Infinityglass (Hourglass #3)

PREFACE:
After reading and falling in love with the Hourglass world and its characters, I was excited to finish the series. I had no hesitations going into this because I adore Myra McEntire and I couldn't wait to meet the characters again, and some ones as well.

WRITING:
McEntire has an easy style that is direct, but she brings the characters and places to life. She knows exactly which words fit the best for each scene, and the whole book played out like a movie in my mind. I read it so fast and didn't want it to end.

SETTING:
While a tiny bit of time was spent in Ivy Springs in Infinityglass, mostly we got to explore the vivid city of New Orleans. Again, McEntire made the locations, a pirate bar, a swanky hotel, the Mississippi River, and more, leap off the page. The locations didn't take over the story, but they were an integral part nonetheless.

CHARACTERS:
So, I thought when I read Timepiece that I'd found my favorite HEA couple. But I hadn't met Hallie and didn't really know Dune yet. And Oh. My. Stars.

When I saw McEntire at the SOKY Book Fest before Infinityglass was released, she told me that one of the narrators of the story, Hallie, could be characterized as who would result if Kaleb and Emerson had a baby. Needless to say, I was super intrigued. And that characterization held true. Hallie is a hundred handfuls and a half. She's snarky, tough, seductive, and smart. I adored her. She's the kind of girl you would love to be friends with but you would never want to be on her bad side. She also had a vulnerability that she hid pretty well until Dune arrived.

Dune was barely a blip on my radar in the first two Hourglass books. I was probably too enamored with Kaleb to notice much else. But when Dune takes the story, he took me with it. He was absolutely fantastic. I feel like he and Kaleb are two sides of the same coin. When Kaleb had his tragedies and trials, he went the bad boy route and lost his way. But Dune took the other path and grew wise and thoughtful and tried his best not to hurt anyone. The problem was he seemed to be solely focused on research and his quest for the infinityglass. When the Hallie and Dune met, it wasn't sparks flying - it was a super nova. And I loved every single second of it.

I was very happy to see the rest of the gang as well - Em, Michael, Kaleb, and Lily. There were lots of good intermingling moments in the group that allowed each character to reveal more of themselves. I was glad we got to see a little more of Nate and his character stuck with me this time where he hadn't before. I wish there had been more Ava. I really want to know what is going on in that girl's head. Poe was another addition that I hadn't expected but enjoyed.

The villains, Teague and Jack, were back like a bad habit. Jack wasn't as present this time, but when he was, he was still so creepy and crazy. And then Teague went to a whole new level of insane and inhuman, which was impressive. I was expecting Hallie's dad to also be a bad guy, and while he wasn't necessarily a good guy, he was no where near the evil of Teague and Jack.

COOL STUFF:
Swoon. There was so much kissing and flirting and sweet talking in this book. Even more than in Timepiece, which I didn't think was possible. If those swoony bits hadn't been fade to black, this would have barely been a YA novel.

While the story arc ended in the three books, there seems to be a chance for more to be written in the Hourglass world. There are plenty of characters left to explore (Ava and Poe please?), so I was happy that the ending was a little open. And the actual last bit of the book was awesome and definitely has my hopes high for possible future installments.

VERDICT:
I didn't think I could love this series any more than I already did, but Myra McEntire crafted a pitch-perfect finale to this trilogy. All the great wit, sensitivity, action, and swoon that I've become accustomed to was there and just left me wanting more. Finishing this book was bittersweet, so I'll just have to look forward to whatever McEntire comes out with next.

*10/10*

Last year I was introduced to the wonderful Hourglass series! I fell in love with Michael and Emerson's story in Hourglass and then once again with Kaleb and Lily's turn in the sequel, Timepiece. Infinityglass, the conclusion, takes a completely different turn with two POVs, one being from a completely new character!

I know the POV changes from book to book have been a subject of debate. I honestly had no problems with it from Hourglass to Timepiece. I loved Kaleb's persona in the first book, his cocky attitude but sweet nature, and it carried over wonderfully the second time around. I completely understand why the decision was made to switch it up once again, but I must say I couldn't help but feel the loss of my favorites from before.

