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| Infinityglass by Myra McEntire (Hourglass Book #3) August 6, 2013 Egmont USA publishing 336 pages Genre: Mature Young Adult Paranormal (contains some mature language, sexual innuendo and reference) Source: Won from publisher - Honest review |
The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series.
The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time travelers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.
With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.
But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?
My Review:
I loved the first two books in the Hourglass series, especially Hourglass itself. I felt very connected with the characters, particularly Emerson and Michael, and the time-traveling storyline. The Hourglass "family" is really appealing, and I can see why the author used different POVs in her books, giving voice to multiple characters. This time around we get two POVs - Dune and Hallie. And we pick up where Timepiece left off - not only finding the Infinityglass, but determining the next step in its purpose.
The story itself was solid, if just written a little dryly. A little more inflection and emotion could have helped perhaps. But the action and flow of the story was continuous and kept my attention. It was a quick read and kept me fully involved. I liked seeing where the author would take us and how the "Infinityglass" and all that would play out. And the conclusion itself was well-played and interesting, though perhaps a bit rushed.
For some reason, however, I did not connect as deeply with the characters this time around. Which is too bad, because I liked Dune from the previous books, even though he was only a minor character before. Dune and Hallie are certainly interesting, compelling people with great backgrounds on paper. For me, I think the story was written less emotionally, a little more dryly, than before, and the layers of the MCs weren't uncovered as well as I would have liked. I wasn't drawn into the dialogue and situations; they felt more straight-forward without enough emotional appeal.
Also, in previous books we got more of the other characters involved, whereas here we get the rest of the Hourglass gang in small spurts. I missed Emerson and Michael, and Kaleb and Lily. There just wasn't enough of them, so the group didn't round out as much. I could tell something was missing.
The relationship between Dune and Hallie was sweet, yet did feel a bit rushed. I could understand their attraction to each other and the need each other had for love in their lives, but it took me a while to connect with them and believe the depth of their feelings in such a short amount of time. Though their relationship is not overly descriptive and is more inference, I felt like it toed the line between Young Adult and a more mature genre at times.
So was this the last book or will there be more? This was a satisfying conclusion, so I can see it ending on this note. But there are a few characters I wouldn't mind getting to know, so I could see something for them in the future if the author so desired. Overall, I really enjoyed this series, the plot, and the great characters McEntire introduced me to.
3-1/2 STARS
Ooh nice review! I still need to read this one and I've had quite the gap since I last read Timepiece! Hoping my memory returns when I return to this final book. I think I did hear it was a trilogy, so I am pretty sure that this is the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I didn't re-read the other books before this one, though I did skim the last few chapters of Timepiece just to refresh my memory and that helped a little, especially since I forgot who Poe was and he appears in the last book. But the author does a good job summing things up as needed so a re-read isn't necessary if you don't have time. Hope you get to it soon. It was a good ending :)
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