Hourglass by Claudia Gray
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Source: Book Fairy
Interest: Series
Challenge: None
Other Titles in the Series: Evernight & Stargazer
Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.
After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend—the vampire Balthazar—hiding is no longer an option.
Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can't escape her destiny.
Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything . . . but can it survive what's to come?
I love to be taken by surprise. It doesn't happen all that often, so I really relish the times that it does. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive when I started Hourglass. The plot was a little slow moving, there wasn't that tension or anticipation between Bianca and Lucas.. will they be together, will they not be together? I think that helped the first two novels move along a little more quickly.
The last quarter of the novel is really what did it for me. I wanted to read the book because I do enjoy the series, but had that last quarter not happened... I think my rating would have been a lot lower. Totally did not see it coming and I'm very curious as to what is going to happen next.
So besides the plot another thing that bothers me is Bianca. I don't really like her. She kind of annoys me. A LOT. Her character is just so... mature. And not in a good mature teen kind of way, but in a very worldly mature kind of way. Which isn't what her character is supposed to be at all. She isn't a vampire that has been around for centuries, she really is just a teenager. I mean what kind of teenager uses the word lover? As in being in bed with a lover...? Maybe it's just me, but her character just isn't consistent. BUT the real character behind my love for this series is Balthazar. Give me a piece of that! Love everything about this guy and he is in this novel plenty, which I of course lapped up like a kitten would a saucer of milk. Meow! Was that too much? I'm usually not a metaphor person, but hey I'm just in that mood. I will admit that Lucas did start to grow on me a little bit. He finally grew a backbone somewhere in there.
Hourglass was a little steamier then the previous two novels as well! I'm a steamy fan though, so I enjoyed that part. And it was done tastefully too. Which is always nice, especially in young adult fiction.
Gray has a very addicting writing style I think that is what kept me going despite the slowish plot and my annoyance of Bianca. I am really looking forward to the final installment: AFTERLIFE!
(I've also heard rumors of a Balthazar spin off... YES PLEASE!)