3/5 stars
Egmont, 2012
325 pages
YA Paranormal Time Travel
Hourglass #2
Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Last year I read McEntire's debut Hourglass and was fascinated by the time travel aspect in particular as well as liking heroine Emerson who was going through some difficulties. I thought the secondary characters were lackluster and the romance unpalatable but I had a lot of questions left over so I picked up this sequel.
Unfortunately instead of continuing in Emerson's voice, this time our narrator is Kaleb, someone I didn't particularly like the first time as I found him too overbearing and grossly possessive while also being a giant man-whore. Plus he's tattooed and is an alcoholic. So not my dream guy at all. He lusted after Emerson from the get-go but she was already heads over heels for Michael, his best friend. While he still thinks about Em, he still has time for other girls and becomes involved in his own romance this go-around.
That romance is with Em's best friend Lily, who I liked in the first book although she didn't make enough appearances for me and I liked her again here. What I didn't like was the lack of chemistry I felt between the two. Neither this romance nor Em and Michael's really works for me, probably due to the insta-love or at least lust felt by three of the four people (Lily seems to be a bit of a holdout).
Another problem was my inability to remember some of what had happened in Hourglass. If possible, I would highly recommend reading these back to back. While most events came back to me, there is probably still stuff I missed. Therefore I spent some time in the beginning not only adjusting to the shift in narrator (it was very disorienting to read Kaleb's perspective on what Em was doing instead of her own) but also trying to feel my way back into the world.
Then there are the paranormal elements, something I really loved in the first book. Besides everything that occurred then, there is a lot of new information thrown at the reader. I appreciated every little tidbit we got but I still myself a little convinced, largely due to the time jumping nature of one of the villains. Turns out this character can remove memories from people, leaving them empty and confused while also not telling the audience
Overall: Characters I couldn't connect with, aggravating romance, and confusing timeline; just not the book for me. However I can see that a lot of other readers love Kaleb so don't let my distaste put you off.
Cover: Trying to figure out if this is supposed to be Em or someone else? I did prefer the black dress of the first book but I think the shadow is really cool here.
I'm reading this right now, also without having read Hourglass for a year.
ReplyDeleteI didn't remember that much about Kaleb. He clearly has been through some stuff, and he's kind of a smartaleck, but the plot is compelling. I'm about halfway through and curious to see where it goes.
Haha, B! I guess that if you didn't like Kaleb much the first time around, loving him for his second chance wouldn't be as easy x) It always bugs me when I forget what happens in a previous book because it's been so long since I last read it! This is especially bad for bloggers because we read so many books, and for you even MORE because of how much you read in a month :P But the paranormal elements sound so cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the awesome honest review, B! I'm still going to read Hourglass because you enjoyed it more, and if I fall for Kaleb in all his badboyness, then I'll give Timepiece a shot too! :) <3
I still haven't read the first one though I do own a copy. I don't plan to read this one though. The only time travel YA book that I've really liked is Ruby Red.
ReplyDeleteI just requested Hourglass from the library,finally. I don't read very much in this genre but I've heard good things about this series, so I thought I'd give it a try. Book one should be good at least!
ReplyDeleteI DON'T BELIEVE IT. YOU don't like KALEB. I had such a hard time trying to figure between the two who I loved MORE. *is shocked*
ReplyDeleteI DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS OTHER ROMANCE THOUGHT. I kind of wanted Emerson and him to explore a possibility at least once, even though I dig Michael... I don't know. I'll have to see once I start this one.