Review: Hourglass (Hourglass, #1) by Myra McEntire

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.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this one! Hopefully I won't let another gem like this one fall through the cracks again in the future. I've had this title since it was released and somehow I overlooked it until now. While I'm regretting waiting so long, I'm thrilled that I corrected my mistake and finally gave myself the chance to read this fabulous title! I simply enjoyed every single turn of the page on this one. McEntire created a scenario that fascinated me. Time travel has always been one of those phenomena that I couldn't help but be intrigued by. And when you take that and add in all the other remarkable details and twists that McEntire did in her novel, it became a combination that is utterly impossible to turn away from.

I stayed up late into a few nights reading, so that I could try and race through this title and was simply sad when I would have to close it for the night. If that isn't a clear mark of a great read, I'm not sure what is. Emerson is one of those characters that shows a great combination of bravery and spunk, while remaining humble and somewhat vulnerable at all the right times that makes it impossible to not adore her. The other characters like Michael, Lily and Emerson's brother, Thomas and his wife, Dru, are each endearing in their own ways. It's a great cast of characters and the situations they find themselves in will leave readers rooting for them to come out on top. But when so much is at stake it's hard to predict what will happen, and where McEntire will leave her characters in the end. After finishing up this series opener, I'm extremely anxious for the chance to read, the second installment, Timepiece, when it releases in June 2012.

I gave Hourglass (Hourglass, #1) 4 shamrocks!!!!