Timepiece by Myra McEntire

About the book

Timepiece is the second book in the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire. It was published by Egmont USA on 12^th June and the book is 336 pages long.

Synopsis

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 travellers, 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...

(Taken from Goodreads.com)

What I thought

I loved the first book in this series, Hourglass, so much and I was really glad that I had ordered both books at the same time. I was dying to know what was going to happen next and it only took me a few days to pick up this one after finishing Hourglass.

Something I said in my review of Hourglass was that I wanted to see more of Kaleb and Lily. Well, that’s exactly what I got in this book. Not having read the synopsis for this one, I didn’t realise that the story was actually going to be told from Kaleb’s point of view. I thought that this was going to be a straight sequel and it is kind of but not from Emerson’s point of view. As much as I loved Emerson, switching up narrators was something different and it made the book even more interesting.

Kaleb was such an interesting character in Hourglass and I desperately wanted to know more about him. Kaleb is such a messed up character with so much going on around him and in this book, we get to learn all about how he copes, what he feels and much more. I really enjoyed getting to learn about Kaleb’s background and to realise that he isn’t just a womanising guy like he is portrayed in Hourglass. There is so much more to Kaleb than first meets the eye which is partly what made him such a good character.

Then there is Lily, Emerson’s best friend. She popped up now and again in Hourglass and I really liked her then. Much like Kaleb, as Lily is the main female character of this book, we get to learn a lot more about her. Lily is a really strong female character who knows exactly who she is and what she wants and this is partly what made me like her so much. She was fiery and feisty and wasn’t afraid to speak up when she had an opinion. She was also a great opposing character as she was so different to Kaleb.

Quite like Emerson and Michael’s relationship in Hourglass, Kaleb and Lily take things slowly before anything happens. The tension between the two characters was electric and I couldn’t wait for things to finally happen between them. Not only was the chemistry good but they did extremely well as friends. Due to certain abilities, the pair were able to trust each other after some time and really get to know one another without anything else getting in the way.

Timepiece’s plot begins exactly where Hourglass finishes, with Jack on the run and everything going a bit crazy. Although this is a separate book in the way that it is told, it is a traditional sequel plot wise. The story was very exciting with many characters travelling all over the place to find the answers that they need. The world of the Hourglass and the abilities written about are explored and explained in great detail. Some past abilities are revisited while the abilities of other characters definitely are put into the forefront of the story. While not totally concentrating on time travel, this is still a large theme of the book and one that I enjoyed thoroughly.

Timepiece is a fantastic sequel and I love the world and characters that Myra McEntire has created. 

Film Review: Jumper

About the film

Jumper is an action/ science fiction film that stars Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson and was released in 2008. It is rated 15 due to moderate amounts of violence and one use of strong language. The film is 84 minutes long.

Plot

When David was a teenager, he realised there was something special about himself. After being bullied for giving a girl he liked, Millie, a gift, he falls into a freezing river but David managed to transport himself elsewhere to save him from dying. His family life isn't all that great as his father is an alcoholic and his mother left years ago so David decides to use his new found gift to get away.

David learns to hone his gift and uses it to better his own life, and ends up living a life of luxury, instead of how things should have gone. On a normal day, he realises that something is terribly wrong and that Paladins, members of a secret society, are trying to track him down and kill him because of what he can do. David is thrown into a battle between good and evil and everyone thinks they're in the right.

What I thought

I was really looking forward to watching this film because the trailers made it look so fantastic but it is nothing like what I imagined, that isn't to say I didn't enjoy it though. While the idea behind it is pretty interesting, there are quite a few aspects that let it down a lot. I was highly disappointed by the length of this film and just as I was really getting into the story, I realised it was getting near the end. I'm glad I didn't pay too much for the DVD and didn't go see this at the cinema.

