I absolutely love this mix of southern hospitality, snark, romance, plot twists, and mystery. Hourglass's fresh voice adds something new to the YA/Paranormal genre. I WANT MORE!
*review to come*

Full review- 6/20/11

What a fabulous debut! I absolutely love this mix of southern hospitality, snark, romance, plot twists, and mystery. Hourglass's fresh paranormal voice adds something new to the YA genre and left me wanting more.

I enjoyed getting to know each of Hourglass's characters, especially the main character Emerson. She's broken, but in a different way. Having dwelt with tragedy before and having an awesome paranormal ability has taught her to be a fighter. She's strong and isn't afraid to say what she's thinking and will go after anything she sets her mind to. Not to mention she's a relatable teenage girl and one of things I admire about her is how honest she is with herself. Plus anyone who says buttered biscuits and honey gets props in my book. I loved getting to meet Michael and Kaleb, and can I just say how much I loved the way Myra wrote the chemistry between Emerson and these two, especially with Michael. I'm a sucker for a well written love triangle, though this really isn't a love triangle per se.

One of the things I really liked about the romance in the story is that it's not a love at first site kind, but one with an undeniable connection. I felt that made the love story much more relatable and realistic. My inner teenage self had a few nice laughs at the way Emerson describes the two hotties, Michael and Kaleb. My favorite of the two is of course the broken boy Kaleb. There's so much more to him than what he wants people to see, and I loved how careful and sweet he is with Emerson. Plus these two provided the right amount of humor to the story. What I enjoyed the most about the characters is how Myra allowed me to get to know them, but didn't overly reveal everything about them, which makes me even more drawn to them.

I absolutely loved the way in which Myra combined paranormal and history into her story. I'm a huge paranormal fan and I love the different paranormal abilities characters have and the way Myra created the ability for some of them to time travel. I'm also a huge history fan and I really enjoyed the way in which Myra ties the ghosts Emerson can see into some of the more historical places in the story's TN setting, that Emerson's brother Thomas restores. Hourglass is a captivating story and I loved how every detail, big or small all ties into the story, either with the characters, the setting or the plot itself.

Hourglass is a fabulous debut that not only has a fresh voice, but it's an engaging, fast paced, fun read. It's one of those books that no matter how many times I read (3 times so far) I fall in love with it all over again. If you're looking for a unique paranormal mixed with time travel, ghosts, betrayal, lots of romance, engaging mystery, exciting plot twists, wonderful characters and a great setting, than I highly recommend picking up Hourglass. It's one of those books that you'll sit down to read and before you're know you'll be sucked into into the story. I'm really looking forward to what happens next and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel when it's released next year.