Myra McEntire

Hourglass is an incredibly engrossing novel! I enjoyed every single aspect of it: plot, characters and writing.

Emerson is an awesome female MC: she isn't one of the fantasy novel girls that stands back waiting for a hero. She is more than willing to dive headfirst into any situation and fight for herself. I loved her personality and gumption! Not to say, of course, that she isn't willing to accept a partner in crime. Immediately upon meeting Michael Weaver, sparks ensue. Their chemistry and show more interaction was awesome. I also appreciated that Myra McEntire didn't pull the whole insta-love nonsense. My girl Emerson won't have any of that - it takes her a little time to follow trust with attraction.

The plot was intense...I'm a big fan of time travel/science fiction and I love the way it was handled in this book. The combination of that along with the other abilities (like seeing ghosts) made for a very captivating plot. Emerson lives with her supportive brother, who tries to get her some answers about her ghost-seeing abilities from the mysterious Hourglass organization (that's where Michael comes in). Unfortunately, she ends up getting sucked in to a whole mess of complications - a death from the past that shouldn't have happened, jealousy, and even a traitor amongst the new friends she thought she was making.

The twists and turns in this novel will take you on one heck of a wild ride - one I definitely recommend! This definitely stands apart from most of the other YA debuts. I can't wait for the as yet untitled sequel in 2012! show less

I am going to be very honest in this review, even though it pains me to do so. I am extremely disappointed in Timepiece, the follow-up to the amazing Hourglass novel by Myra McEntire. Hourglass completely blew me away. I read it all in one sitting, and when the book ended, I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open, and all I could say was "wow." Timepiece had the exact opposite effect on me. I was so looking forward to this novel, and I adore Kaleb. Therefore, I was super excited when I show more found out he was going to be the narrator. However, this book fell incredibly flat for me. It took me three days of reading to get through it. I had to force myself to pick it up, and every time I did, I'd sigh and think, "let's get this over with." I will be reading the sequel, though, because I have faith in McEntire. I firmly believe that this was just a rough patch and things will get better from here on out.

Kaleb was fine as a narrator, but he and Lily had no chemistry whatsoever. Also, there was no relationship development. They randomly poured their hearts out to each other for no reason when it seemed like they didn't even know each other that well. Also, they invited one another to be present for private family moments, and that seemed really awkward. I didn't buy into them as a couple, and I am so sick and tired of authors throwing a couple's two best friends or siblings together in a convenient match. It just wasn't believable. And Kaleb and Lily were just... blah. It felt forced, and there was no chemistry between them at all. I was hoping for some Emerson and Michael type chemistry, but alas, none came. I really hope Kaleb and Lily break up and Kaleb finds someone better suited for him because this was awful. He still seemed to care more about Emerson than Lily, too. Maybe something will come of that and it'll add some spice to the next book.

McEntire's writing was amazing. I love her descriptions and how she gives each of her characters a unique voice. When I read her books, I can hear the characters' voices inside my head when they speak. That doesn't happen for me often in novels. I also enjoyed getting to know more about Kaleb, his power, and his past. Additionally, the new characters that were introduced were intriguing and I can't wait to learn more about them. Jack, of course, was the most despicable bad guy ever. The more I learn about him, the more I hate him, which I think is the intended reaction.

The plot itself was a bit all over the place. It wasn't as well-defined and easy to follow as the plot in Hourglass. However, the mystery and suspense should have had me intrigued, and it would have had it not been for the god awful pseudo-romance between Lily and Kaleb. The two of them together really ruined the entire story for me. I don't think I've been this strongly against a couple since the Nightshade series with Calla and Shay. I hated Shay with a deeply burning passion, though, and I don't hate Lily and Kaleb... I just hate them together as a couple. Anyway, back to the plot. The pacing was spot-on, and the book didn't drag at all. A lot was going on, and sometimes it was hard to keep track of things, but I really felt like I was inside Kaleb's head. There were a lot of twists and turns, and I never knew what was going to happen from one second to the next. When I was ignoring the crappy romance, I was kept on the edge of my seat. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, but a few things were tied up from Hourglass. Also, Kaleb grew a lot as a character, so I felt that the novel accomplished what it set out to do.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who loved Hourglass. If you haven't read Hourglass, you need to go out and buy it stat. Timepiece was a bit of a disappointment for me, but I will be continuing the series. I have a feeling that the next book will blow my mind and totally make up for this disappointment. As I stated, my main problem with this book was the romance between Lily and Kaleb. It just didn't feel real. Hopefully something will be done about this in the following books. While I wasn't impressed with Timepiece, it's a definite must-read for all Hourglass fans! show less