The special effects were incredible and left me thinking about how things had actually been done. As David 'jumps' all over the world, there are a lot of different cities/ historic landmarks in this film and each one was as impressive as the next. Some of the places were actually filmed but some were done by computer and I couldn't really tell the difference. The main idea and the effects are what make this film fast paced and exciting most of the way through.

Hayden Christensen was great as David and for me, was the perfect choice for the role, instead of the 18 year old that was originally cast. Christensen did his own stunts too which is impressive but it was a shame to hear that he got injured during some of the stunts. I love it when actors do at least some of their own stunts because it really makes them stand out for me. David has quite a mixed personality at times and Christensen did well to make him seem childish at times but then also very mature at others.

I was slightly disappointed with Rachel Bilson who played Millie. I'd seen her before in The O.C and as far as I know, this was her first major film. While she does a good job of being the girl next door type, and also looks the part, I don't think she gave her character enough strength for what Millie was going through. The little amount of passion that we see between Millie and David was done very well though and the chemistry was extremely believable.

I kind of wished that the fight/ action scenes had been a little more elaborate and longer but they weren't too bad. I assume that given the ending, there will be more of this in the later films and the fights will be bigger and more impressive.

When I first watched this film, there were plans to make more in the series. However, now that this is not going to happen, the characters are left not having any real closure or a happy ending, even a sad ending would have been better. Enough of the background wasn't explained in this film and it left the story with some major gaps which should have been covered in future films. Overall, Jumper isn't a bad film, but with there now being no plans to carry on the series, it has a very disappointing ending.

*So I know I'm kind of cheating with this one as it is not technically time travel but it does cover travel of space so I thought I would use it anyway!*

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

About the book

Timeless is the first book in the Timeless series by Alexandra Monir. It was published on 13^th March by Ember and the book is 290 pages long.

Synopsis

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

(Taken from Goodreads.com)

What I thought

When I asked other bloggers for books regarding time travel, this one came up a few times. Timeless has a really interesting premise and different from other books about time travel I had heard about. Alexandra Monir puts a lot of description and background into the New York that she writes about. Both the present and the past and distinctively different and this was a part of the book that I absolutely loved. Each time Michele went into the past, I could feel the difference in the way that people lived and acted although I do also wish that Michele had been able to spend more time in the past.

I really liked Michele to begin with. She has a very close relationship with her mother and that was something that I liked to see but it was cut short. Instead of carrying this on, she is sent off to New York to live with Grandparents that she had never met. To begin with, Michele seemed like an average, really nice girl who was actually quite sensible. When Michele went to New York though, I began to like her less and less. When she begins to learn of her ability to time travel, she lies constantly, makes things up and expects people she barely knows to cover for her and basically just seemed like a really crappy ‘friend’, not that you could really call her that. Michele’s ability to time travel made her extremely selfish and I didn’t think that this was the girl I was reading about at the beginning of the book.

The basic plot of this book is that Michele can time travel and falls in love with a boy from 1910. While I’m all one for romance mixed in with a great story, neither the romance nor the story was great. As Michele flits between 1910 and 2010, there just wasn’t enough time spent in either time and there wasn’t enough time spent getting to know characters which would have enabled me to like them better. I don’t feel as though I really got to know any character in the book well enough which was a real shame as I think there was definite potential for a few of them. The plot was too much about the romance and not about the time travelling for me and I think this was a big reason why I didn’t really like this book too much.

As I said, the romance does take precedence over an actual plot. Michele and love interest Philip only actually meet a couple of times and they don’t get to spend too much real time together. I’ve said in many past reviews that something that I cannot bare in books is love at first sight and far too quick ‘I love you’s’ and this book has both of those things. Trying to slightly get away from the love at first sight thing, Monir adds in Michele’s dreams of Philip which makes it seem as though she knows him better than she actually does. I don’t buy this at all and it was just so unrealistic. However, I can sometimes get into a romance like this should there be exceptionally written chemistry but unfortunately, there was none of that either so Michele and Philip’s relationship fell extremely short for me.

This is the first book in a series but I won’t be carrying on with it. I did like the initial idea of the time travel in this novel but not much else. 

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

About the book

Hourglass is the first book in the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire. It was published by Egmont USA on 14^th June 2011 and the book is 390 pages long.

Synopsis

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 also 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?

(Taken from Goodreads.com)

What I thought

So many bloggers mentioned this book to me as well as others on Twitter when I said I wanted books about time travel. This is one that had a lot of hype around its release but one I hadn’t managed to get around to reading at the time.

I really loved this book from the very first page where we meet protagonist Emerson. She thinks she’s a complete freak and that there is something terribly wrong with her. After all, she sees what she thinks are ghosts and has once been committed for what she can see. No matter what she does, these people from the past haunt her and she hates it. Although this may sound like Emerson was quite depressing, she wasn’t at all. She was full of sass and quick come-backs and only wanted to feel normal again. Even though Emerson has all of this going on, she is still super sweet and caring and has a close connection with her brother and his wife which was a really nice touch.

As people seem to think she’s crazy, Emerson’s brother Thomas attempts to help her by contacting others who think that they can help. This is where Michael comes in. Hired by Thomas, he works for something called Hourglass and knows exactly about Emerson’s ‘problems’. However, not long after they meet Michael explains that these people Emerson can see aren’t ghosts but ‘rips’, people from the past. I loved Michael just as much as I did Emerson. Even though he has been hired to help Emerson, there is a clear connection between the two which he fights so hard to ignore. He’s also such a gentleman at times but has some hidden secrets of his own which were exciting to find out about.

This is one of those books where the author gets the romance so spot on it’s unreal. Emerson’s brother has made sure that Michael agrees to a strict business only agreement and this is partly what is driving Michael to stay away. The getting to know each other part of the relationship was perfect for me as there were trust issues to deal with and also having to get to know a complete stranger. While there is a slow build up to the romance, it was well worth it. The drawn out moments created immense tension between Emerson and Michael which was so fantastically written. I couldn’t get enough of these two.

As well as having amazing main characters, Hourglass has some great supporting characters. First there is Emerson’s best friend Lily. I could see why the two of them were best friends instantly. They complimented each other really well and Lily had her own quirks which didn’t make her seem boring in comparison to Emerson. Then there is Kaleb who is a friend of Michaels. Kaleb was someone really special who has so much about him that I couldn’t get enough of. I wanted to know so much more about him. I think that both Kaleb and Lily will have bigger roles in future books of this series… at least I hope they will.

Hourglass has a wonderful plot and one that sets this book apart from other YA books. The time travel element is why I read this book to begin with and it really was amazing. Out of the other time travel books I have read, this one is by far the most original. I loved the way that different people could do different things and could either go into the past or the future. There are so many different aspects of the plot which made it interesting and unique but saying too much about them will ruin a massive part of the story for anyone who hasn’t read this. The plot had me hooked and I was desperate to find out what was really going on and what you happen in the end.

Hourglass is one of the best YA time travel books that I have read and now I can’t wait to get started on the sequel, Timepiece. 

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.

About the book

The Future of Us is a stand-alone YA novel by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. It was published on 5^th January by Simon and Schuster and the book is 368 pages long.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

It's 1996 and very few high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented until several years in the future. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD. She and her best friend Josh power it up and log on - and discover themselves on Facebook in 2011. Everybody wonders what they'll be like fifteen years in the future. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

What I thought

I really liked the idea of this book. Facebook is such a big thing now and pretty much everyone has it so for people to be able to see it in the past, when it wasn’t invented, was something that interested me. This book gives a different form of time travel and not the normal way, which is why I wanted to read it.

Main characters Emma and Josh stumble upon Facebook when they use an AOL trial on a new computer. The internet at this time isn’t something that is in all houses nor do people have mobile phones etc. The year is 1996 and things are very different from how they are now. The story shows what life was like before the internet with boys rolling around on skateboards and people waiting by their telephones for hours before someone would actually call. Even then, there was no caller display. The use (or lack of) technology was a great thing in this book and was spot on in regards to the time the book is set.

