The Hourglass Door

Summary: Abby’s senior year is going according to plan: good friends, cute boyfriends, and college applications in the mail. But when Dante Alexander, foreign-exchange student from Italy, steps into her life, he turns it upside down. He’s mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she’s ever met before. Abby can’t deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Soon Abby finds herself drawn into a mystery whose roots reach into sixteenth-century Florence, and she uncovers a dangerous truth that threatens not only her future but the lives of those she loves.

Review: So, The Hourglass Door is a lot like Twilight, only infinitely better. Abby is a bit like Bella. She drove me crazy for the first half of the book. She flirted with Dante, while she had a boyfriend, without feeling guilty at all for the fact that she was essentially cheating on her boyfriend and lifelong best friend. However, when her boyfriend finally dumps her, and Dante flirts with her after she begins to think “What audacity! I just broke up with my boyfriend!” Like it was okay when you had a boyfriend, but now that you don’t it is bad? So, Abby drove me crazy. She was indecisive, whiny, stupid and ridiculously over-described things. She is very much attracted to water metaphors and storms. They appear continually throughout the book. Towards the end of the book she finally grows a backbone, though still doesn’t do much.

Dante is so much better than Edward, as far as a love interest is concerned. He is Italian, memorizes poetry, is sincere, mysterious, and just overall the most attractive book character I have ever read about (and that is saying something). Dante is also from 15th century Italy so he is a lot older than Edward. (I will not divulge the secret to his age)So, that bit is a lot like Twilight and the romance is as well. Painstakingly ordinary girl falling for a supernatural hottie who thinks she hung the stars? Sound familiar to anyone?

That being said about the main characters; the plot is much better than Twilight. Mainly in the fact that there is a plot and it’s not predictable. For the longest time I was trying to figure out what Dante and his group of peers (I wouldn’t call them friends) were and why on earth they could do the things they did. Also, why he would disappear? I couldn’t figure it out and when it was finally revealed I was very pleased to see the originality of it. For that alone The Hourglass Door trumps the entire Twilight series. It also didn’t have a happy ending, not a complete happy ending anyways. It was the hope of a happy ending without actually wrapping up the ending. That is probably why there is a sequel, which I am pretty excited to read, actually.

Rating: 3.5/5 The main character drove me nuts, but the plot was original, the romance was great, and there was a hot Italian guy in it. It was very good brain candy, but besides that nothing special.

Reviews from the Pros:

“The perfect romance!”-Ally Condle, author of Being Sixteen

“What’s not to love? A mysterious, gorgeous, Italian who recites poetry? I’m so there.”-Becca Wilhite, author of My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions

Once a Witch

Summary: Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and on the day she was born, her grandmother proclaimed she would be the most Talented among them. But Tamsin’s magic never showed up. Now, seventeen years later, she spends most of her time at boarding school in Manhattan, where she can at least pretend to be normal. But during the summers, she’s forced to return home and work at her family’s bookstore/magic shop.

One night a handsome young professor from New York University arrives in the shop and mistakes Tamsin for her extremely Talented older sister. For once, it’s Tamsin who’s being looked at with awe and admiration, and before she can stop herself, she agrees to find a family heirloom for him that was lost more than a century ago. But the search—and the stranger—prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the past sins of her family, and unleash a power so strong and so vengeful it could destroy them all.

Review: All righty so the idea of these witches is that each one has a Talent (which is a power, like Tamsin has an Aunt that can “freeze” people, as in stop them from moving). When the child turns eight their power comes to them and then two years later, after they have learned to master their powers they are initiated with the family. Tamsin’s eighth birthday comes and goes with no Talent and she ends up being the only Talentless one in her family. Who wants to guess how long that lasts? Just about halfway through the book. Obviously, I knew she would not remain talentless her entire life (though it would have been a cool plot twist to have an ORDINARY girl save the day huh?).

Aside from some predictability in the plot, I really enjoyed this book. It moved quickly and every time I set out to only read a chapter it would be like five chapters later that I actually put the book down. The characters were fun and Gabriel was attractive and alluring. It wasn’t anything terribly special, but it was a fun quick read and I was very absorbed in it. My life was not changed by it, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the sequel.

Rating: 4/5

Reviews from the pros:

“A fantastic urban fantasy with an enchanting romance at its heard.”-Cassandra Clare

“An absorbing and elegant urban fantasy”—publisher’s weekly

“Quick and suspenseful, with a climax that is camera-ready, this will appeal to readers who enjoy family drama and teen romance salted with magical action adventure”—the Bulletin

“Carolyn MacCullough casts a mesmerizing spell with Once a Witch. Family secrets and sibling rivalry, time-travel and magical ‘Talents’ all brew together to create a superlative—and supernatural—coming-of-the-age story. Add an epic battle of good versus evil and an enchanting first kiss, and this bewitching novel commands a sequel.”—Megan McCafferty