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The Hourglass Door (Hourglass Door #1)

by Lisa Mangum (Goodreads Author)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 6,347 ratings · 1,558 reviews

His past. Her future. Can love bring them together in time?Abby's senior year of high school is textbook perfect: She has a handsome and attentive boyfriend, good friends, good grades, and plans to attend college next year. But when she meets Dante Alexander, a foreign-exchange student from Italy, her life suddenly takes a different turn. He's mysterious, and interesting,...more

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published May 1st 2009 by Shadow Mountain

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Jun 25, 2011 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, contemporary, love-or-romance, books-i-own, read-in-2009, read-in-2011

SECOND READ: 6/25/11
Re-reading before starting the last book in the trilogy. There was so much in this part of the story that I forgot about. And it was fun to catch little bits that I missed the first time around, especially now that I know a bit more about the story and can pick out hints and clues and understand things that Abby didn't yet. Now on to THE GOLDEN SPIRAL!

FIRST READ: 8/9/09
Wow! WOW! I really liked this book ... dare I say that I LOVED it? The beginning was a bit slow, so I guess...more

7 likes · like · see review

Oct 04, 2009 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Beth by: Kimberly

Average teen drawn to mysterious, beautiful, dangerous guy who just happens to be basically immortal ... sound familiar? This read very much like Twilight -- especially in the beginning -- but I was pleased to find that a) the characters weren't annoying (oops ... sorry Twilight fans) and b) the storyline was better, smarter (what do you expect with all the references to Shakespeare and Dante's Inferno?)

And it probably says something that I could hardly put this book down, even from the first p...more

13 likes · like · see review

Dec 11, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2011, read-multiple-times, 2012

I absolutely loved The Hourglass Door! This is, obviously, the first novel I've ever read by Lisa Mangum and I don't hesitate to say that she, along with many others, has a beautiful talent. Her writing it wonderful! Although she started the book with the writing style that I typically try to stay away from, I was instantly captivated. I had been told that this particular writing style could be quite effective when used correctly and add more emphasis to a story. This is the first time I've ever...more

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Jun 27, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who liked Twilight, Evermore, and/or The Time Traveler's Wife

Shelves: could-have-been-better, disappointing-books, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t, 2010-reads, reviewed

What to say about The Hourglass Door? Well -- I liked it. I really did. It was one of those books that intrigued me with its interesting premise -- but it didn't grab me. I expected to be swept up into this dark yet wonderful plot, but it never happened. Yes, the plot had its dark moments, but it took so long to get to the magical/paranormal elements behind the book. It's one thing to suspect and expect them; it's another to have to wait for them to happen. (It dragged at some points, I found.

I...more What to say about The Hourglass Door? Well -- I liked it. I really did. It was one of those books that intrigued me with its interesting premise -- but it didn't grab me. I expected to be swept up into this dark yet wonderful plot, but it never happened. Yes, the plot had its dark moments, but it took so long to get to the magical/paranormal elements behind the book. It's one thing to suspect and expect them; it's another to have to wait for them to happen. (It dragged at some points, I found.

I liked the characters as well -- particularly Dante, Zo, and Leo -- but, again, no one really grabbed me and made me love them. I really got the vibes that these were normal people in just extraordinary circtumstances, and that's great. However -- the reader in me just wasn't overwhelmingly moved by the experience or the characters. It was "meh" to me at many points, and I just was expecting more, I suppose. (I don't know. Maybe I've been warped by the dark, angsty trends in YA literature these days. Maybe I just can't appreciate a 'normal story with only some supernatural complements' since it's usually opposite nowadays with fantasy YA.)

(Also, I kept getting vibes that reminded me of books I've read such as Twilight, Evermore, and even The Time Traveler's Wife. I'm not saying that Lisa Mangum was influenced by any of these books in any way during her creative process, but I just got the impression that she could have. Here's hoping the sequel, The Golden Spiral, obliterates any lingering 'familiarities' I may fancy reading/seeing in the plot.)

