Hourglass
By Myra McEntire
I’m not sure what inspired me to pick up this book when I
have a reading list about as long as a roll of toilet paper. But I did. And I’m
still trying to decide what I think.
Hourglass is an
intriguing conglomeration of super hero, time travel, romance, and raw grief. Emerson
can see people from the past. Not ghosts, exactly, but definitely not
ignorable. The strange phantoms seemed to have popped up around the time of her
parents’ death. Now, as she continues to wrestle with grief, she also just
wants to be normal. In walks Michael, the uncharacteristic therapist Emerson’s
brother has hired to help her deal with her ‘visions,’ and walk through the
grief. Emerson never expected to have a therapist who was so good-looking, but
neither did she expect to have a therapist whose close proximity made light bulbs
burst and outlets short. Emerson soon finds out that Michael isn’t just there
to help. He wants her help – needs her
help – to prevent a death that took place six months ago.
I loved the cover. I’ve decided. I think that’s what made
me pick this book up. Between the covers, though, is an only-okay story. I
appreciated the original, fascinating plot twists that kept me guessing until
the end. The flow of the story, however, lurches from fast to slow, and my
review’s going to spiral down into a thin-lipped critique from here.
I sort of got to know Emerson as a character, but I had a
hard time liking her. She’s dealing with the death of her parents, displacement
to her brother and sister-in-law’s apartment, and strange phantom-sightings.
She has a lot to sympathize with. However, the author did an excellent job of
making her sound like a bratty self-centered teenager, even amid all of the real struggles in her life. I don’t
think that’s what the author was going for.
I was especially disgusted to read that every female
character who played an important role in this story was drop-dead gorgeous,
sensuous, and extremely attractive. Really. Who can identify with that? Don’t
girls get enough of that kind of pressure from Hollywood? Give me Hermione
Granger and her frizzy hair any day! All the main male characters were also
apparently the hottest thing since toasted bread. And, much to Emerson’s
surprise, since she has never had a boyfriend in her life, all of these
stud-muffins are vying for her attention. Please.
I was also frustrated by the thick aura of romantic ‘chemistry’
that clouded every chapter of the book. (Can you see my eyes rolling?) I like a
little romance, I really do, but this was a bit much. And complaining from a
strictly romance standpoint, I was frustrated by the way the story ended.
Most of the characters were flat, uncomplicated,
including Michael, the supposed male protagonist. The male character I felt
that I got to know really well and care about, Kaleb, was not the person
Emerson ended up loving. As a reader, I was left feeling cheated. Definitely
not a good set-up by the author, in my opinion.
Because the premise and plot twists in the story were
interesting, I was able to suspend my critical thoughts enough to finish the
book. Dissatisfied and cheated, maybe,
but I still finished.
The sequel to this book is coming out in about two weeks.
I hadn’t planned on reading it (as you can probably tell from my
less-than-glowing review), but now I think I almost have to. I kind of want to
see if the author can redeem herself a little bit and resolve this extremely
irritating love triangle or at least convince me to love the main characters a
little more.
I’m not sure if I would recommend this book or not. You’ll
have to decide for yourself on this one!
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