The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Publication Date: May 2010

One Word Review: Good

Author Website: www.lisamangum.com

First Line: “The middle passage.”

GoodReads Synopsis: The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Almost immediately, things start to change and Abby’s worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically. With each new change that ripples into her present, Abby’s life continues to spiral out of control. As Abby’s world fractures around her, she must face a terrible truth: either Dante didn’t make it through the door, or he is lost forever. So with Dante’s blueprints in hand, she begins construction on a new door, a new time machine that will either save Dante – or doom him.

Kathy’s Review: I think I enjoyed this one more than the first book. I admit, I still have a hard time picturing all the time travel elements (the river, the darkness, etc), but I did enjoy seeing all the changes Zo was making. Not that I approve of his bad behavior, but it added an interesting element to the story, how Abby’s past was changing and the effects it had on her and her family. I like Abby, she’s a good heroine and smart. I even liked Dante this time around. Maybe since their relationship has been established I found it easier to believe in them. There were some interesting twists and a lot of set up for the final book. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I think if you liked the first book you will really like this one as well. It definitely ends with you wanting more and I’ll be looking forward to reading the last book, The Forgotten Locket, next summer.

Book Source: Thanks to Shadow Mountain for letting me review this book!

Bookworm Rating: 3.5

Hourglass Door Trilogy:
Book One: The Hourglass Door
Book Two: The Golden Spiral
Book Three: The Forgotten Locket (Summer 2011)

If you could travel through time, where/when would you go?

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Genre: YA Fiction

Author Website: www.lisamangum.com

One Word Review: Lackluster

First Line: “It is the counting that saves him.”

Synopsis: “His past. Her future. Can love bring them together in time? Abbys senior year of high school is going according to plan: good friends, cute boyfriend, and college applications in the mail. But when Dante Alexander, foreign-exchange student from Italy, steps into her life, he turns it upside down. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Soon Abby finds herself drawn into a mystery whose roots reach into sixteenth-century Florence, and she uncovers a dangerous truth that threatens not only her future but the lives of those she loves” -GoodReads

Kathy’s Review: I’m definitely in the minority here when I say that I wasn’t that impressed with this one. For some reason it just fell a little flat for me. One reviewer compared it to an episode of Lost where you’re constantly questioning what is going on. I felt like that for the first 200+ pages. I had a general idea what the story was about, but I was still confused and had a hard time really taking to the characters. I did like Abby. I thought she was a good character. Dante was even okay (although, I lost track of how many times his eyes changed color…). He didn’t really come across as the “hero” type, he didn’t really do anything and by the end I wasn’t really feeling it between him and Abby. I was upset that he didn’t do anything to help Abby’s friend Valerie and his decisions at the end just didn’t really make sense to me. I thought the whole time travel idea was interesting, but was executed kind of weird. Overall, I thought it was okay. I had high expectations and have read a lot of great reviews so I’m sure I am one of the few that wasn’t blown away. I’ll probably still check out the sequel, maybe it’ll be better.

Hourglass Door Trilogy:
Book One: The Hourglass Door
Book Two: The Golden Spiral
Book Three: The Forgotten Locket (Summer 2011)