Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Published by EgmontUSA on June 14th
Hardcover, 397 pages

(Summary from Goodreads):

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.

On an irrelevant sidenote, OMG! I got the color for my blockquote, and it looks so cool! It's almost like I'm a real blogger.  Thanks so much to Brielle and Penelope for the help!  If you're interested in learning more, check out Penelope's post.

My Review:
I think what I loved about this book was more of the characters and romance rather than the actual plot and concepts, even though Hourglass definitely has a unique story line in YA.  I don't think I've ever read a book about time travel before either, but it was a little difficult for me to get into the time travelling. Maybe I just didn't read those sections thoroughly, but I kinda wished it could have been explained a little more.  There are also a couple of really great plot twists that I think a lot of people will enjoy, but (this is a first) I kinda saw them coming, so I guess it didn't impact me as much as it could have.  Hopefully this means me and Myra think alike... except I'm nowhere near as cool as her.

I think what really stood out to me in this book was the characters.  I loved Emerson as a main character, I felt that she was easy to relate to and her sarcasm was pretty amusing.  She had a very unique voice which I give Myra props for.  I liked Michael as well, he was super sweet (and hot) and I was totally in love with him until I met Kaleb.

Oh Kaleb.  I've officially added him to my fictional boyfriend list (I really do have a list because I have a tendency to forget them since I have so many).  Even though Kaleb has his sweet moments, he's kind of the opposite of Michael.  Whereas Michael is overall a gentleman, Kaleb is flirtatious and a total player, which makes him so much more entertaining for me.  And oh yeah, he's pretty hot too.  (You see where my priorities are by now lol).  I also really liked the minor characters like Lily, Cat, Ava, Liam, Thomas, Jack etc. and I hope we get to see more of them in the next book, which I definitely will be reading!  I think Myra is a fantastic writer and I'll be sure to pick up anything she writes in the future :)

Overall:
4.5 out of 5 stars!  With it's infectious characters and compelling romance, Hourglass is a must-read!  I'd recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of mystery, hot boys, and snarky, strong heroines.