"Hourglass"by Myra McEntire

If I could write a review of this book while being speechless, then I'd totally do it. No, wait. I can do it :)

Now let me tell you that I only started reading Hourglass because I got Timepiece to review from Netgalley. I had heard some talk about it before, but never actually read any reviews of it. Until a GReep said she loved it. And until I had to read it before starting on Timepiece.

You know what?

This book was absolutely amazing! From the plot, through the writing style, to the characters. It was every bit a five-star-er, and I don't even for a second think that I have given it more than it deserves. In fact, if there was a possibility, I'd give it six stars. That's how good it was.

There were so many twists and turns in the plot, and they were so well thought out, that I was left gaping at the pages, wondering how on earth Myra McEntire produced something so spectacular as a debut work. But she did, and I am so happy that I can share my thoughts with you!

So, this book is sort of about time travel. It's about seeing visions (or rips, as they call them here) from the past or the future, being able to slow down or speed up time, and other time related abilities. Of course, that's not the entirety of it.

There's also a hot romance that can blow electrical appliances. It's about loving someone so much that you'd be ready to give up your future, just so they can have theirs. It's about a bond so strong, that you'd risk the time and space continuum for it.

It's toe-curling, it's hair-pulling, it's exactly the type of story that would make you ache for the same type of romance in real life.

I'm not ashamed to say that I fell in love with both male and female characters, because they were just that real to me. They had real problems and dealt with them in realistic ways. Their reactions were completely plausible, all the time. And most of all, each character was layered, with depth and dimension.

Emerson was such a conflicted girl, with serious inner problems, that it only felt natural for her to turn out as a person who wouldn't trust anyone. Or anything. She'd lost her parents in an awful car accident, and the fact that she could see and speak with people from the past, had landed her in a mental institution, almost brain dead from all the pills she'd had to take. It was only after she stopped taking the pills that her life started changing. She still saw the rips, but she was starting to actually deal with that aspect of herself.

Then came Michael, who told her exactly what and who she is, and even though it didn't make sense, it also made all the sense in the world. Michael, who was gorgeous both on the outside and in, was the superhero-sort-of-guy. He wanted to make things better for everyone. And he had never anticipated finding his soul mate in the one girl he had to protect from all sorts of harm.

Lily was Em's best friend, who never asked questions, but was always ready to help. She was her own sort of a mystery person, with her own tragedies to live through.

And Kaleb... the player who had no trust in himself, who had no love to give, who had no love to get. He felt like a complete loser, but he acted like he was the best there was on the boy market. Still, he made his way into my heart because there was pain in him so overtaking, that it was a miracle he had good days at all.

Thomas and Dru were the most amazing brother and sister-in-law Emerson could've wished for. And the rest of the characters were just as awesomely portrayed as those I mentioned.

So all I can say is... if you haven't read Hourglass yet, READ IT!!!


I give it