I really liked the themes (time, the future, love, redemption, etc.), and Lisa Mangum has a descriptive writing style that draws her readers into the world and characters she's envisioning. (That's always a plus.) She's definitely one to watch for in the coming years, and I look forward to what other ideas she may explore with future novels. (Also, I *loved* the references to Dante's The Divine Comedy and even the spotlight on Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing.)

I don't regret reading the book, not at all. But am I going to run to read the sequel? I don't know yet. Maybe. Maybe not. We'll see. (It was one of those books with an ending that could have been standalone -- except the last paragraphs built it up to lead into a sequel.) In the end -- I have to say that I liked it well enough, but I was really rather sad since I expected to like it much, much more than I did.(less)

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Nov 16, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Abby is enjoying her senior year of high school. She has a cute boyfriend, great friends, and the possibility of a college education. But everything in her world changes when Dante Alexander, a foreign exchange student from Italy, walks into the auditorium during play rehearsal.

Abby is drawn to Dante and, before she knows it, their lives are intertwined. But Dante isn't who Abby thinks he is, and she is drawn into a mystery reaching all the way back...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Cami rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, sci-fi

This was a nice book. Interesting, but it didn't knock me out of the ball park.
The author almost lost me when I thought she was going to go for a predictable cliff-hanger, I think she made a good choice on the ending.
I like that there is an interesting plot. Mangum gives us good character development on Abby, her friends, her drama teacher, but ultimately I think she fails in truly charming us with Dante. I don't think she gave us enough time to bring us to the level of feeling that Abby claims...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

While the plot was intriguing and kept me interested in reading to find out what happens, the character development was poor and I was not emotionally attached to any of the characters. I'm not even sure what the main character looked like really.

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Oct 22, 2012 02kimberg rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Hourglass door is about a girl named Abby. She goes to HIgh School, and after school helps out with her school play being an assistant director. While she is directing, in walks Dante. A foreign exchange student from France. His eyes where the most beautiful thing Abby has ever seen. They get to know eachother. Abby's best friend, Valorie, notices them always being together. She asks Abby and she says they were just friends. The news spreads that people shouldn't be around him because he was...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, gave-up-on-series, time-travel, fantasy, paranormal, romance, insta-love

Hmmm …Cool. Over all, pretty good. The plot was interesting, although not entirely original. The writing was decent. The characters were likable. I wasn't crazy about it, but I did enjoy it and I look forward to reading the sequel to find out what happens! The ending was a cliffhanger …

I sort of had issues with the plot. While I thought the time-travel aspect was cool, the rest of it felt like a billion other books I've read. It followed the common Twilight-esque premise: Smart girl lives in a s...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Pricky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, sci-fi, time-travel, paranormal-romance

I would probably give this a 3 but because I couldn't put the book down, I have to give it that extra 1/2 star for a 3.5.

I have been waiting with anticipation for this book to finally arrive at the library so maybe my expectations were a little high for this one.

Mangum gives a very unique description and idea of time and of time travel, of the balance that needs to be made with time. I liked the way she described time (view spoiler). It's is a new way of looking at ti...more I would probably give this a 3 but because I couldn't put the book down, I have to give it that extra 1/2 star for a 3.5.

I have been waiting with anticipation for this book to finally arrive at the library so maybe my expectations were a little high for this one.

Mangum gives a very unique description and idea of time and of time travel, of the balance that needs to be made with time. I liked the way she described time (view spoiler). It's is a new way of looking at time and I enjoyed that introduction. She also does a seamless job of connecting Dante and Abby Beatrice to classical works such as (view spoiler).

While I couldn't stop reading, I did have some unsettling feelings about the story:

1. Abby: Like another reviewer, I had some minor issues with the name; I felt like the name didn't fit very well with her character. I think Mangum might have chosen the name for it's meaning but the name seems too childish for me. I also felt frustrated by Abby's confusion with her boyfriend Jason; (view spoiler). This initial part of the story just bothered me. I guess I just felt like Abby was just a bit spineless and just didn't want things to change because she wasn't brave enough? She does redeem herself later on with taking more control of her own life so I appreciated that in her character.

