Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Source: Publisher
Language: English

Synopsis: 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?

In the first two books of the Evernight series, Bianca and Lucas fight outside forces to stay together-now Bianca is struggling with obstacles that neither she nor Lucas can run away from. From start to finish, Hourglass is unquestionably the most emotional and dramatic novel in the series. Lucas and Bianca's relationship is now at that point where the reader no longer sees them as love-struck teens; they've evolved into a solid, mature couple who do their best to handle their miserable situation. Their love and devotion is stronger than ever but Bianca's dual nature finally surfaces and it catapults the couple into a series of heartbreaking events that will make the story difficult to read (I'm telling you, it's gut-wrenching!) but even more difficult to put down. There was an especially poignant scene involving Lucas and Bianca that actually made me shed a few tears. Gray definetely tugged at my heartstrings with Hourglass...and kept me riveted until the very end. The pace of the story is fast and Gray keeps it steady, never letting the plot suddenly lurch forward or lag a bit. And while Lucas and Bianca are clearly the two under the spotlight, certain characters return to have their own moments: especially Balthazar. He's a constant fixture in Bianca's life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Ranulf and Vic, originally minor characters, also pleasantly surprise the reader with their actions. Charity also reappears and just as she did in Stargazer, she brought about a chain reaction that leads up to the explosive ending of Hourglass that left me desperate and aching for Afterlife. 

Piercing, brutal and desperately romantic, Claudia Gray raised the stakes high in the third installment of the Evernight series. Hourglass, amped with tension and fear, is the best of the series so far and I cannot wait to see what becomes of Lucas and Bianca.

Rating: 4.5