows her immature jealous/whiny side when it comes to Michael. But this half of the book is, of course, where all the action takes place. I original got the impression that this book was about ghosts, but I was very wrong. It is about time travel. Is your mind blown? Well, I haven't read a time travel book before so I was kind of surprised. My knowledge lies only in Back to the Future movies. I imagine it to be a difficult thing to write about, and I found that McEntire did have some inconsistencies here and there but I'm not really going to hold that against her. There were some twists and turns and unanswered questions in the end that were exciting. The plot definitely stands apart from other paranormal reads.

★★★