2. I couldn't help but notice some similarities between Abby and Dante's relationship with Bella/Edward: Dante is the new mysterious boy in town and they feel this cosmic connection. Maybe I've just ready way too many YA novels that have this premise and it's just really getting old?. For this story, it does work--and really, it's just that I've read too many "similar" relationships. However, Mangum does add a little more to their relationship than just their physical attraction: their connection to the classics and they do talk and get to know each other. But I could have done with a little less of the "oh my gosh you are so hot" descriptions; they just became overwhelming and dull after a while.

3. The scene with Abby and Dave (you'll know which one) was a bit over the top. It didn't seem realistic (in the sense that the consequences for that behavior wasn't realized in the story). I could actually see Dave doing what he did but I think there would be more repercussions for his action. Like maybe Abby or one of the cast member would have told someone in authority...(However, I have to say that if we're talking about "teenagers" here, they really might not have known what to do in that situation or been embarrassed to say anything to anyone so I can also see nothing happening either.) Even so, I had some issues with the way Abby dealt with this; I could tell she was really upset by this and if something like this happened to me as a teenager, I would seriously have had some major trauma and embarrassment.

Overall though, I did enjoy reading it; and it kept me reading late into the night. And I am interested to read more about Abby and Dante's journey in the next part of the series. If you like time-travel and a good Bella/Edward type romance, you might enjoy this one! (less)

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view all 4 comments

Pricky It is confusing. And it was finally on pg. 320 of the Golden Spiral that I started to feel like "I'm starting to get it!" Here's what I understand so...more
Aug 28, 2011 08:50pm

Sandy Thanks for the detailed explanation. It helped! I think the science is a little strange for me in this one, but the author did a nice job creating che...more
Aug 31, 2011 12:45pm

Apr 28, 2010 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, teen-fantasy

There are major pros and cons of this book and it's just easier for me to list them then write out a review:

Pros:
-The characters were realistic in that their relationships were real. Abby's relationship with Jason was real feeling and described really well. There were parents, rules and curfews. No one was running around at 5 am with the parents allowing guys to hop into girls beds at night. (I know the guy might be a wolf/vamp whatever but really what parent goes "Oh it's ok I'll let my 15 year...more

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May 31, 2011 Erica (daydreamer) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: lds-authors, cover-love, 2010-reads, beautiful-writing, love-love-it, i-own, time-travel, release-in-2009, ya, 2011-reads, would-love-if-it-were-a-movie, swoon-worthy-male-love-interests, strong-heroines, best-characters

The Hourglass Door is a really amazing book. Mangum has a really beautiful way of writing, flowing like, with beautiful imagery and choice of words; it was magical. The plot is so intricate, every little detail thought out perfectly. Her plot and base to the story was well thought out. It just kind of befuddles me. Not her writing, but the concept itself. Time is interesting, and trying to explain what time is and how it works is a hard feat. But Lisa Mangum does so with an amazing ability. She...more

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 03, 2012 Kelli Cooper rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book incredibly fast, but unfortunately it was because I was taking the "quick like a band-aid" approach to finishing it. I thought the internal dialogue of the main character was juvenile and obnoxious. The plot was bizarre, and not even the romance was enough to keep me entertained. I'm usually very easy to please when it comes to wanting to read a "mindless entertainment" book, but this fell so short that I will not be reading the sequels.

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Feb 22, 2011 Apzmarshl rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: joey

Recommended to Apzmarshl by: tracy

Young adult, easy, entertaining.

