Review: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Series: Hourglass #2
Publisher: Egmont USA
First published: June 12th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 336

Goodreads Summary:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

Click here to read my review for Hourglass.

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

Following Kaleb's point of view, Timepiece gives us the chance to get to know some other characters better. It took a while for me to get back into the story, but once I did, it was hard to put down - and now I can't wait to see what Myra McEntire plans to do next. With an interesting time travel concept, I'd recommend this series to everyone who's looking for a very refreshing paranormal story. 

More detailed:

After having loved the first book Hourglass so much, my expectations for its sequel were pretty high. Sadly I have to say that they weren't completely met, because I definitely didn't feel as passionately about the second installment of this series as I did about the first. Nonetheless it was a very enjoyable read and I am dying to find out what will happen now.

At first I had some problems getting back into the story. I probably should have re-read Hourglass first, because I only had vague memories about what important things had happened. But after a while I remembered the most important things and felt more comfortable following the story - nonetheless I'd recommend you to read a recap of the first book if your mind betrays you like mine.

I was definitely looking forward to the story being told from Kaleb's point of view, because I really adored him in the first book. Honestly, I had expected a (little) love triangle, but for those of you who hate them, let me tell you not to worry - there's is no real love triangle, but Kaleb manages to find love nonetheless.

The character development mostly focused on Kaleb and his love interest and while this was very interesting to witness, I was a bit disappointed that the rest of the characters didn't appear as often as I wanted them to. Besides that I'm very happy with how the main plotline turned out and found it quite hard to put my Kindle away during certain scenes, constantly wishing for a happy ending.

Those of you who enjoyed the first book should definitely pick up Timepiece. It might not have been as awesome as Hourglass for me, but this series still has a special place in my heart and I hope to get my hands on a copy of the third installment as soon as possible. If you haven't read this series yet - why are you still reading this review? Go ahead and get a copy of the first book right now.

Have you read Timepiece? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #33

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

Thanks to having to learn so much at the moment, I really didn't have a lot of time to get any reading done and only read one book last week. This is why I only started Timepiece by Myra McEntire yesterday and am not really far into it. But I like what I've read so far and can't wait to continue reading.

Goodreads Summary:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

Still, the next book on my tbr-pile is Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. I've mostly heard good (and some neutral) things about it, so I'm looking forward to find out what I'd think about it. Mermaids are really a huge bookish trend this year.

Goodreads Summary:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

I doubt that I'll be able to get to it this week, but I'm still hoping to at least start Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein. I've heard really good things about this one, and even though it's supposed to be not very light-hearted, sometimes I'm just craving a good contemporary novel. 

Goodreads Summary:

Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

Fictional Distractions of the Week #32

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

Since I wrote the first of three criminal law exams today and am quite happy with what I came up with, I'm going to reward myself by starting to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Can't waít to see whether it's as awesome as so many people keep saying!

Goodreads Summary:
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Next on my tbr-pile is Timepiece by Myra McEntire and saying that I'm excited to start it would be an understatement. I fell in love with the first book Hourglass very fast and very hard and really hope that its sequel will manage to make me feel equally passionate about it. (I'm actually a bit scared of disappointment...)

Goodreads Summary:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

Since I'll have a lot of things to learn this week as well, I probably won't even get to it, but that doesn't stop me from at least mentioning Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. I really like mermaid stories at the moment and this one sounds really awesome. Can't wait!

Goodreads Summary:
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

New Distractions #01

If you spend half a week thinking about whether to continue participating in In My Mailbox or not, it's probably the best decision to not do so anymore. Nonetheless I don't necessarily feel comfortable slapping a new name on an old meme, so I have no choice but credit Kristi from The Story Siren for the inspiration for this post. That doesn't mean I'm supporting her actions, but in the end this kind of post isn't my idea. I'm not a person for such drama like the one we had last week and so far I've managed to stay out of it, but taking this step feels necessary to distance myself from everything.

Kristi's blog was the first book blog I've ever come across and read, so I probably don't even need to say that I'm disappointed - more by the lack of a true apology than what she did in the first place. People make mistakes all the time (and yes, I feel comfortable calling this a "mistake", because that's what you call things you shouldn't have done), but you should be able to stand up and admit them - and apologize properly for what you did. Then forgiveness is a lot easier.

It's not my place to forgive Kristi, but I need to forget before being able to read her blog again like I used to. I'm one of the bloggers who were inspired by her love for YA books and who looked up to her without truly knowing her. I won't judge her as a person, but as a blogger, as a role model for other bloggers. I won't say that I'll never read her blog again, but for now I need a break.

And despite never having wanted to say anything, this is already too long. I'm sure you're all sick of the drama and yet another three paragraphs about it is more than enough. Sorry! Let's get to the awesome books I got last week:

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The books I received:

Bought:

Elemental

For review:

Glitch | Timepiece

Sweetly | The Blessed | Wings of Arian

Huge thanks to St. Martin's Griffin, Egmont USA, Hachette Children's Books (UK) and Devri Walls.

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Remember to enter the giveaways I currently have on my blog (they're listed on top of the blog on all pages) and to link your IMM / Book Haul / whatever-you-call-it-now below. :)

Carina

Cover Comparisons #34: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.

Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.

Last week's winner is the US cover of Falling Under by Gwen Hayes.

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Hourglass by Myra McEntire
(US / GER)

Wow, Hourglass has won the cover lottery! Both of these are soooo gorgeous. While I still prefer the US cover because its colors are a bit more cheerful, I absolutely adore the photo of the German cover and placement of the title!

Which version do you like best?

US GER

pollcode.com free polls

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Carina