Review: Hourglass

Hourglass (Evernight, book three)
By Claudia Gray
Published 2010 by HarperTeen

WARNING: There will be inevitable spoilers for the first two books in the series, as well as spoilers for this title.

Bianca and Lucas are reunited at last. If only the situation were more peaceful... Having escaped the attack on Evernight, Bianca and Lucas live under the protection of Black Cross. But with Bianca being a vampire, how long can this last?

I feel compelled to keep reading this series because I always have to know how things end and, I must admit, Gray has done some clever things throughout the series that actually surprised me. However, I think this was my least favorite book so far. Bianca really bugged the crap out of me this time around. Throughout much of the book, she is being completely dense about everything. She doesn't understand why she can't email her parents even though she is hiding with the enemy. I mean - come on! Every teen reading this book would know the answer to that one. Additionally, she drove me crazy because of her complete idiocy about what was happening to her. I know she's not necessarily supposed to be the smartest girl who ever lived but if she already knows she's half-vampire and half-wraith (wait, what part of her is human again?), she should probably be able to figure out what that means for her future options. And this is the plot twist that almost lost me, Ms. Gray. I loved the first book in the series because Gray's ideas genuinely surprised me. I don't find that to be true in this book. Most of what occurred was predictable and not terribly interesting. And I just don't like the idea of Bianca as a wraith now. I mean, isn't that the end of things then? My predictions for the final book are that somehow Bianca and Lucas both discover a way to change what they've become. If not, I'm sure they will still manage to be together. Because otherwise we all wasted our time, right? I can't say I'm especially looking forward to the last book, though I will be glad to see it end. Interestingly, I'm very much looking forward to Balthazar - I think he's a great character to do a spin-off with.