Abby is leading a predictable life.....dating the neighbor boy Jason, applying to state college with her best friend in hopes of rooming together and getting matching dogs.
Then Dante shows up out of no where...hot, mysterious, and Italian. Soon Abby is living without limits. She and Jason break up and Abby and Dante are desperately smitten with each other. Abby finds that Dante may be more than hot, he might also be dangerous. Dante confesses that he has come here...more

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Oct 27, 2009 Annabelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-paranormal

Drum roll please. And the new strategy for creating that handsome, mysterious teenage boy who is inexplicably drawn to a normal girl but must resist temptation at all costs is: time travel. Makes a little more sense when you read the book, I swear.
After a rather dragging beginning, the novel begins to develop in an original and interesting way. Abby is likable and feisty, with a surprising strength, while Dante is all Italian charm and intrigue. Their lives are intertwined in such destiny and da...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, romance, teen

Abby’s life is calm and stable. She’s dating the boy next door, and she’s pretty happy with her life. Then Dante, an Italian foreign exchange student arrives. She feels a connection with him right away. Strange things start to happen and even time seems to get a little wibbly wobbly. Then Abby’s ordered life gets a little out of control. [return][return]I really enjoyed this story. It was a little slow to get started, but once the plot begins to be revealed it really picks up. It was also pretty...more

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Apr 02, 2013 John rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be posting stuff here, what with the sale to Amazon, but until I decide where I'm going I might as well continue.

Abigail "Abby" Beatrice Edmunds is a few days short of her seventeenth birthday when a new student arrives at her school, an Italian called Dante Alexander about whom no one knows much except that he's a protege of Leo, who owns and runs the cool (but alcohol-free) hangout The Dungeon. Although Abby has for ages been going steady with boy-next...more

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Mar 18, 2013 06Abigailb rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Abby and Dante first meet they were able to help each other. Abby got into some trouble with Zo and he protected her to his full extent, so much so that he put his life on the line. She also risked her own life to save him and her friend Valerie. They are the cutest couple Abby talks about how one day she wishes to meet a nice guy from Italy that also loves her, he would take her on a trip she and him would tour Italy and he would be her guide. He matches the description completely that you...more When Abby and Dante first meet they were able to help each other. Abby got into some trouble with Zo and he protected her to his full extent, so much so that he put his life on the line. She also risked her own life to save him and her friend Valerie. They are the cutest couple Abby talks about how one day she wishes to meet a nice guy from Italy that also loves her, he would take her on a trip she and him would tour Italy and he would be her guide. He matches the description completely that you are given. Some things I thoroughly enjoyed about the book Hourglass Door was how Dante treats Abby through the whole story, but something that was a down fall was that some of the places they would go like the river I could not picture it that well with the little description we were given. The last main thing I enjoyed about this book is that you really get to connect with the characters. In fact you get so involved with them that you get emotionally attached to them.

Dante, he is the sweetest character in the whole book, and all the books I’ve ever read. Since he is a time traveler he can’t be around Abby to much because it will take him off balance. He is always so worried about Abby and if he is ever putting her in danger with Zo. The whole book he makes sure that Zo keeps his distance from Abby, mainly because he knows that Zo is after Abby and will do anything to get his hands on her so that he can be a master of time. At the beginning of the book she and Dante go to the Café/Diner and she gets stuck in a little time shell, and when he realizes what has happened to her he changes it as soon as he can. Something else is that before the does anything or goes anywhere he always tells Abby and, or checks with her, so she is not worried about him.

Something that I did not like so much as the others was that when they first went to the river. The river is the place were Dante, Orlando, and Zo and his gang go to even out their time pressure. Most of the time when you go somewhere new for the first time in a book there is a lot of explanation and description of what it looks like and how they feel there. The only thing you got was how Abby felt. I would of liked to know how the others felt when they go there and how they get there. Plus what is looks like. Then I would get a better feel for what is going on there.

The character and reader make a kind of bond with the characters. I noticed this a lot more In the book Hourglass door. The character development was outstanding. The main ones I noticed was with Abby, Dante, Valerie, Orlando, Natalie, and Jason. A lot of things happen to all of these people throughout the story and I reacted like it was actually happening to someone that I was close to or knew.