Dune is someone we've already met. Though I honestly do not remember him (more on that later). He was very sweet and almost quiet with a sad past and an interesting ability to control the tides. He travels to New Orleans to continue his research on the infinityglass, which turns out to be a person, and our other POV, Hallie. Hallie makes up for his quietness. She's confident and knows how to get what she wants, which may be partly due to being the daughter of a mobster. She has an extremely cool talent of mutating her appearance, a la Mystique from X-Men. Her father often sends her on dangerous missions involving theft due to that very ability but was extremely protective of her as well. That whole scenario confuzzled me, to be honest, but it led him to hire Dune to continue his research under the disguise of a new bodyguard for Hallie. These two were cute together, especially when Hallie would try to get a reaction out of Dune. I didn't quite fall for them as a couple as much as with the previous books. It felt a little rushed, but I still enjoyed watching them fall in love.

As for the actual progression and conclusion of the storyline throughout the series, it seemed to have wrapped up nice, though I can't help but wish the climax was a bit longer with a little more 'oomph' for a last book. The rips were pretty creepy this time around with our Hallie. Her powers are crazy strong and I almost wish we had more time to explore them, same with Dune. The epilogue though... brought crazy smiles to my face!

This is where I express my absolute wish that I re-read the first two books before the conclusion. I forgot A LOT of details on characters and what was actually going on with the rips and the 'bad guys'. For instance, I didn't remember Dune. I barely remembered Poe and Teague. Sure, pieces came back and the author was able to put a few details in to help remind me, but it wasn't enough. And I think that is something you face with switching POVs around with each book. The new characters are going to relate to and have a different past and experience with the other characters. They will see them in a new way so it's harder to place them after a whole year in between books. I'm not sure if it is just this last book or if it was just something I didn't notice before because I read Hourglass and Timepiece back-to-back and had no problems. All I'm saying is, I highly recommend having the details and characters fresh in your mind before undertaking this last installment.

Having said all of that, this is one series I recommend! This is where my love of time travel novels stemmed from and I thank the author for this journey she took us through and the amazing characters she brought our way.

This...is a really hard review to write.

I utterly adore this series. It's kind of seeped into my life, really. In the past couple of years since I began this trilogy, I've wanted to wallpaper my room with the covers. I've named my Kindle after the main character in the first book. Hourglass is my go to recommendation for people who want books. I've connected with the characters in this book in such an intense way, that I think I'm kind of in denial that this series is over.

To say the least, I absolutely loved this book.

Myra's writing never fails me and it was, again, engaging and really drew me in. She still had that same, fantastic banter between the characters and the book was full of sarcastic one liners that made me grin. Their inner thoughts really enabled them to jump off the page. In Infinityglass, if you haven't heard, there are two narrators. Both of them were fantastic and very much their own person with their own voice.

Then the characters themselves. Dune and Hallie were two very different characters. Dune was sweet and patient and came from this wonderful support system that was more of a family. Hallie was sharp and jaded and overprotected as she grew up. Both characters had these aspects that made me connect with them right from the get go. And as a couple, they were a team. I think that's the best way to describe it. It really felt like they were working together and improving each other and it was all incredibly sweet and swoony.

And I can't not write about the nerdtastic references all throughout this book. Monty Python, a number of Doctor Who mentions, Sega Genesis...it was like a nerdy paradise. Each reference made me giggle a little bit because they're subtle or small but they're very much there and you know that it shows a little bit about Myra and a little bit about the characters and a little bit about the reader who catches them.

Infinityglass also has this wonderful balance of older characters we already love to go with Hallie and Dune. There's a healthy dose of my beloved Michael, Emerson, Kaleb, and Lily. Poe and Ava and Nate and Clarissa rounded out the little crew that was so important to the book. I loved getting to see so much of characters I already loved and so much more of characters that we barely knew before.

And while it sounds like this book must be incredibly full...it wasn't. It was a remarkable balance of old characters and new, the series arc and the individual story's arc, a new relationship and some reminders of old ones. It's one of the best examples of a final book in a series I can think of. The fact that I actually finished the series is enough to be amazed over, because it's incredibly rare that I finish a series. When I do, it's a pretty good sign of how lovely those books are.

I love this series, I truly do, and if I haven't yet convinced you to read this series, I may not be cut out to be a reviewer. Or maybe it's just because I lack the words to do it justice. But this seriously is one of my absolutely favorite series. It got me fascinated by time travel and hooked on Doctor Who. It makes me smile and grin and squeal and nearly throw my phone as I was trying to finish this book at 3:30 in the morning. Myra's writing is always enthralling and magical and just oh so wonderful and I'm going to sit here in a ball and rock back and forth until I can get my hands on more of Myra's writing, even if it's just a grocery list to hold me over.

Seriously. Please. If you haven't started this series, I hope you weren't spoiled (but why were you reading this???), and now is the time to fix that. And if you've been eagerly waiting for Infinityglass too, I promise it won't disappoint.