Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Published: June 2011

Publisher: Egmont USA

Pages: 390

Copy: From Library

Summary: Goodreads

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.

Hourglass was a lovely romantic take on time-travel, with a bit of an X-men 2K11 vibe.  Yes I know that sounds a little weird, but it works - it works really well. It was a great suspenseful read with super characters and slippery villains.  Emerson and Michael have an instant, sparks-flying attraction to each other that made me want to sigh - it's the kind of attraction we all secretly wish we could find, but love to hate. 

Emerson has not had an easy life and when she meets Michael and hears about Hourglass, it sounds as if finally she may get the help she needs.  I rather liked Michael, other than the fact that he kept 'not' telling her things for her own good.  I know, it's a guy thing!  He is of course, gorgeous, and not-quite perfect, with a bit of a hero complex - just exactly what we love in our leading men.  Thomas and Dru were wonderful surrogate parents for Em, with Dru stepping nicely into the 'big sister' role, without overdoing it.  When Em meets Kaleb and Nate,  nicely rounded  minor characters, there was a rightness to the group, and this is where the X-men factor comes in. 

'I realized that I was comfortable here, too.  I looked at Michael, still digging around in the fridge, and at Kaleb beside me.  It felt right.  They felt right.  I hadn't come here expecting to find a place to belong.

Team Freak.  Wonder if we could get jerseys.'

The similarity to X-men is really only in the inclusion of different and complimentary 'powers' that contribute to a sense of team spirit.  Lots of fun and with lots of opportunity for future stories.  Time travel is always an iffy subject to get right, what with paradoxes and etc., but Ms McEntire did a good job in making it completely plausible, so it made sense.  I didn't feel I had to suspend disbelief too much and it was easy to follow along with the concept. All in all, I enjoyed Hourglass much more than I had anticipated, and I am now looking forward to a follow-up volume, although I couldn't find any indication of when that would be.  Nice debut Ms McEntire.