In conclusion the Hourglass Door by Lisa Magnum is an amazing book. You get a bond with the characters and understand how sweet of a guy Dante is. Although I hope and wish that I could have understood the river a little more since it was such a huge part of the book.
(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Rayan Najem added it

1. What did you like about the book and what could have been better?
What I liked about this book is that it had a mystery to it, it never got boring to read throughout my time reading it. I was always excited to see whats on the next page. It was like a mysterious romantic sort of book, it had love involved obviously yet it had an obscure trait to it as well. Lisa Mangum did a really great job on this book, but there could have been room for improvements like explaining more about the scenes tha...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-literature-books-13-25

This is the story of Abby Edmunds, and so far, her life seems to be going pretty well. She's applied to the college of her dreams, celebrated her 18th birthday, and she has a wonderful and amazing boyfriend. But every thing starts to change when Dante Alexander appears at her school. Strange things begin to happen, and a mysterious band called "Zero Hour" arrives in town, not appearing who they seem to be. Things cannot be explained until Abby discovers who Dante really is, and what has happened...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, fantasy

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Abby’s life is safe and predictable. She’s known her boyfriend all her life, she’s planning on going to college with her best friend, and she spends her time as the assistant director of her high school’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. When curly-haired, glove-wearing Italian exchange student Dante Alexander shows up to drama practice, Abby meets with him to help him get up to speed on his part in the play. To Abby, there’s something mysterious and alluring abo...more Summary: Seventeen-year-old Abby’s life is safe and predictable. She’s known her boyfriend all her life, she’s planning on going to college with her best friend, and she spends her time as the assistant director of her high school’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. When curly-haired, glove-wearing Italian exchange student Dante Alexander shows up to drama practice, Abby meets with him to help him get up to speed on his part in the play. To Abby, there’s something mysterious and alluring about this boy, but weird things start occurring. A rock band’s music starts having a strange effect on the high school crowd, not to mention that time seems to flow differently when Abby is around Dante…

Review: Girl has boring life. Girl meets mysterious, supernatural boy. Epic romance and as well as epic danger ensues…we’ve seen this before, haven’t we? It’s sort of the hot paranormal romance formula right now, first made popular with…Twilight…*shudders*. The Hourglass Door definitely sticks to this formula, but Abby isn’t Bella Swan at least. It’s easy to identify with Abby’s college application angst, as well as her general insecurities. Then we come to Dante. He’s described as having dark curly-hair and he usually wears a dark peacoat. Coincidentally, there is a guy who fits that exact description who lives in my building. He’s usually seen involved in some sort of PDA with his girlfriend, though I doubt her name is Abby. Back to the review – Dante’s a bit too good to be true. Don’t get me wrong – I like sweet guys who act like gentlemen. However Dante – and Abby – felt slightly bland, as did some of the supporting characters.

As for their romance…I liked that it was sweet and clean, and that the focus of it seemed to be on “light” rather than “the darker the better.” All this was appreciated. Here comes the “but”: I think it was the writing style that bothered me. It was drippingly saccharine or flowery enough to make me roll my eyes: “[His eyes] were changeling gray – one moment they shimmered with the moon-white of reflected sunlight, the next they held the almost-blue edge of melting ice crystals, then they hardened to the shadowed gray of wet river stones.” And this is only on page 35…

In short: It’s a clean but relatively bland read loaded with too much purple prose. I’m not jumping up and down to read the sequels.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Something better: River of Time: Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

Cover & Title: Not very exciting, much like the book. The title does fit the story though.

Where I got the book: Used bookstore. I’m glad I didn’t pay more than $3 for it.(less)

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May 30, 2012 Connie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-school

That was so cool!!! Mrs. Mangum is a thinker! I loved this story and can't wait to read her other two books. The creation of the door, the river of time, the quotes she interjects, how she describes the character’s eye color with the change of their mood... I loved it all! The writing flowed so easily I had a hard time putting it down or finding a place that was a good stopping point - there weren't many.
The only suggestion I might have for a future reader is to see "Much Ado About Nothing." Sh...more

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May 07, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was given the third book in this series as a Christmas gift so I "had" to buy the first two books to read. I was a little apprehensive since the cover indicated it was for young adults and a romance. The prologue at the beginning is somewhat confusing as I didn't understand what was happening to the character. It made more sense when I went back and re-read that portion once I'd gotten further into the novel. I must say that I have never known such a level-headed 17 year old girl in my life. S...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Joe Hunt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay...Someone tell me what to think.

