Review Detail

Hourglass was one of those books I knew I would love. The reasons? First, the author, Myra McEntire, is hilarious on her Twitter feed and blog, as well as being generally awesome and generous. Second, Myra lives in Tennessee, and she set Hourglass in Tennessee. I love my home state, so yeah. Third, did you read the summary? I did. Possibly unstable girl due to tragedy + caring brother + mysterious guy + mystery to solve = right up my alley!

There was quite a lot of hype surrounding Hourglass, not just because of the story but LOOK at that cover. So normally I would be wary, but any worries were unfounded. Hourglass is simply a great, and unique, story.

McEntire writes in such a way as to make every description feel crisp and real without being flowery. All of her writing is that way, clean and clear so that I could picture every scene, every character. The neatness of the writing didn't take away from the emotional aspect either and I never felt like I needed more or that elements were undeveloped or incomplete.

In fact, I don't remember a single aspect of this book that was underdeveloped. The characters were all distinct and interesting. I knew exactly who Emerson was and loved her personality. I also loved that she had reasons for being the way she was and you could see that from her story. I also loved her brother and sister-in-law. Myra portrayed a family dealing with issues of the mental variety in a pretty realistic way.

Michael, the main love interest, had literal chemistry with Em and I loved it. He was definitely the good guy and I loved the back and forth between he and Emerson. Every moment between them felt right. He was the kind of book-boyfriend I wouldn't want for myself because he and Emerson belong together. Kaleb on the other hand...Kaleb was your good bad-boy. I adore Kaleb. He has that tough exterior/soft interior thing going on and I thought he was dreamy. Between him and Michael, there is a lot to swoon over in thi book.

The other characters, the members of The Hourglass and Emerson's best friend, Lily, were distinct as well, though they didn't show up as much as the rest of the cast. But, I love that they all had individual gifts, and what happens with Lily makes me excited and hopeful that she will be included more later in the series.

Something else I'm looking forward to is the continued timeslip element that revolves around Emerson and Michael's shared gift. That made this a very unique story, as time travel is not something that has really trended in YA yet (time travel does appear occasionally, as in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but not usually as the main focus). I also loved how science came into it, but McEntire didn't drag it down with heavy terminology and kept it pretty understandable.

Overall, Hourglass has the familiar elements of teen romance and self-discovery while weaving a unique story about a unique girl and what she chooses to do with the power she has. This is a definite must-read. I loved it (and Myra McEntire) so much that I bought a copy for my friend Meg (of Myth-illogical) for her birthday and got both of our copies signed! If you ever get the chance to meet Myra or hear her speak, go do it because she is approachable and funny and so gracious.

*10/10*