Hourglass by Myra McEntire: A Review

Photo taken from Goodreads for review purposes only (http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1304810997l/9182478.jpg). I do not own this picture.

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Source: Library

Publisher: Egmont USA

Publication Date: June 14, 2011

Blurb from Goodreads (I do not own this blurb. Used for review purposes only): 

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?

Genre: YA paranormal, no vamps, werewolves, or demons. It's a YA Time Travel novel. I've never read a time travel novel, YA or otherwise, so this smacked of originality. I'm semi-resistant to a lot of fantasy sounding books, but this wasn't anything like I expected.

The Cover: Really intriguing. I don't know if I would have been dying to read it based on the cover alone, but it does have an "Hmm, let's see what that's about" element. The girl's hair on the cover makes you know something will be off about the book, in a good way. I do like simplistic covers with a new element, and this book cover definitely applies.

The Plot: Emerson (love the name) is going through a lot, namely her parents' deaths and her unwelcome ability to see people from other time periods at inopportune moments. She's fed up with dealing with them, and her brother decides to help by bringing in Michael to give her ways to deal with what she's seeing. The plot was original to me. I hadn't read anything like it. It had enough plot movement to keep you from being bored with the sciency bits and to keep the pages moving almost by themselves. When one thing may have gotten burned out, something new happened between Emerson and Michael, or to them, rather, and that kept things really interesting. I love when a book can keep my attention.

The Romantic Element: Huge props to McEntire for her romantic prowess. She manages to make an awesome MMC (main male character), while having, you guessed it, a love triangle. Color me pleased. The love triangle really didn't feel contrived at all like some novels fall in danger of having, and she even had a gut-wrenching tension-y moment. I live for them, almost literally, when I read YA. I re-read that section like three times. Not going to lie about that.

Carry-on Factor: Hourglass will stick with you. Emerson was perfect-y enough to make you want to be like her but real enough to make you not hate her while you're reading about her. You get invested in her story, and Michael, and another character who will remain nameless but makes it worth looking forward to read Hourglass #2…

Overall: McEntire's spin on making YA paranormal romances new again is definitely appreciated by me. I'm looking forward to reading the next one as she did leave some things undone in the typical YA fashion. BUT, don't be afraid to start this book for fear of a cliff-hanger. McEntire did not leave us saying WTH, I promise. She just left some things to be resolved. That's all.

Have you read this book? If you did, what'd you think? If you haven't, do you want to? Let me know below! :)

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Who Knew " by Pink. I was hooked on this song something crazy when it came out, still am. I <3 Pink.

Final Note: Huge congratulations are in order for Marlena Cassidy who won a copy of my book Glittering Ashes from The Character Depot interview and giveaway by J.L.Campbell! Thank you to everyone who entered, and I hope you check out my book anyways :)

Note: I did not receive any compensation in exchange for this review. However, I do have several Amazon affiliate links in this blog post.