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?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Hourglass, such a unique name for a time travelling story.



Reviewed by,

Will my words be able to cover even a bit of what I'm feeling?

When my friends told me, guaranteed me that this book will make me weep, I had high hopes, but what this book presented, it went so much more higher that that.

Incest, a taboo in our society, goes against every religion, every law, every thoughts that humans have. Often described as disgusting, vile, an act only pedophiles and psychopaths could perform. But what if? What if the 'incest' is just a product of forbidden love? Will that be so wrong? I don't deny that the very thought of a brother-sister relationship made me uncomfortable, but after being absorbed into this unique and heartwrenching story, I guess these people who supposedly committed this 'crime' deserved to at least have a chance to be heard, to tell their side of the story.

Now, every since I'm hooked on reading, I've came across TONS of story on forbidden loves, ones which spun me off ground and ones which made me weep, but nothing could even compare to this. This, I proudly announce, is the best story about Forbidden love I ever read in my entire life. I was on an emotional ride throughout the book, the starting of the story gripped me until the end, for once, I don't feel like I'm the reader, instead, I was the character. The way the story was written did that.

Time flies when I read.

Lochie was insecured. I was not freaked out by their relationship, despite what they are. It made sense, and it ached how much I have to read them living in the dark. Battling the whole world, Lochie is always trying to restrain himself from feeling what he feels, that made me so 'tensed' reading from his POV, I just wanted to give him a big hug and say it's all going to be okay. In fact, I think the inner turmoil of Lochie and Maya added the charm to the whole story.

Forbidden thought me a lot about life. The need to be independent, like how Maya and Lochan did to raise the children. To me, reading about their genuine concerns about their family warmed me, unlike teenagers in general who often take advantage of their family, I feel the love and turmoil in the Whitley family (minus the mum and dad). Being neglected by both their parents, Maya and Lochan did everything it takes to keep their remainding family intact, and if that meant sacrificing time and effort. I saw them took over the parents role, controlling a rebellious teenager and comforting two innocent kids, they worked as a great team.

It taught me about love. Love is an affection, which many people take for granted these days. For Maya and Lochan, it's a forbidden emotion, they cannot love each other for something more. That is the only love that they could not have. Lochan was a social-phobe, and he often felt truly alone and frustrated, with Maya in his life, he felt noticed because she was the only one who truly understood him.

The whole read was amazing, but what baffled me most was the ending, that was the main point of my undoing actually :P I never expected the story to end as such! Left with so much emotion it's sort of hard to close the book and return to reality land. I found myself still depressed the next day, that proved the magnitude of effect Forbidden has on me.

Lochan, Maya, thanks for changing my perspective on love!

‘Hey, I’ve been wondering about something . . . Do you – do you think that any two people, if they really and truly love each other, should be allowed to be together no matter who they are?’ I ask. Francie shoots me a look of amusement, sees that I’m serious, and narrows her eyes in thought. ‘Sure, why not?’

‘What if their religion forbade it? If their parents were devastated or threatened to disown them or something – should they still go ahead anyway?’

‘Sure,’ Francie answers with a shrug. ‘It’s their lives, so they should be allowed to pick who they like. If the parents are crazy enough to try and stop them from seeing each other, they could run away, elope.’