Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

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.

My Thoughts:
Let me just start by saying that Hourglass was FANTASTIC! It is easily one of my favorite books of 2011. There was just something about the writing that makes you fall in love with the story and its characters. As soon as I turned the first page, I was completely hooked and nothing was going to be able to keep me from reading the rest of this awesome book!

Hourglass is about a teenage girl named Emerson (I never realized how awesome of a name Emerson is!) who can see ripes. Basically this means she can see people from the past. Between this and the fact that her parents died a few years before, Emerson is broken. She doesn’t have many people in her life except her older brother, Thomas, his wife, Dru, and her best friend, Lily. Everything changes when she meets Michael. Michael understands everything she feels and helps her to understand her abilities.

Not only was the plot intriguing and original, but the characters were amazing! I loved getting to know each and every one of them, and I can’t wait to get to know them even more in upcoming novels! Emerson was kick-ass! I loved everything about her. She was hilarious, strong and not afraid to put herself in danger if it means helping others. She has been through so much in her life, and it was nice to see her begin to heal. Then there is sweet, gorgeous Michael and Kaleb, Michael’s best friend whose a bad-boy, but not really a bad-boy. God! Both of these boys are hotties and treat Emerson wonderfully. Michael is the open-book kind of guy. He doesn’t hide who he is. Kaleb is the opposite. He keeps people away for many reasons and I loved watching him open up to Emerson. Kaleb and Emerson were very cute and sweet together, but I also loved the chemistry between Em and Michael! The connection that Emerson had with both leading men was perfect!

There is a little bit of everything in Hourglass, which is one of the reasons why I am so obsessed with this book! There’s romance, action, ghosts, paranormal, time-travel, and history in Hourglass, which just added so much to the story. The setting was beautifully written and I love that it takes place in a small Southern town in Tennessee.

Hourglass is such a fun and original read. So many parts made me giggle like a little girl!  It is one of those books that I can read over and over again, and I definitely intend too! I am so excited to see where Myra McEntire takes us in the Hourglass series and I am so looking forward to the next book!

For those of you that are interested, Murphy's Law Coffee is an awesome Hourglass site. It has information on the book, the characters and the setting. There are some slight spoilers in the character, but it is definitely something to check out!