Clare Reviews: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass

Author: Myra McEntire

Series: Hourglass #1

Format: Hardback

Pages: 390

Rating: 4/5

Blurb: 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 also 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've happened?

“It's amazing what flipping a grown man over her shoulder does for a girl.”

Hourglass was an excellent start to this series. Each book follows a different protagonist/couple but still follows the main story line. This one followed Emerson and Michael - both of whom were great characters to spend time with although I will admit to liking Emerson that bit more.

I loved Emerson's strength and vulnerability. The author did a great job of creating a character who has been through hell and came out a little cracked but is still fully capable (as the quote above suggests) of throwing a grown man to the ground. She is a tiny girl and throughout the book she gets some comments (usually from men) that suggest she can't hold her own and I loved her response to these. She also has a great sense of humour. Michael was a more difficult one to warm up to and I'm still not sure I have a great grasp on his character. I did like him but I never grew to love for or cheer for him the same way I did with Emerson.

I really liked their romance for the most part. There was some verging on insta-love but I actually think the author side stepped that. They had a physical connection at the beginning but it didn't fully develop into love until way later in the book. There isn't a love triangle (thank goodness) but both Michael and Emerson managed to make the other jealous without any foundation, which is quite a neat trick. Romantic angst tends to be not enjoyable for me but I really liked how their relationship developed and I am hoping I get to see more of them in future books.

The side characters weren't as fully developed, there was an introduction to them and some - like Kaleb and Lily - were great characters and I look forward to reading more from them. But others, like Ava, felt less well known to me. And whilst in Ava's case I can kind of understand why that was I would still have liked to see more from her, especially after the climax of the book. But perhaps I will be seeing her in a sequel. 

There is a villain in this book and I believe the villain will remain the same throughout the trilogy. There was a plot twist with added betrayal that I didn't see coming until near the end but the identity of the main villain wasn't too hard to guess. There wasn't a huge sense of threat from the villain and I would have liked him to be a little bit more sinister, but again maybe this is something that will develop throughout the series and I did really like their confrontation scene.

For me series' like this are absolutely perfect. All the fun of a series with less of the cliff-hangers and romantic angst that you usually get in a trilogy. The feel of this book was great, it reminded me a little bit of Joss Stirling's Benedict series (which I enjoy) but with better development and less insta-love. I am definitely excited to continue on with the series.

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