Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Pages: 400
Genre: YA/ Science Fiction
Source: Amazon Vine Program

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?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut [via GoodReads]

Emerson sees ghosts – and like I’m sure any “normal” person would do, she sort of goes crazy. I think that would be the way I would handle it anyway. Her parents’ death and the depression she’s suffering from don’t really help the matter either. But now, somewhat healed, and living with her brother, she endeavors to deal with her condition – you know, the whole “I see dead people” thing. When her brother contacts a secret society called the Hourglass to help her with her “condition,” she’ll find answers that even she couldn’t have imagined.

While I didn’t find that Hourglass was utterly unique, I still found myself intrigued by its storyline. I more or less liked Emerson – she comes off as a kickass girl, independent and fearsome (at times). When she meets Michael things sort of change a little and that’s where some of my concerns lie. At first, Emerson is a strong character – but then Michael walks in and after much description of his hotness and muscles and the like (which btw, is much commented about throughout the story) she sort of loses some of that strong-ness (which is what I liked about her from the start). Most of the explanations she receives she takes at face value. There’s no questioning or experimenting to discover things on her own. I mean her condition is what it is and that is because… well, they said so. I don’t’ know, I expected a little more questioning from her… I guess. I’m not sure if that makes sense if you haven’t read the story but I truly don’t want to give too much away.

While I still enjoyed the story, I found that it got too slow for me somewhere in the middle and I eventually just lost focus. Quite frankly, I forced myself to finish it. I know I’m in the minority here, but I didn’t find it to be all that and a bag of chips like some of the reviews are raving. Yes, there was love, friendships and, of course, the expected, love triangle so that kept me reading, but in the end I found that the storyline wasn’t stellar nor where its characters. Fans of Twilight might enjoy it since I found some very noticeable similarities – and at the same time that might be (the similarities) what turns them off from the story. I also found it reminiscent of X-Men – which may also bring a fan base on that end. Sadly, I found it to be just okay.

My Rating: