Wednesday, August 29, 2012

RTW: Best Book of August...

Wednesday already? Holy moly, the weeks are flying by! So for those who don't know, Road Trip Wednesday is a blog hop hosted by YA Highway!

This week's question...


Best book in August?
I can't believe it's nearing the end of August. Time is really flying! Feels like just yesterday I was writing about the best book of July!
This questions was a no brainer for me. While I've read a couple of interesting books this month, the one that has really captured me is Hourglass by Myra McEntire. 
I'd heard a few good things about this book in the past and when I came across it while looking for some new books for my kindle, I thought I might as well give it a try. I couldn't put it down. In fact, I got grumpy when I reached my subway stop on the way to work and had to stop reading! 

I found the book to be well written, captivating and it wasn't infuriating as some novels are with their love stories and ways of presenting the conflict. You are given enough information to be satisfied while still wanting more yet you're not left totally in the dark feeling frustrated by the whole situation.

Here's the plot
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?
There's a nice mix of romance, suspense, intrigue, drama, heartbreak, comedy and each chapter leaves you wanting more. It's obviously not a completely novel idea but the way it's presented is very original. I also love the fact it's set in Tennessee... I haven't read many books set there! It's cool. There are some time travel/ability style elements in it and sometimes I find hard to fully grasp the concept of time travel and how everything fits on the time and space continuum but it was really well done. Well written and captivating.

Now I'm on to the next book in the series and it's just as addictive. In fact I've started road reading again (three points if you know the book I got that term from!). When you live in NYC road reading is really not a smart idea. sigh.....

26 comments:

  1. Yes, August does seem to have flown by. I can't say I was as enthusiastic about my book of the month, but it was certainly the best I read.

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    1. The Great Gatsby is one that's certainly on my list, I think you made a good choice!

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  2. I've heard good things about this series so far, but I'm so traumatized by THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE--I was really creeped out by that book--that I haven't been able to pick up any more time travel books for years. Seems like I might need to give this one a shot, though...

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    1. Hahaha understandable! It's not The Time Travelers Wife, it's quite different from that actually, goes kind of in a different direction rather than the way time travel is portrayed in TTTW. You should give it a try!

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    2. @Crystal - I agree with your creeped-out assessment of The Time Traveler's Wife. I don't actually fault the book though; it's one that I've discussed for YEARS with people, it was just tough to get through because I didn't like a single character. And I still think about Henry being trapped in a locked stairwell when I am myself in a creepy stairwell.

      I would think YA time travel fiction would be far less creepy. Even Tempest by Julie Cross was probably closer to Time Traveler's Wife,but it wasn't traumatizing.

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  3. i really enjoyed Hour Glass and am dying to read Timepiece.

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    1. It's written from Kaleb's POV but it's still good. Don't delay! Read it!!

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  4. I'm glad you like it. I've been meaning to read Hourglass for a while!

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  5. LOVE both of these books! I think Myra McEntire did a really good job with them, although they were a little less time-travel than I expected.

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    1. Ha I know what you mean, I'm quite glad for that fact though... too much makes my brain get tangled. For some reason I can't quite get my head around another version of myself alive right now in the past and another version in the future... I just get confused. Same happened with Lost, the TV show. And with Hermione's time turner... i just couldn't understand, does each scene in someone's life just happen over and over .. and over and over...? So i quite liked that it was just a splash!

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  6. I might have to check that one out. It sounds pretty interesting. And, if road reading is what I think it is, then I have definitely done it (like yesterday) although I know how dangerous it is.

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    1. Haha glad i'm not alone! It's only dangerous if you get so engrossed in the book that you forget to stop for traffic!

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  7. I can't believe August is almost over either. I keep hearing about this one! I really ought to check it out.

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  8. I have this one on my Kindle and I really should get to it sometime. Thanks for the great recommendation! :)

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  9. I was actually pretty meh on this one, but I'm still going to read Timepiece. Emerson is really funny, at least!

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    1. Yeah Emerson is funny! If you were meh about Hourglass you might not enjoy Timepiece.... It's probably not as well written as Hourglass, and Em isn't the narrator so it's slightly different from there but I enjoyed it :)

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  10. The entire summer flew by, didn't it?! I recall reading this one a while back. Great premise!

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  11. There's something strangely appealing about the American South for me... not sure why. This sounds interesting and I might just have to check it out. My reading has slowed to glacial pace lately (life getting in the way) and considering the size of my to-read pile I might never actually get round to it though. Sigh.

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    1. Oh me too. I'm somewhat obsessed with the American South. I'm going to Alabama in November, because for some reason that's the state in the South i'm most obsessed with! Everyone in NYC thinks i'm crazy! I'm also going to Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas though so I hope that balances it out! I do hope you get to read Hourglass at some point, but I hear you! My list is crazy long too!

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  12. I'm putting this on my list! Thanks for the recommendation.

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  13. I have this book on my Kindle, waiting to be read. I'll have to read it soon!

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    1. Ahh Kindle's are so great! I'd love to know what you think of the book once you're done! :)

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