The book is told through dual narratives from both Emma and Josh which was a nice touch. I like this being done in books as it means you really get to know both main characters well. Emma was a little hard to warm to as she seemed quite shallow at times but Josh was nothing but sweet and lovely. The characters have a past which makes things slightly awkward between them at times but I liked this. It meant that the story wasn’t only about Facebook and there was a lot more going on throughout. Emma and Josh were great people to tell this story as both were different and they both had different views on things.

As Emma and Josh get to see into the lives of their future selves through Facebook, I wasn’t sure how this would work of affect things. Little things that either Emma and Josh do change what their future selves say and do on Facebook and it also affects major decisions in the lives. I really liked how one little movement or thought could change everything in the future. The Future of Us really made me think about actions and consequences and how the smallest of things can affect everything.

All in all, The Future of Us was an interesting read that was quick and easy. It had an interesting plot and good characters which made me want the best outcome for them. The use of Facebook was different and new, which makes the book stand out in comparison to others. 

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

About the book

Time Between Us is the debut YA novel by Tamara Ireland Stone. It was published by Doubleday on 25^th October and the book is 384 pages long.

Synopsis

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

(Taken from Goodreads.com)

What I thought

Before I started this book, I was a little nervous. The first book that I read about time travel was Julie Cross’ Tempest and I loved that book. I didn’t want this one to be too similar. Luckily, once I started it, I realised I was going to be reading something completely different.

Anna and Bennett were both fantastic protagonists and I loved them both. It made me so happy to see that they both have normal names. Instead of being thrown together and having an instant fall in love moment, Anna and Bennett have the kind of relationship that takes time. They have to get to know each other and to understand each other before there can even be a relationship. I really loved the build-up and the exploration of Anna and Bennett’s feelings for each other. Both characters are extremely down to earth and quite normal for the most part which is part of what made them so likeable to me.

Bennett is in fact the one who is only quite normal due to the fact that he can jump around the world as and when he likes and time travel. Unlike a straight forward time travel story, Bennett’s ability has quite a few restrictions and this made him even more fascinating to me. The way that his ability is revealed and explained was great as it allows readers to really get their heads around what is going on slowly, exactly like things are for Anna. The travelling aspect to this book was a huge plus for me as it made for some very interesting reading.

Anna has a fantastic relationship with her British best friend Emma. A lot of girls in YA novels are bitchy towards one another and there is often a sense of jealousy or love triangle rivalry going on but that is not the case in this book. It was refreshing to see two girls so close and stay that way throughout the story. As much as I liked Emma as a character, I wish that British-isms had been used more. Emma could have become a bit of a quirkier character that would have provided a bigger contrast with Anna, which would have been nice.

The thing about this book is that it’s a stand-alone which is a nice change compared with how many series there are at the minute. However, while this was a nice change, the ending wasn’t perfect enough for me. While I was happy with how certain things were wrapped up, it all seemed a bit rushed. The build up to this part is quite exciting and intense at times so to have the ending rushed was a slight let down. I wanted to know more about what happened but this wasn’t what I got.

Even though the ending wasn’t really what I wanted to read, this is an amazing book. Characters, plot and pacing are all spot on and I couldn’t put it down as I was so fully invested in Anna and Bennett’s relationship. Time Between Us is thrilling, romantic and daring – the things which make a great YA novel! 

Time Travel Fortnight... kind of

So, I was planning on having a whole fortnight dedicated to time travel novels and films. However, uni work and normal work got in the way and I just didn't manage to read everything I wanted to read. So, these next two weeks will have time travel book reviews and one film review (although I cheated with that one technically). I wish I could have had time to do more for this topic but unfortunately real life had to come first. Oh if only I had a time travel machine or power so that I could go back and do this properly...

On that note, I leave you with a clip of two of the coolest time travelling guys there will ever be!!