Into the Hourglass follows Everley’s quest to stop Prince Killian and obtain the Sword of Avelyn, even if that means travelling to the mysterious Land Under the Wave. She was greeted by a ship graveyard (and yes it’s as eerie as it sounds!), met some siren singing merrows and discovered a sea hag’s grotto filled to the brim with yup you guessed it, house cats. This book was quirky, hilarious and the perfect sequel to Emily R. King’s Evermore Chronicles Trilogy. It continued to have heart and charm mixed with adventure and sweet, sweet romance. King has an ability to get you emotionally invested in her characters as if you’re part of her story and it made for some strong storytelling!! This is one of the best examples I’ve ever had the chance to read and you know what the worst part is? I had no idea that these books even existed and that can’t continue. These have a heart and soul that I think many people would love to read. I’m thankful for Netgalley and Skyscape for giving me the opportunity to review such a great piece of writing. I look forward to the next book, Everafter Song especially with how things ended!
This book introduced quite a few new characters and I loved them all. The grumpy elf with the unhealthy obsession with apples much like Captain Barbosa from Pirates of the Caribbean was hilarious and a great addition which helped expand the world. Did I forget to mention that he also knows Markham from a past life? It shed light on Markham’s more human life from the past before his immortality kick and backstory is always an excellent addition to a story! That was a very interesting plot development and it gave some great comedic relief between him and Markham. Their relationship was kind of like Thor and Loki’s, Markham being the trickster. And boy did he get on Everley’s nerves! Their dynamic was strangely humorous.
Remember Radella? The spunky, cat-like pixie? She really got to shine in this book and there are so many awesome scenes with her that really showcased her heart on her sleeve personality. Her ever-changing mood was a different sort of humour, almost reminiscent of an indecisive child but her thirst to help never wavered from the morally just.
“Although we have established a friendship, my clock heart is metal and wood, a machine incapable of falling in love.”
This was one thing that got me a little angry. Everley kept saying over and over again how her clock heart makes it impossible for her to love Jamison and the first book proved that that was not the case. Yet here she keeps bringing it up, almost like it’s an excuse and Jamison didn’t deserve that. He was left in a cell after Vevina took control of the ship at the end of book one and yet he still loves Everley despite her leaving him there. He loves you and clearly you feel the same! This made it a little annoying at times because it was an obvious thing to spot so it left me more frustrated. It’s just when you’re watching a tv show and you know they like one another (and everyone else knows it!) but you have to wait entire seasons before you get one simple display of affection (usually a kiss) before anything happens. By the end of this book I didn’t feel so annoyed by this as some of it was repaired but this just serves as a precaution. It’s another slow burn romance but let’s face it we all want a Jamison in our lives!
“Everley is a person, not a trinket,’ Jamison counters. His anger may be outmatched by Radella’s, whose fury has changed her normal bright-azure colour to the same purplish shade as a bruise.”
This man loves her and when he said this I swear he stole my heart too! Such a gentleman. It’s clear how much he cares for her and seeing him fight for her respect was so dashing!
I swear I’m almost done, bear with me. There was one scene that’s definitely worth mentioning and it was the palm reading with Everley and Jamison. They compliment and flirt with one another and they even develop these cute and sarcastic pet names. Watch out for this scene because it will definitely leave you swooning. Their chemistry seems to be so natural and their witty banter never comes off forced.
“He laughs, and I am certain there isn’t any better sound.”
This is coming from a girl who is clearly head over heels in love. Even if she won’t admit it.
Something that drew me into King’s books was her writing. I was extremely impressed by it in Before the broken star and her use of humour only strengthened this fun series.
“Nothing about this world should surprise me anymore, but a cat-eating merrow princess who has a fascination with blades sounds utterly dreadful.”
Her sarcasm matches very well with both her characters and her world she’s built. It allowed for an easy flow to her story and the over-arching plot for this trilogy. I devoured every word of it with efficiency, trust me. It was very easy to read and had minimal description. Both are plus’s in my book!
I seem to have a knack for appreciating well-written phrases in books and I found quite a bit to envy here.
“Gooseflesh flocks up my arms. We are in the Otherworld.”
Can we just sit here in awe for a second? Like I mean, we’ve all seen and felt goosebumps before but here King uses its physical look with the word gooseflesh and then draws the connection with birds when she chose the word ‘flocks’. Ugh, I just thought it was so smart. Bravo!
“The immortal prince has not changed; his face is still unfittingly handsome for his rotten heart.”
I liked the dynamic here between something deemed good (handsome) with another good quality (to have ‘heart’) and how she used ‘rotten’ to show his true personality. It must be my nerdiness showing. But King’s writing is brilliant and should be recognized!
I got one more great example. Because this was near the end I will not spoil the nature of the situation but I must highlight this excellent example of description with incredible use of adjectives. It paints a very vivid picture and conveys this person to perfection.
“The queen is not a woman of substantial stature or enviable beauty. Her power comes from the graceful control of her movements, her elegant mask of aloofness, and the iron influence of her carefully constructed words. Her calculating eyes do not seek the truth. She crafts lies as adornments and conceals them behind her grandeur. Her thin gold crown entitles her to interpret principles and enforce them with cruelty and bloodshed. I fear her, but I fear her propensity for distorting the truth more. Her condemnation would have pulverized the girl in the courtroom, but I understand that every word she says is deliberately chosen to fortify the decision she made before she walked into my cell.”
Every single word needs to be there and it all works so well. I hope to write that strong. It drips with personality and is full of keen observations that again leave me in awe! I can’t wait to see more scenes with the Queen because she seems like a real treat (sarcasm intended!)
Last but not least, being a history buff I’ve come to appreciate when an author goes out of their way to give secondary characters a backstory. They don’t need to per se but it adds to the story, at least for me it does. You get to know more about the character that way and in turn their motives, and that is definitely important in this series. King gave some background to our favourite duo, The Fox and The Cat. It was emotional and it added depth to their characters which seemed to elevate their status in importance. It was nice. it just made me love even more of her characters so well done! There is no doubt in my mind when I tell you that King is a master manipulator of a reader’s emotions. Using Everley’s clock heart malfunction (common throughout this one) was so clever. What are you going to do in her position if you feel like you’re living with limited time? Try and fix it? That’s exactly what she does and using that to transport her into the past to discover the origins of her new, faulty heart was ingenious! I loved how the twists all made so much sense and worked perfectly with the plot. I honestly don’t know how King does it.
A girl with a clock heart that doesn’t do well with water venturing into a place called, the Land Under the Wave is as thrilling as it sounds! So many obstacles were to be had and so many unknowns to discover in this sequel. You will feel elated, happy, sad even angry at points as you read but I guarantee that it’s all worth it! Another fantastic novel by Emily R. King!