I've read like half. An interesting mixture of bad and good.

Sometimes, some of it so cheap, clunky, sappy, and like "Alright...I get it, already."

But a little bit of good writing now and then.

[Spoiler Alert. Calling all spoilers!]

I want to know who Zo and V. are. (Actually, I skipped to the end. Lost stuff in the middle.) Are they based on real historical characters?

Zo for Zodiac ? Dumb, that they're in a band.

So...but Leo really isn't da Vinci ? -- but Dante...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Harmony Beaufort rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was a book that I had put off reading for a while, mostly because the cover didn't really grab at my attention until I saw the book trailer (which i'll put down below because it is awesome.) But sadly, this book was a "meh" for me.

One thing I wasn't too much of a fan was of Abby, at least in the beginning. I completely understood the fact that she felt her relationship with Jason withering and Lisa made a good job of it throughout the beginning of the book, but really, did the friendship th...more

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Sep 08, 2011 08emmak rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Hourglass Door was a great book! A romance, it is the story of Abby who one day during play practice meets the handsome and mysterious Dante. Abby falls for Dante but is very surprised and taken aback when he tells her that he was born in 1468. Suddenley she is in for way more than she thought, can she figure this out and make it out okay?
The book is written in first person, Abbys point of view and is great for teenage girls. I personally loved the scense of adventure that went with the ro...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Frygirl rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All YA readers - 5th grade & up

It is honestly a 3 & 3/4 star rating from me - mainly I'm holding back that last quarter because its a series. Sure this is a good 400 pages, but it is too obviously set up into a series format & I'm tired of cliffhanger endings and being forced into buying the next one to get to the ending - give me one 1500 page book or seriously add some meat to each book to make it worth my $10.

This is a great YA book that wasn't too YA, there was high school with only enough "High School" that I did...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Maria rated it 2 of 5 stars

To be very honest with you all, I had to force my way through this book. The book just took too long to get going – I was more than halfway through it before I thought to myself “what is supposed to be happening here?” Here’s a breakdown of some of the good, the bad, and the ugly:

The Bad: * Like I said before, it took way too long to get going. For a paranormal/sci-fi book, there was too much time spent on our main character’s (Abby) normal life. I wanted to read a book about time travel, not a...more

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Jun 06, 2011 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kiona

Let me start by saying if you’re looking for a new paranormal series to obsess over, you should probably read The Hourglass Door. Personally, I’m usually a series kind of girl. I like following characters I’m invested in over a long period of time. But lately, a lot of series just seem to drag or get repetitive. The Hourglass Door is the first series I’ve begun in awhile that provides a completely new world and unique premise.

The story begins normally enough. Abby is a seemingly ordinary girl wh...more Let me start by saying if you’re looking for a new paranormal series to obsess over, you should probably read The Hourglass Door. Personally, I’m usually a series kind of girl. I like following characters I’m invested in over a long period of time. But lately, a lot of series just seem to drag or get repetitive. The Hourglass Door is the first series I’ve begun in awhile that provides a completely new world and unique premise.

The story begins normally enough. Abby is a seemingly ordinary girl who gets good grades and has let a somewhat sheltered life. She’s looking for new ways to break free and gain independence, starting with applying to Emery College, a school all the way across the U.S. on the eastern coast. She’s keeping Emery a secret from everyone for now, including her boyfriend and neighbor, Jason. Abby and Jason have been destined to be together since they were in diapers. But while Abby lights up Jason’s world, she can’t muster more than brotherly affection for him. Still, being with him isn’t bad and there’s no one else she’d rather date. That is, until Dante Alexander arrives.

