Hourglass - Claudia Gray

Hourglass is the third book in Claudia Gray's 'Evernight' series and it was released in March 2010 in the UK by Harper Collins.

Plot
Since the fire at Evernight, Bianca and Lucas are constantly in hiding with the Black Cross, Lucas' makeshift family. What the Black Cross don't know though is that Bianca is half vampire and has drank Lucas' blood before. If they knew, even Lucas' mother would have no second thoughts about what to do with Bianca. She knows it is a secret that under no circumstances can be revealed.

Living with the Black Cross means cramped, dark and damn living quarters with barely anything to eat and for Bianca, that means not having a constant supply of blood. Each time she goes out hunting, Bianca feels torn between the Black Cross and saving the vampires but also knows that she has to do what she can to save her and Lucas.

Bianca and Lucas should have known that the staff at Evernight would come looking for her eventually and when it finally happens, all hell breaks loose. A close friend is taken prisoner, others die and Bianca's secret is revealed, leading Bianca and Lucas to break out and make a run for it on their own. The joy of finally having some time on their own together is short lived though because there's something wrong with Bianca and no one to tell her what to do. She and Lucas have been through so much together but is this just another thing that they can get past?

What I thought
As Hourglass picks up right from where Stargazer left on, the story gets going pretty quickly and it never really stops. There are quite a lot of plot twists that I didn't see coming which kept the excitement going throughout. Claudia Gray has managed to intertwine an extremely interesting and action packed story with a great love story really well. The fact that there are some slower moments was a huge plus point for me. I like action in this genre as much as the next reader but I don't want my head spinning from everything that's going. The breathers that we get are nice touches to the story overall because they make the pace change where it is needed.

The way that Stargazer was left was good but Hourglass has a cliff-hanger that will leave you to go insane over waiting for the next book. I felt like the beginning of this book was a little predictable due to the way that Stargazer was left but I have no guesses whatsoever about what is going to happen in book #4. I just cant imagine how Bianca and Lucas are going to get out of the situation they were left in and I'm going to end up thinking of a million different outcomes by the time the next book is released.

The majority of the first two books are set in and around Evernight school but in Hourglass, the story gets moved to a more urban setting. We have already learnt quite a lot about the school by now so being able to learn more about the Black Cross and their history was a part of the story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It has been stated before that they really have to scrimp and save just to be able to eat and when the story moves to New York, that becomes even more apparent. The New York cell does have more money and a bigger place to live but still, they live in an abandoned subway station. Realising just how bad some situations were made me slightly change how I felt about the Black Cross. I really didn't like them to begin with but they're just doing everything they can for a cause that they believe in, no matter what it costs them. Instead of the story as a whole being based solely on the vampires, we get to see how things work from the other side which is quite rare in books of this genre.

I really hate to say it but I still don't love Bianca. She's one of those protagonists that makes you want to slap her at times. I understood how much she wanted to be with Lucas but really, going to live with a team of bad ass vampire hunters who wouldn't have second thoughts about killing any of the vampires that she cared about? That is beyond a stupid idea. That one silly mistake is a large part of why I cant grow to like her as I have done to other female protagonists in the past. However, Bianca does also have some really good characteristics. She's strong, knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it and isn't scared to admit that she's made mistakes in the past and these were things that I really liked about her.

I was glad to see that Bianca and Lucas were more on an even scale in Hourglass. The power in the relationship has always seemed to lie with Lucas up until now but being together in the same place has balanced out the relationship. Lucas has never been my favourite in the love triangle department but he's very genuine and honest about how he feels towards Bianca. Both characters have taken the events of the past and used the outcomes to make them both better people which is evident in the way that they act around everyone else.

When I realised that Bianca and Lucas were eventually going to head off together, away from the Black Cross, I was worried about getting too much 'couple' time. To break this up, a big favourite of mine from the previous two books was brought back in and that was Vic. He always manages to add a large amount of comedy to each book due to his fun personality and has a way of giving the story a lighter feel at times. It was also nice to see Vic have a bigger part in the story as a whole which was something that I didn't see coming. Also brought back into the story is Ranulf and Balthazar who were both happily welcomed back by me. There is always one guy that everyone prefers in a love triangle and that is Balthazar for me here. Yes, he is a vampire but his emotions for Bianca seem so pure and he's just so lovely (and hot!).The chemistry between him and Bianca in the previous book was just so much more believable to me than what she has with Lucas.

If you have read the first two books in this series, you will not be disappointed with Hourglass. As it is part of a series though, I would recommend for anyone to read them in order so that you have a clear idea of what has been happening.