It’s no secret around these parts that I love time travel novels, but I have to admit that Hourglass started off quite slow for me. I think a lot of this had to do with Emerson, or Em, the main character. Em is often bratty, oblivious, and sarcastic in a mean way. She tends to alienate the people around her, and only really has one friend at the start of the novel. These traits are understandable, given her history–her parents died before the book began and she’s been institutionalized show more for her ability–but it doesn’t make her character any easier to read about on paper. Once we met some other people in Hourglass, things definitely picked up and more of Em’s good traits–like her intelligence–came to the surface.

I really loved the sibling dynamic between Em and her brother. Sibling stories are my favorites, and while the relationship between Em and her brother is different than most since he’s her legal guardian, it’s easy to tell how much Thomas and Em love and rely on each other. For part of the story, Em’s brother is out of the picture, but it was clear to see how much Em really cared about her family and friends.

The actual time travel in Hourglass isn’t quite my favorite system of time travel that I’ve read, but it seemed complicated enough to be realistic(well, as realistic as we get when we talk about time travel), but simplistic enough to wrap my brain around. There’s definitely some real theories in Hourglass, which I found interesting. Despite one of the plot points being terribly convenient, I didn’t mind or even notice until after I finished reading. Em realizes early on in the story she can time travel with Michael, the agent from Hourglass she meets first. It’s a pretty simple system(though a little more complicated than that), and their experiences were exhilarating and heart-pounding.

And talk about twist I didn’t see! If you’re read my reviews before, you probably know I don’t mind predictable plots because I tend to see twist pretty early on in the story. Well, there’s really two major twists in the story I can think off of the top of my head, and while I saw one very early, the other took me by surprise. We’re talking jaw-on-the-floor type of reaction, and what made it even more perfect was that once it had been revealed, it was a twist that made sense. Hourglass toyed with my emotions and my mind, and at the end I thanked the book for it.

However, there were a few things that bothered me in Hourglass. One was the tension between Em and Michael. Because their basically two halves of a time travel pair, there’s an attraction to each other right away. This is explained in the book as being a normal thing for people with this abilities, which, okay, I get. But that doesn’t mean I as a reader buy their chemistry. They had never really had to work on that, and I lost out as a reader because of that. I want to see the slow-burn stuff up to attraction, not just BAM, these characters like each other. I will say I thought Hourglass did a good job of not making this annoying insta-love, but it does sort of border on that. The second thing was that there’s a hint of a love triangle I thought was totally unnecessary. show less

Where do I start? I've been following the Hourglass series fanatically since book one. I've fallen in love with the characters, been enchanted by the story, and always looked forward to more. Needless to say that it was a bittersweet moment when I turned the last page of Infinityglass. I felt satisfied, but sad that it was time to say goodbye.

This particular book focuses mainly on Dune and a newcomer to the group, Hallie. I loved that Dune was in the spotlight this time around. He's slightly show more awkward, and sweet in a way that makes you want to wrap him up in a great big hug. Best of all, he's a gentleman. Isn't that so hard to find these days? Then there's Hallie, who is his utter opposite. Feisty and impulsive, she makes Dune crazy. It's hard enough to protect an object, but to protect a person? Suffice it to say that it makes things interesting.

Now I'm going to be as vague as possible here for those who haven't gotten to this yet (you won't get any spoilers from me), but Infinityglass ties everything together. Every event that has happened so far culminates into something unbelievable and yet amazing. I couldn't look away. Questions I had were answered, the best (and worst) selves of characters were revealed, and I ended the book with a sense of completion. Infinityglass is an excellent example of what the last book in a series should be. McEntire wrapped everything up in a pretty red bow, and I eagerly accepted it.

Apologies for the vague review, but I hope it's obvious that I enjoyed this book! I just want to give other readers out there the opportunity to enjoy it as much as I did. If you're a fan of the Hourglass series, if you've been following these characters as maniacally as I have, Infinityglass is a must read. Enjoy the journey! show less