Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 390 pages
Publisher: Egmont USA
Series: Hourglass #1
Source: Library

Description 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 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?

Hourglass is one of those books I've seen everyone talking about and just HAD to check out for myself. Literally. (Hehe, it's a library book...) Going into this book, I was expecting a super-sweet time traveling story of awesomeness. And that is what I got, more or less.

The book begins in a way that catches your interest, though it's not some big BOOM thing, then the story rolls on forward from there. We meet some characters (which I'll comment on later), learn some stuff, and make ouselves comfortable inside Emerson's head. Myra has a marvelous way of making her writing flow. It never lagged, and the pacing was beautiful. There was no extra words spent needlessly, or boring scenes that were probably meant to be romantic or whatever drawn out for pages and pages and made me want to slap someone. Which is good, because that means no innocent bystanders were abused in the reading of this book. That's always a plus.

The time traveling in and of itself wasn't bad. The logistics of it and whatnot...was very unexplained. I get that it was supposed to be complex and not-explainable, but Emerson was supposed to be in the top four of her class, right? So I think we should have been thrown a bone and gotten just a wee bit more info on that. Other than that, I liked how this awesome ability was knitted into the story, how it was used in the plot. It's not a random gift thwy know nothing about. Instead, it is a serious skill that is used for a specifically designated purpose.

Character Rundown:
Emerson. Emerson, Emerson, Emerson. This girl... I don't even know. I don't particularly dislike her, but she wasn't my favorite thing ever, either. I liked her change as a character throughout the book. Yeah, her character arc. I should have said that the first time, shouldn't I? I suppose after thinking about this, I can deem Em a decent character. I didn't mind reading in her point of view at all, so that's a good thing.
Michael. Goodness, Michael. He's a good guy. But I don't feel like I know all that much about him. I'd have liked to learn more about him, to get a clearer view of WHO he is. Instead, we got a very good image of his outside, but not a very good idea of his mind. He does have a white knight complex, though. And I get that attractive looks is...you know...attractive. But that's not everything.
Kaleb. AH, KALEB. I loved Kaleb. Seriously, I am Team Kaleb all the way. I felt for him a lot more. We learned about him super fast in, like, three conversations between the characters, but still--he's amazing. The only bad thing about him is his drinking issue. And the random hook-ups. Not cool, dude.

Sweetness. This book is very, very sweet. The sweet things are tied into each and every page of this wonderful book. I must say, it was nice to read. BUT. Yes, there is a "but." But the love triangle that was thrown in there was kind of silly. I mean, Mike's cool, and Kaleb's my boy, but anyone could see how THAT was going to end. Even after a certin something happened to a certain someone. I'm a fan of love triangles, I admit this, but pointless ones just give me unnecessary meh.

The ending. I feel like the big event of the book wasn't as big as it was intended to be. I mean, it reminded me a little of Bella Swan, writhing on the floor while everything else happened around us. Except I like Emerson WAAAAAAAY more than I ever thought I liked Bella. Goodness. I could rant about that little controversy all day. But I won't. After the "big event" that I will not give you any more details about because that would be spoilery, and I don't do that, after the "big event," the story is pretty much...done. Just a cute little ending. Woo hoo. I must admit, I liked Mike 20 times more because of this ending. Sweet boy. There is a sequel, but we aren't left hanging in suspense for the next book. Thank goodness, no cliffhanger for once.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this book. I had a great time reading it (this was one that kept up until hours of the morning I really shouldn't be awake for on a school night...) and am excited for the next one, though not on the verge of punching someone in the face because I need to know what comes next. Well played, Myra McEntire. There are still no innocent bystanders harmed. Which, as I said before, is always a good thing.

♥Jessica(: