Book Review of Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass

Author: Myra McEntire

Release Date: June 14th, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Sci-Fi

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.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: This book has been getting a ton of buzz surrounding its release and after reading Hourglass I can say it is all well deserved attention. I fell in love with Emerson and her story very quickly devoured the book in one sitting.

Emerson sees ghosts frequently and carries on conversations with them not realizing what they are until she tries to touch them and they disappear. She has a hard time distinguishing them from people who are alive because they look real to her, the only noticeable difference is their clothing. The clothes they have are from the time period they lived in and can sometimes be a giveaway as to when they were alive. The ghosts are people who have lived at some point in history and now appear to Emerson, and only her, as far as she knows. Many consider her crazy because she carries on conversations with people no one else can see. If that isn’t enough to deal with, she recently lost her parents in a horrible accident and spent a lot of time in a mental institution trying to work through the guilt and the ghost visits. Yeah, poor girl has quite a bit to deal with. She ends up moving in with her brother and his wife and while trying to get her life back together.

Her brother helps the best he can and after the slew of sketchy therapists he sets her up with, he finally comes through with Michael from Hourglass. Michael is there to help Emerson deal with her “ghosts” and is very easy on the eyes as well. Every time Emerson and Michael get together to try and talk about how to deal with Emerson’s “gifts” she is continually distracted by this pull between them. I know that sounds familiar,but the explication for why they are drawn together actually makes sense, it is not just some inexplicable attraction. I loved the chemistry between these two and as the book progresses I fell in love with them as a couple more and more.

I also found the concept of the Hourglass and all the “gifts” possessed by its members extremely intriguing. It was a completely original concept which was refreshing. The beginning of the story starts out focusing on the ghosts that Emerson sees, but it takes a completely different direction when Michael enters the picture. The story was unpredictable and I was never sure what was waiting just around the corner. Several plot twists at the end that I never saw coming kept me on the edge of my seat and up late to finish the book.

Overall, I loved this book! It was an emotional journey through the eyes of a girl whose life has been filled with immense pain and comes to realize that letting people in does not always end in heartache. Seeing the world through Emerson’s eyes was fascinating and cannot wait for future installments when we get to revisit her life again. If you have not discovered this book yet, you are missing out!

FTC: I received this ARC as part of the Amazon Vine Program.