To Abby’s credit, she tries not being attracted to Dante. She doesn’t want to hurt Jason and she honestly believes she’s capable of merely befriending Dante. After all, he is the new guy in town and she just wants to make sure he feels welcome. And to Dante’s credit, he tries not to interfere in Abby and Jason’s relationship. As much as he likes Abby, he doesn’t think Jason deserves to lose his girlfriend, especially considering Dante’s life is a little chaotic and even…dangerous.

But, I mean, Dante speaks Italian. And he has those blue-gray eyes and that aura of mystery. Hotness aside, Abby does take the time to get to know Dante. A believable friendship blossoms between them, a friendship that she’s able to balance alongside her relationship with Jason. But then things start to get a little tricky. For one, Abby feels this unmistakable pull to Dante and she knows he feels the same way. Then she begins feeling…odd…and these feelings are only magnified when Zo, V, and Tony begin hanging around. These three make up a band called Zero Hour and they seem to have some sort of history with Dante and his adoptive father Leo. Oddly enough, Dante and the members of Zero Hour all sport the same tattoos.

Lisa Mangum is clearly a master of building suspense. The further I got into The Hourglass Door, the more questions I had and the more I had to power through just to get the slightest of answers. Like Abby, I couldn’t tell if the paranormal aspects were actually paranormal or just figments of her imagination. Everyone was so secretive that I was practically dying to know what was going on. I’d form my own theories only to realize how implausible they were and then I’d hungrily read more, glad that the plot wasn’t so predictable. By the middle of the book, Mangum began providing twists that completely blindsided me and the answers I received toward the end were, at times, shocking. I was just entirely pleased by the unique intricacies of the plot and the tie-ins with historical figures that added a believability to the fantastical elements that’s presently hard to come by.

I’d recommend this book for the plot alone, but the writing is also amazing. The snippets of Italian dialogue lend an air of authenticity to Dante’s origins and each character really stands out. Oddly enough, despite Dante’s charm and all-around sexiness, I wasn’t head-over-heels in love with him, but I loved his and Abby’s relationship; their relationship grew effortlessly from a solid friendship, initial attraction, and complementary personalities. The villains of the story aren’t frightening just because they have some sort of super-human strength, but because they threaten to destroy Abby’s life personally by settling in her town, getting to know her and her friends, and attacking that which she cares about most. But little do they know, Abby has some surprises of her own—surprises even she didn’t know about.

Essentially, if you’re looking for romance, action, and paranormal intrigue, The Hourglass Door is right up your alley. You might have overlooked it in the past, but with the conclusion to the series on the way this summer, now’s the perfect time to dive in. A little warning though: have the second book readily available, as The Hourglass Door ends on a big cliffhanger.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 16, 2011 Brook Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lisa Mangum

If you pick up this book, prepare to have your mind blown away. The aspect of time-travel (given the name of the book) is very important. Abby and Dante share something special, but Dante has a secret. One that will inevitably get Abby into quite a predicament.

While I did REALLY enjoy this book, the one thing that really bothered me was the descriptions. Of course, you know what Dante looks like - he's the love interest, of course she's going to go on and on and on about his good loo...more

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About Lisa Mangum

Lisa Mangum has loved and worked with books ever since elementary school, when she volunteered at the school library during recess. Her first paying job was shelving books at the Sandy Library. She worked for five years at Waldenbooks while she attended the University of Utah, graduating with honors with a degree in English. An avid reader of all genres, she has worked in the publishing department...more

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The Forgotten Locket (Hourglass Door, #3)

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Quotes from The Hourglass Door

“Be sure of your heart before you speak.” — 62 people liked it

“In the darkness of night,
Demons strut, taunting, goading.
In the light of day,
Angels sing glorious songs.
In the time in between,
We live our lives alone and searching.
And sometimes, softly,
You understand damnation.
All is forgotten, all is lost,
All but forgiveness
And the memory of her kiss.” — 13 people liked it

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The Hourglass Door (Hourglass Door #1)

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